Extract of a letter received by Mr Turner [?] from an unknowncorrespondent, April 1810 [?] (Series 79.07) - No. 0001

[Page 1] 

April 3 1810

April 30 

After dinner I left them to collect Plants & other natural curiosities, I had not walkd one quarter of a mile when I met a person who with great seeming friendship explained to me all the names of the Shrub & Herbs in Arabic, at last he stoppd at one Plant with a yellow flower - I cannot describe the name exact - & said to me 'Meliahh hadda' which is very good, at the same time he put a bit of the plant in his mouth to encourage me to do the same.  My natural curiosity did try me to do so.  I hardly had tasted a few Leaves when I dropped down motioness without recollection.  His intention was probably to wait till my friends had retird & then to rob my dead body of every thing valuable, & bury the carcase.  In this however he faild for my friends particularly one of them a young Merchant of not more than 20 years Mr. Dupuis with whom I contract from day to day a closer friendship, did when they missed me, not rest till they found me.  I have not the slightest recollection of what happend to me after my dropping down & never could recollect the accident which occasiond it, but four days afterwards when I began to recover Mr. Dupuis told me that he found me motionless without any sign of life but a very slight breath & quite black & distorted in the face laying on the ground exposd to the scorching sun of those regions, they had many hours to do till by great quantities of Oil they pourd in my mouth, they brought any sign of life in me, which began with a terrible foam of the Mouth & Vomiting.  It was with great trouble they carried me home late in the evening, for I had lost all the use of my Extremities, which I completely recoverd only a week after this accident.  I have used for a week the strongest Physic in double & triple doses, & still in writing this feel a weakness of the hand which will torment me still for a long while.