birds, a little way off in the stubble. Whereupon the viper sunk its head, and immediately made off over the ridge of the hill, down in the direction of the sea. As it passed by me, however--and it passed close by me--it hesitated a moment, as if it was doubtful whether it should not seize me; it did not, however, but made off down the hill. It has often struck me that he was angry with me, and came upon me unawares for presuming to meddle with his people, as I have always been in the habit of doing." "But," said I, "how do you know that it was the king of the vipers?" "How do I know?" said the old man, "who else should it be? There was as much difference between it and other reptiles as between King George and other people." "Is King George, then, different from other people?" I demanded. "Of course," said the old man; "I have never seen him myself, but I have heard people say that he is a ten times greater man than other folks; indeed, it stands to reason that he must be different from the rest, else people would not be so eager to see him. Do you think, child, that people would be fools enough to run a matter of twenty or thirty miles to see the king, provided King George--" "Haven't the French a king?" I demanded. "Yes," said the old man, "or something much the same, and a queer one he is; not quite so big as King George, they say, but quite as terrible a fellow. What of him?" "Suppose he should come to Norman Cross!" "What should he do at Norman Cross, child?" "Why, you were talking about the vipers in your bag breaking their hearts, and so on, and their king coming to help them. Now, suppose the French king should hear of his people being in trouble at Norman Cross, and--" "He can't come, child," said the old man, rubbing his hands, "the water lies between. The French don't like the water; neither vipers nor Frenchmen take kindly to the water, child." When the old man left the country, which he did a few days after the conversation which I have just related, he left me the reptile which he had tamed and rendered quite harmless by removing the fangs. I was in the habit of feeding it with milk, and frequently carried it abroad with me in my walks. CHAPTER V.