134 NOTES TO THE 



" Well ! what is it now ? " Frank Buckland he said, 

 " Now, what's in that parcel 1 " said he ; 



Said John, " Please sir, it stinks, so it's something dead, 



And it comes from the country, I see, see, see, 



And it comes from the country, I see I ' 



" It's a viper, no doubt," Frank Buckland he said, 

 " And they'll want to persuade me," said he, 

 " That it's swallowed its young, one, two, three or four, 

 To confirm their mistaken fancee, cee, cee, 



To coufinn their mistaken fancee." 



He was just going to cut up the snake as it lay, 

 And to open its stomach to see, 

 When a sensible thought came into his head, 

 He would send for his friends Lord and Lee, Lee, Lee, 

 He would send for his friends Lord and Lee. 



So he gave it a posthumous milk-white feed, 

 For some plaster he pour-ed down, 

 At length came another brisk ring at the bell, 

 And H. Lee the stairs ran down, down, down, 

 And H. Lee the stairs ran down. 



" Oh ! what is the matter ? " H. Lee he said, 



" Oh ! what is the matter ? " said he, 



" Here's a viper that's dead," Frank Buckland he said, 



" And she's swallowed her young, they fancee, cee, cee, 



And she's swallowed her young, they fancee." 



Then he ordered the throat to be opened wide, 

 And the skin to be turn-ed down ; 

 And then he cut into the clay-cold lump 

 Of plaster that he'd poured down, down, down, 

 Of plaster that he'd poured down. 



Soon he flung down his knife by the side of the corpse, 

 With a right merry laugh and a giggle, 



" It's a strange thing," said he, " folks will swear that they see 

 Young snakes down their mothers' throats wriggle, iggle, iggle, 

 Young snakes down their mothers' throats wriggle. 



" We've disproved it before, this disproves it to-day, 

 But they'll fancy the same thing to-morrow, 

 Every snake that they send contradicts their belief, 

 Yet they're obstinate still, to my sorrow, orrow, orrow, 

 Yet they're obstinate still to my sorrow. 



" Here's a young one, it's true, but it's never been born, 

 It has ne'er been in stomach or throat ; 

 In fact, as you see, it's just where it should be, 

 Outside the abdominal coat, coat, coat, 

 Outside the abdominal coat. 



" The young vipers grow here till it's time that they stop, 

 And then they go lower, not higher ; 

 Till they're born they're coiled up in a true lover's knot 

 For naturalists true to admire, ire, ire, 



For naturalists true to admire." 



