Hemp, of all narcotics, appears to be the most uncertain in its effects. It is so in the form of haschisch or alcoholic infusion, and doubtless is so also when smoked. Professor Schroff says of it—“I have seen patients take from one to ten, or, in one case, even so much as thirty grains of the alcoholic extract in the course of an evening and night, sometimes within a few hours, without producing any particular symptoms, except some determination to the head; even the so much wished for sleep, on account of which the remedy was taken, was not obtained, while in other cases, one grain of the same preparation, from the same source, produced violent symptoms, bordering on poisoning—delirium, very rapid pulse, extreme restlessness, and subsequently, considerable depression. I must, therefore, repeat, that Indian hemp, and all its preparations, exhibits the greatest variety in the degree and mode of action, according to the difference of individuality, both in the healthy and diseased condition, that they are, therefore, to be classed among uncertain remedies, to be used with great caution.” In India, _Gunjah_ is used for smoking alone. About 180 grains and a little dried tobacco are rubbed together in the palm of the hand with a few drops of water. This suffices for three persons. A little tobacco is placed in the pipe first, then a layer of the prepared Gunjah, then more tobacco, and the fire above all. Four or five persons usually join in this debauch. The hookah is passed round, and each person takes a single draught. Intoxication ensues almost instantly; from one draught to the unaccustomed, within half an hour; and after four or five inspirations to those more practised in the vice. The effects differ from those occasioned by drinking the _Sidhee_. Heaviness, laziness, and agreeable reveries ensues, but the person can be readily roused, and is able to discharge routine occupations, such as pulling the punkah, waiting at table, and divers similar employments. Young America is beginning to use the “Bang,” so popular among the Hindoos, though in rather a different manner, for young Jonathan must in some sort be an original. It is not a “drink,” but a mixture of bruised hemp tops and the powder of the betel, rolled up like a quid of tobacco. It turns the lips and gums of a deep red, and if indulged in largely, produces violent intoxication. Lager beer and schnaps will give way for “bang,” and red lips, instead of red noses, become the “style.” CHAPTER XVIII. SIRI AND PINANG. “He took and tasted, a new life Flowed through his renovated frame; His limbs, that late were sore and stiff, Felt all the freshness of repose; His dizzy brain was calmed, The heavy aching of his lids At once was taken off; For Laila, from the bowers of Paradise, Had borne the healing fruit.”——_Thalaba._