VI PKEFACE. 



foolish moment, perhaps, the old hankering to 

 have a word or two with one's "first love/' has 

 come over me, and resulted in this humble 

 account of " Our Reptiles/' I make no preten- 

 sions to the production of anything more than 

 a popular volume on a rather unpopular subject, 

 to the espousal of the cause of a much-abused 

 and scandalized class ; and if I only aid in 

 recovering their character from a little of the 

 obloquy which attaches to them, I shall not 

 regret the venture. The man of science, if he 

 seeks for that which is novel or abstruse, had 

 better close the book, and go no further. I do 

 not presume to have written anything for him ; 

 but for those who know little or nothing of the 

 subject, I hope that herein may be found a useful 

 introduction, and a trustworthy guide. The 

 order of the chapters is not precisely that of the 

 classification of the animals described, but in the 

 Appendix a Systematic Arrangement has been 

 pursued. In conclusion, I acknowledge with 

 pleasure the kind and courteous assistance 

 rendered to me by Dr. Albert Glinther and Dr. 

 J. E. Gray, of the British Museum, in procuring 



