304? THE ASS WOURAL1A. 



THE ASS WOURALIA.* 

 (From the St. James's Chronicle.) 



POOR Wouralia breathed her last on Saturday 

 morning, the 15th of February, 1839. 



She was formerly the property of a London 

 sweep, and was purchased of him in the year 1814, 

 being then three years old ; so that she must 

 have been in her eight and twentieth year, or 

 thereabouts, at the time of her decease. 



On the day of sale, she was taken to the Veteri- 

 nary College in London, and having been inoculated 

 with the Wourali poison which Mr. Waterton had 

 brought from the wilds of Guiana, she sank in 

 apparent death, at the expiration of ten minutes 

 from the time that she had received the poisoned 

 spike in the fleshy part of her shoulder. 



Under the scientific superintendence of Mr. 

 Sewell, she was restored by means of artificial 

 respiration, which was effected with a pair of com- 

 mon bellows applied to an incision in her windpipe, 

 The operation lasted four hours; after which she 

 rose up and walked about, free from agitation, and 

 apparently free from pain. 



The present Duke of Northumberland (then Lord 

 Percy) wished that she should be called Wouralia, 

 from the Indian poison Wourali, which had just 

 rendered her destiny so very interesting. His 

 Lordship sent her down to Walton Hall, with 

 a request that she might be well taken care of. 



* See WaterhnCs Wanderings, 3d edit. p. 84. 



