158 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN TUB EAST. 



Having mentioned the habit of smoking churrus; I will 

 make the reader acqujainted with some other intoxicating 

 materials that are used by the natives. An agreeable in- 

 toxicating beverage is prepared by the inhabitants of the 

 Punjab from the hemp plant. It is especially indulged in by 

 the Nahungs, faqueers, and the poorer classes, as they are 

 unable to procure more expensive spirits. Those who 

 abstain from opium and poppy-heads, also make use of a 

 draught df this hemp liquor ; for it is notorious, that those 

 who are addicted to opium must daily get their accustomed 

 draught, otherwise they suffer pain in all their limbs. This, 

 however, does not occur in using the hemp plant, as they 

 can abstain from it without any unpleasant effects ; and 

 in my opinion it is the least prejudicial of all the intoxicating 

 beverages generally used. The longing for this drink, 

 especially among the lower classes of the population, induced 

 the late government at Lahore to devote a certain sum for 

 its preparation and distribution. Not far from the outside 

 of the Delhi gate, near the road to Umritsir, close by my 

 hospital, there was an establishment called Seid Gunge, 

 where this beverage was delivered gratuitously. As might 

 be expected, the Nahungs flocked there in hordes, and this 

 munificence was greatly abused. I made several trials on 

 myself, my friends, and my domestics, to ascertain its effects ; 

 and I found that Inebriation commenced about half-an-hour 

 after taking it, and lasted about three hours, upon which a 

 sound sleep ensued. Those who have partaken of it, feel 

 no ill effects on the following day ; th&re is none of that 

 headache, giddiness, or nausea, &c., which generally follows 

 inebriation from wine or spirits, The intoxication is accom- 

 panied by a good appetite, and the imbibers become ex- 

 cessively jovial ; laughing, joking, and talking, often without 

 control. Even if the stomach is surfeited, no ill effect is 

 experienced ; the digestion is not thereby impaired, and no 

 costiveness is to be feared. In the Bengal Dispensatory, 

 p. 584, it is stated that the composition of cannabis indica, 

 called majoon, is most fascinating in its effects, producing 

 e^atic happiness, a persuasion of high rank, a sensation 



