MISCELLANIES. 



619 



names of Julot or Julo, the flame, 

 and Bade Simioom, the pestilen- 

 tial wind. So powerfully search- 

 ing- is its nature, that it has been 

 known to kill camels or other 

 hardy animals, and its effects on 

 the human frame weie related to 

 me by those who had been eye- 

 witnesses of them, as the most 

 dreadful that can be imagined ; 

 the muscles of the unhappy suf- 

 ferer become rigid and contracted; 

 the skin shrivels, an agonizing 

 sensation, as if the flesh was on 

 fire, pervades the whole frame, 

 and in the last stage it cracks into 

 deep gashes, producing hemorr- 

 hage, that quickly ends this mi- 

 sery. In some instances life is 

 annihilated instantaneously, and 

 in others the unfortunate victim 

 lingers forhovu's, or perhaps days, 

 in the excruciating tortures I have 

 described. To render this ter- 

 rible scourge still more baneful, 

 its approach is seldom, if ever 

 foreseen ; and among all the Be- 

 looches with whom I have con- 

 versed regarding it, no one as- 

 serted more than that they had 

 heard it was indicated by an unu- 

 sual oppression in the air, and a 

 degree of heat that affected the 

 eyes ; the precaution then adopted, 

 is to cover themselves over, and 

 lie prostrate on the earth. A 

 curious fact is established by this 

 custom, that any cloth, however 

 thin, will obviate the deleterious 

 effects of the Bade Sumoom on 

 the human body. 



THE CITY OF HERAT. 



(From the samp.) 



The city of Herat is situated in 

 a vulley, surrounded by lofty 



mountains, and contiguous to the 

 northern ridge, which separates 

 it from the country of Bokhara. 

 The valley extends at least thirty 

 miles, froin east to west, and is 

 about fifteen broad, watei'ed by a 

 river rising in the moimtains and 

 running through the centre ; it is 

 highly cultivated, and the w-hole 

 face of it is covered with villages 

 and gardens. The approach to 

 Herat from the Zearutgah, lies 

 four miles between orchards, with 

 a capital road ; at the end of this 

 road we came to the river, over 

 which there is a very' ancient 

 bridge, four hundred yards in 

 length, built of burnt brick, and 

 said to have been erected by an 

 oil woman at her own private ex- 

 pence ; it is now, however, mi- 

 serably decayed, and will soon 

 tumble to pieces unless the go- 

 vernment repair it. Previous to 

 the building of this bridge the 

 communication between the city 

 and the country was yearly cut 

 off, on the melting of the snow 

 in the mountains, and the conse- 

 quent swell of the river. When 

 we had passed the bridge, we rode 

 four miles through the suburbs 

 along a good road, to the city 

 gate. 



The city covers an area of four 

 square miles, and is fprtified b}^ a 

 lofty mud wall, v.'ith towers and 

 a wet ditch ; in the northern face 

 is a citadel elevated on a mound 

 above the wall ; this is a small 

 square castle with towers at th^ 

 angles, built of burnt biick, ar.d 

 the whole in line with the wall, 

 and encompassed by a wet ditch, 

 over which is a draw-bridge. Be- 

 yond this, there is also a recently 

 constructed outer wall and dry 

 ditch. The city has a gate iu 



each 



