THE POWER OF FASCINATION 137 



of the creature nor the report seemed to ' unfreeze ' 

 the pigeon at first. Then it did not fly, but slowly 

 walked along the bough into the centre of the tree, 

 where I suppose it remained until it had recovered 

 from the shock to its nerves." 



The above is authentic, and a very uncommon in- 

 stance of what is generally understood by the popular 

 belief in the power of serpents to exercise this influence 

 on their prey. But it is possible, even in this case, 

 that the bird had been already slightly bitten by the 

 cobra, and that the paralysis may have been physical 

 and not nervous. This idea did not occur to the 

 witness of the scene, and he did not wait to see 

 whether the pigeon ultimately recovered. Its partial 

 recovery when the snake was shot he did see. 



If, as is probable, there are occasional instances of 

 suspension of faculties caused by the sudden appear- 

 ance of so deadly a foe as the snake, they can be 

 accounted for, step by step, by a natural process of 

 emotion and results. But before endeavouring to trace 

 the degrees of such suspension of the natural impulses 

 of flight and escape, it is well to state that cases even 

 of apparent fascination are uncommon, and confined 

 to a very few of the creatures on which snakes feed. 

 The frogs, ducks, and mice on which various serpents 

 at the Zoo are fed are said usually to show no fear at 

 all, and a duck will walk over the python's coils and 

 quack before the creature moves its head to seize it. 

 Rabbits, which are paralysed with fear, and in a sense 

 " fascinated " by the stoat, seem insensible to the danger 

 from the serpent. That, however, may well be because 



