Geckoes.—­But the most familiar and attractive of the class are the Geckoes[1], which frequent the sitting-rooms, and being furnished with pads to each toe, are enabled to ascend perpendicular walls and adhere to glass and ceilings.  Being nocturnal in their habits, the pupil of the eye, instead of being circular as in the diurnal species, is linear and vertical like those of the cat.  As soon as evening arrives, they emerge from the chinks and recesses where they conceal themselves during the day, in search of insects which retire to settle for the night, and are to be seen in every house in keen and crafty pursuit of their prey.  In a boudoir where the ladies of my family spent their evenings, one of these familiar and amusing little creatures had its hiding-place behind a gilt picture frame, and punctually as the candles were lighted, it made its appearance on the wall to be fed with its accustomed crumb; and, if neglected, it reiterated its sharp quick call of chic, chic, chit, till attended to.  It was of a delicate grey colour, tinged with pink; and having by accident fallen on a work-table, it fled, leaving its tail behind it, which, however, it reproduced within less than a month.  This faculty of reproduction is doubtless designed to enable the creature to escape from its assailants:  the detaching of the limb is evidently its own act; and it is observable, that when reproduced, the tail generally exhibits some variation from its previous form, the diverging spines being absent, the new portion covered with small square uniform scales placed in a cross series, and the scuta below being seldom so distinct as in the original member.[2] In an officer’s quarters in the fort of Colombo, a Geckoe had been taught to come daily to the dinner-table, and always made its appearance along with the dessert.  The family were absent for some months, during which the house underwent extensive repairs, the roof having been raised, the walls stuccoed, and ceilings whitened.  It was naturally surmised that so long a suspension of its accustomed habits would have led to the disappearance of the little lizard; but on the return of its old friends, at their first dinner it made its entrance as usual the instant the cloth had been removed.

[Footnote 1:  Hemidactylus maculatus, Dum. et Bib., Gray; H. Leschenaultii, Dum. et Bib.; H. frenatus, Schlegel.]

[Footnote 2:  Brit.  Mus.  Cat. p. 143; KELAART’S Prod.  Faun.  Zeylan. p. 183.]

Crocodile.—­The Portuguese in India, like the Spaniards in South America, affixed the name of lagarto to the huge reptiles which infest the rivers and estuaries of both continents; and to the present day the Europeans in Ceylon apply the term alligator to what are in reality crocodiles, which literally swarm in the still waters and tanks throughout the northern provinces, but rarely frequent rapid streams, and have never been found in the marshy