540 



PHILOSOPHICAL THANSACTIONS. 



[anno 1700-1. 



with a Bramin, somewhat more learned than any of the rest, his name was 

 Ramnaunt : he told me many secrets in physic, as also many traditions and stories. 

 They have books full of charms, and cabilistic complications of figures ; as for 

 example, if you write these following numbers,* 28, 35, 2, 7 — 0> 3, 32, 3 I— 

 34, 29, 8, 1 — 4, 5, 30, 33, in the squares of a square figure, and your enemy's 

 name under it, and wear it always about you, your enemy shall never be 

 able to hurt you. So if you write the following figures in the like manner upon 

 the left hand, 2, 9, 2, 7—6, 3, 6, 5—8, 3, 8, 1—4, 5, 4, 7— with tur- 

 meric, and wash the same off with fair water of Ganges, and drink it, it will 

 cure all venomous bitings. 



They have many similar ridiculous fancies ; all which they seem to have bor- 

 rowed from the cabala of the Saracens. 



When they have any mad men among them, they put them into a close 

 room, just large enough to hold them, and smoke them almost to death with 

 musk and cold smells, which soon brings their brains into their right tempera- 

 ture, and so recovers them, &c. 



There happened two things in our voyage hither ; which I thought very ob- 

 servable. The first was, that all the tornadoes brought much rain with a stench; 

 and if the seamen laid their clothes by but for 24 hours, they became all full of 

 little maggots. The second is, when we came out of Europe, we took in some 

 water at St. Jago's, and when we were almost at our journey's end, our cooper 

 going with a candle to open one of the casks, he had no sooner done it, than the 

 water immediately took fire, and burnt his face, hands, and fingers ; but turning 

 suddenly about, he quenched it, by setting his breech on it. The water also 

 stunk much at the same time, but afterwards came to its natural sweetness, &c. 



* It is remaikable that these 16 numbers, being 

 formed into the 1(5 cells of a square in tlie order as they 

 stand, they will compose a magic square, every hori- 

 zontal row and every vertical column, and each dia- 

 gonal of which amount always to the same sum, viz. 72, 

 as in the annexed scheme of the iirst square. And 

 the like for the second set of 16 numbers in the 2d 

 square, whose horizontal, vertical, and diagon;il sums 

 amount always to 20. Of these two curious sets of 

 numbers, it is remarkable that the former consists of 

 two sets or halves of 8 numbers each in a continued 

 series, the one from the number 1 to 8 in succession, 

 the other 8 from 28 to 35 inclusive ; but in the latter 

 set of If) numbers there are two of each number, 

 from 2 to 8, then one of 1 aud one of 9- 



