buried in the middle of the city a new horse-hide, which is easily procured there ; as the inhabitants of Bokhara eat more horse-flesh than any other kind of meat, and which is probably the cause of this odd idea. The Affghans have also a peculiar method of curing nervous fevers. They envelop the patient in the skin of a newly-killed animal ( goat or sheep ), in which he falls into a perspiration, and in this state he is left for a whole night. A decoction of bran is also said to be a good sudorific, but considered as a mild one, and is not generally in use.
To cure the guinea-worm, the natives of the East make use of many curious remedies, which will be found in the second volume.
At Bokhara, I met two unfortunate Armenians from Astrakhan, who requested me to use my influence in their behalf. Three years previously, when Count Suchtelen was Governor of Orenburg, they had laid claim to a considerable sum due to them as their legal portion of an inheritance at Bokhara ; to which place they received letters of recommendation from the governor, and were sent thither to urge their claims, with directions, should they not succeed, to return to Orenburg, and the Russian government would assist them. On their arrival there, the settlement of their affairs presented some difficulty, as the government had confiscated the legacy, under various pretexts. The two heirs — who, in their endeavours to obtain their property, seemed not to have lost all hope, in spite of the evasive promises they had for many years received — thought it requisite to use their utmost energies to get their rights at last ; for which purpose they solicited my assistance, representing to me their awkward situation, and saying that the Russian ambassador, who had recently arrived, refused to interfere, but by my influence they hoped to obtain a happy result. I could not reject their application, and by so much the more, as I was informed that the Russian government was desirous to negotiate for the liberty of its subjects then in slavery at Bokhara. These two Armenians were indeed in a state worse than
