With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominent
position, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and the
doctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly.
"I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject.
I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not the
speaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeeded
admirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir Modava
Rao, on snakes."
The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave was
sorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes.
"I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonous
snakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what it
was; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banish
them all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removing
them. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics say
that 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and a
single malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time.
"The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, replied
that she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it by
this time.
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