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Rh I then wrote a letter to my valet requesting him to procure a certain doctor (a friend of mine) and to be sure I was dead before burying me, also to see that my body was kept as long as possible.

My coffin was to be made of very thin light wood, and holes were to be bored in the end where my head would be.

And finally I was to he buried in a vault, the letter stating where to find money to buy one.

To make doubly certain that my instructions should be carried out, I also wrote to the doctor setting forth what they were.

I then sent one letter to him, and placed the other in a prominent position on the mantelpiece so that it could not fail to attract attention.

After carefully preparing the antidote, on the 13th of July, I allowed one of the cobras to bite me on the arm. Thirty seconds afterwards I swallowed the antidote and walked rapidly up and down the room to promote circulation.

After a few moments the room seemed to move round, and I felt a great inclination to sleep.

For some minutes I succeeded in combating this desire, and then my legs gave way beneath me and I fell on the door in a paralysed state.

A state in which I had not the power to move a muscle; my sight was gone, only my brain and powers of hearing remained active.