" The crocodiles consist of three varieties, or perhaps ' species, all natives of the Nile, distinguishable by the different arrangement of the scut® or bony studs on the neck, and the number of rows of the same process- es along the back. Their general lizard-form is too well known to need particular description ; but it may be remarked that of the whole family of crocodiles, comprehending the sharp-beaked gavials of India, the alligators of the West, and the crocodiles properly so called, the last are supplied with the most vigorous in- struments for swimming, both from the strength and vertical breadth of their tails, and from the deeper webs of the fingers of their paws. Although all have from thirty to forty teeth in each jaw, shaped like spikes^ without breadth so as to cut, or surface so as to admit of grinding, the true crocodile alone has one or more teeth on each side in both jaws, exserted, that is, not closing within, but outside the jaw. They have no external ear beyond a follicle of skin, and the eyes have a position above the plane of the head, the pupils being contractile, like those of a cat, and in some hav- ing a luminous greenish tinge, which may have sug- gested the comparison of the ej^es of leviathan to * the eyelids of the dawn' (Job xli, 10 [A. V. 18]). The upper jaw is not movable, but, as well as the forehead, is extremely dense and bony ; the rest of the upper surface being covered with several rows of bosses, or plated ridges, which on the tail are at last reduced fh>m two to one, each scale having a high homy crest, which acts as part of a great fin. Although destitute of a real voice, crocodiles when angry produce a snorting sound, something like a deep growl [or rather grunt] ; and occasionally they open the mouth very wide, re- main for a time thus exposed facing the breeze, and,
closing the jaws with a sadden snap, eanse a report ^ the fall of a trap-door. It is an awful soniBd m t^ stillness of the night in tropical conntries. The gEld of the crocodile is veiy wide, the ton^^ne being ccd pletely tied to the lower jaw, and beneath it are ^bsdi exuding a musky substance. On land the crocoCcj next to the gavial, is the most active, and in the wn;] it is also the species that most readily frequcst^ i^ open sea. Of the immense number of genera exjoi ined, none reached to 25 feet in length, and the ^coi men in the British Museum is believed to be one of t^i largest. Sheep are observed to be unmolested by tb^ i animals ; but where they abound no pigs c&n be ke^ perhaps from their frequenting the muddy BhoR«; te we have known only one instance of crocodiles bc:^; encountered in woods not immediately close to the w ter*s side : usually they bask on sandy islands Ther rarely attack men, but women are sometimea adzed bf them : in Nubia they are much more dangertn? ikm in Egypt. (See Wilkinson's Modarm Egypt amd Tk^ ii, 127.) As their teeth are long, but not fitted for csv ting, they seize their prey, which they can not bu«&- cate, and swallow it nearly entire, or bury it bflDotl the waves to macerate. Having very small excreUxT: organs, their digestion requires, and accordingly tb^f are found to possess, an immense biliary appants.! They are oviparous, burj^ing their e^gs in tiie ssci: and the female remains in the vicinity to dig tJiem^: on the day the young have broken the shell. Ocxs- diles are caught with hooka, and they seldom snrceed in cutting the rope when property prepared. Tbo^ a ball fired point blank will penetrate between tte scales which cover the body, the invulnerabilitT d these great saurians is sufficiently exemplified by tk following occurrence. One being brought w^ b<^ | to the bazaar at Cawnpore on the Ganges, it was ps- ; chased by the British officers on the spot, and cairv^ ! farther inland for the purpose of being baited. Ac- cordingly, the ligatures, excepting those which seescd the muzzle, being cut asunder, the monster, though i had been many hours exposed to the heat, and was al- most suffocated with dust, fought its way tiiroagfa m immense crowd of assailants, soldiers and uativa. armed with staves, lances, swords, and stones, and wor- ried by numerous terriers^ hounds, and curs ; oTertcra- ing all in its way, till, scenting the river, it escaped i^ the water at a distance of two miles, in ^te of tk most strenuous opposition !
"With the ancient Egyptians the crocodile was s sacred animal, not, however, one of those revered fay the whole nation, but only locally held in honor. Of old it was found in Lower as well as Upper Egrp^; now it is restricted to the latter region, never descea^ ing as low as Cairo, and usually not being seen untzi the traveller approaches the Thebais. In bieroglTpk- ics it bears the name msuhy literally 'in the eg^' as though expressing surprise that so great an aaionl should issue from so small an egg. From this nasM the Coptic and Arabic names take their origm. The crocodile was sacred to the god Sebak, represented with the head of this animal and the body of a mu. and of uncertain place in the Egyptian mythology. It was not only not worshipped throughout Egypt, hot was as much hated in some aa venerated in other |«rts of the country : thus in the Ombite nonie it was ww- shipped, and hunted in the Apollinopolite and Teotr- rite nomes. The worship of this animal is no doubt «f Nigritian origin, like all the low natore-worship ef i Egypt. It is not certain that the crocodile was an emblem of the king with the Egyptians, but it seemi ; probable that this was the case. I