it would not bite him. I have read of snakes of the most poisonous kinds
being tamed and taught all manner of tricks. There are in India and Egypt
people that are called snake-charmers, who will contrive to extract the
fangs containing the venom from the Cobra capella, or hooded snake; which
then become quite harmless. These snakes are very fond of music, and will
come out of the leather bag or basket that their master carries them in,
and will dance or run up his arms, twining about his neck, and even
entering his mouth. They do not tell people that the poison-teeth have
been extracted, so that it is thought to be the music that keeps the snake
from biting. The snake has a power of charming birds and small animals by
fixing its eye steadily upon them, when the little creatures become
paralysed with fear, either standing quite still, or coming nearer and
nearer to their cruel enemy, till they are within his reach. The cat has
the same power, and can by this art draw birds from the tops of trees
within her reach. These little creatures seem unable to resist the
temptation of approaching her, and, even when driven away, will return
from a distance to the same spot, seeking, instead of shunning, the danger
which is certain to prove fatal to them in the end. Some writers assert
that all wild animals have this power in the eye, especially those of the
cat tribe, as the lion and tiger, leopard and panther. Before they spring
upon their prey, the eye is always steadily fixed, the back lowered, the
neck stretched out, and the tail waved from side to side; if the eye is
averted, they lose the animal, and do not make the spring."

"Are there any other kinds of snakes in Canada, nurse," asked Lady Mary,
"besides the garter-snake?"

"Yes, my lady, several; the black snake, which is the most deadly next to
the rattlesnake, is sometimes called the puff-adder, as it inflates the
skin of the head and neck when angry. The copper-bellied snake is also