To clear the cloudy front of wrinkled care,
Pope’s Homer.
The influence of climate in modifying the characters of plants is a circumstance known to all botanical students. The same plant, in temperate5 regions and under the tropics, exhibits different properties, or, we should rather say, in one instance developes more highly certain properties which in the other lie nearly dormant6. The newly-introduced sorghum7, from which we have been promised an unfailing supply of excellent sugar, fails in the North of France to reach that degree of maturity8, or to develope in such manner its saccharine9 secretions10 as to be available for the manufacture of a crystallizable sugar. The sweet floating grass (Glyceria fluitans) in Poland and Russia supplies farinaceous seeds, which, under the name of manna croup, are consumed as food; but no seeds at all available for that purpose are produced at home from the same plant, although it grows213 freely. The flavour of the onion, as grown in Egypt, is, we are assured, far milder, and vastly different from the bulbs cultivated in Britain. The odour of violets and other flowers grown for perfumery and other purposes at Nice, have a scent11 more rich and delicious than when grown in English soil, subject to our variable climate. But the most extraordinary effect of all, produced by these influences upon plants, occurs in the case of hemp12, which in Europe developes its fibrous qualities to such an extent as to produce a material for cordage hitherto unsurpassed; but in India, while deficient13 in this respect, developes narcotic14 secretions to such an extent as to occupy a prominent position among the chief narcotics15 of the world.
It was for some time supposed that the Indian or narcotic hemp was a different species to that which is cultivated for textile purposes; and even now it is often characterised by a different specific name, which would seem to assume that the species are distinct. This, however, the most celebrated16 of our botanists17 deny. The difference is declared to be, not one of species, but of climate, and of climate only. The native home of the hemp plant is assigned by Dr. Lindley to Persia and the hills in the North of India, whence it has been introduced into other countries. Burnett says, “Hemp seed is nutritious18 and not narcotic; it has the very singular property of changing the plumage of bullfinches and goldfinches from red and yellow to black, if they are fed on it for too long a time or in too large a quantity.” Never having tried the experiment, we have no ground for disputing or authority for verifying these remarks. If such, however, is the case, hemp seed possesses some property, if not narcotic, which canary and poppy seeds, we should presume, do not.
Johnny Englishman, with his usual genius for214 discovery and invention, has been discovered filling his pipe on board ship with oakum, when the stores of tobacco have been exhausted19, but not being satisfied from his own experiments of the superiority of hemp, in that form, to his brother Jonathan’s tobacco, he therefore adheres to the latter. He considers hemp an excellent thing when twisted into a good hawser20, but does not like it as “twist” in the masticatory21 acceptation of the term; nor does he at all admire the twist of Ben Battle, when
“Round his melancholy22 neck
A rope he did entwine,
And for his second time in life,
“One end he tied around a beam,
And as his legs were off, of course
He soon was off his legs.
“And there he hung till he was dead
As any nail in town;
It could not cut him down.”
Hemp is one of those plants which adapts itself well to any climate: there is scarce a country in Europe where it cannot, or might not, be cultivated. From Poland and Russia in the North, to Italy in the South, the fibre is supplied to our markets. In North America it is grown for its fibre, and in South America for its narcotic properties. Throughout Africa, it may be found chiefly as an article for the pipe. In most of Asia it is known, and it has been cultivated in Australia. Thus, in its distribution, it may now be considered as almost universal.
Twenty-five centuries ago, Herodotus wrote of its cultivation26 by the Scythians:—215—“They have a sort of hemp growing in this country very like flax, except in thickness and height; in this respect the hemp is far superior—it grows both spontaneously and from cultivation, and from it the Thracians make garments very like linen27, nor would any one who is not well skilled in such matters distinguish whether they are made of flax or hemp; but a person who has never seen this hemp, would think the garment was made of flax.” Then follows a description of the use of the hemp as a narcotic: “The Scythians, transported with the vapour, shout aloud.” Antiquity28 is in favour of this narcotic, and its use for that purpose before any other, except perhaps the poppy, was known, or at least of those now in use. The nepenthes of Homer has been supposed to have been this plant, or one of its products. The use of hemp had become so general amongst the Romans at the time of Pliny, that they commonly made ropes and cordage of it. The practice of chewing the leaves to produce intoxication29 existed in India in very early ages, whence it was carried to Persia, and before the middle of the thirteenth century, this custom was adopted in Egypt, but chiefly by persons of the lower orders.
The narcotic properties of hemp become concentrated in a resinous31 juice, which in certain seasons and in tropical countries exudes32, and concretes on the leaves, slender stems, and flowers. This constitutes the base of all the hemp preparations, to which all the powers of the drug are attributable. In Central India, the hemp resin30 called churrus, is collected during the hot season in the following manner. Men clad in leathern dresses run through the hemp fields, brushing through the plants with all possible violence; the soft resin adheres to the leather, and is subsequently scraped off and kneaded into balls, which sell at from five to216 six rupees the seer, or about five or six shillings per pound. A still finer kind, the momeca or waxen churrus, is collected by the hand in Nepaul, and sells for nearly double the price of the ordinary kind. Dr. McKinnon says—“In Nepaul, the leathern attire33 is dispensed34 with, and the resin is collected on the skin of naked coolies.” In Persia the churrus is obtained by pressing the resinous plant on coarse cloths, and then scraping it from these and melting it in a pot with a little warm water. Mirza considers the churrus of Herat the most powerful of all the varieties of the drug. The hemp resin, when pure, is of a blackish grey colour, with a fragrant35 narcotic odour, and a slightly warm, bitterish, acrid36 taste.
The dried hemp plant which has flowered, and from which the resin has been removed, is called in India gunjeh. It sells at from twelve annas to a rupee the seer, or from ninepence to a shilling per pound, in the Calcutta bazaars37. It is sold chiefly for smoking, in bundles two feet long and three inches in diameter, containing twenty-four plants. The colour is dusky green, the odour agreeably narcotic, the whole plant resinous and adhesive38 to the touch.
The larger leaves and capsules without the stalks, are called Bang, Subjee, or Sidhee in India, and have been brought into the London market under the name of Guaza. They are used for making an intoxicating39 drink, for smoking, and in the conserve40 called Majoon. Bang is cheaper than Gunjeh, and though less powerful, is sold at so low a price that for one halfpenny enough can be purchased to intoxicate41 an habituated person.
The Gunjeh consumed in Bengal comes chiefly from Mirzapore and Ghazeepur, being extensively cultivated near Gwalior and in Tirhoot. The natives cut the plant when in flower, allow it to217 dry for three days, and then lay it in bundles averaging two pounds each which are distributed to the licensed42 dealers43. The best kinds are brought from Gwalior and Bhurtpore, and it is cultivated of good quality in gardens around Calcutta.
The Majoon or hemp confection, is a compound of sugar, butter, flour, milk, and bang. The mass is divided into small lozenge-shaped pieces; one dram will intoxicate a beginner, three drams one experienced in its use. The taste is sweet and odour agreeable. Most carnivorous animals will eat it greedily, and very soon become ludicrously drunk, but seldom suffering any worse consequences.
The confection called el mogen in use amongst the Moors44 appears to be similar to, if not identical with, the majoon of India.
The ancient Saracens and modern Arabs in some parts of Turkey and generally throughout Syria, use preparations of hemp still known by the name of haschisch or Hashash. M. Adolph Stuze, the court apothecary45 at Bucharest, thus describes the haschisch, by which general name all intoxicating drugs whose chief constituent46 is hemp, are well known all over the East. The tops and all the tender part of the hemp plant are collected after flowering, dried and kept for use. There are several methods of using it.
I. Boiled in fat, butter, or oil, with a little water; the filtered product is employed in all kinds of pastry47.
II. Powdered for smoking. Five or ten grains of the powder are smoked from a common pipe with ordinary tobacco, probably the leaf of a species of Lobelia (Tombuki) possessing strong narcotic properties.
III. Formed with tragacanth mucilage into pastiles, which are placed upon a pipe and smoked in similar doses.
218
IV. Made into an electuary with dates or figs48 and honey. This preparation is of a dark brown or almost black colour.
V. Another electuary is prepared of the same ingredients, with the addition of spices, cloves49, cinnamon, pepper, amber50, and musk51. This preparation is used as an aphrodisiac.
The confection most in use among the Arabs is called Dawamese. This is mingled52 with other stimulating53 substances, so as to administer to the sensual gratifications, which appear to be the summum bonum of oriental existence.
The haschisch extract is about the consistence of syrup55, and is of a dark greenish colour, with a narcotic odour, and a bitter, unpleasant taste.
A famous heretical sect56 among the Mahometans bore the name of Assassins, and settled in Persia in 1090. In Syria they possessed57 a large tract54 of land among the mountains of Lebanon. They assassinated58 Lewis of Bavaria in 1213, were conquered by the Tartars in 1257, and extirpated59 in 1272. Their chief assumed the title of “Ancient of the Mountain.” These men, some authorities inform us, were called Haschischins because the use of the haschish was common among them in the performance of certain rites60, and that the ancient form has been corrupted61 into that now in use. M. de Sacy states that the word “assassin” has been derived62 from the Arabic name of hemp. It has also been declared, that during the wars of the Crusades, certain of the Saracen army while in a state of intoxication from the use of the drug, rushed madly into the Christian63 camp, committing great havoc64, without themselves having any fear of death, and that these men were called Hashasheens, whence has arose our word “assassin.” The term “hashash,” says Mr. Lane, signifies “a smoker65 or an eater of hemp,” and is an appellation66 of219 obloquy67; noisy and riotous68 people are often called “hashasheen,” which is the plural69 of that appellation, and the origin of our word “assassin.”
Benjamin of Tudela says, “In the vicinity of Lebanon reside the people called Assassins, who do not believe in the tenets of Mahommedanism, but in those of one whom they consider like unto the Prophet Kharmath. They fulfil whatever he commands them, whether it be a matter of life or death. He goes by the name of Sheikh-al-Hashishin, or, their old man, by whose command all the acts of these mountaineers are regulated. The Assassins are faithful to one another, by the command of their old man, and make themselves the dread70 of every one, because their devotion leads them gladly to risk their lives, and to kill even kings, when commanded.
In the centre of the Persian, as well as the Assyrian territory of the Assassins, that is to say, both at Alamut and Massiat, were situated71, in a space surrounded by walls, splendid gardens—true eastern paradises—there were flower-beds, and thickets72 of fruit trees, intersected by canals; shady walks and verdant73 glades74, where the sparkling stream bubbles at every step; bowers75 of roses and vineyards; luxurious76 halls, and porcelain77 kiosks, adorned78 with Persian carpets and Grecian stuffs, where drinking vessels79 of gold, silver, and crystal glittered on trays of the same costly80 materials; charming maidens81 and handsome boys, black-eyed and seductive as the houris and boys of Mahommed’s paradise, soft as the cushions on which they reposed82, and intoxicating as the wine which they presented; the music of the harp83 was mingled with the songs of birds, and the melodious84 tones of the songstress harmonised with the murmur85 of the brooks—everything breathed pleasure, rapture86, and sensuality.
220
A youth who was deemed worthy87, by his strength and resolution, to be initiated88 into the Assyrian service, was invited to the table and conversation of the grand master or grand prior; he was then intoxicated90 with henbane (haschish) and carried into the garden, which, on awakening91, he believed to be paradise. Everything around him, the houris in particular, contributed to confirm his delusion92. After he had experienced as much of the pleasures of paradise—which the prophet has promised to the blessed—as his strength would admit, after quaffing93 enervating94 delight from the eyes of the houris and intoxicating wine from the glittering goblets95, he sank into the lethargy produced by debility and the opiate, on awakening from which, after a few hours, he again found himself by the side of his superior. The latter endeavoured to convince him that corporeally96 he had not left his side, but that spiritually he had been wrapped into paradise, and had then enjoyed a foretaste of the bliss98 which awaits the faithful, who devote their lives to the service of the faith and the obedience99 of their chief. Thus did these infatuated youths blindly dedicate themselves as the tools of murder, and eagerly sought an opportunity to sacrifice their terrestrial, in order to become the partakers of eternal life.
To this day, Constantinople and Cairo show what an incredible charm opium100 with henbane exerts on the drowsy101 indolence of the Turk and the fiery102 imagination of the Arab, and explains the fury with which those youths the enjoyment103 of these rich pastiles (haschish), and the confidence produced in them, that they are able to undertake anything or everything. From the use of these pastiles they were called Hashishin (herb-eaters,) which, in the mouths of Greeks and Crusaders, has been transformed into the word Assassin, and as221 synonymous with murder, has immortalized the history of the order in all the languages of Europe.23
This is the account given by Marco Polo, as repeated by Von Hammer in his “History of the Assassins.” To this let us further add M. Sylvestre de Sacy’s, from a memoir104 read before the Institute of France:——“I have no doubt whatever, that denomination105 was given to the Ismaelites, on account of their using an intoxicating liquid or preparation, still known in the East by the name of hashish. Hemp leaves, and some other parts of the same vegetable, form the basis of this preparation, which is employed in different ways, either in liquid or in the form of pastiles, mixed with saccharine substances, or even in fumigation106. The intoxication produced by the haschish, causes an ecstasy107 similar to that which the orientals produce by the use of opium; and from the testimony108 of a great number of travellers, we may affirm that those who fall into this state of delirium110, imagine they enjoy the ordinary objects of their desires, and taste felicity at a cheap rate. It has not been forgotten that when the French army was in Egypt the General-in-chief Napoleon, was obliged to prohibit, under the severest penalties, the sale and use of these pernicious substances, the habit of which has made an imperious want in the inhabitants of Egypt, particularly the lower orders. Those who indulge in this custom are to this day called Hashishin, and these two different expressions explain why the Ismaelites were called by the historians of the Crusades sometimes Assissini and sometimes Assassini.”
As an instance of the blind submission111 of these devoted112 followers113 to the will of their chief, it is narrated114 that Jelaleddin Melekshah, Sultan of the222 Seljuks, having sent an ambassador to the Sheikh of the Assassins, to require his obedience and fealty115, the son of Sahab called into his presence several of the initiated. Beckoning116 to one of them, he said, “Kill thyself,” and he instantly stabbed himself: to another, “Throw thyself down from the rampart;” the next instant he lay a mutilated corpse117 in the moat. On this the grand master, turning to the envoy118, who was unnerved by terror, said—“In this way am I obeyed by seventy thousand faithful subjects. Be that my answer to thy master.”
From comparison of these notes, it will therefore appear that the order of Hashishans used the haschish, as a means whereby to induce young men to devote themselves to their cause. That it was used by the chief for its intoxicating and illusionary properties, probably without the knowledge of the members of the order, but as a secret, the divulging119 of which would have defeated his design, and that it was not indulged in habitually120 by the order; but that from its use in these initiatory121 rites they came to be called Haschishans, afterwards corrupted into Assassins. And ultimately, that their murderous acts procured122 for all those who in future times imitated them, the honour of their name.
But to return from this long digression, we still meet with the name of Haschisch and Hashasheen in Egypt, and also with preparations of hemp, which are believed as of old to transport those who indulge therein to scenes such as paradise alone is supposed to furnish.
“Where’er his eye could reach,
223
Fair structures, rainbow-hued, arose;
And rich pavilions through the opening woods
Gleamed from their waving curtains sunny gold;
Flowed streams of liquid light,
And broad-leaved plane trees in long colonnades127,
O’er arched delightful128 walks,
Where round their trunks the thousand-tendril’d vine
And clusters not their own.”
M. Rouyer, of the Egyptian Commission, says, with the leaves and tops, collected before ripening130, the Egyptians prepare a conserve, which serves as the base of the berch, the diasmouk, and the bernaouy. Hemp leaves reduced to powder and incorporated with honey or stirred with water, constitute the berch of the poorer classes.
Dr. Livingstone found hemp in use among the natives of Southern Africa under the name of mutokuane.
With the Hottentots it is known as Dacha, and another plant used for similar purposes among them is called the wild Dagga or Dacha. The use of hemp as a narcotic appears to be very general in all parts of Africa.
The D’amba possesses numerous native titles, but it is only understood by those distinctive131 terms which the negroes give it in their respective countries. By the people of Ambriz and Musula it is pronounced as D’yambah, while to the various races in Kaffraria, it is more generally known under the Hottentot name of Dakka or Dacha. This plant is extensively cultivated by the Dongós, Damarás, and other tribes to the southward of Benguela. Among the Ambundas or aborigines of Angola, the dried plant is duly appreciated, not only for its narcotic effects, but likewise on account of some medicinal virtues132 which it has been reputed to enjoy. The markets of St. Paul de Loanda are mostly supplied from the224 Dongós, and other adjacent tribes, and from St. Salvador, and the towns in the vicinity of Upper Kongo.
The mode in which it is prepared for sale, consists in carefully separating from the leaves and seeds, the larger stalks, retaining only the smaller stems, which are compressed into a conical mass, varying from two to four inches in diameter, and from one to two feet in length, the whole being covered by some dried vegetable, firmly secured by thin withes. The substance thus manufactured is ordinarily employed for the purpose of smoking, and is endowed with powerful stimulant133 and intoxicating principles, consequently it is proportionately prized by those nations who are familiar with those peculiar134 qualities, and is probably viewed more in the light of a luxury owing to the absence of all other sources of excitement, for which, perhaps, it was the only available substitute.
The Zulu Kaffirs and Delagoans of the South Eastern Coast use it under the same or like names. Amongst the former the herb is powdered and used as snuff. The true tobacco is known amongst them, and is grown to a certain extent, but the use of hemp both for smoking and snuffing, is far more common. Perhaps, requiring less cultivation, it suits best their indolent habits.
The most eminent135 of the Persian and Arabian authors refer the origin of hemp intoxication to the natives of Hindostan. But few traces, however, of its early use can be found in any part of India.
In the “Rajniguntu,” a treatise136 on materia medica, the date of which is vaguely137 estimated at about six hundred years ago, there is a clear account of this drug. The names under which it is there known are, “Bijoya,” “Ujoya,” and “Joya225,” meaning promoters of success; “Brijputta,” or the strengthener; “Chapola,” the causer of a reeling gait; “Ununda,” or the laughter-moving; “Hursini,” the exciter of sexual desire.
In another treatise in Sanscrit, of later date, the above is repeated; and in a religious treatise, called the Hindu Tantra, it is stated that Sidhee is more intoxicating than wine.
In the fifth chapter of the Institutes of Menu, Brahmins are prohibited to use Pabandoo or onions, Gunjara or Gunjah, and such condiments138 as have strong and pungent139 scents140.
Persian and Arabic writers give, however, a fuller and more particular account of the early use of this substance. Makrisi treats of the hemp in his description of the ancient pleasure-grounds in the vicinity of Cairo. This quarter, after many vicissitudes141, is now a mass of ruins. In it was situated a cultivated valley, named Djoneina, which was the theatre of all conceivable abominations. It was famous, above all, for the sale of the Hasheesha or Haschisch, which is still consumed by certain of the populace, and from the consumption of which sprung those excesses which gave rise to the name of “assassin,” in the time of the Crusades. This author states that the oldest work in which hemp is noticed is a treatise by Hassan, who states that in the year of the Hegira142 658, the Sheikh Djafar Shirazi, a monk143 of the order of Haider, learned from his master, the history of the discovery of hemp. Haider, the chief of ascetics144 and self-chasteners, lived in rigid145 privation on a mountain between Nishabor and Rama, where he established a monastery146 of Fakirs. Ten years he had spent in this retreat, without leaving it for a moment, till one burning summer’s day, when he departed alone to the fields. On his return, an air of joy and gaiety was imprinted147 on his countenance;226 he received the visits of his brethren, and encouraged their conversation. On being questioned, he stated that, struck by the aspect of a plant which danced in the heat as if with joy, while all the rest of the vegetable creation was torpid148, he had gathered and eaten of its leaves. He led his companions to the spot—all ate, and all were similarly excited. A tincture of the hemp-leaf in wine or spirits, seems to have been the favourite formula in which the Sheikh Haider indulged himself. An Arab poet sings of Haider’s emerald cup—an evident allusion149 to the rich green colour of the tincture of the drug. The Sheikh survived the discovery ten years, and subsisted150 chiefly on this herb, and on his death his disciples151, by his desire, planted an arbour in which it grew about his tomb. From this saintly sepulchre, the knowledge of the effects of hemp is stated to have spread into Khorasan. In Chaldea it was unknown until the Mahommedan year 728, during the reign1 of the Caliph Mostansir Billah. The kings of Ormus and Bahrein then introduced it into Chaldea, Syria, Egypt, and Turkey.
In Khorasan, it seems that the date of the use of hemp is considered, notwithstanding the foregoing, to be far prior to Haider’s era. Biraslan, an Indian pilgrim, contemporary with Cosroes (whoever this same Cosroes may be, for it is a name often occurring, and applied152 as C?sar or Czar to more than one generation), is stated to have introduced and diffused153 the custom through Khorasan and Yemen.
In 780 m.e. very severe ordinances154 were passed in Egypt against this practice of indulging in hemp. The Djoneina garden was rooted up, and all those convicted of the use of the drug were subjected to the extraction of their teeth. But in 792 m.e. the custom re-established itself with more227 than original vigour155. A vivid picture is given by Makrisi of the vice89 and its victims:——“As a general consequence, great corruption156 of sentiments and manners ensued, modesty157 disappeared, every base and evil passion was openly indulged in, and nobility of external form alone remained to those infatuated beings.” In the “Sisters of Old,” some further memoranda158 will be found of the early history of this extraordinary narcotic.
Not only was its intoxicating power, but many other properties—some true, some fabulous—were known at the above periods. The contrary qualities of the plant—its stimulating and sedative159 effects—are dwelt on:——“They at first exhilarate the spirits, cause cheerfulness, give colour to the complexion160, bring on intoxication, excite the imagination into the most rapturous ideas, produce thirst, increase appetite, excite concupiscence; afterwards, the sedative effects begin to preside, the spirits sink, the vision darkens and weakens, and madness, melancholy, fearfulness, dropsy, and such like distempers are the sequel.” Mirza Abdul Russac says of it: “It produces a ravenous161 appetite and constipation, arrests the secretions, except that of the liver, excites wild imagining, a sensation of ascending162, forgetfulness of all that happens during its use, and such mental exaltation that the beholders attribute it to supernatural inspiration.” To which he also adds: “The inexperienced, on first taking it, are often senseless for a day, some go mad, others are known to die.”
Whether for the purpose of increasing its power, or for what other reason we know not, in India the seeds of Datura are mixed with hemp, in compounding some of the confections, as well as the powder of nux vomica. This is, however, exceptional, neither of these substances entering into the composition of the Majoon of Bengal any more228 than does corrosive163 sublimate164 form a proportion of the pills in general use by the opium-eater of Constantinople.
It is a custom with some people to blame, without limit, those who indulge in nervous stimulants165 of a nature differing from their own, while serving the same purpose. Thus, one who thinks that Providence166 never designed his corporeal97 frame to become a perambulating beer-barrel, eschews167 all alcoholic168 drinks, but at the same time eschews not the abuse of those who think fit to indulge in a little wine for their stomach’s sake, or a draught169 of porter for their bodily infirmities. These same abstainers still adhere to their tea and coffee, and though harmless enough as these dietetics171 may be, yet they in part serve the purposes for which others employ alcoholic stimulants. An eminent chemist states that persons accustomed to the use of wine, when they take cod172 liver oil, soon lose the taste and inclination173 for wine. The Temperance Societies should therefore canonise cod liver oil.
It is true that thousands have lived without a knowledge of tea or coffee; and daily experience teaches, that under certain circumstances they may be dispensed with without disadvantage to the merely animal vital functions. “But it is an error,” writes Liebig,229 “certainly, to conclude from this that they may be altogether dispensed with in reference to their effects; and it is a question whether, if we had no tea and no coffee, the popular instinct would not seek for and discover the means of replacing them. Science, which accuses us of so much in these respects, will have, in the first place, to ascertain175 whether it depends on the sensual and sinful inclinations176 merely, that every people of the globe has appropriated some such means of acting177 on the nervous life—from the shore of the Pacific, where the Indian retires from life for days, in order to enjoy the bliss of intoxication with coca, to the Arctic regions, where the Kamtschatdale and Koriakes prepare an intoxicating beverage178 from a poisonous mushroom. We think it, on the contrary, highly probable, not to say certain, that the instinct of man, feeling certain blanks, certain wants of the intensified179 life of our times, which cannot be satisfied or filled up by mere174 quantity, has discovered, in these products of vegetable life, the true means of giving to his food the desired and necessary quality. Every substance, in so far as it has a share in the vital processes, acts in a certain way on our nervous system, on the sensual appetites, and the will of man.” So, although some have no tobacco, they find in the use of hemp or opium a substitute for that vegetable which nature has denied them. There can be no doubt that had we never become acquainted with tobacco or gin, we should have discovered and used some other narcotic in the place of the one, and a no less fiery and injurious form of alcohol instead of the other. To talk of the degraded Chinese as barbarians180, indulging to an awful extent in opium, and the ignorant Hindoo and Arab, as in madness revelling181 in debauches of hemp confections, is an evidence of the workings of the same narrow-minded prejudices under which some who abstain170 from alcoholic stimulants rail and rave109 at those whose feelings and habits lay in an opposite direction, charging upon the enjoyments182 of the many the excesses of the few. Friend Brooklove, drink thy tea, and re-consider thy verdict!
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
assuage
|
|
| v.缓和，减轻，镇定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
sluices
|
|
| n.水闸( sluice的名词复数 )；（用水闸控制的）水；有闸人工水道；漂洗处v.冲洗( sluice的第三人称单数 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
temperate
|
|
| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
dormant
|
|
| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
sorghum
|
|
| n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
maturity
|
|
| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
saccharine
|
|
| adj.奉承的，讨好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
secretions
|
|
| n.分泌（物）( secretion的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
hemp
|
|
| n.大麻；纤维 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
deficient
|
|
| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
narcotic
|
|
| n.麻醉药，镇静剂；adj.麻醉的，催眠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
narcotics
|
|
| n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
botanists
|
|
| n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
nutritious
|
|
| adj.有营养的，营养价值高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
hawser
|
|
| n.大缆；大索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
masticatory
|
|
| adj.咀嚼的，咀嚼用的n.咀嚼物，咀嚼剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
enlisted
|
|
| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
pegs
|
|
| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
cultivation
|
|
| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
antiquity
|
|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
intoxication
|
|
| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
resin
|
|
| n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
resinous
|
|
| adj.树脂的，树脂质的，树脂制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
exudes
|
|
| v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的第三人称单数 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
attire
|
|
| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
dispensed
|
|
| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
acrid
|
|
| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
bazaars
|
|
| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
adhesive
|
|
| n.粘合剂；adj.可粘着的，粘性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
intoxicating
|
|
| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
conserve
|
|
| vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
intoxicate
|
|
| vt.使喝醉，使陶醉，使欣喜若狂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
licensed
|
|
| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
dealers
|
|
| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
moors
|
|
| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
apothecary
|
|
| n.药剂师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
constituent
|
|
| n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
pastry
|
|
| n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
figs
|
|
| figures 数字，图形，外形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
cloves
|
|
| n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
amber
|
|
| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
musk
|
|
| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
stimulating
|
|
| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
tract
|
|
| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
syrup
|
|
| n.糖浆，糖水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
sect
|
|
| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
assassinated
|
|
| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
extirpated
|
|
| v.消灭，灭绝( extirpate的过去式和过去分词 )；根除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
rites
|
|
| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
corrupted
|
|
| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
havoc
|
|
| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
smoker
|
|
| n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
appellation
|
|
| n.名称，称呼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
obloquy
|
|
| n.斥责，大骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
riotous
|
|
| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
plural
|
|
| n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
thickets
|
|
| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
verdant
|
|
| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
glades
|
|
| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
bowers
|
|
| n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
luxurious
|
|
| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
porcelain
|
|
| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
costly
|
|
| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
maidens
|
|
| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
reposed
|
|
| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
harp
|
|
| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
melodious
|
|
| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
rapture
|
|
| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
initiated
|
|
| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
vice
|
|
| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
intoxicated
|
|
| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
awakening
|
|
| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
delusion
|
|
| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
quaffing
|
|
| v.痛饮( quaff的现在分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
enervating
|
|
| v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
goblets
|
|
| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
corporeally
|
|
| adv.肉体上，物质上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
97
corporeal
|
|
| adj.肉体的，身体的；物质的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
bliss
|
|
| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
obedience
|
|
| n.服从，顺从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
opium
|
|
| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
drowsy
|
|
| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
memoir
|
|
| n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
denomination
|
|
| n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
fumigation
|
|
| n.烟熏，熏蒸；忿恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
ecstasy
|
|
| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
testimony
|
|
| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
rave
|
|
| vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
delirium
|
|
| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
submission
|
|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
followers
|
|
| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
narrated
|
|
| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
fealty
|
|
| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
beckoning
|
|
| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
corpse
|
|
| n.尸体，死尸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
envoy
|
|
| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
divulging
|
|
| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
habitually
|
|
| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
initiatory
|
|
| adj.开始的；创始的；入会的；入社的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
procured
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
winding
|
|
| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
fluted
|
|
| a.有凹槽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
cypresses
|
|
| n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
obelisks
|
|
| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
colonnades
|
|
| n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
128
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
boughs
|
|
| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
ripening
|
|
| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
distinctive
|
|
| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
virtues
|
|
| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
stimulant
|
|
| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
eminent
|
|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
condiments
|
|
| n.调味品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
pungent
|
|
| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
scents
|
|
| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
vicissitudes
|
|
| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
hegira
|
|
| n.逃亡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
monk
|
|
| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
ascetics
|
|
| n.苦行者，禁欲者，禁欲主义者( ascetic的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
monastery
|
|
| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
imprinted
|
|
| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
torpid
|
|
| adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
allusion
|
|
| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
subsisted
|
|
| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
disciples
|
|
| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
diffused
|
|
| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
ordinances
|
|
| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
vigour
|
|
| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
corruption
|
|
| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
modesty
|
|
| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
memoranda
|
|
| n. 备忘录, 便条 名词memorandum的复数形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
sedative
|
|
| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
ravenous
|
|
| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
corrosive
|
|
| adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
sublimate
|
|
| v.(使)升华，净化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
stimulants
|
|
| n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
eschews
|
|
| v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
alcoholic
|
|
| adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
abstain
|
|
| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
dietetics
|
|
| n.营养学 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
cod
|
|
| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
ascertain
|
|
| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
inclinations
|
|
| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
beverage
|
|
| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
intensified
|
|
| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
barbarians
|
|
| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
revelling
|
|
| v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
enjoyments
|
|
| 愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 )； 令人愉快的事物； 享有； 享受 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |