Page:British Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fresh-water Fishes.djvu/22

BRITISH REPTILES Slow Worm, and Common Lizard. Superstitions concerning Snakes are many, and it is only possible to draw attention to a few of these. These interesting animals are both loathed and feared. Any creature of the nature of a Snake is regarded as harmful, or obnoxious, and is killed at sight. The harmless Grass Snake, and the still more harmless Slow Worm, both suffer the penalty of death on this score. Even in Biblical history there is evidence to show the disdain, distaste, and distrust with which these tenants of earth and water were regarded, for Christ referred in his condemnation of the Pharisees in the words: "Ye Serpents, ye generation of Vipers." The Serpent entered into the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden as the betrayer of Eve, and although the latter did not regard the reptile with aversion, in the days of Pharaoh this fearlessness had changed to one of terror. A poor London urchin is said to have died of fright on seeing a Snake by his bedside, yet in olden times, arising out of fear and insufficient knowledge. Snakes were objects of much veneration, and extraordinary powers were believed in regard to them. Dryden in his translation of Virgil speaks of a serpent which "rolls" and "rides," and of how "the sacred monster shot along the ground." Longfellow in his wonderful epic of "Hiawatha" makes "great serpents" and "fiery serpents," "with their blazing crests uplifted," breathe, if you please, "fiery fogs and vapours."

Snakes are almost invariably referred to, or regarded, as slimy creatures. This they are not. They are 6