temples for their worship. The cobra de capello is venerated by a certain class of Hindoo fanatics, with whom the murder of the reptile is all but a capital crime. The origin of some of these allusions and superstitions is obvious; of others it is obscure; but without entering minutely upon such an inquiry, it is no doubt to the noxious properties of some of the serpent family, to their peculiar habits and appearance, and to their greater prevalence and destructive powers at an early period of history, that we are to ascribe the fear, mingled with hatred and veneration, with which they have inspired the human race.

Notwithstanding the aversion with which serpents are viewed both by man and the lower animals, they are abundantly used by the latter, and occasionally by the former, as food, whilst in many countries they are held as valuable in materia medica. Thus, the wild hog, hedgehog, ichneumon, buzzard, &c. prey upon them where they can be obtained, apparently regardless whether the species be venomous or non-venomous. The ibis was held sacred by the Egyptians for its real or supposed services in destroying offensive and poisonous reptiles, and its body was embalmed, and deposited in the catacombs along with the other objects of their veneration. The ibis is a wader, or stilt-bird, and its bill is certainly not well adapted for the destruction of large serpents; but as the young both of water and land reptiles must have abounded in the plain of the Nile, the bird may have performed the more efficient service of ridding the country of these pests before they reached a state of dangerous maturity. The ichneumon, another inhabitant of Egypt, has scarcely been less celebrated than the ibis for its services in destroying serpents, lizards, and crocodiles. Though too timid and weak for the successful attack of these animals in their adult state, it is nevertheless one of the main checks to their increase, as it is continually on the search for their eggs and young, upon which it preys with avidity. Stories are sometimes told by travellers of encounters between the ichneumon and serpents, in which the former, though frequently bitten, is always ultimately successful, as it instinctively seeks the remedy of some herb as soon as it feels the effect of the poison.

But it is not alone the lower animals that feast on the serpent race. According to Hector St John, the American Indians often regale on the rattlesnake. When they find one asleep, they thrust a forked stick over its neck, which they keep immoveably fixed to the ground, giving the snake a piece of leather to bite; and this they pull back several times with great force, until they observe that the poisonous fangs are torn out. They then cut off the head, skin the body, and cook it as we do eels; and the flesh is said to be extremely white and good. The Doko, a wild pigmy race inhabiting Southern Abyssinia, destroy numbers of serpents which inhabit the bamboo jungles of their country; cook and eat them, esteeming them a very savoury morsel. In

Stedman's account of Surinam, the natives are described as partial to the flesh of the boa-the oil or fat of which they also employ for medicinal purposes. The flesh of the common viper was formerly of high esteem in Europe as a remedy for various diseases, but particularly as a restorative. It has now, however, lost much of its ancient credit, and is very rarely prescribed by modern practitioners. Dr Mead cites from Pliny, Galen, and other ancients, several proofs of its efficacy in the cure of ulcers, elephantiasis, and other complaints; and affirms that he himself has seen good effects from it in obstinate leprosy. The ancients prescribed it boiled, and to be eaten like fish; for when fresh, the medicine was much more likely to take effect than when dried, and given in the form of a powder. Mr Keysler relates that Sir K. Digby used to feed his wife, who was a most beautiful woman, with capons fattened with the flesh of vipers.

The adder-stone, or egg, a fabled produce of the viper, was also supposed by the ancient Britons to be of wondrous efficacy. Pennant, in his zoology, says that he had several in his cabinet, but that they were nothing more than curiously-formed glass beads, used by the Druids as a charm to impose on the vulgar, whom they taught to believe that the possessor would be fortunate in all his attempts, and that it would gain him the favour of the great. This superstition is said still to linger in Wales, where the adder-stone is prescribed by the old wives to children cutting their teeth, as a cure for the chin-cough, or as a remedy for the ague. The adder-stone of the ancient Britons is not to be confounded with the serpent-stone (Petro de Cobra) of the Indians, which is an avowed composition, made use of in extracting the venom from a serpent-wound. The composition of this stone, according to Goldsmith, is kept a secret; and perhaps its effects in extracting the venom may be imaginary; nevertheless, it is certain that it has a power of sticking to the skin, and drawing a part of the blood from the wound.

CONCLUSION.

The utility of serpents in the scheme of creation may be somewhat puzzling to those who take a narrow view of external relations, and look upon everything as destined merely to subserve the purposes of man. To such, however, as extend their views beyond this selfish limit, the serpent family will appear quite as necessary to the general harmony, as the most innocent and most directly serviceable of the lower animals. Even though the enlightened and diligent might fail to detect a single useful property in these animals, analogy would warrant the conclusion that nothing has been made in vain; and our general ignorance of creative design should teach us caution in pronouncing upon the intentions of Him of whom we are the handiworks. As it is, we see the serpent tribe accomplishing certain purposes steadily and

harmoniously. They keep in check slugs, worms, insects, smaller reptiles, and such-like vermin, and, in turn, become the food of other creatures. They occupy waste places, as heaths, pestilent marshes, moist jungles, and savannahs-situations but partially occupied by other existence-and therefore fulfil the great law. that every region should be replete with its own peculiar life and enjoyment. Taking a comprehensive view of creation, as warranted by the truths of geology, it seems that certain races are destined to be the precursors of others, either as an indispensable preparatory step, or merely as replenishing of the earth before its conditions admit of higher existence. At one period of the world, and long before the appearance of man, the reptiles, as a class, were more gigantic and numerous; so much so, indeed, that that era has been not inaptly termed "the age of reptiles." Then the greater portion of the earth seems to have been a succession of lagoons, marshes, deltas, and jungle-a condition eminently fitted for the life of gigantic sauroids. As the land was elevated and drained, these reptiles died away, and other creatures were called into being to people the changed scene. The reptiles of the present day, and particularly the serpents, differ widely in their nature from those early races-a difference no doubt imposed upon them by a change of conditions; but, like their predecessors, they are evidently fulfilling the designs of a great scheme, being destined to give way before human increase and cultivation. In virtue, however, of those natural laws which all living beings must obey, we may rest assured that they will not pass away till their place be required for a higher, and, it may be, a more serviceable grade of existence. "Noxious and malignant" as they are regarded, these qualities are not without their advantages to man, the development of whose ingenuity, industry, and activity, takes place but slowly and dubiously where there are no obstacles to be overcome, no difficulties to be vanquished.

WAS born on the 24th of July 1687, in Crutched Friars, London, where my father then lived; but soon after he removed to the Old Jewry, near Cheapside, where he kept, for several years afterwards, that noted house called the King's Head, a famous beef-steak house in its day, and a great resort of merchants and other gentlemen. Reared in London, and often about the Thames, I acquired an unconquerable desire to go to sea; and though my parents did everything in their power to give me a good education, and promised to push me on in the world, if I would abandon this notion, I persevered in my obstinate resolution. Not all the intreaties of my poor dear mother, though she once begged me on her knees, nor the persuasions of my father, or any other friends, could make the least impression on me.

When they found their endeavours were ineffectual, they formed a new scheme to wean me from a sea-life. This was to procure me a short voyage, hoping that the many dangers and hardships to which I should be exposed, and should see others undergo, would deter me from persevering in that course of life. As wilful persons never want wo, such was my obstinacy, that

*The present tract is an abridgment of a somewhat scarce and curious autobiography, in one volume, published originally in London in 1743, and reprinted in 1807.-ED.

nothing would content me but what contributed to my ruin; and Providence justly frustrated all my hopes, by indulging me in the choice I had so foolishly and ungratefully made, in direct opposition to my duty to my affectionate parents. When it was proposed that I should take a short voyage, I insisted that nothing but a voyage to the East Indies would please me; for no other reason that I can think of, than that I had a cousin in the East India Company's service at Calcutta. It was accordingly resolved to gratify this whim. My father, however, showed a due concern for my comfort and welfare, by the manner in which he fitted me out. He supplied me plentifully with provisions, clothes, and other necessaries for the voyage; besides which, Í had a cargo to trade on, to the value of a hundred pounds, which was a large trust for a boy of not yet fourteen years of age. I went as a passenger, well recommended to Captain William Younge, with whom my passage, and the freight of my cargo, were agreed for, and we soon after embarked.

The vessel Captain Younge commanded was the Degrave, of 700 tons burden, and carrying 52 guns. She was a regular India trader, and, like all others of her class, required to be well armed for the sake of defence. The parting with my mother was not without pain; but I was a giddy boy, and soon recovered my spirits. The ship dropped pleasantly down the Thames to the Nore, and passed through the Downs on February 19, 1701. Nothing remarkable occurred during the outwardbound voyage. In our route we stopped a week at the Canaries, and arrived at Fort George, in the East Indies, in three months and twenty days from the Downs. Two days after we weighed anchor, and sailed to Mastapatan, where we stayed a month, and then proceeded to complete our voyage to Bengal.

On arriving at Calcutta my cousin came on board, and offered to assist in disposing of my goods; but the captain discovering that he was far from being trustworthy, took charge of my cargo, and sold the whole to good advantage, taking in exchange the commodities of the country. While lying at this port, we lost many of our crew by fever; and, worst of all, at length Captain Younge also died, leaving his son, who was second mate, to take charge of the ship. This was a serious disaster, for our new commander was an inexperienced young man, not fit for so important a trust. The number of deaths on board caused us to wait a considerable time to recruit the ship's company. During this period of inaction I learned to swim, and frequently amused myself by swimming in the Hoogly. I became so exceedingly.expert in this art, that I could swim several miles up or down the river.

Our business being finished at Bengal, and our crew greatly renewed, we sailed on our homeward voyage, having on board 120 hands, some of them Lascars, besides two women and myself, and a few other passengers. As we were going down the river