blooming in the balcony, but it gradually became more and more slow on
the wing, and at last poised itself unusually steadily for an insect of
its class. Below it, on the window sill, near the wall, with head erect,
and its little basilisk eyes upturned towards the lovely fly, crouched
a chameleon lizard, its beautiful body, when I first looked at it, was
a bright sea-green. It moved into the sunshine, a little away from the
shade of the laurel bush, which grew on the side it first appeared on,
and suddenly the back became transparent amber, the legs and belly
continuing green. From its breast under the chin, it every now and then
shot out a semicircular film of a bright scarlet colour, like a leaf of
a tulip, stretched vertically, or the pectoral fin of a fish.

This was evidently a decoy, and the poor fly was gradually drawn down
towards it, either under the impression of its being in reality a
flower, or impelled by some impulse which it could not resist. It
gradually fluttered nearer and more near, the reptile remaining all the
while steady as a stone, until it made a sudden spring, and in the next
moment the small meally wings were quivering on each side of the
chameleon's tiny jaws. While in the act of gorging its prey, a little
fork, like a wire, was projected from the opposite corner of the window;
presently a small round black snout, with a pair of little, fiery,
blasting eyes, appeared, and a thin, black neck, glancing in the sun.
The lizard saw it. I could fancy it trembled. Its body became of a dark
blue, then ashy pale; the imitation of the flower, the gaudy fin was
withdrawn, it appeared to shrink back as far as it could, but it was
nailed or fascinated to the window sill, for its feet did not move.
The head of the snake approached, with its long, forked tongue shooting
out, and shortening, and with a low hissing noise. By this time about
two feet of its body was visible, lying with its white belly on the
wooden beam, moving forward with a small horizontal wavy motion, the