Life of Frank Buckland / by his brother-in-law, George C. Bompas.

  • Bompas, George C.
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Life of Frank Buckland / by his brother-in-law, George C. Bompas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    to the blow, right on to the body of the rat. This poor beast now seemed to know that the fight was over, and that he was conquered. He retired to a corner of the cage, and began panting violently, endeavouring at the same time to steady his failing strength with his feet. His eyes were widely dilated, and his mouth open as if gasping for breath. The cobra stood erect over him, hissing and putting out his tongue, as if conscious of victory. In about three minutes the rat fell quietly on his side and expired. The cobra then moved ojQF and took no farther notice of his defunct enemy. About ten minutes afterwards the rat was hooked out of the cage for me to examine. No external wound could I see anywhere, so I took out my knife and began taking the skin off the rat. I soon discovered two very minute punctures, like small needle holes, in the side of the rat where the fangs of the snake had entered. The parts between the skin and the flesh, and the flesh itself, appeared as though affected with mortification, even though the wound had not been inflicted above a quarter of an hour, if so much. ' Anxious to see if the skin itself was affected, I scraped away the parts on it with my finger-nail. Finding nothing but the punctures, I threw the rat away, and put the knife and skin in my pocket, and started to go away. I had not walked a hundred yards before, all of a sudden, I felt just as if somebody had come behind me and struck me a severe blow on the head and neck, and at the same time I experienced a most acute pain and sense of oppres- sion at the chest, as though a hot iron had been run in and a hundredweight put on the top of it. I knew instantly, from what I had read, that 1 was poisoned. I