THE BOA 319 



apertures the toads and lizards on which it preys. On coming 

 upon it, its only impulse is concealment ; and when it is unable 

 to escape, a few blows from a whip are sufficient to deprive it 

 , of life. 



It is a curious fact that, though not a water-snake, the cobra 

 ! sometimes takes considerable excursions by sea. When the 

 i| Wellington, a Grovernment vessel employed in the inspection of 

 j the Ceylonese pearl-banks, was anchored about a quarter of a 

 : mile from land, a cobra was seen, about an hour before sunset, 

 i swimming vigorously towards the ship. It came within twelve 

 yards, when the sailors assailed it with billets of wood and other 

 missiles, and forced it to return to land. 



The Egyptian Haje {Naja Haje\ a near relation of the 

 Indian cobra, is most likely the asp of ancient authors, which 

 the celebrated Cleopatra chose as the instrument of her death, to 

 avoid figuring in the triumph of Augustus. Like the cobra, it 

 inflates its neck when in a state of excitement, and as it raises 

 its head on being approached, as if watchful for its safety, it 

 was venerated by the ancient Egyptians as a symbol of divinity, 

 and as the faithful guardian of their fields. Divine honours 

 have, however, much more frequently been paid to the venomous 

 snakes from the terror they inspire, than from far-fetched 

 notions of beneficence. Several Indian tribes in North America 

 adore the rattlesnake ; and in the kingdom of Widah, on the coast 

 of Gruinea, a viper {Vijper idolam) has its temple and ministers, 

 and is no less carefully provided for than if it were an inmate of 

 the Zoological Gardens. 



The Cerastes, or horned-viper, one of the most deadly serpents 

 of the African deserts, is frequently exhibited by ^--j^^^ 

 Egyptian jugglers, who handle and irritate it with /^^ 

 impunity : they are supposed to render themselves M 

 invulnerable by the chewing of a certain root, but ^^^^^^ 

 most likely, as in the case of the cobra-charmers, j^^^^ 

 their secret consists in their courage and perfect ^^ 

 knowledge of the animal's nature. ^^Jv 



Although the Boas and Pythons are unprovided ^^ 



with venomous fangs, yet, from their enormous fT^^ss^^ 

 «ize, they may well be ranked among the deadly ^ 

 snakes; for as Waterton justly remarks, "it comes ^°*- 



nearly to the same thing in the end whether the victim dies by 



