RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



175 



KEY TO EXERCISES IN LESSONS IN FRENCH. 



KXKRCIBK 23 (Vol. I., page 87). 



1 . 1 luve you a good guitar ? 2. Yes. Sir, I hare an excellent guitar. 

 . *ood oottU ? 4. Yes, Madam, I have good black coat* 



lutiful whito dresses. 5. Has not your mother a silk shawl P 

 6. Yea, Minn, she hu* a Bilk one and a woollen one. 7. Han the inn- 

 keeper good EnjfliMh hone* P 8. The innkeeper has English, French, 



ibiim horses. 9. He has Tory beautiful ones. 10. Has your 

 brother's friend gold jewels t 11. Yes, Sir, he hu. 12. Has he also 



welsl r:. He has also. 14. Has he many? 15. No, Sir, he 

 has not many. lii. Haa your friend relations P 17. Yes, Sir, he has. 

 18. Has that gentleman a good steel pen or a handsome gold penP 19. 

 He has a steel one, au J we have a gold one. 20. Has not the general 

 good soldiers? 21. He has some very brave. 22. Have not the 



.lus good laud? 23. They have excellent. 21. Has the mer- 

 chant English or French knives? 25. The merchant's knives ore 

 neither English nor French, they are Belgian. 



EXERCISE 24 (Vol. I., page 87). 



1. Votre frdre a-t-il des chevaux arabes ! 2. Oui, Monsieur, il en a. 

 3. Eu a-t-il de beaux ? 4. Oui, Monsieur, ou a do beaux. 5. Les 

 bous Ame'ricains out-ils tort ? 6. Non, Mademoiselle, ils n'ont pas 

 tort, ila out raisou. 7. Avez-vous un cuulu fran^ais ? 8. Oui, 

 Monsieur, j'en :ii un, j'ai un beau chale fruncais. 9. Votro aubergiate 

 a-t-il votre couteau d 'argent ou le mien ? 10. II n'a ni le votre ni le 

 mien, il a le beau couteau d'acier de sa soeur. 11. Le Beige a-t-il une 

 bonne guitare ? 12. II a une guitare f ran? oise excoiluute. 13. II en a 

 une excellente. 14. Le Monsieur a-t-il dea livres aintisauts I 15. Oui, 

 Monsieur, il en a deux. 16. Le general a-t-il des chevaux fniiiyais ou 

 des chevaux arabes. 17. II n'a ni chevaux franfois ni chevaux arabes, 

 il a des chevaux anglais. 18. Qui a dea chevaux arabes ? 19. L'Arabe 

 en a. 20. L' Anglais en a-t-il? 21. L' Anglais en a. 22. La soeur de 

 votre ami a-t-elle une bonne plume d'acier ? 23. La sceur de mon ami 

 en a une, ninis mea parents n'en ont pas. 24. N'avez-vous pas tort, 

 Monsieur P 25. Oui, Madame, j'ai tort. 26. Ces couteaux sont-ils 

 anglais P 27. Non, Monsieur, ils sont beiges. 28. Avez-vous des 

 parents P 29. J'en ai deux, et ils sout ici. 30. Le boucher anglais 

 a-t-il de laviande? 31. Oui, Monsieur, il en a beaucoup. 32. A-t-il 

 beaucoup d'orgent '? 33. II n'eu a guere. 34. Le general beige a-t-il des 

 soldats braves ? 35. Oui, Monsieur, il en a de bous. 

 EXERCISE 25 (Vol. I., page 114). 



1. Are you as pleased as my brother ? 2. I am as pleased as your 

 brother. 3. Has your father as much courage as modesty ? 4. He 

 ha* less modesty than courage. 5. Has the bookseller as many manu- 

 scripts as engravings ? 6. He has more of these than of those. 7. 

 Has he as many friends as enemies ? 8. He has more of these than of 

 those. 9. Has he as much bread as cheese ? 10. He has quite as 

 much of this as of that. 11. Has the blacksmith more horses than 

 your brother ? 12. He has more than my father and more than my 

 brother. 13. Are you not cold? 14. No, Sir, I am not cold, I am 

 very warm. 15. Have you two cloth cloaks ? 16. I have one of cloth 

 and one of blue velvet. 17. Have you not more glasses than plates ? 

 18. We have more. 19. Has the blacksmith more iron thau steel? 

 20. He has not so much of this as of that. 21. He has less of this 

 than of that. 22. Have the Dutch handsome gardens ? 23. Their 

 gardens are very beautiful. 21. The gardens of the Italians are more 

 beautiful than those of the Spaniards. 



RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



ENGLISH SNAKES. 



SOME years ago we witnessed a scene which illustrated in a very 

 plain fashion the hatred shown by most people to all members 

 of the serpent family. Five or six country boys were pelting 

 with flints gome creature crawling close to a garden-wall. A 

 glance showed the object of their natural but ignorant wrath, 

 and we could not help saying, " That can't hurt you, it never 

 harmed anybody." They stared, as we proceeded to explain to 

 them that the reptile was as " harmless as a baby." They were 

 silenced, it is true, but doubtless believe to this day in the 

 venomous powers of the blind-worm. Thousands of English 

 peasants would, probably, support the boys in their view, and 

 ire therefore begin this notice of English snakes with a few 

 remarks on this timid member of the family. 



Some naturalists might object to class it among serpents at 

 all ; but there seems to be no sufficient reason on this occasion 

 for departing from the popular notion. 



Have any of our readers ever seen a blind- worm ? No ? Then 

 look out for the first opportunity. They will see an eel-like 

 creature, about twelve inches long, of a greyish colour, some- 

 what ruddy along the sides, which are marked by small darkish 

 spots. Observe that the tail is not pointed, but blunt, as if a 



point had been chopped off. Now you may pot the worn 

 safely in your pocket, if you please ; it cannot hurt yon, having 

 no fangs, and the teeth being too small to harm a fly. Mar- 

 vellous stories and some fiba hare indeed been told of its 

 destructive bite. One ancient writer boldly declare* it would 

 poison a full-grown ox. No wonder that the reptile led a Had 

 life, after getting so bad a name. Why is it called the blind- 

 worm ? From ignorance at first, and then from custom. It 

 was supposed to be bb'nd ; bnt why, in one of the pozzies con* 

 stantly presented by popular names. Any one can see two very 

 bright, though small eyes in its head. The popular line* nipusa 

 the common belief on this point 



" If the snake could hear, and the blind worm could see. 

 Neither man nor beast should e'er go free." 



Well, the creature can see, and man does go free. The other 

 name, slow-worm, is a much more suitable designation, as the 

 reptile's motions are by no means active ; and even the old West 

 country term for a snake, namely, long cripple, would not involve 

 any error. The name fragile snake (Anyuis frayilia), given by 

 Linnaeus, refers to the singular manner in which the animal 

 stiffens its whole body when seized, and especially to the ease 

 with which it in. then broken. Thus the reptile has more reason 

 to dread man than he has to fear it. Not only has the slow- 

 worm eyes, but three eyelids for the protection of vision, 

 resembling in this respect the birds, and differing from all the 

 true serpents. Whether the reptile can hear may be debated ; 

 it has ears, but they lie concealed under the skin. This harmless 

 creature forms the link between the lizards and the true snakes, 

 and it can thus boast of a large circle of relations, from the 

 chameleon on the one side to the boa-constrictor on the other. 



On what does the blind-worm feed ? Chiefly on the fat white 

 slug, so common in fields and gardens ; it has also no objection 

 to a plump earth-worm. But how does the. reptile manage to 

 live through the winter, when even the most stupid sing is 

 cautious of showing himself ? Nothing is easier : the slow-worm 

 benefits itself by a long fast in that season, retiring into warm 

 holes at the close of autumn, and sleeping comfortably until 

 spring returns. 



The young make their appearance in June or July, and grow 

 rapidly under the fostering heat, which aids both reptiles and 

 men. The slow-worms manage to get a new suit of clothes once 

 or twice in the season, casting their skins with some little trouble 

 and wriggling. Some of the old doctors made a peculiar broth 

 by stewing the unhappy blind-worms, and the preparation was 

 then given to equally unhappy patients. This singular medicine 

 was deemed a first-rate remedy against the plague. Whether it 

 was more allopathic or homoeopathic may be sagely debated. 

 Now, the blind-worm is not so very fearful after all ; surely even 

 St. Patrick would have tolerated it. 



We must next notice a better known reptile, the common or 

 ringed snake (Natrix torquata). This, too, in spite of popular 

 prejudice, is quite harmless, and must not be carelessly con- 

 founded with the venomous viper. How, then, may the two be 

 distinguished ? Chiefly by the black spots on the body being 

 distinct in the ringed snake, instead of running together and 

 forming one continuous line, as in the adder. 



The ringed snake is a type of all the non-poisonous serpents, 

 which, though they may bite fiercely enough, have no venom to 

 pour into the wound. 



In the spring the snake leaves its winter retreat, and becomes 

 a formidable enemy to the frogs and mice. Not that it bean 

 them the least malice, but they furnish very good breakfasts, 

 which are absolutely necessary for the snake's happiness. The 

 mode in which this reptile swallows a frog well illustrates the 

 peculiarity of jaw in all the non-venomous serpents. Let us 

 suppose the chase to be over, and that the snake has caught the 

 frog by its hind leg. The struggle then begins ; the frog remon- 

 strates against being eaten, but the serpent cannot possibly do 

 without its breakfast. Notice how gradually the frog's body is 

 drawn, or rather sucked, into the month of its foe. The four- 

 legged reptile utters a peculiarly plaintive cry as it struggles, 

 bnt Nature provides no police to interfere in such a case, and at 

 last the froj is swallowed. Even then some naturalists declare 

 that the frog lives for several minutes in the stomach of the 

 snake, and that a faint cry has been heard for two or three 

 minutes after the victim has disappeared. The snake does not 

 deserve the name of a glutton ; he eats simply for the good 



