VII. 



ST. HILDA'S SNAKE-STONES. 



" On the pavement lay 



Carved stones of the abbey-ruin in the park, 

 Huge Ammonites, and the first bones of Time." 



TENNYSON. 



ERY curious, and sometimes exceedingly 

 amusing, are the experiences of the 

 man who travels about in search of 

 natural history specimens. Whether it 

 be for insects or shells or fossils, he soon finds not 

 only material for his cabinets, but also an abund- 

 ance of folk-lore of a most interesting character, 

 of which every branch of science has its store. I 

 very well remember, during one of my geological 

 tours in the north of England, being invited to look 

 at the collection of an old pensioner, who had 

 won quite a reputation in the village for being a 

 geologist. On going to the house I was at once 

 taken into the garden, where the bulk of the 

 specimens had been arranged as ornaments on 

 miniature grottoes, and in the crevices of larg 



