Nevertheless, a slight œdema began to appear round the bite. The injured man seemed to be suffering a little, but the pain did not extend above the wrist; a slight trembling appeared in the other arm. From time to time Coupin gently massaged the affected limb with his left hand from above downwards, in order, he said, to lessen the pain, and perhaps also with a view to checking the diffusion of the venom. A slight perspiration broke out over the body; the pulse was regular, 92, twenty minutes after the bite. Towards 6.15, or about an hour and a half after the experiment, the man, refusing an injection of serum, prepared to go home, but we insisted that he should remain at the hospital for at least two hours longer, so as to enable us to watch his condition. He consented to this, and asked for something to eat. At this time the back of the hand was somewhat more swollen, but Coupin seemed to be little disturbed by it; he even declared that the swelling would increase still further on the following day, and that, in two or three days, he would make an incision in order to let out the impure blood collected at the spot; also that the trouble was now localised, and would not extend higher. He merely complained of acute thirst, and of a certain difficulty in swallowing, which was due, he declared, to the extreme bitterness of the leaves that he had just masticated. Temperature 36·8° C.; pulse 36. After the brief reaction at the outset, there was a certain amount of hypothermia, but the general condition seemed satisfactory, and the man remained perfectly calm. We therefore left him under the supervision of the resident student and the male attendants, giving orders that we should be sent for immediately in case of any serious symptoms arising. At 7.15 we received a note from the student to the effect that Coupin had vomited, that his pulse was small, there was difficulty in breathing, and that he had just received an injection of antivenomous serum. We hastened to the hospital, where we were speedily joined by Drs. Cordier and Lhomme. On our arrival we found Coupin in a rather prostrate condition. The pupils were fixed, he was foaming slightly at the mouth, respiration was regular, the pulse was strong and quite rhythmical at 96; the man was somewhat chilly. The patient was unable to speak, but had not lost consciousness, for, when we asked him how he was, he indicated by signs that he felt very ill. We subsequently learnt, from the student on duty, that towards 6.45 the condition of the patient became suddenly worse, after his companion had administered to him some medicine, the nature of which we have been unable to discover; on swallowing this drug Coupin was seized with vomiting, and became collapsed. We thought it more likely, however, that this was a mere coincidence, rather than the result of a poison adding its effects to those produced by the bite of the snake.