very one of which is large, of a brownish colour, with a fine eye, and may be looked upon as a domestic bird, as it mostly frequents the tops of houses; so that one may often see hawks and pigeons standing close to one another: but it is to be observed, that these hawks are not birds of prey, though they eat flesh when they can find it. The Turks never kill them, having a sort of veneration for them, as well as their ancestors, amongst whom the killing of one of these animals was a capital offence. They have abundance of wild-geese in Egypt, of a different kind from those in Europe; and vast numbers of wild ducks frequent the pools in the low grounds, which are not dry till some months after the inundation of the river is abated. Quails are taken in surprising quantities, but their flesh is gen, erally black, hard, and ill-tasted; though by purchasing them alive, and feeding them awhile in coops, that offensive bitterness, which they contract from their natural food, is in a great measure removed. They have no pheasants in Egypt, but there are woodcocks, snipes, and partridges; which last, however, are very different from those of other countries. They are about the size of a small dove; the cock is a beautiful brown bird, adorned with large spots of a lighter colour; and the feathers of the hen are like those of a woodcock. Pigeons are very good in Egypt, and in great plenty, almost every farmer having a dove-house, from whence arises no inconsiderable profit. Of their poultry, the common sort, like ours in Europe, are mostly eaten: but they have a kind of hens little inferior to geese in bigness, both very cheap, and frequently boiled with rice, after the Turkish manner. Swans are likewise common enough in the branches of the river. The sandy and mountainous tracts on each side of the Nile produce great plenty of the serpentine and lizard kinds of animals. Of the former, the cerastes of the ancients is, the most common species, and abundance of them are taken being reckoned of great use in medicine. These vipers are yellowish, of the colour of the sand they are found in, and have a sort of horns somewhat like those of snails, but of a real horny substance. It is said they will live a long time without any manner of sustenance*. Serpents of great bulk are not frequently seen, but we are told of a remarkable species in Egypt, called Thaibanne, perhaps the Thebanus Ophites of the ancients. Some of these are said to be three or four yards in length, and as thick as a man's arm. It has a fleshy substance reaching on each side of its neck from its jaw to about a third part of its body; which it extends or contracts at pleasure, and thereby erects and throws itself forwards in a surprising manner. As to dragons and flying serpents, of which some authors speak very confidently, I am apt to believe they rather live in the heads of fanciful men, than either in Egypt or any other country. * Dr. Shaw tells us, that a Venetian apothecary, who had lived a long time at Cairo, shewed him a couple of these vipers, which he had kept five years in a bottle, well corked, without any sort of food, unless a small quantity of sand, where they coiled themselves up in the bottom of the vessel, may be reckoned as such. When he saw them they had just cast their skies, and were as brisk and lively as if newly taken. Shaw's Travels, p. 429. Strange things are also related of the basilisk, or cockatrice, which is said to be found in Egypt, whose very eyes dart certain death, if we may credit the ancient naturalists. And modern travellers affirm, that there are serpents in some parts of the world, which, by fixing their eyes stedfastly upon little birds, will bring them down from the tops of trees into their very jaws, and then devour them. I cannot assert any thing of this kind upon my own know. ledge, nor can 1 flatly deny the facts, which perhaps are not impossible; but I must acknowledge, I am not very ready to believe such reports, as they carry with them so great an air of improbability. There are several sorts of asps in Egypt, whose poisons have various effects, but are finally mortal. That species which Cleopatra is supposed to have made use of, when she put an end to her misfortunes by a voluntary death, is of a very singular nature. Mr. Salmon judiciously observes, that we are not sufficiently acquainted with the nature of things to pronounce positively, that by one means or other a bird cannot possibly have been drawn into the jaws of a serpent at some distance: But he confesses he is more inclined to believe it only a simile of the ancient poets, to illustrate how fatally young fellows are frequently drawn in and taken captive by the eyes of some fair charmer, to their utter destruction. After the fatal battle of Actium, and the tragical death of Antony, Cleopatra, seeing her affairs were become desperate, took a resolution to put an end to her life by applying poisonous asps to her arm, whose venom soon spread itself to her heart, and had the desired effect: and thus this haughty princess, as Horace observes, avoided what was the greatest of her fears, the disgrace of being led as an ornament in Cæsar's triumph. It is thought to eject a less quantity of venom than any other of the kind; but however that be, it is certain that the punctures made by its teeth are almost imperceptible. After a person has been bitten about an hour, he finds himself heavy and inclined to sleep, without any pain or disorder of mind; by degrees his limbs lose their strength, a kind of pleasing stupidity invades his animal faculties, and at length he dies without a groan, or a complaint. Another sort, whose bellies are white, and their backs of a deep blue, have their holes in the banks of the Nile, from whence they spring out furiously upon the unwary passenger. Amputation is the only cure "Ausa et jacentem visere regiam "Corpore combiberet venenum, "Deliberatâ morte ferocior: "Privata deduci superbo "Non humilis mulier triumpho." HOR. Od. xxxvii. Lib. I. Not the dark palace of the realms below That can both death and fear controul: But fiercely fies to death, and bids her sorrows end. for the bite of this animal, without which the patient dies in terrible agonies. Amongst the Egyptian animals of the lizard kind, the chameleon, though very common, is one of the most remarkable; but as I have long ago given a particular account of that creature and its surprising properties, to describe it in this place would be an unnecessary repetition. It may be observed, however, that the chameleons in Egypt are generally larger than those of other countries. The worral is a sort of lizard, which sometimes is thirty or forty inches in length, usually of a bright reddish colour, with dark spots intermixed. It is a harmless animal, remarkable for its docility, and particularly for its being affected with music. It fre quents holes and caves in the mountains, where it sleeps during the winter, and only appears in the hot test seasons. The scincus, which some take to be the land crocodile, is an exact copy of that which frequents the * An extraordinary instance of this is mentioned by Dr. Shaw, who says he has seen several of these lizards keep exact time and motion with the dervises in their circulatory dances, running over their heads and arms, turning when they turned, and stopping when they stopped. This, the doctor presumes, (as there is no small affinity betwixt the lizard and the serpent) may have some relation to the quality which the serpent is supposed to have, of being naturally affected with music; to which the Psalmist alludes, ·(Psal. Iviii. 4, 5.) when he mentions "the deaf adder, which "stoppeth her ear, and refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer, "charm he never so wisely." Shaw's Travels, p. 429-But Dr. Pococke, who procured a worral alive, could not perceive that music had any influence upon that animal. |