44 
music, than they come softly from their retreat, and are easily 
taken. I imagine these musical snakes were known in Palestine, 
from the Psalmist comparing the ungodly to the deaf adder, which 
stoppeth her ears, and refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer, 
charm he never so wisely. 
When the music ceases the snakes appear motionless; but if 
not immediately covered up in the basket, the spectators are liable 
to fatal accidents. Among my drawings is that of a cobra de ca- 
pello, which danced for an hour on the table while I painted it; 
during which I frequently handled it, to observe the beauty of the 
spots, and especially the spectacles on the hood, not doubling 
but that its venomous fangs had been previously extracted. But 
the next morning my upper servant, who was a zealous Mussul- 
man, came to me in great haste, and desired I would instantly 
retire, and praise the Almighty for my good fortune: not under- 
standing his meaning, I told him that I had already performed my 
devotions, and had not so many stated prayers as the followers of 
his prophet. Mahomet then informed me, that while purchasing 
some fruit in the bazar, he observed the man who had been with 
me on the preceding evening, entertaining the country people with 
his dancing snakes; they, according to their usual custom, sat on 
the ground around him; when, either from the music stopping too 
suddenly, or from some other cause irritating the vicious reptile 
which I had so often handled, it darted at the throat of a young 
woman, and inflicted a wound of which she died in about half an 
hour. Mahomed once more repeated his advice for praise and 
thanksgiving to Alla, and recorded me in his calendar as a lucky 
man. 
