190 ANECDOTES RELATING TO SNAKES. 



I have teazed them with a piece of cotton, and 

 made them expend their poison into it, and then 

 gave them a fowl to kill, which was a consider- 

 able time in dying. It is not fabulous, but true, 

 that they sometimes take their prey by fascination. 

 I once witnessed it in company with Captain 

 Trench, of the Bengal Native Infantry. Sitting 

 on a terrace near the house,, we observed a small 

 bird on a tree, at a little distance, shaking his 

 wings, and trembling : we could not imagine the 

 reason of it. 



In a few minutes, we observed it fall from the 

 tree, and ran to pick it up ; to our great sur- 

 prise, we saw a large snake running off with it in 

 his mouth. He got into his hole before we could 

 procure any thing with which to destroy him. 



At the time I was trying experiments with 

 snakes at the Calcutta general hospital, a name- 

 sake of mine, an assistant surgeon, Mr. John- 

 stone, played me a very foolish, though laugh- 

 able trick. A large cobra de capello, that was 

 killed in the evening, Johnstone coiled up in my 

 bed ; I slept with it by my side the whole night, 

 without perceiving it. In the morning, when I 



