ful to travellers. Taverns are, indeed, frequent on thefe roads, for the accommodation of fuch as want the refreshment of a cup of coffee, or plain water; for nothing better can be had in the taverns of Natolia. Yet if one of these Natolian Turks (and the cafe, we believe, is pretty much the fame in all parts of Turky) is treated with a glass of wine or brandy, by a traveller, he forgets his religion, on that occafion.

At Magnefia our Author firft experienced how miferably a traveller is lodged at the caravanfaras, or inns in Turky. We were led, fays he, to a chamber, the paffage to which was more difficult than the high hills I afterwards afcended; as, on the latter, I had firm ground to ftand on; but here, loofe ftones. The inward appearance was fuch as might be expected in a place which has not been cleaned for 1000 years, viz. from its beginning; and perhaps fome thousands of people have been lodged in it. A rush mat was laid on the floor for each of us;-on which we put the bed-cloaths we had taken with us; and this was all the furniture, tables, chairs and bed.

Being a Phyfician, our Author was much regarded by the Mufelem, or chief commander of Magnefia; and, for the fame reafon, by his fervants, and even by all the inhabitants of that town. Wherever I went, fays he, fo far from pointing at me or my fervant and calling Jaur! (unbeliever) which is otherwifecustomary amongst the Turks when they fee a Christian, efpecially a ftranger, I faw and heard myself called and taken notice of as Hekim Packi: however, I had not this complaifance for nothing. Mufelem, as the chief of the town, began very carefully to think about his health; which was not only followed by his fervants, but by all in the town whom I had occafion to converse with. It is common enough amongst the Turks, and even Greeks, to be fick as often as they have an opportunity of fpeaking to a phyfician. Moft of them are fubject to the hypochondriac diforders; and as this difeafe always occafions perfons to be fufpicious of their health, especially in the country, and in little towns, where they feldom have an opportunity of converfing with them who can give them any fatisfaction, it is no wonder they should be curious, and that a physician should be both welcome and employed. There is no occafion to defire to feel the pulfe. The first thing the perfon does who confults a doctor, is to put forward his naked arm. I know not where they learned this, as perhaps neither they, nor their fathers before them, ever appeared before a phyfician capable of judging by the pulfe. If I may guefs, I fhould think it tranfmitted by the parents to their offspring, and to have been firft

These taverns, or rather coffee-houses, are only huts, confifting of ones piled together, and covered over with boughs. introduced

introduced by that great phyfician who lived here, and put fuch great and juft confidence in the pulfe. It is not difficult to imagine that the great doctor from Stanchio (Cous) to acquire perfect experience, on which he built his fcience, here introduced the custom, that, when any difeafed perfon confulted him he felt his pulfe, which he taught his difciples; of whom the people learned it, and have retained it to this day without knowing the reafon; in the fame manner as hath happened with religious ceremonies amongst fome nations, who still use them, tho' they know not whence or why they were introduced, those who introduced and propagated them having through the change of times been extirpated. I gave my Mufelem fome medicines I had taken with me from Sweden in order to ftrengthen his ftomach. A Seraglio of fifteen women, which at fo early an age kept, was enough to hurt it; but I would not advise any phyfician, who may chance to be in my fituation, and is confulted by a Turkish grandee, to tell him this, as he might perhaps become a martyr to truth. It is best to think and do what appears to be of fervice, and talk as little as poffible. By way of recompence he gave me liberty to go whither I pleafed, andpromifed to take care that the mountains and places where I intended to botanize fhould be clear, which I efteemed the best reward I could defire.'

Dr. Haffelquift is pretty copious in his account of the religious ceremonies at the church feftivals, obferved here, by the Greek and Armenian Chriftians; but as fuch details, we apprehend, will, not, in this country, be regarded as the most useful or entertaining parts of his book, we shall now wait on him at Alexandria.

Here he takes notice of a circumftance which would horridly mortify our English squires, and Yorkshire hunters, were they to travel to the land of Egypt. At Alexandria they would not be suffered. to indulge in their favourite exercise of riding on horseback: and here too the London citizen would be fadly at a lofs for his commodious hackney coach. From the great contempt the Turks have for Chriftians, Jews, and Moors, they will not permit any of them to ride on a horse, which is here deemed too noble a creature for fuch defpicable wretches to beftride; and of which honour a Muffelman alone is worthy. The Chriftians however are very well content to ride upon affes, fince custom hath rendered the use of them fo general; and our author learned to think fo well of these Egyptian hacks, that he afferts, no town has better conveniences for going from place to place, than Cairo or Alexandria.' The streets, he fays, are almost full of affes, [fo poffibly, may be the streets of fome European cities] and he who chufes not to walk, mounts the afs he likes beft, [in which respect, indeed, the cities of Europe and Egypt differ] and gets on apace, and at a reasonable expence. The Moors are the owners of these long ear'd nags, and value them at a high rate.

The

The proprietor of the afs which our Author usually mounted, told him, that he gave twenty ducats for that beaft, and would not take double the money for him, the creature being his mafter's chief fupport.

Our Author alfo visited Rosetta; and, en passant, describes the country and its produce. He alfo mentions many particulars relating to the manners and customs of the people; and among other circumstances, he give the following account of the Egyptian fnake-merchants:

Now [the beginning of July] fays he, was the time to catch all forts of fnakes to be met with in Egypt, as the great heats bring forth thefe vermin: I therefore made preparation to get all I could, and at once received four different forts, which I have defcribed and prcferved in aqua vitæ. Thefe were the common viper, the ceraftes of alpin, jaculus, and an anguis marinus. They were brought to me by a Pfilli, who put me, together with the French Conful, and all of the French nation present, in confternation. They gathered about us to fee how the handled the moft poifonous and dreadful creatures, alive and brifk, without their doing or even offering to do her the leaft harm. When the put them into the bottle where they were to be preferved, fhe took them with her bare hands, and handled them as our ladies do their laces. She had no difficulty with any but the vipera officinales, which were not fond of their lodging. They found means to creep out before the bottle could be corked. They crept over the hands and bare_arms of the woman, without occafioning the leaft fear in her: fhe with great calmness took the fnakes from her body, and put them into the place deftined for their grave. She had taken thefe ferpents in the field with the fame eafe fhe handled them before us; this we were told by the Arab who brought her to us. Doubtlefs this woman had fome unknown art which enabled her to handle thofe creatures. It was impoffible to get any information from her; for on this fubject fhe would not open her lips. The art of fascinating Serpents is a fecret amongst the Egyptians. It is worthy the endeavours of all naturalifts, and the attention of every traveller, to learn fomething decifive relative to this affair. How ancient this art is amongst the Africans, may be concluded from the ancient Maril and Pfylli, who were from Africa, and daily fhewed proofs of it at Rome. It is very remarkable that this fhould be kept a fecret for more than 2000 years, being known only to a few, when we have feen how many other fecrets have within that time been revealed. The circumftances relating to the fafcination of ferpents in Egypt related to me, were principally, I. That the art is only known to certain families, who propagated it to their offspring. 2. The perfon who knows how to fafcinate ferpents, never meddles with other

poisonous

poisonous animals; fuch as fcorpions, lizards, &c. There are different perfons who know how to fafcinate these animals; and they again never meddle with ferpents. 3. Those that fafcinate ferpents eat them both raw and boiled, and even make broth of them, which they eat very commonly amongst them; but in particular, that eat fuch a difh when they go out to catch them. I have even been told the ferpents fried or boiled, are frequently eat by the Arabians, both in Egypt and Arabia, though they know not how to fascinate them, but catch them either alive or dead. 4. After they have eat their soup, they procure a bleffing from their Scheik (prieft or lawyer) who uses fome fuperftitious ceremonies, and amongst others, fpits on them feveral times with certain geftures. This matter of getting a bleffing from the priest is pure fuperftition, and certainly cannot in the leaft help to fafcinate ferpents; but they believe, or will at leaft perfuade others, that the power of fafcinating ferpents depends upon this circumftance. We fee by this, that they know how to make use of the fame means used by other nations; namely, to hide under the fuperftitious cloak of religion, what may be easily and naturally explained, especially when they cannot or will not explain the natural reason. I am inclined to think that all which was formerly, and is yet reckoned witchcraft, might come under the fame article with the fascination of ferpents. The discovery of a small matter may in time teach every body to fascinate ferpents; and then this power may be exercised by those who have not got it from the hands of a holy Scheik, juft as the heat would naturally hatch chickens in an Egyptian oven; whether a Scheik did or did not lay himself naked on it, when the eggs are juft put in; yet to this ceremony do the fuperftitious Egyptians afcribe the happy event of the chicken being hatched, when they are asked the reason. I have been told of a plant with which they anoint or rub themfelves before they touch the ferpents; but I have not hitherto received the leaft description of it, therefore I regard it as fabulous.'

Among the things most obfervable at Cairo, the nilometre engaged our Author's attention. This is a pretty large house built in a fquare near the river Nile. Its roof terminates in a white pyramid; in the foundation-wall, are holes through which the water has a free entrance. In the middle of the building is a marble obelisk, in which is a scale of inches; and by this they daily obferve the increase of the river till the water is let into the town, and over the country.-On the 27th of July, Dr. Haffelquist was prefent at the celebration of a festival to which Cairo alone hath a right, derived from nature, and not to be celebrated in any other place in the world! It was on this day that the water of the Nile was let into the town ; and thereby

by a beginning made,' as our author, or his tranflator expreffeth it, to Egypt's fertility for the enfuing year.' As the good or bad fortune of the country;' continues he, depends on this day, in respect to the plenty of the water, it is juftly one of the most folemn in the whole year. The Nile is entirely under the direction of man: it overflows the country, but wanders not at will: it is conducted to all parts of the countries which may want it, with prudence and circumfpection; but the art of man cannot contribute to its encrease. This is the work of nature. When the Nile begins to encrease, a dam of earth is caft up at the opening of the ditch, which the Emperor Trajan made from the river, and goes through the city, which formerly ended in the fea at Rofette, after having watered the whole country through which the ditch was made. When the water hath rifen to a fufficient height, which can be seen by the famous Nilometre, this dam is opened and the ditch filled with water, which is afterwards encreafed and led over the whole country. The day this is done is a festival, and was now celebrated. The festival was not fo remarkable in this year as in others, because the Turks had now begun their Ramadan, when every body is filent and devout. The fcene was commonly performed in this manner: the Bashaw in Cairo, accompanied by a detachment of 1000 or more Janiffaries, with his Kiaja and other officers, goes to the dam on horseback at seven o'clock in the morning, where he enters a tchiosk (an open fummer-house) and orders those that are to open the dam to hold themselves in readiness. The honour of opening the dam is divided between the Turks, Copthi, and Jews, and is opened by them in their turn. When every thing is ready for opening, the Bashaw throws with his own hands a spade upon the dam. This done, it is removed by those who are appointed for the purpose, with the loudeft acclamations of numbers of people.'

As to

Our Author's defcription of the grand caravan which goes from Cairo to Mecca, is extremely curious; but we have not room for the particulars. His vifit to the burial places of the mummies, and to the celebrated pyramids, comes next. these prodigious monuments of Egyptian antiquity, the pyramids, we have already given, from Norden's travels †, a much more confiderable account of them, than is to be met with in Dr. Haffelquift's brief memoirs. Of the fepulchres of the mummies, our Author's account is also very brief, and much less fatisfactory than fome former defcriptions already before the public. In truth, our Swedish traveller is lefs of an antiquarian than a bo

This caravan ufually confifts of pilgrims, to the number of 40 or 50,000; and fometimes even 100,000.

See Review, vol. xv.

tanist.