54- WANDERINGS IN 



mus t expect to receive who wanders through a 

 thorny and obstructed path. 



Thou must not, courteous reader, expect a 

 dissertation on the manner in which the wourali 

 poison operates on the system ; a treatise has 

 been already written on the subject, and after all, 

 there is probably still reason to doubt. It is 

 supposed to affect the nervous system, and thus 

 destroy the vital functions ; it is also said to be 

 perfectly harmless, provided it does not touch the 

 blood. However, this is certain, when a sufficient 

 quantity of it enters the blood, death is the in- 

 evitable consequence ; but there is no alteration 

 in the colour of the blood, and both the blood and 

 flesh may be eaten with safety. 



All that thou wilt find here is a concise, un- 

 adorned account of the wourali poison. It may 

 be of service to thee some time or other, shouldst 

 thou ever travel through the wilds where it is 

 used. Neither attribute to cruelty, nor to a want 

 of feeling for the sufferings of the inferior animals, 

 the ensuing experiments. The larger animals 

 were destroyed in order to have proof positive of 

 the strength of a poison which hath hitherto been 

 doubted ; and the smaller ones were killed with 

 the hope of substantiating that which has com- 

 monly been supposed to be an antidote. 



It makes a pitying heart ache to see a poor 

 creature in distress and pain ; and too often has 

 the compassionate traveller occasion to heave a 



