SERPENTS 



" Oh yes," I replied, " and glad I shall be to get the 

 creature." 



My visitor looked very straight at me. " Do you mean to 

 say that you ever expected to get a serpent of that size ? " 



" You will excuse me, but I must say I had as good a 

 right to offer £500 for such a serpent as the author of the 

 letter describing such a monster had to publish the 

 account of it." 



" Well, all I can say is, that your letter did me a very 

 great deal of mischief, and warmed me up considerably ; in 

 fact, I had to leave the place in consequence. I only wrote 

 to my friend as a joke, but the matter ended very seriously 

 for me," and without further remark he departed. 



REMARKS UPON SNAKE POISONING. 



The constant supply of instances of the occurrence of 

 death from snake bites, and the continued reference to 

 the wonderful recoveries by the application of innumer- 

 able remedies, or so-called antidotes, form an everlasting 

 source of contention, and give rise to endless disputes. 

 This cannot be regarded as anything very remarkable, 

 considering the extensive range this extremely difficult 

 subject has, and the multiplicity of circumstances and 

 varied nature of the matter for thought and study that 

 are frequently presented by a host of witnesses whose 

 evidence and testimony aj^ipear from time to time undouhted, 

 as they would be upon almost any other of our human affairs. 

 But the matter under consideration requires a more strict 

 and careful inquiry, which can only be fully made by those 

 who have by actual practice become acquainted with the 

 subject. 



There is a certain longing or desire not too quickly to 

 abolish and banish from our thoughts a long-established 



269 



