THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. I45 



before my first departure from Lahore in the year 1832, 

 and who introduced to me at that time a patient afflict- 

 ed with it. It was a laundry man, of the age of sixty, 

 although he appeared nearer eighty. He allowed himself 

 to be bitten every month by serpents. He was of short 

 stature, and of a cachectical appearance ; his perspiration, 

 which I perceived at some distance, was peculiarly offensive, 

 and was similar to that of serpents. He told me he had 

 been troubled with that malady upwards of thirty years : that 

 at the commencement he permitted himself to be bitten once 

 a year, afterwards twice, but at that time, once in every 

 month, and that the serpents followed him even into the 

 water. He stated that only four days previously he had 

 been bitten on the upper part of his hand, on which I could 

 perceive a cicatrix, and he showed me numerous scars on 

 his hands and feet, so that I could not doubt the truth of 

 his statement. He added, that he had often sucked the 

 venom or poison from the wounds of bitten people. I am 

 of opinion that he, in sucking the poison from others 

 ( unless it is neutralized by his saliva ) extracts or diminished 

 it ; but, in their own cases, a similar virus being existent 

 in their system, every time they are bitten the fresh virus 

 neutralizes temporarily the other. Qicery — May not such 

 persons be able to neutralize even hydrophobiac poison ? 



The before-mentioned learned faqueer and his four adult 

 sons, as also other native hakims, may give a full explana- 

 tion of the above case, and procure for the English phy- 

 sicians some such patient, so that they may be able to 

 satisfy themselves of the fact, and investigate the matter. 

 I have seen at least a dozen of them at Lahore, who were 

 all males ; and I am told that the number of such patients 

 in the Punjab is very large. The nature of the disease is, 

 that the patients, at certain periods, have an irresistible 

 inclination to be bitten by serpents ; which they say does 

 them a great deal of good, as for a few days previously 

 they are troubled with fainting and dizziness, nausea, want 

 of appetite, disinclination to work, and heaviness in the 

 limbs. These are the symptoms of the disease in question ; 



