LARGE SERPENTS TAMED BY THE AUTHOR. 445

of my acquaintance, but I must give them in the order oftheir occurrence.

About this time it was, that, while fishing at Patria, Icaught several large and beautiful serpents, named in worksof natural history Coluber Esculapii. They are all over ofa beautiful clear fawn colour, except two stripes along eachside, of a jet black. These serpents average from five toten feet in length. When full grown, I have heard of theirbeing as much as fifteen feet long. The largest I evercaught, measured eight feet nine inches. The food of theseanimals consists of mice, rats, moles, frogs, and sometimesfish. It is not possible to catch them alive except whenswimming across the water, which they are often obliged todo in their excursions about Patria, the Pontine marshes,&c., &c. - When on shore, and amongst wood or reeds,their motion, if alarmed, is as an arrow from the bow.Nothing but a gun can overtake them. Whilst I wasfishing in the river of Patria, as I have above described,my little punt beside me, I would see one of these beautifulserpents swimming across the water. Jumping into myLondra , I could paddle much faster than they could swim,so cutting off their retreat, I seized them by the body, andregardless of their hissing and biting, popped them into abag, or landing net, and made them captives. They speedilybecame reconciled to their fate, grew perfectly tame, andnever after the struggle of their first capture were they atall disposed to irritation. Their bite, in fact, is very insig-nificant, as their teeth are very small, only just sufficient toenable them to hold the prey between their jaws. I tookhome the first I caught, and also one that had been takenby the spear (grains) of a fisherman, who did not like tohandle them as I did. This poor thing had several desperatewounds, which it allowed of being dressed without biting,although writhing with pain. I effected a complete cure,