278 CURIOUS CREATURES. 



SERPENTS. 



Of Serpents Topsell has written a " Historic," which, 

 if not altogether veracious, is very amusing ; and I shall 

 quote largely from it, as it shows us " the latest thing 

 out " in Serpents as believed in, and taught, in the time 

 of James I. He begins, of course, with their creation, 

 and the Biblical mention of them, and then passes to the 

 power of man over them in charming and taming them. 

 Of the former he tells the following tale : 



" Aloisius Cadamustus, in his description of the New 

 World, telleth an excellent hystorie of a Lygurian young 

 Man, beeing among the Negroes travailing in Affrick, 

 whereby he endeavoureth to proove, how ordinary and 

 familiar it is to them, to take and charme Serpents. 



"The j'oung man beeing in Affricke among the Negroes, 

 and lodged in the house of a Nephew to the Prince of 

 Budonicll, when he was taking himselfe to his rest, sud- 

 denly awakened by hearing the unwonted noise of the 

 hissing of innumerable sorts of Serpents; wherat he 

 wondred, and beeing in some terror, he heard his Host 

 (the Prince's Nephew) to make himselfe readie to go out 

 of the doores, (for he had called up his servants to sadle 

 up his Cammels :) the young man demaunded of him the 

 cause, why he would go out of doores now so late in 

 the darke night ? to whom he answered, I am to goe a 

 little way, but I will returne againe verie speedily ; and 

 so he went, and with a charme quieted the Serpents, 

 and drove them all away, returning againe with greater 

 speed than the Lygurian young man, his ghest, expected. 

 And when he had returned, he asked his ghest if hee 

 did not heare the inmoderate hyssing of the Serpents ? 

 and he answered, that he had heard them to his great 



