court of female attendants flocked to the fpectacle. Refufal or refiftance were in vain, I was furrounded with fitty or fixty women, all equal in ftature and ftrength to myself. The whole of my clothing was, like theirs, a long loofe fhirt of blue Surat cotton cloth, reaching from the neck down to the feet. The only terms I could poffibly, and that with great difficulty, make for myself were, that they fhould be contented to ftrip me no farther than the fhoulders and breaft. Upon feeing the whitenefs of my fkin, they gave all a loud cry in token of diflike, and fhuddered, seeming to confider it rather the effect of disease than natural. I think in my life I never felt fo difagreeably. I have been in more than one battle, but furely I would joyfully have taken my chance again in any of them to have been freed from that examination. I could not help likewife reflecting, that, if the king had come in during this exhibition, the confequence would either have been impaling, or ftripping off that skin whofe colour they were fo curious about; though I can folemnly declare, there was not an idea in my breaft, fince ever I had the honour of feeing these royal beauties, that could have given his majelty of Sennaar the fmalleft reafon for jealoufy; and I believe the fame may be faid of the fentiments of the ladies in what regarded me. Ours was a mutual paffion, but dangerous to no one concerned. I returned home with very different fenfations from those I had felt after an interview with the beautiful Aiscach of Teawa. Indeed, it was impoffible to be more chagrined at, or more difgufted with, my prefent fituation than I was, and the more fo, that my delivery from it appeared to be very diftant, and the circumilances were more and more unfavourable every day.'

Chap, Ix, contains fomething of the hiftory and government of Sennaar, and a lift of kings obtained from the records of Achmet, executioner in ordinary of the kings of Nubia, an office too fingular to be paired in filence. p. 459.

As I do not know that the names of thefe fovereigns are to be found any where elfe, I have fet them down here. The record from which I drew them is at least as extraordinary as any part of their history; it was the hangman's roll, or regifter. It is one of the fingularities which obtains among this brutif people, that the king afcends his throne under an admission, that he may be lawfully put to death by his own fubjects or flaves, upon a council being held by the great officers, if they decree that it is not for the advantage of the ftate, that he be fuffered to reign any longer. There is one officer of his own family, who, alone, can be the inftrument of fhedding his fovereign and kinfman's blood. This officer is called, Sid el Coom, maiter of the king's household, or fervants, but has no vote in depofing him; nor is any guilt imputed to him, however many of his fovereigns he thus regularly murders. Achmet Sid el Coom, the prefent licenfed parricide, and refident in Ifmain's palace, had murdered the late king Naffer, and two of his fons that were well grown, befides a child at his mother's breast; and he was expecting every day to confer the fame favour upon Ifmain;

I

though

though at prefent there was no malice on the one part, nor jealoufy on the other; and I believe both of them had a guess of what was likely to happen. It was this Achmet, who was very much my friend, that gave me a lift of the kings that had reigned, how long their reign lafted, and whether they died a natural death, or were depofed and murdered.

This extraordinary officer was one of the very few that shew ed me any attention or civility at Sennaar. He had been violently tormented with the gravel, but had found much eafe from the ufe of foap-pills that I had given him, and this had produced, on his part, no fmall degree of gratitude and friendship; he was alfo fubject to the epilepfy, but this he was perfuaded was witchcraft, from the machinations of an enemy who refided far off. I often staid at his houfe all night, when he fuffered excellive pains, and I may fay then only I was in fafety,

• Achmet feemed, by strange accident, to be one of the gentleft fpirits of any that it was my misfortune to converfe with at Sennaar. He was very little attached to, or convinced of, the truth of the Mahometan religion, and as little zealous or instructed in his own. He ufed often to qualify his ignorance, or disbelief, by faying, that any, or no religion, was better than that of a Chriftian. His place of birth was in a village of Fazuclo, and it appeared to me that he was ftill a Pagan. He was constantly attended by Nuban priefts, powerful conjurers and forcerers, if you believed him. I often converfed with thefe in great freedom, when it happened they understood Arabic, and from them I learned many particulars concerning the fituation of the inland part of the country, efpecially that vaft ridge of mountains, Dyre and Tegla, which run into the heart of Africa to the westward, whence they fay anciently they came, after having been preferved there from a deluge. I asked them often, (powerful as they were in charms), Why they did not cure Achmet of the gravel, or epilepfy? Their anfwer was, That it was a Christian devil, and not fubject to their power.

Achmet did not believe that I was a Chriftian, knew I was no Mahometan, but thought I was like himfelf, fomething between the two, nor did I ever undeceive him. I was no miffionary, nor had I any care of fouls, nor defire to enter into con verfation about religion, with a man whofe only office was to be the deliberate murderer of his fovereign. He spoke good Arabic, was offended at no queftion, but anfwered freely, and without referve, whether about the country, religion, or government, or the poft which he enjoyed, if we can term it enjoying an office created for fuch horrid crimes. He told me, with great coolnefs, in answer to a question why he murdered Naffer's fon in his father's prefence, that he did not dare to do otherwife from duty to Naffer, whofe right it was to fee his fon flain in a regular and lawful manner, and this was by cutting his throat with a fword, and not by a more ignominious and painful death, which, if it had not been done in the father's fight, the vengeance of his enemies might have fuggefted and inflicted. He faid, that Naffer was very little concerned at the fpectacle of his fon's death, but very loth when it came to his turn to die himself that he

urged

urged him often to fuffer him to efcape, but, finding this in vain, he fubmitted without refiflance. He told me, Ifmain, the prefent king, flood upon very precarious ground; that both the brothers, Adelan and Abou Kalec, were at the head of armies in the field; that Kittou had at his difpofal, all the forces that were in Sennaar; and that the king was little efteemed, and had nei ther experience, courage, friends, money, nor troops.

• I afked him if he was not afraid, when he entered into the king's prefence, left hc, too, might take it into his head to fhew him, that to die or be flain was not fo flight a matter as he made of it. He faid, "By no means; that it was his duty to be with the king the greatest part of the morning, and neceffarily once very late in the evening; that the king knew he had no hand in the wrong that might be done to him, nor any way advanced his death; but, being come to the point that he must die, the reft was only a matter of decency, and it would undoubtedly be the object of his choice, rather to be flain by the hands of his own relation in private, than thofe of a hired affaffin, an Arab, or a Chriftian flave, in public view before the populace." When Baady the king's father was taken prifoner, and fent to Teawa to Welled Haffan governor of Atbara, (Shekh Fidele's father) Ade. lan ordered him to be put to death there, and Welled Haffan carried that order into execution. The king being always armed, was flout, and feemed to be upon his guard: and Welled Haffan found no way of killing him but by thrusting him through the back with a lance while wafhing his hands, The people murmured against Adelan exceedingly, not on account of the murder itself, but the manner of it, and Welled Haffan was afterwards put to death himself, though he acted by exprefs orders, because, not being the officer appointed, he had killed the king; and next, because he had done it with a lance, whereas the only lawful instrument was a fword.'

An account of the heat, difcafes, trade of Nubia, the author's diftreffed fituation, and departure for Chendi, his reception there by Sittina, Adelan's fifter, his paffage through the defart, arrival at Syene, Cairo, and paflage from Alexandria to Marseilles, occupy the remainder of the volume; we finish our extracts with an account of the pillars of moving tand, and the Simoom in the defart. p. 553.

We were here at once furprised and terrified by a fight furely one of the most magnificent in the world. In that vaft expanfe of defert, from W. and to N. W. of us, we faw a number of prodigious pillars of fand at different distances, at times moving with great celerity, at others ftalking on with a majestic flowness; at intervals we thought they were coming in a very few minutes to overwhelm us; and fmall quantities of fand did actually more than once reach us. Again they would retreat fo as to be almoft out of fight, there tops reaching to the very clouds. There the tops often feparated from the bodies; and thefe, once disjoined, difperfed in the air, and did not appear more. Sometimes they were broken near the middle, as if ftruck with a large cannon Alot. About noon they began to advance with confiderable swift

nefs upon us, the wind being very ftrong at north. Eleven of them ranged alongfide of us about the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest appeared to me at that dif tance, as if it would meafure ten feet. They retired from us with a wind at S. E. leaving an impreffion upon my mind to which I can give no name, though furely one ingredient in it was fear, with a confiderable deal of wonder and aftonifhment. It was in vain to think of flying; the fwifteft horse, or fastest failing fhip, could be of no ufe to carry us out of this danger, and the full perfuafion of this rivetted me as if to the fpot where 1 ftood, and let the camels gain on me fo much in my state of lamenefs, that it was with fome difficulty I could overtake them.' Again, p. 555.

The fame appearance of moving pillars of fand prefented themfelves to us this day, in form and difpofition like those we had feen at Waadi Halboub, only they feemed to be more in number, and lefs in fize. They came feveral times in a direction close upon us; that is, I believe, within lefs than two miles. They began, immediately after fun-rife, like a thick wood, and almost darkened the fun; his rays fhining through them for near an hour, gave them an appearance of pillars of fire. Our people now became defperate: the Greeks fhrieked out, and faid it was the day of judgment. Ifmael pronounced it to be hell, and the Tucorories, that the world was on fire. I afked Idris if ever he had before feen fuch a fight? He faid he had often feen them as terrible, though never worfe; but what he feared moft was that extreme rednels in the air, which was a fure prefage of the coming of the fimoom. I begged and entreated Idris that he would not fay one word of that in the hearing of the people, for they had already felt it at Imhanzara in their way from Ras el Feel to Teawa, and again at the Acaba of Gerri, before we came to Chendi, and they were already nearly distracted at the apprehenfion of finding it here.

At half past four o'clock in the afternoon, we left Waadi Del Aned, our courfe a little more to the weftward than the direction of Sycne. The fands which had difappeared yesterday fcarcely fhewed themselves at all this day, and at a great distance from the horizon. This was, however, a comfort but of fhort duration. I observed Idris took no part in it, but only warned me and the fervants, that, upon the coming of the fimoom, we fhould fall upon our faces, with our mouths upon the earth, fo as not to partake of the outward air as long as we could hold our breath. We alighted at fix o'clock at a fmall rock in the fandy. ground, without trees or herbage, fo that our camels fatted all that night. This place is called Ras el Seah, or, by the Bithareen, El Mout, which fignifies death, a name of bad omen.

Gooz.

'On the 16th, at half paft ten in the forenoon, we left El Mout, ftanding in the direction close upon Syene. Our men, if not gay, were however in better fpirits than I had feen them fince we left One of our Barbarins had even attempted a fong; but Hagi Ifmael very gravely reproved him, by telling him, that finging in fuch a fituation was a tempting of Providence. There is, indeed, nothing more different than active and paffive courage. Hagi Ifmael would fight, but he had not strength of mind to fuf

fer.

fer. At eleven o'clock, while we contemplated with great pleafure the rugged top of Chiggre, to which we were faft approaching, and where we were to folace ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris cried out, with a loud voice, Fall upon your faces, for here is the fimoom. I faw from the S. E. a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not fo compreffed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it moved very rapidly, for I fcarce could turn to fall upon the ground with my head to the northward, when I felt the heat of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat on the ground, as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor, or purple haze, which I faw, was indeed paffed, but the light air that fill blew was of heat to threaten fuffocation. For my part, I found diftinctly in my breaft, that I had imbibed a part of it, nor was I free of an asthmatic fenfation till I had been fome months in Italy, at the baths of Poretta, near two years afterwards.'

ART. IV.

[To be concluded in our next.]

Medical Communications, Vol. II. 8vo. p. 527. and four large Plates. Pr. 7s. in boards.

1790.

Johnion.

THE first volume publifhed by this Society appeared in the year 1784, and was well received.

This volume confifts of thirty-four articles.

Art. 1. Cafe of a Recovery after a Ball had passed through the Lungs. By Mr. Edward Rigby, Surgeon, at Norwich.

In this cafe, which is indeed a fingularly fortunate one, a piftol ball paffed through the cheft, entering at the scapula; its force was overcome as it approached the oppofite furface, and it refted immediately under the integuments, fo that it was eafily extracted by a finall opening made in the skin. It is evident that the lungs were wounded, not only from the direction which the ball took, but from the quantity of blood which paffed by the mouth. The patient had no untoward fymptoms, the only one which exifted from the first, being merely a cough excited by the extravafated blood. Mr. Rigby attributes the abfence of bad symptoms, and the speedy healing of the wounds, to the patient having been repeatedly bled, and to the wounds having been clofed fo foon after the accident, and having been fo feldom dreffed, that the accefs of air was almost entirely prevented.

Art. 11. A Cafe of retroverted Uterus, in which the Paracentefis Vefice was fuccessfully performed. By Richard Brown Chefton, M. D. F. R. S. Gloucefter.

Since Dr. Denman's very perfpicuous account of the retroverfion of the uterus has been published, we prefume few readers are ignorant of the circumftance. The peculiarity in

the