ablorbed I am convinced; or why is not rain, or any other pure water, equally efficacious, applied to fcrophulous glands? of in an enquiry of this kind, is the ef- Before the fubject be entirely quiethe writer wfhes to fubmit it to the experience of the medical world, to determine how far this mode abforption may be usefully applied in a variety of cafes requiring the various baths which nature has, probably for human ills, provided in different parts of the world, and which are too frequently, from fome circumftance or other, not within the reach or power of thofe to whom they would no doubt be of great fervice; and to add that, in more than one inftance, he has applied with the above faline folution fome few drops of the tinct, ferri mar. he thinks with fome fuccefs in fome cafes where chalybeates feemed to promife relief. The Materia Medica will readily fupply, through the medium of Chemistry, a fund of powerful topicks to the ingenious Phyfician, Remarks on the filand of Hinzuan or Johanna; by Sir William Jones. (Continued from p. 389.) So bad an account had been given me of the road over the mountains, that I diffuaded my companions from thinking of the journey, to which the captain became rather difinclined; but as I wished to be fully acquainted with a country which I might never fee again, I wrote the next day to Salim, requefting him to lend me one palan- quin, and to order a fufficient number of men: he fent me no written anfwer, which I afcribed rather to his incapacity than to rudeness; but the Governor, with Alwi and two of his fons, came on board in the evening, and faid, that they had feen my letters; that all fhould be ready; but that I could not pay lefs for the men than ten dollars. I faid, I would pay more, but it should be to the mea themfelves, according to their behaviour. They returned fomewhat dif fatisfied, after I had played at chefs with Alwi's younger for, in whofe manner and addrets there was fome. thing remarkably pleafing. Before fun-rife on the 2d of Ac. guft, I went alone on foore, with a fmell basket of fuch provisions as I might want in the courfe of the day, and with fome cushions to make the prince's palanquin at least a tolerable vehicle; but the prince was refolved to receive the dollars to which s men were intitled; and he kne that, as was eager for the journey, could prefcribe his own terms. Old palanquin, and was borne with perAlwi met me on the beach, and fect fatety over fome rocks. I then brought excufes from Salim, who, he defired my guide to affure the men, faid, was indifpofed. He conducted that I would pay them liberally; but me to his houfe; and feemed rather the poor peafants, who had been defirous of perfuading me to abandon brought from their farms on the hills, my defign of vifiting the King; but I were not perfectly acquainted with affured him, that if the Prince would the ufe of money, and treated my not fupply me with proper attendants, promife with indifference. I would walk to Domoni with my ,own fervants and a guide. "Shaikh Salim," he faid, "was miferably avaritions; that he was afhamed of a kinfman with fuch a difpofition; but that he was no lefs ob. Ainate than covetous, and that with out ten dollars paid in hand it would be impoffible to procure bearers." 1 then gave him three guineas, which he carried, or pretended to carry to Salim, but returned without the large, alledging that he had no filver, and promifing to give me on my return the few dollars that remained. In about an hour the ridiculous vehicle was brought by nine fturdy blacks, who could not fpeak a word of Arabic; fo that I expected no information concerning the country through which I was to travel; but Alwi afited me in a point of the utmost confequence, "You cannot go," faid he, without an interpreter; for the King fucks only the language of this afland; but I have a fervant whofe Lame is Tumuni, a fenfible and worthy man, who understands English, and is much efteemed by the King; be is known and valued all over Hinzuan. This man fhall attend you; and you will foon be fenfible of his worth." About five miles from Matfamudo lies the town of Wani, where Skaikh Abdullah, who has already been mentioned, ufually refides. I saw it at a diftance, and it feemed to be agreeably fituated. When I had paffed the rocky part of the road I came to a ftony beach, where the fea appeared to have loft fome ground, fince there was a fine fand to the left, and beyond it a beautiful bay, which refembled that of Weymouth, and feemed equally convenient for bathing; but it did not appear to me, that the ftones over which I was carried had been recently covered with water. Here I faw the frigate, and taking leave of it for two days, turned from the coaft into a fine country very neatly cultivated, and confifting partly of hillocks, exquifitely green, partly of plains which were then in a gaudy drefs of rich yellow bloffoms: my guide informed me that they were plantations of a kind of vetch which was eaten by the natives. Cottages and farms were interfperfed all over this gay champaign, and the whole scene was delightful; but it was foon changed for beauties of a different fort. We defcended into a cool valley, through which ran a rivuler of perfectly clear water; and there finding my vehicle Tumani defired to carry my baf uneafy, though from the laughter and ket, and we fet out with a profpect of merriment of my bearers I concludfine weather, but fome hours later ed them to be quite at their eafe, I than I ad intended, I walked by bade them fet me down, and walked the gardens of the two Princes to the before them all the rest of the way. ikirts of the town, and came to a lit- Mountains clothed with fine trees and tle village confifting of feveral very flowering fhrubs prefented themselves neat huts made chiefly with the leaves on our afcent from the vale, and we of the cocoa-tree; but the road a little proceded for half an hour through father was fo itny, that I fat in the pleafant wood-walks, where I regret ted ted the impoffibility of loitering a while to examine the variety of new blof foms, which fucceeded one another at every step, and the virtues as well as names of which feemed familiar to Tumuni. At length we defcended into a valley of greater extent than the former; a river or large wintery torrent ran through it; and fell down a fteep declivity at the end of it, where it feemed to be loft among rocks, Cattle were grazing on the banks of the river, and the huts of the owners appeared on the hills: a more agreeable spot I had not before feen even in Swifferland, or Merionethfhire; but it was followed by an affemblage of natural beauties, which I hardly expected to find in a little island twelve degrees to the fouth of the line. I was not fufficiently pleafed with my folitary journey to difcover charms which had not actual exiftence, and the first effect of the contrast between St Jago and Hinzuan had ceafed. But, without any difpofition to give the landscape a high colouring, I may truly fay what I thought at the time, that the whole country which next prefented itself, as far furpaffed Erme. nonville or Blenheim, or any other imitations of nature which I had feen in France or England, as the fineft bay furpaffes an artificial piece of wa ter. Two very high mountains covered to the fummit with the richest verdure, were at fome diftance on my right hand, and separated from me by meadows diverfified with cottages and herds, or by vallies refounding with torrents and water-falls; on my left was the fea, to which there were beautiful openings from the hills and woods; and the road was a smooth path naturally winding through a foreft of Spicy fhrubs, fruit-trees, and palms. Some high trees were fpangled with white bloffoms equal in fragrance to orange flowers: my guide called them Monongo's, but the day was declining fo faft that it was impoflible to exa3 P VOL. XIV. No. 84. mine them. The variety of fruits, flowers, and birds, of which I had a tranfient view in this magnificent garden, would have fupplied a naturalist with amufement for a mouth; but I faw no remarkable infect, and no reptile of any kind. The woodland was diverfified by a few pleasant glades, and new profpects were continually opened; at length a noble view of the fea burit upon me unexpectedly, and having paffed a hill or two we came to the beach, beyond which were feveral hills and cottages. We turned from the fhore, and on the next eminence I faw the town of Domoni at a little distance below us: I was met by a number of natives, a few of whom fpoke Arabic, and thinking it' a convenient place for repofe, I fent my guide to apprize the king of my intended vifit. He returned in half an hour with a polite meffage; and I walked into the town, which feemed large and populous. A great crowdaccompanied me, and I was conducted to a house built on the fame plan with the best houfes at Matfamudo in the middle of the court yard flood a large Monongo tree, which perfumed the air; the apartment on the left was empty; and in that on the right, fat the king on a fofa or bench covered with an ordinary carpet. He rofe when I entered, and, grafping my hands, placed me near him on the right; but as he could freak only the language of Hinzuan, I had recourfe to my friend Tumani, than whom a readier or more accurate interpreter could not have been found. I prefented the king with a very handfome Indian drefs of blue filk with golden flowers, which had been worn only at one mafquerade, and with a beautiful copy of the Koran, from which I read a few verfes to him: he took them with great complacency, and faid, "he wished I had come by fea, that he might have loaded one of my boats with fruit and fome of his fineft cattle. He had feen me, he faid, on board the frigate, where he had been, accord- feried, and I began to wonder what was become of Tumuni: he came at length, with a concern on his coun tenance, and told me that the bearers had run away in the night; but that the king, who wifhed to fee me in aoother of his boufes, would fupply me with bearers, if he could not prevail on me to flay till a beat cou'd be fent for. I went immediately to the king, who I found fitting on a raised fofa in a large room, the walls of which were adorned with fentences from the Ko. ran in very legible characters: about fifty of his fubjects were feated on the ground in a femicircle before him, and my interpreter took his place in the midst of them. The good old king laughed heartily when he heard the adventure of the night, and faid,"You will now be my gueft for a week, I hope; but fericully, if you mutt return foun, I will tend into the -country for fome peafants to carry you." He then apolog fed for the behaviour of Shaik Salim, which he had heard from Tumuni, who told me afterwards he was much dif, leased with it, and would not fail to exprefs his difpleafure: he concluded with a long harangue on the advantages which the English might derive from fending a fhip every year from Bombay to trade with his fubjects, and on the wonderful cheapnefs of their com modities, efpecially of their cowries. Ridiculous as the idea may feem, it fhowed an enlargement of the mind, a defire to promote the intereft of his people, and a fefe of the benefits a fig from trade, which could only have been expected from a petty African chief, and which, if he had been fovereign of Yemen, might have been expanded into rational projects, proportioned to the extent of his dominions. I anfwered, that I was imperfectly acquainted with the commeice or India; but that I would report the ubftance of his converfation, and would ever bear teftimony of his noble zeal for the good of his country, and ΤΟ to the mildness with which he governed it. As I had no inclination to pals a fecond night in the island, I re. quefted leave to return without waiting for bearers: he feemed very fin.cere in prefling me to lengthen my vifit, but had too much Arabian politenefs to be importunate. We therefore parted; and at the request of Tumuni, who affured me that little time would be loft in fhowing attention to one of the worthieft men in Hinzuan, I made a vifit to the gover. nor of the town, whofe name was Mutckka: his manners were very pleafing, and he fhewed me fome leters from the officers of the Brilliant, wh ch appeared to flow warm from the heart, and contained the strongest eloge of his courtesy and liberality. He infifted on filing my baskets with fome of the fiacft pomegranates I had ever feen; and I left the town impreffed with a very favourable opinion of the king and his governor. When I reafcended the hill attended by many of the natives, one of them told me in Arabic, that I was going to receive the highest mark of distinction that it was in the king's power to fhew me; and he had fearce ended, when I heard the report of a fingle gun: Shaikh Achmed had faluted ine with the whole of his ordnance. I waved my hat, and faid, "Allah Acbar." The people fhouted, and I continued my journey, not without fear of inconvenience from the exceffive heat and the fatigue of climbing rocks. The walk, however, was not on the whole unpleasant. I fometimes refted in the valleys, and forded all the rivulets, which refreshed me with their coolnefs, and fupplied me with exquifice water to mix with the juice of my pomegranates, and occafionally with brandy. We were overtaken by fome pealants, who came from the hills by a Rearer way, and brought the king's prefent of a cow with her calf, and a fhe-goat with two kids: they had apparently been felected for their beauty, and were brought fafe to Bengal. The profpects which had fo greatly delighted me the preceding day had not yet lott their charms, tho' they wanted the recommendation of novelty; but I must confefs, that the moft delightful object in that day's walk of near ten miles was the black frigate, which I difccrued at fun-fet from a rock near the prince's gardens. Clofe to the town, I was met by a native, who, perceiving me to be weary, opened a fine cocoa-nut, which afforded me a delicious draught: he informed me, that one of his countrynien had been punished that afternoon for a theft on board the Crocodile; and added, that in his opinion the punithment was no lefs juft, than the offence was difgraceful to his country. The offender, as I afterwards learned, was a youth of a good family who had married a daughter of old Alwi; but being left alone for a moment in the cabin, and feeing a pair of blue morocco flippers, could not refit the temptation, and conecaled them fo ill un. der his gown, that he was detected This proves that with the mannr. no principle of honour is intilled by education into the gentry of this ifland: even Alwi, when he had obferved, that "in the month of Ramadan it was not lawful to paint with hinna, or to tell lies ;" and when I alked, whether both were lawful all the rest of the year, anfwered, that "lies were innocent, if no man was injured by them." Tumuni took his leave, as well fatisfied as myfelf with our excurfion: I told him before his mafter, that Laransferred alfo to him the dol. lars which were due to me out of the thre guineas; and that if ever they thoul part, 1 thould be very glad to receive hum into my lavice in India. (To be concluded in ear next.) Account |