122 PEARLS AND PEBBLES. 



In length, from nose to the end of the tail, it was 

 about ten inches. The back was marked with nine gold 

 stars ; there were also three on either side, three on each 

 leg, one on each foot, and one on the head, which was 

 flattish, and one on the nose, — altogether a very hand- 

 some set of ornaments shining with yellow lustre on its 

 jet black coat. 



Knowing the inoffensive nature of the creature, and 

 that it would neither bite nor sting, I transferred it to 

 my flower pot and carried it home that I might study it 

 more at my leisure. 



I have before alluded to my dislike for spiders and 

 reptiles of all kinds, arising from an aversion to any- 

 thing ugly or disgusting, and although this little 

 creature was more remarkable for its handsome appear- 

 ance than any of its kind, I still preferred looking at it 

 to touching it, and was surprised at a young lady friend 

 not only taking my lizard in her hand, but actually 

 petting and patting it without the least reluctance or 

 aversion. 



My friend was, I found, quite a naturalist. She told 

 me that she had seen a specimen of the same in Nova 

 Scotia, where the species, though rare, was well known- 

 She thought it belonged to a division of the Bactrian 

 order, and that there were some eighty species native to 

 North America, and many southward ; possibly it 

 belonged to the genus Salamandria macwlatu, or 

 Spotted Salamander family. 



