﻿Or THE AMTIENTS. 407 



was deceived by the dry specimens -which he had seen, 

 and mistook them for roots. 



A lingular description of the swnbul by Abrflfazl, 

 who frequently mentions it as an ingredient in Indian 

 perfumes, had for some time almost convinced me 

 that the true Spikenard was the Cetaca, or Pandanus 

 of our botanists : his words are, Swnbul panj berg 

 dared, Cfik dirazii an dah angoshtestu pahnai, seh, or, 

 " The swnbul has five leaves, ten fingers long, and 

 t( three broad.'* Now 1 well knew that the minister 

 of Acbar was not a botanist, and might easily have 

 mistaken a thyrsus for a single flower : I had seen no 

 blossom, or assemblage of blossoms, of such dimen- 

 sions, except the male Cetaca ; and, though the Per- 

 sian writer describes the female as a different plant, 

 by the vulgar name Cyor-a, yet such a mistake might 

 naturally have been expected in such a work : but 

 what most confirmed my opinion, was the exquisite 

 fragrance of the Cetaca-flower, which to my sense far 

 surpassed the richest perfumes of Europe or Asia. 

 Scarce a doubt remained, when 1 met with a descrip- 

 tion of the Cetaca by For* kohl, whose words are so 

 perfectly applicable to the general idea which we are 

 apt to form of Spikenard ', that I give you a literal transla- 

 tion of them : — " The Pandanus is an incomparable 

 H plant, and cultivated for its odour, which it breathes 

 ° so richly, that one or two Spikes, in a situation ra- 

 *' ther humid, would be suffi. ient to diffuse an odo- 

 " riferous air for a long time through a spacious 

 " apartment; so that the natives in general are not 

 " solicitous about the living plants, but purchase the 

 <c spikes at a great price*'' I learned also, that a fra- 

 grant essential oil was extracted from the flowers ; 

 and I procured from Banares a large phial of it, which 

 was adulterated with sandal ; but the very adulteration 

 convinced me, that the genuine essence must be va- 

 luable, from the great number of thyrsi that must be 

 Dd 3 



