e his leathery, warty
skin. In a few seconds he is in a state of perfect ecstasy, his front
legs are stretched out, he leans first to one side, then to the other,
to guide the hand where he wishes to be stroked, and at last uplifts his
ponderous body until he is an inch or more from the ground, supported on
the tips of his toes. No description can do justice to the absurdity of
the attitude, and the rapture seems so intense that food is forgotten,
and so long as Sancho can get any one to stroke him, he is quite
oblivious to all around him, although at other times he will hop away as
soon as any stranger approaches.

Sancho will not, as yet, take anything from my hand, but I hope to bring
him to that state of tameness in course of time.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: ROMAN SNAILS.]

ROMAN SNAILS.

"How _can_ you take an interest in snails and slugs?--horrid, slimy,
crawling things!" More than once have I heard this kind of remark from
youthful lips when I produced my grand old Roman snails and gave them a
pleasant time for exercise upon the dewy lawn. Now in my secret mind I
think a snail is a wonderfully curious creature, neither ugly nor
"horrid"--it _is_ slimy, but about that I shall have something to say
later on.

When staying at Box Hill, near Dorking, I often saw the great apple
snail, _Helix Pomatia_, which is only found on chalk soils, and is
supposed to have been introduced by the Romans, from the quantities of
their empty shells found with Roman remains in all parts of England.
They were kept and fattened in places called "Cochlearia" and made into
various "dainty dishes" which the Romans thought quite fit to set before
their kings. It is certain that they are very nutritious creatures, and
that in times of famine people have supported life and kept themselves
mysteriously "fat and well-liking" by resorting to snails and slugs as
articles of diet. Indeed I have heard more than once that the famous
"Pate de Guimauve" owes its healing nutritive character to this despised
univalve, which is said to enter largely into its composition. I brought
several apple snails home with me from Box Hill and kept them for many
years, until I really believe the creatures, in a dim sort of way,
recognized me as their friend, or at any rate their feeder. I cannot
boast, as I believe an American lady is said to have done, that "her
tame oysters followed her up and down stairs," but certainly my snails
would, when