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188 J 22 FABLED STORIES FROM THE ZOO.
and of course a great traveller. I had
witnessed several of his performances, and it was
quite an impressive sight to behold him, attired
in a short blue fringed and bespangled fancy
dress, which contrasted well with the brown
skin of his else naked limbs; and his long
crisp hair standing erect on his head, giving
him indeed the air of some supernatural
friendly being come to charm serpents and
make them obedient to his superior wilL He
spoke to them in some unknown tongue, and
they seemed to know their names; and, I
fancied, with their graceful movements even
expressed attachment to his person.
At these performances I became quite
interested in the snakes, and grew to like them.
And why should we not ? God has made
them, and they have no doubt each their
peculiar function to perform in life; though, with
the exception of the mouse-catching snakes
in India, who are cherished by the sensible
natives, we are still very ignorant of their
mission, which is of course our fault, not theirs.
I began to speculate philosophically how,
indeed, they expressed the first rudiment in art;
for as a beautifully marked snake twisted her-
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