124 THE VAST. 



dragged off by force, is capable of stretching : one-fourth 

 of the entire length may not unfairly be deducted on this 

 account. But even with this allowance, we must admit, 

 unless we reject the testimony of sober historians, who 

 could hardly have been mistaken so grossly as to warrant 

 such rejection, that serpents did exist in ancient times 

 which far exceeded the limits that have fallen under the 

 observation of modern naturalists. 



There is a well-known picture by Daniell, representing 

 an enormous serpent attacking a boat's crew in one of 

 the creeks of the Ganges. It is a graphic scene, said to 

 have been commemorative of a fact. The crew had 

 moored their boat by the edge of the jungle, and, leaving 

 one of the party in charge, had gone into the forest. He 

 lay down under the thwarts, and was soon asleep. During 

 his unconsciousness an enormous python emerged from 

 the jungle, coiled itself round the sleeper, and was in the 

 act of crushing him to death, when his comrades returned. 

 They succeeded in killing the monster, " which was found 

 to measure sixty-two feet and some inches in length." 

 This seems precise enough ; but we should like to know 

 whether the measurement was made by the Lascars them- 

 selves, or by any trustworthy European. 



A correspondent of the Edinburgh Literary Gazette 

 has told, with every appearance of life-truth, a thrilling 

 story of an encounter which he had with an enormous 

 boa on the banks of a river in Guiana. Awaked, as he 

 lay in his boat, by the cold touch of something at his feet, 

 he found that the serpent's mouth was in contact with 



