456 



SCIENCES AND SOCIAL ARTS. 



[PART IV. 



distillation, which they retain to the present day. 1 The 

 knowledge of the latter they probably acquired from the 

 Arabs or Chinese. 



1 " I was frequently visited by one 

 old man, a priest, who had travelled 

 through Bengal, Burmah, Siam, and 

 many other countries, and who 

 prided himself on being able to make 

 calomel much better than the Euro- 

 pean doctors, as his preparation did 

 not cause the falling out of the 

 teeth, soreness of the mouth, or 



salivation. He learnt the secret from 

 an ancient sage whom he met with 

 in a forest on the continent of India ; 

 and often when listening to him I 

 was reminded of the mysteries and 

 crudities of the alchemists." 

 HARDY'S Eastern Monachism, Lond. 

 1850, ch, xxiii. p. 312, 



