110 



city near the mouth of the Red Sea. He, 

 finding it dissipate the fumes which oppress 

 the head, give cheerfulness, and prevent 

 sleep, without injury, recommended it to his 

 dervises, with whom he used to spend the 

 night in prayer. It was soon after this drunk 

 at Aden, by all studious persons and those 

 who travelled by night. It was progress- 

 ively used at Mecca, Medina, &c. and Grand 

 Cairo: hence it continued it's progress to 

 Damascus and Aleppo. From the two latter 

 places, it was introduced into Constantinople 

 by persons of the name of Shems and Hekin, 

 in the year 1554, each of whom opened 

 a public coffee-house in that city. These 

 coffee-houses becoming a rendezvous for 

 newsmongers, who made too free with state 

 affairs, were suppressed by Cuproli, the 

 Grand Vizier. 



Rauwolfus, who was in the Levant in 

 1573, was the first European author who 



made any mention of coffee. 



w 



The Venetians seem to be the next who 

 used coffee. Pietro Delia Valle, a Venetian, 

 writes from Constantinople in 1615, in- 

 forming his friend, that upon his return he 

 should bring him some coffee, which he 

 believed was a thing unknown in this 

 country. 



