1838.] POISONOUS SNAKES. 297 the blessing of such happiness and peace. In this Collect we pray that the Church may be in "quietness ;" that it may be a "godly" quietness; that we may "serve" God. There must then be diligent and watchful service; we pray that we may "joyfully" serve him, here is the "joy" of a Christian as well as the "peace." We pray through Jesus Christ that God "would so order the affairs of this world, that His Church may joyfully serve Him in all godly quietness." This prayer we put up through Jesus Christ; and it is a prayer suited to every individual as well as to the general body of the Christian Church, that there may be peace of mind, peace with one another, and that happiness which arises from the hope of God's blessing on a diligent exertion of our abilities in His service. V. HYMN. OPPRESSED with unbelief and sin, 2. What strength have I against such foes, Such hosts and legions to oppose? Alas! I tremble, faint, and fall. Lord, save me, or I give up all. 3. Oh, 'twas a cheering word indeed, "Sufficient for thee is My grace, Thy weakness, my great power displays." 4. Now I despond and mourn no more, I welcome all I fear'd before, Though weak, I'm strong; though troubled, blest; For Christ's own power shall on me rest. Newton. POISONOUS SNAKES. THERE is a notion among many ignorant people, that all snakes are venomous; and we find boys and men doing their utmost to destroy a snake whenever they find one. The greater number of the snakes, however, which we see in our country are perfectly harmless. The common speckled snake has no venom at all about him. In the hot climate of the East, there are snakes of an enormous size, and many of them are very dangerous either from their immense strength by which they can squeeze their prey to death, or by the poison which they contain in their tooth, which makes their bite seriously dangerous. There is a certain set of men in India who handle these poisonous snakes, and allow them to twine round them; and are not injured by them. This is made a sort of exhibition; and the jugglers who show themselves with these snakes around their arms, and legs, and bodies, are supposed to have a power of charming them, and thus preventing them from biting. These serpent-charmers are a particular race of men in India, and are brought up to this trade from their childhood, and are therefore particularly well skilled in their art. The poison of venomous serpents is contained in a large sort of tooth or fang in the front of their mouth, with which they give a deep and deadly bite. This fang is hollow, and yet sharp, and the poison is injected through this tooth into the wound which is made by it. If these jugglers can get the animal to bite at some substance, and thus get rid of the poisonous fluid, the bite will then lose its poisonous power. It is said that they will bite at a piece of red rag, till their poison is all cleared away. This is supposed to be the method by which the Indians are enabled to handle them without experiencing the fatal effect of their bite. A letter, in a London newspaper, a short time ago, affirms that the jugglers tame these snakes not in the above method, but by giving them opium, and thus rendering them sleepy, and quiet, and harmless. Another letter, in answer to the above, expresses a different opinion. The Cobra de capello is a very poisonous snake; he is known by a sort of hood over his head. The rattle-snake is another of the venomous kind; he is distinguished by a few hard sort of folds near his tail, which make a rattling kind of noise; and thus the traveller is warned to make his escape. These snakes seldom attack a person unless 1838.] POISONOUS SNAKES. 299 they are themselves in danger. The Boa Constrictor is an immensely large snake, not poisonous, but powerful enough to hug his prey to death. Those which are exhibited here, and which wrap themselves round their keeper, are kept in low condition; and moreover, in this climate, which is too cold for them, they are not in full vigour, so that their hug is comparatively harmless. The poisonous serpents have a curious power, that of drawing back their poisonous fang, and letting it rest on the upper part of their mouth, as if they were shutting a knife; this enables them to eat like other animals, without any interruption from this deadly weapon, which they only bring out in time of need. The following is an extract from the last of the letters to which we have alluded. V. MR. EDITOR, 66 A statement has gone the rounds of the papers within the last few days, showing that the poisonous snakes of India, such as the Cobra de capello (the spectacled snake) and others, are opiated when they are exhibited by the native snake-men. This is not the case. The poison is extracted from the gums of the reptile by means of small pieces of scarlet cloth attached to the end of a cane, which, after it has been irritated, the animal seizes with its fangs, and thereby squeezes out the latent poison through a capillary tube in the tooth, into the same. This act is continued, so long as there is any portion of the poison remaining behind. When it is exhausted, the snakes are termed "cutcha," that is, harmless. Hence it is that the samp wallers," or snake-men, whilst exhibiting these reptiles, will suffer the "Cobra de capello" to lacerate their naked arms in a most shocking manner, and I have seen the blood streaming down the same from eight or nine different wounds at one time. If these snakes continued to retain any portion of the venenum in the cells of the gums, a simple infliction or abrasion occasioned by a single tooth would cause inevitable death in less than an hour, accompanied with all the horrible symptoms in the worst cases of hydrophobia. There is only one animal which has ever, as yet, been discovered that is proof against the too fatal bite of the Cobra de capello, and that is a small animal of the "mustella" genus, called the "mongoose," which is the serpent's deadly enemy. When stationed at Balasore, I once saw a large snake of the "cobra" family attacked by one of these little animals. The snake was coiled round, as close as a well-laid-up cable, with the neck and head erect, to the extent of about eight inches; the latter drawn back, and the hood, which is peculiar to this snake, proudly expanded. The mongoose continued within a yard of the reptile, running round to and fro in a semicircular form in front of him, when, in the twinkling of an eye, the weasel sprang on him, and fastened itself on the extremity of the neck of the Cobra, and almost immediately retreated. The snake uncoiled itself;-when it was again assailed by its little enemy in a similar manner. examination I discovered that the occipital vertebræ of the snake had been perforated by the teeth of the mongoose, which had caused paralysis. The snake measured seven feet two inches in length, and was of proportionable thickness. A belief prevails among the natives of India, that the mongoose, when bitten by a deadly snake, has recourse to some particular herb, with which it medicates itself; but it has never yet been discovered. On Is it not more probable, Mr. Editor, that there is a predisposing attribute in the nature of the animal that Providence has endued it with, to enable it to combat and destroy such poisonous and deadly reptiles with comparative safety? July 11, 1838. Your faithful servant, GANGES. THE SERVANT MAID AND THE SAVINGS' BANK. (A TRUE STORY.) A LADY in my neighbourhood, some years ago, had a servant maid a steady industrious sort of girl, and one that suited her mistress very well. This lady was in the habit of paying her servants regular quarterly wages; and this girl, being rather fond of dress, always spent her quarter's money as fast as she got it in something new. The girl was sober 1838.] THE SERvant maid and the savings' bANK. 301 and honest; and it signified very little to her mistress how she spent the money that she had earned, and therefore, for a time, nothing was said about the matter, though it was pretty certain that the girl had very seldom any money in her pocket. The lady, however, one day thought she would speak to the girl, and give her a little advice which might do her good. She accordingly recommended her to put some of her money every quarter into the Savings' Bank, and she lent her a little tract showing her the advantages of having some money at interest, and having the opportunity of getting it out again at any time when it might be wanted. The girl saw that there was some good to be had in this way; and, accordingly, she went to the Savings' Bank the next time she received her money; and she placed there the half of her quarter's wages; and she kept to that practice for several years, till she got a pretty large sum together. After a time, she married a man who had a pretty good appointment connected with a steam-company, and, he being a careful man, they were able to live in a very respectable and comfortable manner, the woman being now in a condition of life a good deal above what she ever expected; and this may be supposed to have arisen from the little property she had saved, and her character for prudence and good management. Her former mistress having seen the advantage of a Savings' Bank to this servant, always afterwards tried to show to her other servants the advantages of a Savings' Bank; and they generally put half their wages into this security. The girl we have been speaking of, after she had been several years married and settled, called one day to see her former mistress, and was very kindly received, and treated like a gentlewoman; and this was very proper, as, by her prudence and good management, she had risen to so respectable a condition of life. We must, however, tell the truth, in confessing that a little of her early fancy for dress still remained, though not indulged at any great expense. But the children of the family, who had been in the habit of seeing the ladies who visited their mother dressed in a neat and plain manner, and observing this new guest trimmed out in a manner beyond what they had been used to, asked |