12 
INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 
use a dead language. It then becomes necessary to make 
choice among the living tongues. The safest course to 
take was certainly to have written in my mother tongue, 
the sole language which we can perfectly possess ; hut of 
European languages, how few are so universally spread 
as to be generally understood % I therefore hold myself 
sufficiently justified, for the reason just assigned, in pre- 
ferring the French to any other modern tongue ; the same 
reasons make me hope, that my readers will be indulgent 
in examining my work in a literary point of view. 
It only remains for me to indicate the means which 
have been at my disposal for the composition of my book. 
It does not belong to me to eulogize our government, the 
liberal protector of the arts and sciences ; every one knows 
that His Excellency the Minister of the Interior omits no 
opportunity of promoting the sciences, and that M. Van 
Rappart also shews himself full of zeal, when there is a 
question of favouring learning. All Europe knows, by 
your numerous writings, that the natural sciences have 
received a no less favourable reception from the govern- 
ment of our Indies, I shall, therefore, say no more, un- 
less to mention the name of His Excellency M. Van 
Ewyck, governor of the province of Drenthe ; a name so 
dear to science, to all who have witnessed the commence- 
ment of our national establishments, and especially to me. 
It is superfluous to say, that the rich collections depo- 
sited in the galleries of the museum of the Netherlands, 
have served as the basis of my researches ; but it is pro- 
per to state the origin of those collections, which have 
enabled me to assign with certainty to each species its 
true country, and, consequently, to assign constant laws 
for the geographic distribution of Ophidians. When, in 
1820, you conceived. Sir, the project of erecting a Nation- 
al Monument worthy of your country, the collection of 
serpents consisted of about an hundred specimens, with- 
out any indication of their origin, and chiefly brought 
from the old Academical Cabinet. The numerous con- 
tributions sent to the Museum of the Netherlands by MM. 
Reinwardt, Kuhl, and Van Hasselt — contributions con- 
taining the greatest part of the productions of our Colonies 
