THE SNAKES 271 



British Consulate at Louren^o Marques. This 

 gentleman, who has many friends scattered over 

 South Africa, was one day the recipient of a small 

 wooden box which, a letter received by the same 

 post informed him, contained several crocodile's 

 eggs. Being an uninquisitive person of singularly 

 placid and insouciant temperament, he allowed 

 the box and its contents to repose for some days 

 unopened beneath the shadow of an oflRce or 

 other table. One drowsy afternoon our friend's 

 attention, not being for the moment monopolised 

 by an overburdening amount of work, was 

 gradually attracted to a curious, inexplicable, 

 scratching, rustling sound, as elusive and as 

 difficult to locate as that of a midnight mouse 

 gnawing the skirting - board. The obstinate 

 continuation of this monotonous noise placing 

 further repose out of the question, efforts were 

 made to ascertain its cause, and after a pro- 

 longed search it was found, I think several days 

 later, to proceed from the identical box wherein 

 the crocodile's eggs were enclosed. This was 

 at last cautiously opened, whereupon several 

 of the eggs were found to have hatched out. 

 The small reptiles, exceedingly active and no 

 doubt very hungry, were speedily placed in an 

 improvised pond where, the last time I saw 

 them, they appeared to be doing uncommonly 

 well. 



Among African snakes I suppose the most 

 Justly dreaded of all is the deadly Mamba, which 

 is found, happily not in very great numbers, 

 throughout the valley of the Zambezi, and there- 



