36 THE ROLL OF THE SEASONS 



the field. He begins to flow back with unerring 

 instinct towards his den, but we baffle him, and at 

 last bring him to bay at a hopeless distance from 

 home. And now see how unlike he is to the Mrs. 

 Daniel Lambert that sat for the tribal portrait in the 

 natural history book. Instead of being short and 

 squat, he is fully as elegant as the grass-snake. So 

 far from being of a dingy, repulsive drab, his ground- 

 colour is delicate ash-grey, on which the thick zigzag 

 is cleanly drawn in rich brown. And the broad, flat 

 head, with protruding jaw corners, that the artist 

 throws in, out of regard for the writer's insistence on 

 the point, is not a whit more noticeable than in the 

 grass-snake indeed, less so, thanks to the airy cross- 

 bones pattern and the absence of marking near the 

 outline of the cheeks. 



Just such a viper as this was the first one we ever 

 met outside a book, and so little did it resemble its 

 portrait that we confidently seized it, tied it in a 

 handkerchief, thrust it in a pocket, and carried it 

 home. It was an early snake, but even allowing for 

 that, we never hope to meet with its like for mildness 

 of manners. It submitted to the close and curious 

 inspection of several members of the family. But 

 eventually it resented being stroked on the nose by 

 making a lightning snap at the finger, though it 

 fortunately failed, for some unknown reason, to get 

 its fangs in. We know more about vipers now, 

 though possibly power has not increased with know- 

 ledge. Instances are not rare to show that complete 

 boldness answers with the viper as with the nettle. 

 There is a small girl living in the keeper's lodge who, 

 when she was smaller still, found a viper with a 



