t it may. A snake of this sort has lost his dinner
before now by gaping too soon; a frog takes a deal of swallowing before
he forgets how to jump.

[Illustration: THE SNAKE THAT GAPED: A MORAL LESSON.]

It is well to remember what to do in case of attack by a formidable
snake. If a boa constrictor or a python begin to curl himself about you,
you should pinch him vigorously, and he will loosen his folds and get
away from you. Some may prefer to blow his head off with a pistol, but
it is largely a matter of taste, and one doesn't want to damage a good
specimen. The anaconda, however, who is the biggest of the constrictors,
won't let go for pinching; in this case the best thing is not to let him
get hold of you at all. Tobacco-juice will kill a puff-adder. If you
come across a puff-adder, you should open his mouth gently, remembering
that the scratch of a fang means death in half an hour or so, and give
him the tobacco-juice in a suitable dose; or you can run away as fast as
possible, which is kinder to the snake and much healthier for yourself.

By far the biggest snake here is the python, in the case opposite the
door; he is more than twenty feet long, and is seriously thinking of
growing longer still. Tyrrell picks him up unceremoniously by the neck
and shoves him head first into a tank of water, when he seems to need a
little stir and amusement. I think, perhaps, after all, the most
remarkable being exhibited in the reptile house is Tyrrell. I don't
think much of the Indian snake-charmers now. See a cobra raise its head
and flatten out its neck till it looks like a demoniac flounder set on
end; keep in mind that a bite means death in a few minutes; presently
you will feel yourself possessed with a certain respect for a
snake-charmer who tootles on a flute while the thing crawls about him.
But Tyrrell comes along, without a flute--without as much as a
jew's-harp--and carelessly grabs that cobra by the neck and strolls off
with it wherever he thinks it ought to go, and you believe in the
European after all. He is a most enthusiastic naturalist, is Tyrrell.
He thinks nothing of festooning a boa constrictor about his neck and
arms, and in his sanctum he keeps young crocodiles in sundry
watering-pots, and other crawling things in unexpected places. You never
quite know where the next surprise is coming from. I always feel
doubtful about his pockets. I shouldn't recommend a pickpocket to try
them, unless he really doesn't