66 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



understand it all depends on natural character and cannot 

 be altered or brought about. In order to possess that sense 

 of fair play and the right of other creatures to live and 

 enjoy, one must be born with it. 



So the man — maybe to his surprise — was made to bathe 

 the cobra's wounded mouth, and it was then supplied 

 with eggs and milk galore : four eggs, I remember, it sucked 

 out in the neatest manner possible. After its meal the 

 invalid seemed quite comfortable, showing no resentment, 

 only drowsiness ; for it coiled itself round contentedly 

 in the hay-lined basket brought for that purpose, and was 

 then taken away, perhaps to earn its living for the future 

 as part of a juggler's stock-in-trade, or, what was more 

 likely, to be retained by the snake-charmer himself. In 

 the latter case it might probably prove a valuable asset, 

 and bring its owner in many a rupee when it should be 

 slipped adroitly into some house or stable to figure as a 

 venomous snake, though it was tamed now and quite 

 harmless. There would be no fear of losing it, for it could 

 always be charmed back again. This little ruse had, indeed, 

 been hinted at as possible when I was first told of the 

 cobra's presence ; but it seemed better to let oneself be 

 tricked with a domesticated specimen than to run any 

 risks by trying to be particularly clever. 



A hunt for the cobra's mate was kept up for the next 

 few days, as these snakes are said to be always found 

 in pairs and to revenge themselves for any injuries to each 

 other. But on this occasion no other was discovered. 



So much did the two poison fangs interest me that I 

 asked to have them (imagining them to be as innocuous 

 now as their late owner), and kept them very carefully on 

 a card, where they stuck and dried. Afterwards, when 

 my husband was shown my treasures, he took them away 

 and burnt them instantly, telling me that I had been 

 handling death itself. For those tiny things, not so much 



