340 UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER. ch, xiit. 



the top. He was rewarded by getting good specimens of 

 several fossils, the most abundant being Echinoderms of a 

 new type, since described by Mr. Etheridge in the ' Quar- 

 terly Journal of the Geological Society.' ' 



Ball meanwhile was engaged in botanising on the sea 

 rocks and among the bushes at the foot of the cliff. In 

 the former habitat he found two species heretofore known 

 only at Mogador, Andryala mogadorensis and Frcmkenia 

 velutina. Among the bushes there were no plants of spe- 

 cial interest, but he nevertheless had an unexpected en- 

 counter. While searching about among the bushes a 

 rustling in the dry grass caught his ear ; he looked down, 

 and there, within a yard of his feet, was el efah, the 

 dreaded ' two minutes' snake,' nearly as thick and about as 

 long as a man's arm. As the enemy was retreating, glid- 

 ing gently among the bushes, there was no occasion to 

 move, and he watched it for a few seconds till it dis- 

 appeared. The glistening scales were of many colours, 

 forming a sort of mosaic on a ground of pale brown, very 

 much as represented in the plate to Jackson's ' Account 

 of Marocco.' Even supposing that the virulence of the 

 poison in the bite of this snake has not been exaggerated 

 by popular report, it can scarcely be thought formidable 

 to strangers unless they happen to be botanists. It keeps 

 habitually to the cover afforded by the numerous small 

 bushes of the coast region, and its form is so ill fitted for 

 active motion that it can only strike a near object. The 

 only danger arises from the chance of inadvertently 

 hurting it while moving about in the places which it 

 frequents. 



About 4 P.M. we returned to dine at the British Con- 

 sulate. At Mr. Hunot's table we met Mr. Jordan, the son 

 of a British merchant engaged in the Marocco trade. He 

 had been brought up in the country, spoke Moorish-Arabic 

 familiarly, was used to dress as a Moor, and had established 



' 8ee the description of Rvtuloidea, in Appendix F. 



