Page:Thirty-five years in the East.djvu/29

INTRODUCTION. xix establishment presented a curious aspect. My de- partment, more resembling, in its adjuncts, a con- fectioner's shop than a repository of drugs, was on one side of the building, and the other side was occupied by the Hakim ( Mahomedan doctor ) ap- pointed by the Durhar to assist me, and who was at liberty to treat patients according to his own system ; so that applicants could employ native or European remedies, as they felt disposed. But, what a diflference ! what a wide gulf between the two methods ! On the one hand, my hitherto un- known mcdiiim'System ( which then still slumbered like an embryo ), the principles of which I have al- ready mentioned, and, on the other, the obsolete Junanian ( Grecian ) or Arabic system, which, with many of its medicaments, has long been banished European practice.. In this hospital, also, I was entrusted with the care and treatment of lunatics ; and, in the interior,, sat three Jerahs or native surgeons, also appointed by the Durbar, who v/ere occupied in the adminis- tration of ointment, plasters, &c., for external heal-- ing ; so that, with those patients who came to avail themselves of the services of these Jerahs, those who came to consult with the Hakim, and those who preferred my advice, the hospital was a com- plete mile ( fair ) from morning till night. It was with difficulty that I could satisfy the de- mands of the multitudes who came from the neighbouring towns and villages for medicines, not- withstanding I was provided with several assistants besides those already mentioned. One day, a man, who, in passing, had heard that the Dakter Saheh ( Gentleman Doctor ) distributed