SNAKE-POISON LITERATUEE. 49 



ocephalus lanceolatus — is not nearly so formid- 

 able as most of our Indian poisonous snakes, 

 notwithstanding the infamous character -which 

 has been given to it by the people of St. Lucia. 

 A very interesting note is given in Sir Joseph 

 Fayrer's " Thanatophidia," on the snake-charmers Indian 

 of Bengal, from the pen of Dr. Rajendralala Mitra. ohaimers. 

 " In Bengal we have four different classes of 

 men who deal in snakes. The first, and by far 

 the most expert among them, is the Mai, a low- 

 caste Hindu, who earns his livelihood by catching 

 and exhibiting snakes and selling simples in the 

 bazaar" [in more ways than one] "but never 

 professes witchcraft, jugglery, or the healing art. 

 Many of this class are certainly very poor, and 

 have to lead a vagrant life, but I have never 

 heard that they are much given to thieving. In 

 the North- Western Provinces they are replaced 

 by Modaris, a few of whom occasionally come to 

 Calcutta to ply their vocation. I have never 

 had an opportunity of studying them carefully, 

 and cannot, therefore, say anything about them. 

 Apparently, however, they seem to have been 

 confounded with the Bediyahs, or gipsies of 

 Bengal. The latter are jugglers, bear and mon- 

 key dancers, sellers of simples, fortune-tellers. 



