g6 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST, 



by a European physician, and that he used to give all the 

 remedies which had been ordered him by the Enplisb 

 doctors, Murray, Steel, and Macgregor, to his servants, to- 

 try the effect on them ; but that he was now resolved 

 to take my medicines, which I was to prepare in his 

 presence. This I promised to do. It was then mid-day, the 

 time when the durbar ( assembly ) leaves the palace, so, 

 accompanied by the fakeer, I presented myself to the 

 king. I found with him only the minister, Dhyan Sing. 

 I had brought with me the tinctura dulcamara, and three 

 empty corked little phials. First of all, I asked for a 

 gudwai ( water-carrier ), and ordered him to bring the 

 spirit that the maharajah was in the habit of drinking ; 

 this had been distilled, in my presence, from Cabul grapes, 

 and it was rectified, because Runjeet Sing preferred strong 

 spirits. I put the three empty phials into the hands of 

 the gudwai, and ordered them to be rinsed with the same 

 spirit, and afterwards each of them to be half filled with 

 spirit, about one drachm in each phial. When this was 

 done, I put just one drop of the essence of dulcamara 

 ( woody-nightshade) into one of those phials which the 

 water-catrier held in his hand, and I ordered him to cork 

 it and shake it. Then I desired the fakeer to mark it 

 number "one," and I put a drop out of it into the second 

 phial, causing it to be corked and shaken like the first, 

 and marked number "two". In the same manner, the 

 third dilution was made, and number " three " was marked 

 on it. From this last, I ordered one single drop to be 

 let fall on a lump of sugar, which, at my request, the 

 maharajah put into his mouth, where it was retained until 

 dissolved. I ordered the same dose to be administered 

 to the patient every morning and evening. 



During the preparation of the medicine, some persons 

 who were standing by could not forbear smiling ; and the 

 fakeer himself was of opinion that such a minute dose 

 could not be hurtful, should it even be supposed to be 

 poison. But what was the result ? On the first day there 

 >vas no sensible amelioration in the health of the maharajah ; 



