Is there any Antidote to the Venom ? 33 



are so modified and articulated as to suit the muscular 

 action necessary for the instantaneous erection of the 

 poison fang, and to cause it to penetrate beneath the 

 skin of the victim' at the same time that the poison 

 gland is compressed and its contents ejected. Examin- 

 ing the fang, it will be seen that our modern hypodermic 

 syringe is a rough copy of the original in these serpents. 

 No venom must be lost, the apex of the fangs must 

 first penetrate, and subsequently, the poison be thrown 

 in. The whole mechanism is adapted to kill. We can 

 now ask How comes this about, and who has designed 

 it ? My answer is Some Omnipotent Power with 

 infinite Will, to which our own finite wills are remotely 

 allied. To those who study Nature, God is present 

 everywhere, and I recognise Him here. Can I, or any 

 other mortal being thwart the designs of Nature ? 

 Fable, or no fable, the following words are substanti- 

 ally as true to-day as they were when uttered thousands 

 of years ago :-- 



" And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because 

 thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, 

 and above every beast of the field ; upon thy belly 

 shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of 

 thy life : And I will put enmity between thee and the 

 woman, and between thy seed and her seed : it shall 

 bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 



But surely some one will say There may be some 

 remedy discovered. Certainly, that I sincerely hope 

 may be ; but as yet we have none. 



