52 CASES. 



antidote is not thrown out of the system as quickly as the strychnine, 

 and is therefore apt to reassert itself, he allowed another urgent 

 engagement to take him away from the lad after watching him for 

 two hours and actually taking the evening tea with him. His 

 instructions to the mother not to let her son go to sleep and to watch 

 him carefully- for the slightest sign of the return of symptoms, were 

 unfortunately disobeyed. Both mother and son went to sleep, 

 deeming all danger over. During this sleep the lad again relapsed 

 into coma and was found so at daylight. All attempts to rouse him 

 were fruitless, and he died before the messenger intended for me had 

 time to saddle a horse. The death of the unfortunate lad, however, 

 has saved some lives since. It taught the writer the lesson never to 

 trust to the apparent success of the antidote until it shows distinct 

 signs of its own physiological action, and even then to watch his 

 patients carefully for the first twenty-four hours, and let them sleep 

 for short periods only. 



Case 2. — A.H., a vigorous ^rl of 20 years, bitten above the 

 left ankle by a snake in some long grass, and therefore not identified. 

 Had applied two tight ligatures above the bite, ran home and got 

 her mother to cut out the bitten skin, showing two distinct punctures. 

 Seen within an hour after the bite the girl presented distinct, but 

 moderate symptoms, deadly paleness, very cold skin, small frequent 

 pulse, and a peculiar feeling of agony about the heart, just able to 

 sit upright, but unable to walk. All symptoms increased rapidly 

 after writer cut ligatures. She reeled from side to side, and sud- 

 denly fell forward as if in a swoon. Injected ^th grain of strych. 

 nitr., and, as she did not lose consciousness, was able to watch the 

 interesting and rapid effect of the antidote. It had not been 

 injected more than five minutes when slight colour returned to the 

 cheeks, naturally very red. Patient then, stated that the distressing 

 feeling about the heart was getting less and also that of drowsiness. 

 From minute to minute her condition improved, and in about ten she 

 was able to rise and walk a few steps. Profiting, however, by the 

 lesson his first case had given him, the writer did not trust to her 

 apparent recovery, but seeing that much of the poison had been 



