Selborne, April 29th, 1776

Dear Sir, — On August 4th, 1775, we surprised a large viper, which seemed very heavy and bloated, as it lay in the grass basking in the sun. When we came to cut it up, we found that the abdomen was crowded with young, fifteen in number; the short of which measured full seven inches, and were about the size of full-grown earth worms. This little fry issued into the world with the true viper-spirit about them showing great alertness as soon as disengaged from the belly of the dam: they twisted and wriggled about, and set themselves up, and gaped very wide when touched with a stick, showing manifest tokens of menace and defiance, though as yet they had no manner of fangs that we could find, even with the help of our glasses.

To a thinking mind nothing is more wonderful than that early instinct which impresses young animals with a notion of the situation of their natural weapons, and of using them properly in their own defense, even before those weapons subsist or are formed. Thus a young cock will spar at his adversary before his spurs are grown: and a calf or a lamb will push with their heads before their horns are sprouted. In the same manner did these young adders attempt to bite before their fangs were in being.

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The Rev. Gilbert White, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selbourne, Vol. II, Letter XXXI. More about the 18th-Century English countryside curate and inspiration to Wordsworth, Coleridge and Keats is at BBC Four. Hat tip to my son Gabriel, who is to read White et. al. taking Linda Peterson’s Nature Writing in Britain and the Colonies.