Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/184

pents will be familiar to many of our readers, most of those which are exhibited in zoological collections belonging to this genus; their lethargic inanity, however, as they lie coiled up in the midst of blankets upon tins of hot water, gives us little idea of the fatal power and energy which they exhibit in their native climates. Many narratives of great interest might be quoted, illustrative of their strength, their ferocity, their voracity, and other particulars. We must content ourselves with a few of these, commencing with one of a painfully vivid character, recorded by Mr. M'Leod, in the "Voyage of H.M.S. Alceste." The specimen, which was a native of Borneo, was sixteen feet long, and about eighteen inches in circumference. "During his stay at Ryswick," observes the narrator, "he is said to have been usually entertained with a goat for dinner, once in every three or four weeks, with occasionally a duck or a fowl by way of a dessert. He was brought on board shut up in a wooden crib or cage, the bars of which were sufficiently close to prevent his escape; and it had a sliding door, for the purpose of admitting the articles on which he was to subsist; the dimensions of the crib were about four feet high, and five feet square,—a space sufficiently large for him to coil himself round with ease. The live stock for his use during the passage, consisting of six goats of the ordinary size, were sent with him on board, five being considered as a fair allowance for as many months. At an early period of the voyage we had an exhibition of his talent in the way of eating, which was publicly performed on the quarter-deck, upon which he was brought. The