310 BENGAZI.

of the operations to which he had recourse at once delighted and astonished the Arabs.

A man much emaciated, who had been long afflicted with the dropsy, was persuaded to submit to the operation of tapping ; and when his numerous Arab friends, who had assembled to witness the ceremony, saw the water streaming out from the abdomen, they were unable to restrain the loud expression of their surprise at the sight ; and lifting up their hands and eyes to Heaven, called Allah to witness that the tiheeb* was a most extraordinary man-)-!

Dysentery and liver complaints were very common in Bengazi, but we did not observe so many cases of ophthalmia as we had found at Tripoly and Mesurata. Cutaneous diseases of the most virulent kind were very prevalent, as well among the people of the town, as among the Bedouin tribes in the neighbourhood ; indeed, we found that these disorders prevailed more or less in every part of the northern coast of Africa which we visited. The inhabitants of the Cyrenaica suppose them to be chiefly occasioned by handling their cattle, but it is probable that unwholesome food and water, to which they may be occasionally subjected, and the little use which they make of the latter for external purposes, contribute more effectually to engender * Tibeeb is the common Ai-ab term for a doctor.

t Several quarts of water were taken from this poor man, who, when he left our house, was scarcely distinguishable as the same person who had entered it, having diminished so much in size after the operation. He was, in fact, materially relieved, and continued to improve daily in health ; till one day, after washing his shirt, he put it on, as the quickest way of drying it, a custom not uncommon among the Arabs, and caught so bad a cold in consequence, that all the doctor’s exertions were afterwards unable to save him.