. Early lessons .. . SERPENTS. 179. SERPENTS. THE accounts left us by the ancients of the terribledevastations of serpents, must not be considered as whollyfabulous. It is probable in early times that serpents, beingundisturbed possessors of the forest, grew to an amazingmagnitude, and every other tribe of animals fell beforethem. We are told, that while Regulus led his armyalong the banks of the river Bagrada, in Africa, an enor-mous serpent disputed his passage over. We are assuredthat this serpent measured 120 feet in length. All serpents have wide mouths, and throats, capable ofgreat diste
. Early lessons .. . SERPENTS. 179. SERPENTS. THE accounts left us by the ancients of the terribledevastations of serpents, must not be considered as whollyfabulous. It is probable in early times that serpents, beingundisturbed possessors of the forest, grew to an amazingmagnitude, and every other tribe of animals fell beforethem. We are told, that while Regulus led his armyalong the banks of the river Bagrada, in Africa, an enor-mous serpent disputed his passage over. We are assuredthat this serpent measured 120 feet in length. All serpents have wide mouths, and throats, capable ofgreat distension. The tongue is long and forked. The skinis composed of a number of scales, united to each other,and growing harder till the animal changes its skin, whichis done twice a year. Serpents live to a great age, and some of them grow to animmense size. In Java, one of them readily destroys anddevours a buffalo. The poor animal is first seized, and 180 SERPENTS. crushed to death in the folds of the serpent. The wholebody being reduc
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