I was at the killing once of one of them, and thereby
perceived that she was not so called of any want of nimble motion, but
rather of the contrary. Nevertheless we have a blind-worm, to be found
under logs, in woods and timber that hath lain long in a place, which
some also do call (and upon better ground) by the name of slow-worms,
and they are known easily by their more or less variety of striped
colours, drawn long-ways from their heads, their whole bodies little
exceeding a foot in length, and yet is their venom deadly. This also
is not to be omitted; and now and then in our fenny countries other
kinds of serpents are found of greater quantity than either our adder
or our snake, but, as these are not ordinary and oft to be seen, so I
mean not to intreat of them among our common annoyances. Neither have
we the scorpion, a plague of God sent not long since into Italy, and
whose poison (as Apollodorus saith) is white, neither the tarantula or
Neapolitan spider, whose poison bringeth death, except music be at
hand. Wherefore I suppose our country to be the more happy (I mean in
part) for that it is void of these two grievous annoyances wherewith
other nations are plagued.
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