Probably this much talked of fascination is nothing
more than by its presence near their nests to incite them to attack, and
to hazard near and nearer approaches to their enemy in hope to force him
to retreat, until once within the compass of his fell swoop they fall
victims to their temerity. I have often watched a cat act thus. Whatever
explanation may be received, the fact cannot be questioned, and is ever
attributed by the unreflecting, to some diabolic spell cast upon them by
the animal. They have the same strange susceptibility to the influence
of certain sounds as the vipers, in which lies the secret of snake
charming. Most of the Indian magicians were familiar with this
singularity. They employed it with telling effect to put beyond question
their intercourse with the unseen powers, and to vindicate the potency
of their own guardian spirits who thus enabled them to handle with
impunity the most venomous of reptiles.[109-1] The well-known antipathy
of these serpents to certain plants, for instance the hazel, which bound
around the ankles is an efficient protection against their attacks, and
perhaps some antidote to their poison used by the magicians, led to
their frequent introduction in religious ceremonies.
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