i 827.] Notes for the Month. 635 



wound made by the bite of a rattlesnake, being not dangerous, provided that the 

 mouth and throat and the commencement of the alimentary canal present no 

 scratch or ulceration. 



" M. Magendie is of opinion, that the above list of precautions is not complete. 

 The ligature, properly applied, he takes to be of the highest importance in pre- 

 venting the absorption of the poison. He thinks that the ligature made by Mr, 

 Drake, must have been, from his alarm and agitation, incomplete 



'* Several members suggested whether it would not be advisable to prohibit the 

 exposure of poisonous animals altogether, in the way of public exhibition. 



" M. Geoffrey states, that the rattlesnake which bit the Sieur Drake having died, 

 and be'en sent to the Museum for dissection, one of the preparers happened to 

 scratch himself eight days after with the scalpel which he had used in the opera- 

 tion : this slight wound was followed by painful consequences a swelling of the 

 hand, and a painful enlargement of the glands of the arm-pit. 



" M. Coquebert Montbret states a new reason for absolutely prohibiting the exhi- 

 bition of rattlesnakes. These animals can live and breed in our climate. It may 

 fairly be dreaded then, that if any should escape, by accident, they might propa- 

 gate their species. 



" M. Dumeril remarks, that the consequences which followed the bite of this snake 

 at Rouen, do not at all resemble the effects of such accidents in America: there 

 the results are far less rapid and Jess terrible. 



" M. Bosc confirms that opinion. He is most surprised at the accident of Mr. 

 Drake, and at its consequences. He has seen more than thirty persons bitten by 

 rattlesnakes, not one of whom died. He recollects a case, however, in which a 

 horse died from being bitten in the tongue. 



'* On the motion of M. Magendie, a note was read from M. Delille, " corres- 

 ponding member of the society," upon the treatment of the bites of venomous 

 animals. The author particularly relies from his experience (with M. Magendie) 

 upon the efficacy of the ligature." 



It is a curious example of the indifference which men acquire to those 

 dangers that belong regularly to their trade the fact that poor Drake 

 after he is bitten by the rattlesnake " to prevent any further mischief" 

 that i?, the destroying of a valuable piece of property (the snake) does 

 not throw the animal as Achilles himself would have done upon the 

 ground, but is bitten a second, time in attempting to put it into its cage 

 again. But the apprehen'sion of M. Coquebert Montbret, lest France 

 should become overrun with rattlesnakes, by the escape of those which 

 are carried about for shew, is admirable ! What would the learned gentle- 

 man say to the situation of London, in case a fire were to happen at 

 Exeter Change. 



Mr. Martin, the highly ingenious and well-known illustrator of Milton, 

 has published an engraving on steel, from his famous picture of u Joshua 

 " commanding the sun to stand still." The original painting will be in 

 the recollection of every body, as one of the most fortunate which Mr. Mar- 

 tin's bold and peculiar pencil has produced. The success of the plate, 

 which is a most spirited as well as elaborate performance, has been even 

 greater than that which attended the production of " Belshazzar's feast/* 

 No admirer of Martin's style and genius ought to omit seeing it. 



Speaking of dramatic affairs, the John BulJ, of last Sunday, notices, 

 that a " Mr. Charletan" or " Charlatan,'' who prints a French news- 

 paper somewhere near Cranbourne-alley, has abused, in very gross terms, 

 a French actress of the name of St. Leon, who is now playing in the little 

 theatre by Tottenham-court-road. This individual, whose name is Cha- 

 telain, (not " Charlatan") had his bones broken a short time since at the 

 Opera-house, for some very foul abuse of Madame Caradori: and, al- 

 though we in general disapprove of the baculwie style of abating criti- 

 cism, we are forced to confess that the impudence with which some of 



