No. 35.-1887.] 



NOTES ON CEYLON. 



143 



reprint. It seems that the publisher of the former editions, 

 Jan ten Hoorn, was anxious to bring out a thoroughly revised 

 edition ; and, while he was turning the matter over in 

 his mind, Dr. Daalmans arrived in Amsterdam, to make 

 preparations for accompanying the Anglo-Dutch fleet in its 

 expedition against Spain. While he was in the dispensary 

 of the hospital at Amsterdam, selecting the various drugs 

 needed for the voyage, one of those present, hearing the 

 author's book spoken of, hurried off to the publisher's to get 

 a copy, and returned, saying : " Here I have the last copy of 

 the third edition ; but the publisher says that he intends to 

 reprint it in the course of a few weeks." Then, addressing 

 Dr. Daalmans, he said : " I told him that you were here ; 

 and he begged me earnestly that you would not go away 

 without speaking with him." Accordingly Dr. Daalmans 

 called on Jan ten Hoorn, who made known to him his wish, 

 to which the author willingly agreed. As, however, he was 

 to leave Amsterdam the following day for Texel, he had to 

 sit up all night, adding, striking out, and altering ; and as he 

 wished to write an entirely new preface, he promised to do 

 this during the voyage, and on his return hand it to his 

 publisher to be printed and prefixed to the work. It seems 

 that the preface to the earlier editions gave an account of 

 the author's journey to and in the East Indies : this one, 

 however, is confined to his seven months' voyage to and from 

 Cadiz, detailing the remedies employed by him in the various 

 cases of sickness and accident that occurred on board during 

 that time. I am unable, therefore, to say whether the earlier 

 preface contained any details regarding Ceylon additional to 

 those given in the following travel notes. Judging by a 

 hurried glance, which is all I have been able to give this 

 book, it seems to contain much curious matter of interest to 

 the general reader, though the larger part, of course, is 

 " caviare to the general." I hope, therefore, that one of our 

 medical Members will undertake a translation, or at least 

 an abstract, of the contents of this work. 2 



Dr. Daalmans' notes of his Indian journey were first 



