Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

SYRIA AND EGYPT. 36$
This was a season apparently very favourable to the production
of disease. Dysentery prevailed.
During the months of Ncwmbe'r and December, the appearance
of winter was manifest in the vegetable tribe. The fall of leaf was
confined chiefly
to the mulberry trees and vines. The other trees
nearly preserved their foliage by the occasional dropping and renewal
of their leaves.
This month a secondary case of lues venerea was cured by the
nitrous acid. Vide Case.
And a case of hepatitis in a soldier of the mission cured by mer-
cury.
1802. Jan. 15. The; prevailing diseases were intermittents,
and their relapses. Sortie recent cases of slight ophthalmv, and
dysenteries. Extremely heavy, offensive and foggy, and cloudy
weather, during the last fortnight.
In the evening of the 24th, stormy, tempestuous weather; heavy
black clouds; wind S. W. accompanied with showers of rain,
which fell more abundantly on the 25th and 26th. Temperature
cold and disagreeable, from !G to 58 in shade.
February. Cold, tempestuous, and rainy
this month.
weather ushered in
Feb. 3. The Choarbagi, or Colonel of janissaries, who was
attached to the mission, and who occupied a chamber within our
buildings in Cairo, died after three days illness; from his symptoms
I conceived his death to be from plague. He was first seized with
cold shiverings, followed by fever, head-ach, thirst, and bitter
taste of the mouth. He had a small painful tumor in the left groin,
nearly the size of a pigeon's egg ; and another in the right axilla.
He died suddenly in the night.
Previously to interment 1 examined the body,
and found that the
buboes were nearly subsided: there was a slight discoloration on
the
right arm. There were neither petechia? nor vibices upon the
body. However, from all the circumstances under which this man
died, I was led to consider it rather as a case of plague than other-
wise; which induced us to take every possible precaution to pre-
vent any propagation of infection, should it have existed.
Feb. 1. The janissaries, who had lived with the deceased, remain
well. The bedding and pelices belonging to the deceased
were immediately taken possession of by his son, and made use of
without. the least concern. While such apathy continues among
the Turks, plague can never be annihilated from their country.