This little Animal, is said to be pleased, or rather unconcerned, when taken up by human Hands; called on that account, the Friend of Man; that is, he who is not against us, is for us; therefore merits our Smiles. His Situation corresponds with his natural Disposition, for it is an Inhabitant of cold Regions. When its Head is comprest, Drops of Blood gush out of his Eyes, which he casts to a great distance from him; which agrees with a former Description, &c.

CXXI. DE Haro coloti genere. The Serpent Harus, according to the Historian^[285], is a Native of the Philippines, and of the Lacertan Tribe: a very long Head (like the Philippine Queen) on a bulky Body, terminating in a sharp Point. It resembles the Quaquetzall, is in Mexico, and agrees therewith in most things, and of which it seems to be a Species.

It chuses its Habitation among Shrubs adjacent to clear Streams, and never defiles a Body, so prettily coloured, with muddy Water, till constrained to make the Bulrush its Shelter against the excessive Heat of the Sun^[286].

CXXII. The Tamacolin, or a Serpent called Rubeta, of the Lineage of the red Toad: This kind is made up of Variety, differing only one from another in Magnitude, Colour, and Poison. The lesser kind not so venemous as the larger. Some are green, some are brown, and others black. In showery Weather they make an open Appearance, and in such Numbers, that none walk abroad without running the risk of a poisonous Touch.

NEW-SPAIN abounds with them, where they affect watry Habitations. In Peru are Toads as large almost as Cats or Dogs, but not so poisonous as those of Brazil, where they have a Fish called Amyacu, i. e. Toad-Fish; ’tis about a Span long, and oddly painted; its Eyes are fine and fair: It swells and snorts when taken out of the Water, which was the reason of giving it that Name: When flayed it may be eaten, but is otherwise poisonous; the Poison is drawn out by Application of Fire to the Part affected^[287].

CXXIII. TETZAUCOATL, or the rare Serpent; so called, because the least of Serpents; and though very little, scarce four Inches long, or in Bulk so big as a Goose-quill, yet its Wounds are most deadly. The Belly is red, and distinguishable by black Stains; the Back yellow, interlaid with divers Spots. It is an Inhabitant of the North, and delights in cold Apartments. This (though distinctly described by the Historian) seems to be the same with the Tetzaucoatl^[288]. N. B. Little Things, greatly dangerous.

The Poet weeps for a Person killed by the Fall of an Icicle, which is a little Drop of Water congealed^[289]. Anacreon, the celebrated Lyrick Poet among the Greeks, was choaked with a little Kernel of a Grape. Little Things do great Executions. Little Worms destroy floating Castles. Tarantula, a little Spider, poisons a Giant. In Barbadoes is what they call the Poison-Tree, a little Drop of its Sap flying into a Workman’s Eyes, makes him blind; therefore Workmen cover them with Cypress.

PLINY, from M. Varro says, there was a Town in Spain undermined by Conies, and another in Thessaly by Mold-Warps, and another in France, from which they were driven out by Frogs.... In some parts of Africa, People were constrained by Locusts to leave their Habitations. Out of Gyaros (one of the Islands of the Cyclades in the Ægean Sea, most of which are now under the Turks) the Inhabitants were forced away by Rats and Mice, little Things: And if it be true, that Theophrastus the Philosopher reports, the Treriens were chased away by an Army of little Worms, called Scolopendra^[290]. All these mighty Conquests were made by little contemptible Insects.

What says the Laconian, when wounded with a Dart? I am not, quoth he, concerned at my Death, but at my Fall by a Wound from a little feeble Archer. For ’tis Satisfaction to the Vanquish’d to die by the Hand of heroic Valour; hence that of Virgil;

The reason was, because the Lacedemonians were wont to fight with Swords, therefore it was not counted Bravery to kill Men with a Dart, a thing that may be done by any Woman.

So in the vegetable World, there are Cedars and Shrubs. In Natural Philosophy, we read of Atoms, that are Minima Naturæ, the ultimate Particles into which Matter is divisible, and are conceived as the first Rudiments, or component Parts of all physical Magnitude, or the pre-existent and incomprehensible Matter, whereof particular Bodies were formed; there are Mountains and Mole-Hills,

So ... there was Alexander the Great, and there is Alexander the Little, the ingenious and learned Mr. Pope; the one conquered by the Sword, the other by his Pen, and has made all the Regions of Fame tributary to him.

CXXIV. The tame and tractable Serpent, is of the Indian Race, about an Inch long, when brought first from the Field for domestick Education; and when at its full Growth, is not much short of a Man’s Thigh. Its Habitation is in some little Hutch erected on purpose, (indulgentiæ gratia) where it idles away its time, till Hunger brings it out. Upon its Approach to the Master of the House, it creeps up to his Shoulders, where the Embraces of that terrible Creature (being made tame) are received with Delight^[291].

CXXV. The Tleoa, or Tetloa, that is, a little fiery Serpent, and very common in the new World, and described by the Historian thus^[292], viz. ’Tis about a Finger broad, and five or six Foot long, and differenced from others by a Medley of Spots, compounded of white, black, yellow, and dun Colours. The Head is like that of our Vipers, and the Tail, which seems to have a touch of the Rattle, ends acutely.

Its Wounds are deadly, and burn like Fire; hence the Name it bears: Though fiery in Nature, is slow and winding in Motion, and may be avoided by the Traveller, if he has Eyes and Ears. Its usual Residence is in Mountains, and the higher Mountains are, the greater the Cold, (because they only receive direct, and but little of the reflected Rays of the Sun) yet are the Habitations of fiery Animals.

The Learned observe, there are Mountains a Mile and an half high, to the tops of which, no Vapour, and consequently no Clouds, can ever reach: And hence it is that in very high Mountains, as the Pico de Theide in Bohemia, though the middle part be always inverted with Snow, and the bottom scorched with intolerable Heat; yet on the top you will find yourself in a pure, thin, serene Air, and view the Clouds hovering at a considerable distance below you^[293].

Hence it is that all Thunder is confined within less than a Mile’s Height. The Air is coldest in the highest places, and hottest in the lowest; but in the intermediate Atmosphere, where we live, very unequal: but no Climates, however situated, are privileged with Exemption from venemous Creatures, and where they are less pestered with them, ’tis owing to the Cultivation of the Land.

The Wounds given by this Serpent are dangerous, and cured by an Herb called Ancola, by Jonstonus, p. 26, 27. but Anola, by Nierembergius, p. 277, 283.

CXXVI. The Hydrus, or Natrix, an acquatic Serpent: The former word from ὑδορ Water, of which ’tis an Inhabitant; the other word denotes its Skill in the Art of Natation; it goes under various Denominations, as appears in Jonstonus; who, from Pliny observes, that this Serpent is superior to most in Beauty, and inferior to none in Poison^[294].

NICANDER, who calls the terrestrial Hydrus, a foul coloured Beast, vindicates the beautiful Character of the Marine; who yet is not very nice in its Choice of Water, for muddy and clear is equally the same to this beautiful Slut^[295]. In its Nature ’tis very poisonous, says one; Cardan is in the Negative. The truth is, there are several sorts of them, some of which are harmless, and others hurtful, and their Wounds attended with very terrible Effects, described by the poetick Physician^[296].

In some parts of Persia they are very numerous, described by white Heads and black Body, four Cubits long, and dangerous to those who dabble in the Water by Night, as they often do in that hot Country where these Animals feed upon Fish and Frogs^[297]; and breed upon Land, according to Aristotle^[298].

Its common Habitation is in the Myclean Lake, in Corcina or Corcyra, now Corfou, (a little rich Island in the Venetian Dominion) and also about Taracina (a City of the Volscians in Campania, in Italy, not far from Amyclæ) where the People, not daring to kill Serpents, were overthrown by them; to mention no more. Ibid.

CXXVII. The Natrix-Torquata, Jonston makes different from the former, and describes it thus——Called Torquata from its beautiful Neck, which looks as if incircled with a strong Collar of Pearls.... On the hinder part of the Head is a little narrow Space in the form of two Scales, where the Spots on both sides end acutely in a triangular form. The Scholiast upon Nicander, compliments those pretty Spots with the Title of little Crowns^[299].

It goes under various Appellations. The Greeks called it Guardian of their Houses^[300], it being of the innocent sort. Some of the Italians call it Carbonarium, a Collier, because its Colour inclined to Coal-black, or Iron. Mr. Ray calls it, the common Snake. It is larger than a Viper, and more gross in Body; brings forth its Young by Eggs, hatch’d by foreign Heat; feeds on Mice; sucks Cows, upon which follows Blood. The Reader is referred to a former.

CXXVIII. The Marine-Dragon, as Pliny calls it, or the true Marine-Serpent, in the Dialect of Jonstonus, who, in his Description of Fishes, gives a particular account of it. We have already accounted for monstrous Serpents in the Indies, where some have Teeth in the form of a Saw, with which they do more hurt than with their Poison, says the Greek Historian^[301].

In Africa, are some large and strong enough to contend with Oxen by Land, and to overturn a three-oar’d Galley by Water; which agrees in Character with those of Norway already described: There we found some of 200 Foot long, winding themselves about Ships, according to Olaus Magnus, Archbishop of Upsal.

In several of the Persian Islands are some of twenty Cubits long, and very terrifying to Sailors. Such also are seen in the Promontory of Carmania, the Residence of the Ichthyophagi, a People that feed wholly upon Fish; a fine Country for such who are inclin’d to keep a perpetual Lent. Tho’ these Monsters are born in the Deep, yet are they found in fresh Waters, and sometime sporting upon Land, where they sleep^[302].

The same Author tells us, of a terrible Battle that happen’d in Turkey, in the time of Bajazet, between the land and marine Serpents, that continued from Morning to Night, when after a great Destruction on both sides, the Marines fled. Ibid.

CXXIX. The Rubetarian-Serpent is a very noisy Animal, who for its croaking Noise is resembled to a land Toad. It also engages the Attention of the Eye, for it excels in Beauty: It’s known among Country People by these two Characteristicks, viz. Loud and Pretty. Here we see, what is an Offence to the Ear may be a pleasing Entertainment to the Eye; thus the Five Senses agree to differ in their several Perceptions, and to meet in several distinct Apartments of the capital Temple, in the pacifick Empire. But to return to the beautiful Padalica of the Polonians:

It is said of this Serpent, that when it wounds any in the Foot, the Remedy is to put the wounded part into the next Earth, that is inclined to the moist, for twenty-four hours. This seems to differ from the American Rubeta.

CXXX. The Serpent de Boa is another of the monstrous kind; called Boa from Bos, the Latin word for an Ox, which it devours at once: The young ones, which grow to a great Bulk, are nourished by sucking the Cow.

In the Emperor Claudius’s time, in one of them that was killed, they found a Child that was whole. In Calabria are some monstrous Animals, not unlike these, says the Historian; who adds, that not many Years ago a certain Bishop speaks of a large mischievous Serpent, that was shot near St. Archangel, whose Jaws were almost two Palms long, the Portraiture of which is yet seen in a certain Temple there^[303].

CXXXI. I Am informed by some Persons, who had it by Tradition from ancient People, that formerly there was in this Country a monstrous Serpent of four or five Yards long, and thicker than a common Axle-tree of a Cart, and very mischievous, preying upon Lambs, &c. Its chief Residence was in a Wood, near Pickopbank, a few Miles from Blackburn, in Lancashire, called Ouse-Castle, wherein there is yet a little Spot of Ground, called Griom’s-Ark, which is a deep Cavern, situated among Rocks, in a Wood, from whence it was seen to come out, and bask itself on a sunny Bank.

The Picture of this Serpent is drawn with Wings, two Legs, and Talons like an Eagle, which is seen in some ancient Houses, (and particularly at Clayton-hall, near Dunkin-hall) by which it appears to be very large and furious.

It’s said, one —— Grimshaw Esq; Proprietor of that Hall, shot the Monster with Arrows, and had an Estate offer’d him for that good Service done to his Country, which he generously refused, and only desired he might have a Passage thro’ that Wood to a Township he had on t’other side of it, which was granted, the Title of which is to be found in old Writings. By another hand I am informed, that it was supposed to be a Griffin, which is a Bird of Prey, and of the Eagle kind, which, I take to be the Ossifrage of Moses, and mentioned Levit. xi.

There is also a fabulous Griffin, represented with four Legs, Wings, and a Beak; the upper part like an Eagle, and the lower a Lion. They conjecture it to watch over golden Mines and hidden Treasures. This Bird was consecrated to the Sun, therefore the Chariot of the Sun was represented as drawn by a Set of Griffins.

This poetick Griffin is frequently seen in antient Medals, and is still bore in Coat-Armor. The antient and honourable Family of the Guillims blazons it rampant, alledging any very fierce Animal may be so blazon’d as well as a Lion. It is observable, says my Author, that in the Front of Clayton-hall are two Figures drawn in Plaister in the form of a Coat of Arms; on the right side of the Escutcheon is a Figure with Wings, four Feet, and a Tail twisted in the Form of a Serpent. The like Figure is drawn in Plaister in several antient Houses in that Neighbourhood, which go under the Name of the Griffin’s Picture, and the Sign is used at Publick-houses: There is a Place in that Wood called the Griffin’s-Ark.

N. B. This seems to carry some Probability with it, since Eagles are voracious Creatures, and very destructive to Fawns and Lambs, especially the black Eagle, which is of a lesser Size than the other.

In some of the Scots Islands, the Natives observe, that this Eagle fixes its Talons between the Deer’s Horns, and beats its Wings constantly about its Eyes; several other Eagles flying at the same time on both sides, which puts the Deer upon a continual Run, till it fall into a Pit, or down a Precipice, where it dies, and so becomes a Prey to the Enemy^[304].

CXXXII. In some of the Western Islands of Scotland are several Serpents: There is one that is yellow with brown Spots, and another with brown Spots; but that which is the most poisonous, is the black and white spotted, three or four Foot long.

The Remedies are such as these: The Natives cut off the Head of the Serpent that gives the Wound, and apply it to the Place as the best Remedy: Others, by the Application of new Cheese, extract the Poison; and some make use of the Rump of a Cock stript of its Feathers, which they apply to the Wound with Success, according to the Historian^[305].

In the Library at Manchester, is the Skin of a Serpent which was five Yards long, as thick as the Calf of a Man’s Leg; has a forked Tongue, scaly Skin, yellow Colour.

CXXXIII. MARTINIUS in his Atlas relates, that in the Province of Quangsi in China, there are Serpents thirty Foot long. The Flora Sinensis reports of the Serpent call’d Geuto, that it devours whole Stags, but is not very venemous. ’Tis of an ash Colour, from eighteen to twenty-four Foot long; will often seize on a Man, by leaping from a Tree, and kill him, by its violent windings about him.—The Chinese preserve his Gall to cure the Diseases of the Eyes.—Marcus Paulus Venetus testifies the same of the Serpents of Carrajam.—Some are in length ten Paces, in thickness ten Palms, and able to swallow a Man. Are taken thus: The Serpent in the Day lies in Caves of Mountains; in the Night hunts for Prey, and then returns to its Cave, with the weight of its Body, plowing deep the Earth, being sandy in the Track it goes along: Here the Huntsmen fix strong Stakes pointed with Iron, covered with Sand; and as the Serpent travels along, the Spikes gore its Entrails, and are fasten’d therein, by which ’tis kill’d; and the Huntsmen sell the Gall at a great Price for Medicine, and the Flesh for Meat. These, continues he, may be reckon’d among Dragons, but are without Poison: Instead of Feet, they have Claws like those of a Lion or Falcon.—There are other Serpents in China full of rank Poison, especially the hairy-headed Serpent. So far Martin.

N. B. This Province of Quamsi or Quangsi is able to raise a Million of fighting Men. It is not so much frequented as the Province of Quantung or Canton, where they have two Harvests a year. One says, there is a Mountain here with a Pool in it, which makes a Noise like Thunder, if a Stone be cast into it, and causes Showers from the Sky^[306]. Their Winter is warm, and their Fields always verdant, producing great Quantities of Gold, Pearl, Silk, Copper, Steel, Iron, Salt,—and odoriferous Woods.—They hatch their Ducks Eggs and those of other Fowls in Ovens, or Dunghills.

CXXXIV. There is a kind of Reptiles and Insects (I don’t mean the common Tortoise) which is a certain sort of Snake, small in Body and of white Colour, found in Lydia, Arabia,—cased over with a white colour’d Shell, which shines like a sparkling Margarite^[307].

I shall close this Part with an Experiment made by the noble Roman before-mentioned, who (being sollicitous to take a compleat View of a Serpent) after he had dissected one, preserved the Flesh and Bones, and having, secundum artem, reduced them to Ashes,—extracted Aqua Fontana,—whose Virtues were equal to those drawn from the Ashes of other Animals, and of Plants.

To this venemous Tribe, I shall annex a few Reptiles, in whose Veins I find something of the Serpent’s Blood; and close the variegated List with a large Account of the Tarantula, its Wound, and Cure by Musick; then inquire into the Reasons of that strange Operation; the Nature and Force of Sounds, not only on the Animal Passions, but Inanimate Matter. I shall begin with,

I. The Bee, called the Honey-Fly, a little Animal that has four Feet, which it carries close to the Belly, and not easily separated: It has four Wings, small Teeth, and a long Tongue, which usually it carries out of the Mouth. Its Sting cleaves to the Belly, which, when it strikes, it parts with, and becomes uncapable of wounding a second time; which, I think can’t be said of any other Member of the stinging Race, unless it be the Wasp and Hornet.

The Sting, in the Design of it, seems to be only a Weapon of Defence; it looks like a Tube or Pipe, hollow, with a little Bag of sharp penetrating Liquid (which is its Poison) joined to the Extremity of it within the Body, which, in stinging, is injected into the Wound thro’ the Tube; and tho’ venemous and painful, is not strong enough to corrupt the Mass of Blood.

One may, with the naked Eye, sometimes see this little Insect discharge its Venom, in which, says the ingenious Dr. Mead, by the help of a Glass, I can easily discover a great Number of minute Salts floating. In Brazil, Bees are distinguish’d into twelve kinds, among which are some that sting in a most furious and fatal manner, called Mateecas by the Indians.

In Ceylon in the East-Indies, are several Bees, the largest are of a brighter Colour than ours; they make their Combs on the Boughs of Trees: At proper Seasons, the Inhabitants hold Torches under them, till they drop down, which they carefully gather, boil and eat, and are accounted excellent Food. In Quatemala are Bees and Honey of a white Colour, and some without a Sting, says the Historian^[308].

II. To the Bee, I add the Wasp, which, as it is something larger, makes a deeper Wound; it differs also from it in its Food, which is Flesh and Carrion, when it can be got; whereas the Bee regales itself with delicious Entertainments, and enriches its Family with all the Glories of the vegetable Kingdom. From whence is the Honey? I answer, That in Flowers is found a viscid sweet Juice, and accordingly we see Children gather Cowslips, Honeysuckles, and suck the Honey from them. The Bees visit all Flowers within their Reach, and putting it in their Trunks, suck out the Honey, with which they load their Stomachs, to be discharg’d, and laid up in their Combs. Among the Antients, Honey was taken for a Dew that fell on Flowers; but this is a mistake, because the Bees only gather it after the Sun is up, when there is no Dew left, or very little.

III. The Hornet is yet more dangerous, and has been known to pursue a Sparrow, and kill it, and then suck its Blood. The Hornet and Wasp have strong Jaws tooth’d, by which they can dig into Fruits, for Sustenance; yea, and into harder Substances, for Quarters.

If you take a Bee, a Wasp, or Hornet, and gently squeeze the Tail, so that you can see the Sting, you may perceive a Drop of transparent Liquor at the very end of it; which if wiped off, you shall soon see it renew’d, that Liquid passing down the Cavity into the end thereof: ’Tis said the Decoction of Hornets dropt on the Skin, makes it swell.

IV. I proceed to the Spider, another little venemous Insect, whose forked Tongue or Sting, is very fine and sharp; by this he pierces Flies—and at the same time, instils a poisonous Juice into the Wound, by which the Prey being kill’d, it sucks out the Moisture, and leaves nothing but a husky dry Carcass: Tradition says, it poisons by spitting, or breathing, because it dare not approach so near to a large Fly as to a little one; but keeps at some distance, and uses a kind of shoving Motion, upon which the Fly has done struggling.

There are various sorts of these little strange Creatures, whose Stings are hurtful, as the Astorius, (so called from its resemblance to a Star) whose Wound produces Heaviness, and Relaxation of the Nerves. The Cæruleus, or blue Spider, whose Sting is attended with Vomiting and Pain at the Heart. The Lycos, the least of the kind, that causes an Asthma, and Swelling about the wounded Part. In the Philosophical Transactions, we have a Table of thirty-three kinds of Spiders found in England, by Dr. Lister^[309].

There is something very curious and admirable in those long Threads they make in the Air, during some part of Summer, especially towards September, so much wonder’d at, in such Quantities every where. The Method of Operation, I take to be as follows, viz.

All Spiders that spin in a Thread, are the Makers of those Threads, most visible in the Autumn. In all the ways of weaving, they still let down the Thread they make use of, and draw it after them. Attending on one that wrought a Net, I saw it, says a very nice Observer, suddenly in the Mid-work desist, and turning his Tail into the Wind, to dart out a Thread, with the Violence we see Water spout out of a Spring: This Thread taken up by the Wind, was in a Moment emitted some Fathoms long, still issuing out of his Belly; by and by the Spider leapt into the Air, and the Thread mounted her up swiftly.—And I found the Air fill’d with young and old, sailing on their Threads, and undoubtedly, says the Relator, seizing Gnats and other Insects in their Passage; there being often manifest Signs of Slaughter, as Legs, and Wings of Flies ... on these Lines, as in their Webs below^[310].

Spiders have been observed to get to the Top of a Branch or such like thing, where they exercise this darting of Threads into the Air. After the first Flight, all the time of their sailing on those Threads, they make Locks, still darting forth fresh Supplies of Thread to sport and sail by. N. B. Those called Shepherds, or long-legg’d Spiders, are no Spinners.

I have seen Spiders, says the Learned Dr. Hulse^[311], shoot their Webs three Yards long before they begin to sail upon them. So the Learned Derham observes, that with pleasure he had often seen Spiders dart out their Webs, and sail away by the Help thereof.

AMERICA turns out diverse kinds of these araneous Insects: In Peru are Spiders as large as a Man’s Hand, and have Eyes as big as those of Sparrows. In Brasil there is one kind of Spider, whose Skin is rough and black, and whose Sting proves incurable, without immediate Relief. On the other hand, we read of monstrous Spiders in the Antilles, whose Eyes are so small and deep in the Head, that they are scarcely visible: They feed on flying Insects, and their Webs are strong enough to catch small Birds^[312].

CEYLON in the East-Indies produces a long, glittering, and hairy Spider, called Democulo, whose Wound is not mortal, but sometimes deprives People of their Senses. There is an Experiment made by Mr. Leeuwenhoek, who put a Frog and Spider together into a Glass, and having made the Spider sting the Frog diverse times, the Frog died in about an hour’s time^[313].

There is another Instance of the Poison of some of them (for all are not poisonous) given by the Learned Scaliger, who relates, that in Gascony in France, there are Spiders of that Virulency, that if a Man treads upon them to crush them, their Poison will pass thro’ the very Soles of his Shoe^[314].

V. The Scolopendra is a little venemous Worm, and amphibious. When it wounds any, there follows a Blueness about the affected Part, and an Itch over all the Body, like that caused by Nettles. Its Weapons of Mischief are much the same with those of the Spider, only larger; its Bite is very tormenting, and produces not only pruriginous Pain in the Flesh, but very often Distraction of Mind. These little Creatures make but a mean Figure in the Rank of Animals, yet have been terrible in their Exploits, particularly in driving People out of their Country: Thus the Inhabitants of Rhytium, a City of Crete, were constrained to leave their Quarters for them^[315]. There is a minute Scolopendra, accounted for by Dr. Molyneux.

VI. The Shrew-Serpent in Norway, is a Creature of admirable Beauty; small in Body, and slow in Motion, but of fiery Venom, and its Wounds most dangerous.

VII. The Lacertus Facetanus, or Tarantula, whose Bite gives Name to a new Disease. Those who are wounded by it are denominated Tarantati: It is a kind of an overgrown Spider, about the Size of a common Acorn.

It borrows its Name from Tarentum in Apulia, a City in the Kingdom of Naples, built by a Band of Lacedemonian Bastards, who having no Inheritance at home, were sent thither to seek their Fortunes, where they built that Town, and made it the Capital of Magna Græcia.

This little Animal is furnish’d with eight Eyes, and eight Legs: Its Skin is tender and soft, of various Colours, and always hairy: ’Tis of the oviparous kind, and propagates its Species by Eggs, and sometimes a hundred Eggs have been found in one Female.

In the Opinion of some, ’tis not only an Inhabitant of Apulia, but peculiar to that Province, a Situation that may be called, A Garden of Rarities; Plenty of generous Wine, delicate Honey and Oil, an early Spring, a soft Winter—render it a most delightful Habitation, especially to old Persons, according to the Poet^[316]; and yet in that most agreeable Region, this little Tyrant reigns and spreads Terror.

It’s found in other Parts of Italy, and even in the Isle of Corsica; but those of Apulia, ’tis said, are only dangerous; though I think to have read something like it in Persia, where there is an Insect like a Spider, about two Inches round, which the Holstein Ambassadors suppose to be the Latin Stellio, and the Italian Tarantula: It lets its Poison fall like a Drop of Water, which causes an insupportable Pain in that Part ... immediately causes a profound Sleep, from which the Patient is not to be recovered, but by crushing one of the same Creatures upon the Wound; or, if this can’t be had, by pouring as much Milk down his Throat as they can, and then put him on an Engine, which they turn round with great Violence, till by that violent Agitation, his Stomach discharges the Milk, which appears greenish, because of the Poison. Those who are cured thus, have some Remnant of the Pain once a Year, about the same Season^[317].