THE ANTIDOTE. 47 



as compared with that most insidious condition exem- 

 plified in case No. 1, cited below, the first one treated 

 with strychnine by the writer, who, having no experi- 

 ence in the treatment, did not administer quite enough 

 strychnine. The patient, after apparently recovering 

 from a moribund condition and being able to walk and 

 even to mount a horse, remained partly under the 

 influence of the poison and succumbed to it during 

 sleep, when, according to subsequent experience, one 

 more injection would have saved him. 



The tendency to relapses is always great when 

 much snake-poison has been absorbed. Apparently 

 yielding to the antidote for a time, the insidious 

 venom, after a shorter or longer interval, during which 

 it appears to have been conquered, all at once reasserts 

 its presence, and has to be met by such fresh injec- 

 tions, regardless of the quantity of strychnine pre- 

 viously administered, but the amount required in 

 most relapses is not a large one. The writer formerly 

 inclined to the belief that the strain thus put on 

 the delicate nerve-cells would limit the usefulness 

 of the antidote to cases requiring not much above a 

 grain. Knowing the Indian snakes to impart to their 

 victims such comparatively large quantities of venom, 

 he had strong misgivings as to his method standing 

 the severe test of Indian practice ; and it was most 

 fortunate for this method that its first practical 

 application in India was made by a gentleman who, 

 whilst thoroughly familiar with its principles and 

 convinced of their correctness, had the courage to 



