NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Introductory remarks. 



CHAP. III. 



In Arcady, grave authors write 

 There liv'd a serpent, the delight 



Of an ingenuous child; 

 Proud of his kindness, the brave boj 

 Fed and caress'd it with a joy 



Heroically mild. 



HAYLEY. 



The Psylli were an Afric clan 



Of wond'rous power possest; 

 Fierce shakes, of enmity to man 



They cou'd with ease divest. 



IBID. 



THE COMMON, or RINGED SNAKE. 



WE shall now treat of the second class of 

 amphibious animal? (serpents) according to the 

 Linnaean order, whereof there are about two hun- 

 dred and thirty species, only forty of which ar 

 poisonous. These differ from the harmless ser- 

 pents in having long tubular fangs on each side 

 of the head, calculated to convey the venom 

 from the bag or receptacle at the base, into the 

 wound made by the bite. The principal distin- 

 guishing rule in these tribp is, that the venomous 



