Death of Dr. Seelzen. S95 



scenes of early wonders shown to travellers by the pious Greeks 

 of Santa Catherina; yet his travels through that route, and their 

 continuation through the unfrequented jDaths of Arabia Petrsea, 

 brought to light a mass of information. 



" After his tour through the northern part of Arabia, and from 

 thence into the Hedjaz, Dr. Seetzen rejjosed a few months at 

 Mecca, where he mingled Avith the crowd of pilgrims that an- 

 nually assemble there from every (|uarter of the eastern world ; 

 and by tlie disguise of a long black beard, an Arab dress, an in- 

 timate acquaintance with all the doctrines and ceremonies of Is- 

 lamism, and a proficient fluency of expression in the various 

 dialects of the Arabic tongue, he acquired the title of Hadjee 

 Moosa, after performing a pilgrim's duties ; when he quitted the 

 Holy City, without a suspicion having once been excited of his 

 want of veneraiion for the Caaba and the Prophet. 



" From Mecca, he journeyed through the southern territories 

 of the Hedjaz with a caravan, and reached Saana, tlie capital of 

 the Yemen, through a route before untravelled by any European; 

 from whence he continued his tour through the most fertile parts 

 of Arabia Felix, and arrived at length at Mocha, bringing with 

 him the spoils which his intrepidity alone had gained him, in bo- 

 tanical, mineralogical, and other specimens of natural history. 

 Like the collection of the industrious Nicbnhr, it had scarcely 

 entered the gates of Mocha before it was seized by the rapacious 

 Dola, under the hope of its containing immense treasures; but 

 finding himself miserably disapponited in his estimation of their 

 value, as if to avenge himself for it, by securing at least their 

 loss to the proprietor, he caused them all to be conveyed to the 

 Imaum of Saana, under a pretence of their being mtended for 

 the exercise of magic and incantation. They were accordingly 

 confiscated, and for ever lost to the proprietor of them, who 

 seemed onlv to be stimulated thereby to greater undertakings in 

 the w-ay of arduous research. 



" During Dr. Seetzen's stay at Mocha, he invariably bore the 

 character of a Mussulman dervish, under the name of Hadjee 

 Moosa ; nor does it appear that he was known to any of the na- 

 tives even there, as an European, his disguise being (as was be- 

 fore observed) complete ; and his prudence v/as carried so far, 

 that he never visited any of the factories there, although Captain 

 Rudland, who was at that moment the East India Company's 

 Agent in the Gulph, gave him repeated invitations, and paid him 

 every indirect attention which he could be prevailed on to re- 

 ceive; his constant residence being in the common caravanserah 

 of Mohammedan travellers. — It had been the general opinion of 

 the best informed people at Cairo, who at all interested them- 

 Bclves in the question^ and consequently of his patrons in Europe, 



who 



