112 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS. 



and, to judge by our common Grass Snake or Viper, 

 they undulate their way through the water in a most 

 graceful manner. Then there are some, such as the 

 Black Snake of Australia, which is often called the 

 Water Viper, from its habit of frequenting the rivers. 



But there are some species of snakes which live 

 almost entirely in the water; and, like the whale or 

 the dolphin, soon die upon dry land. They all in- 

 habit the same latitude, and are common in the Indian 

 seas, where they always excite the admiration of those 

 who see them for the first time. Mr. Williams, the 

 well-known missionary, in his " Narrative/' mentions 

 the water snakes which he saw, some striped with 

 yellow and black, and others ringed with white upon 

 a black ground. Both kinds are considered to be 

 valuable articles of food, as are those species which 

 live on the shore. 



I possess a copy of Bennett's " Whaling Voyage/' 

 which has evidently passed through the hands of an 

 old whaling captain, who has annotated it profusely. 

 His experience is evidently very wide, and his remarks 

 are valuable ; but his literary education has been 

 much neglected, and the mode in which he conveys 

 his information is often most ludicrous. He has a 

 strong objection to the " Mishunnarys," as he is 

 pleased to call them, and invariably prefaces the word 

 with some powerfully depreciating epithet. Every 

 evil is laid on the shoulders of the missionaries. For 

 example, there is an account of a certain disastrous 

 war, which is annotated as follows : " There is not one 

 wourd of truth in this steatment ; Mr. Willims, Since 

 killed in Dillons Bay Erremanga, caus this bluddy war." 



