ic syringe, charged and ready for use.

"'On that subject I can tell you an interesting story,' said our host.
'There was at one time a man named Underwood, who discovered a positive
antidote for the bite of the most venomous serpent. He gave several
exhibitions in which he permitted himself to be bitten by snakes in full
possession of all their venomous powers, a fact which was established by
the immediate deaths of dogs, chickens, and other small animals, which
were bitten by the snakes after they had tried their fangs on Underwood.
He carried a supply of his antidote about him, and used it whenever he
was thus bitten.'

"'Underwood's remedy was a secret known only to himself. He was trying
to sell it to the government, the latter intending to make it public for
the sake of saving life. One day Underwood gave an exhibition in which
he allowed himself, as usual, to be bitten by a venomous snake. He was
intoxicated at the time, and in consequence of his intoxication was
unable to find his antidote; the result was that he died within an hour,
and carried away the secret of his antidote forever.'

"Newly arrived emigrants in Australia have a great fear of snakes. For
the first few weeks they are startled whenever they hear the least
rustling in the bushes, but after a time they get accustomed to it, and
think no more about snakes than they do about dragons. It makes a great
difference in what part of Australia you are. There are some regions
where the snake is rarely seen, while in others great precautions are
necessary. Low, swampy districts are said to be the worst, and men who
walk around in such localities are very careful of their steps.

"Some of the snakes of Australia have an unpleasant habit of coming
around the houses, and this is particularly the case with the tiger
snake, which in this respect seems to possess the same characteristics
as his relative the 'cobra,' of India. Our host told us a story which he
said he knew to be a true one, the incident having occurred in a family
with which he was acquainted. There was an invalid daughter in the
family, and one afternoon, when she was sleeping in a hammock on the
veranda, she suddenly waked with the feeling of something cold, and
moist, and heavy near her neck. She raised her hand and happened to
grasp the neck of a snake just back of the head. In her paroxysm of
terror, she clutched it with terrific force to tear it away.

"She gave a piercing cry that summo