394 VEllTEBRATA. 



lini' pieceimal l>i-iH'atli tlif foot ><( time, lay mouklerinf; an ancient building of Moorish archi- 

 tecture, 8tili suggest inir, by its extensive ruins and palatial structure, recolleetions of the Mahoni- 

 etun prowess which, so far back a-s 1711, had wrested the province of Condapilly from the liands 



of the Hindoos, 



" .\ long but sleepless night in sultry March had fevered my blood, as one morning, ere yet a 

 single individual was stirring about our (juartcrs, 1 strolled toward the mountain gorge, and had 

 stund>le«l almost to the top of the steep acclivity before the faint flush of dawn had roused the 

 sentinel, whose call awoke the solitary pair of musicians of our party, a drummer and fifer, to 

 sound the rerrille. In ten minutes more I stood panting on the summit of the rock, gazing 

 thii-stilv on the scene beneath me, where Asiatic beauty winded slowly before me, like a glori- 

 ous ri\cr, whose changeable ^\at(•l■s the eye tired not of drinking. I had no fear of thief or 

 Thug, for a late excursion in the district behind me had assured me of safety; but nevertheless 

 I started violently when, from the branches of a stately peepul tree that grew close by, a dark 

 fiirurc, that seemed of human proportions, leaped with a jibbcring cry upon the ground. 



" 1 had no i^rcat reason to be alarmed, for I saw^ not a man, but a monkey — one of those long- 

 legged, brown monkeys, with white-streaked faces, that abound among these heights, and which, 

 probably little less startled than myself, receded as I advanced, jibbering its dissatisfaction at my 

 intrusion. At the foot of the peepul tree, throwing up its rich white petals, that shed around a 

 sweet but sickening odor, grew a magnificent plant of the datura; and as I stooped to pluck it, 

 a rustle in the underwood beyond, follow^ed by an acute, sharp scream, wliich I ascribed to my 

 friend the monkev, arrested my hand. I had judged correctly ; but I had underrated the num- 

 ber of mv early companions. AVith a spring that brought it almost to my feet, making me in 

 my turn retreat, the monkey lay moaning, and, as I thought, violently convulsed among the 

 grass; nor did I at the moment perceive, Avhat indeed I discovered with a degree of horror, that 

 around its body Avas twisted a gorgeously -spotted snake — the cobra di capello! I wish I could 

 describe the maddened contortions of the monkey, as, writhing beneath the straining coils of the 

 reptile, it rolled on the grass in vain efforts to rid itself of its deadly assailant. The piteous gaze 

 of its eves, as they wistfully looked up into my face, was eloquent with a summons for help 

 which I was by no means inclined to resist. Whether the snake had bitten it or not I could 

 not guess, for it seemed to me as if it were merely playing with the animal — that fatal game 

 which the cat plays with the mouse ! But I shouted, and threw a stone, and then seizing a 

 withered branch that lay on the ground, I advanced to the charge. The monkey, which at 

 another time would have tied at my approach, now remained perfectly motionless, as if it awaited 

 certain succor. But the serpent, aroused to the cognizance of an assailant by a smart blow on 

 the head, instantly inflating its horrid crest into that hood-like form which renders it so appall- 

 ingly hideous, gave vent to a loud hiss that seemed brimful of passion. 



''Again and again I struck at it; nor was it without a cold thrill through my veins that I saw 

 it disengage itself from the monkey ; but fur from attempting to make its escape, as I conjectured 

 it would do, it turned itself, half erect, toward me, and with a fluttering hobble — like the hopi 

 of a bird whose wings have been broken — it leaped, with forked tongue protruded, right in myl 

 very path 1 There was no time for thought ! My stick was neither strong nor long, I could 

 see the venomous eyes burn like fire, and the colors of its swelling neck glow more deeply, as it 

 prepared to spring again ; and I was fairly on the point of making my retreat, by plunging, atj 

 all hazards, down the rock behind me, when a shrill, chirruping cry, somewhat like that of al 

 guinea-pig, was heard, and suddenly an elegant little creature, which at the moment I was well] 

 nigh ready to spiritualize into a good genius, sprang upon the serpent with a bound of lightsomej 

 ferocity, w Inch reminded me of the swoop of a kite upon a water-rat. 



" It was a mungoos ! And now% indeed, a combat took place which fixed me to the spot with! 

 mute admiration ; but not very long. Once or twice it seemed to me that the mungoos was! 

 bitten, but it might not have been so, for the velocity of their movements, as, clinging together, , 

 the snake and its foe rolled over and over among the long grass, prevented minute observation. , 

 It is asserted that, when bitten by a snake, the ichneumon retires for a moment to eat of some! 

 unknown plant, capable of rendering null the viperine venom ; but on this occasion nothing 



