232 
ON  THE  DRUGS  OBSERVED  AT  ADEN,  ARABIA. 
distinguishes  them  as  Cat  ha  edulis  and  Catha  spinosa.  Accord- 
ing to  his  account  it  is  cultivated  in  the  same  ground  as  coffee, 
and  is  planted  from  cuttings.  Besides  the  effects  above  stated, 
the  Arabs,  he  tells  us,  believe  the  land  where  it  grows  to  be  secure 
from  the  inroads  of  plague,  and  that  a  twig  of  the  Kelt  carried  in 
the  bosom,  is  a  certain  safeguard  against  infection.  The  learned 
botanist  observes  with  respect  to  these  supposed  virtues  :  "Gustus 
tamen  foliorum  tantam  virtutem  indicare  non  videtur."* 
Like  coffee,  Kelt,  from  its  acknowledged  stimulating  effects,  has 
been  a  fertile  theme  for  the  exercise  of  Mahommedan  casuistry, 
and  names  of  renown  are  ranged  on  both  sides  of  the  question, 
whether  the  use  of  Kelt  does  or  does  not  contravene  the  injunction 
of  the  Koran  :  thou  shalt  not  drink  wine  nor  anything  intoxicating. 
The  succeeding  notes  borrowed  chiefly  from  De  Sacy's  researches 
may  be  deemed  worthy  of  insertion  here. 
Sheikh  Abd-ool-Kader  Ansari  Jezeri,  a  learned  Mahommedan 
author,  in  his  treatise  on  the  lawfulness  of  the  use  of  coffee,f 
quotes  the  following  from  the  writings  of  Fakhr-ood-Deen  Mekki : 
— "  It  is  said  that  the  first  who  introduced  coffee  was  the  illus- 
trious saint  Aboo  Abdallah  Mohammed  Dhabhani  ibn  Said  ;  but 
wTe  have  learned  by  the  testimony  of  many  persons,  that  the  use 
of  coffee  in  Yemen,  its  origin  and  first  introduction  into  that 
country,  are  due  to  the  learned  and  godly  Ali  Shadeli  ibn  Omar, 
one  of  the  disciples  of  the  holy  doctor  Nasr-ood-Deen,  who  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  chiefs  among  the  order  Shadheli,  and  whose 
worth  attests  the  high  degree  of  spirituality  to  which  they  had 
attained.  Previous  to  that  time  they  made  coffee  of  the  vegetable 
substance  called  Cafta,  which  is  the  same  as  the  leaf  known  under 
the  name  of  Kdt,  and  not  of  Boonn  (the  coffee-berry,)  nor  any 
preparation  of  Boonn.  The  use  of  this  beverage  extended  in  course 
of  time  as  far  as  Aden  ;  but  in  the  days  of  Mohammed  Dhabhani, 
the  vegetable  substance  from  which  it  was  prepared  disappeared 
from  Aden.  Then  it  was  that  the  Sheik  advised  those  who  had 
become  his  disciples  to  try  the  drink  made  from  the  Boonn,  which 
was  found  to  produce  the  same  effect  as  the  Kdt}  inducing  sleep- 
*  Flora  Egyptiaco- Arab  tea,  Haunice,  1775.    4  to.,  page  64. 
t  For  an  extract  from  this  treatise,  vide  Chrestomathie  Arabe,  ou  Extraits 
de  divers  ecrivains  Arabes.  tant  en  prose  qiC'en  vers,  avec  une  traduction  Fran- 
qaise  et  des  notes,  par  M.  le  Baron  Silvestre  de  Sacy.  Seconde  edition.  Paris 
1826.    Tome  1,  p.  412. 
