Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3 · Royal Society
_SIR_,
16. About 4. _a. m._ Rain for an Hour; after 8. for ¼ Hour; after 6. _p. m._ Rain and Wind, but both moderate, for ½ Hour; past 8. about as much. 17. About 4. _a. m._ a short Shower, after clear; 18. clear. 19. Cloudy, about 10. _a. m._ some Drops. 20. Cloudy between 8. and 10. _a. m._ a Shower; first violent, after more moderate, till it ended in a kind of Mist; it lasted in all about 1½ Hour; the Day after clear, 21, and 22. clear. 23. In the Afternoon cloudy; about 6. _p. m._ some Drops; the Night after, a Shower, not considerable. 24. Hot, about 10. _p. m._ a little Shower. 25. Clear; 26. in the Night some little Rain. 27. Held up; 28. at 9. _p. m._ a short Shower. 29. At 5. _a. m._ Rain till near 7. a little past 7. till 9. after cloudy. 30. Cloudy; the Night after some Rain. 31. About 8. _a. m._ Rain for ½ Hour; from 9. till 12. it rained for the most part very violently; before 1. another Shower for ½ Hour; from a little after 2. till 5. with very great Thunder. One Funeral on the 25th after but Three Days Sickness, of which I can give no account. The beginning of this Month, we had an extraordinary Number of Toads, which after some time were not to be seen.
The 14th we had wing'd Ants, as before. 24. Was the first Corn, the Seed-time having been the middle of _March_. _June, 1687._ 1. About 4. _a. m._ Rain for an Hour; past 1. _p. m._ for ½ Hour; the rest cloudy and misty. 2. From 2. _a. m._ till 5. continual Rain, 'tis said there was some before; from 9. _a. m._ till ½ Hour past 6. _p. m._ continual Rain, sometimes very fierce; from ½ Hour past 9 at Night, Rain till past 10. 3. From 6. to a little past 7. _a. m._ a very gentle Rain, from thence till 1. _p. m._ most commonly very fierce; thence for a little while more moderate; but it rain'd hard again till 6. _p. m._ then it drop'd but slowly, and so continued till about 7. in the Night some little Rain. 4. About 8. _a. m._ some Drops, thence clear. 6, And 7. clear, except some few flying Clouds. 8. After 3. _a. m._ gentle Rain for near an Hour; then cloudy and some Drops, after 10. _p. m._ a Shower. 9. At 5. _a. m._ a gentle Shower, lasted till past 7. thence a very violent Rain till almost 9. some Drops after that; about 3. _p. m._ it began and rain'd till past 10. somewhat moderately.
10. Clear and hot. 11. Cloudy; about 8. _p. m._ a few Drops. 12. From about 2. _a. m._ till near 5. Rain, but not violent; a little before 6. a furious Storm of Rain, but little Wind; it lasted till ½ Hour past 7. about 3. _p. m._ a moderate Rain, till a little past 4. and from thence to 6. somewhat more than a Mist; the Night after it rained a little. 13. Cloudy; in the Afternoon it drop'd a little. 14. About 8. _a. m._ a few Drops. 15. Somewhat cloudy. 16. Extream hot; toward Night cloudy; about 5. _p. m._ a violent Shower for ½ Hour; from a little before 8. till past 10. it rained continually. 17. From 4. _a. m._ till almost 6. gentle Rain; so from a little past 6. till past 7. thence till past 3. _p. m._ cloudy, and now and then some Drops; then a violent Shower for ⅛th of an Hour; half an Hour after 4. it rain'd again and continued till past 10. for the most part very furiously; with some little Intermission it rain'd all Night. 18. At 3. _a. m._ it rained very fiercely; about ½ Hour after 6. it held up, but cloudy still; from 8. _a. m._ till past 3. _p. m._ it rained, but moderately; then it held up a little, but rained after till past 6. all Day cloudy, and at Night a great Fog.
19. About 9. _a. m._ some Drops; from 1. till past 3. _p. m._ very gentle Rain. Thence to the First of _July_, foggy, Morning, sometimes hot, but for the most cloudy, and more temperate than could be expected from the Climate. Two Funerals, one the 9th of an Asthma; the other 21. of a Fever. We saw some Sorts of Insects not usual here, whether monstrous or not, I cannot tell. The most notable, a kind of Spider, about the Bigness of a Beetle, the Form nearest of a Crab-fish, with an odd kind of Orifice visible in the Belly, whence the Web proceeded. _July, 1687._ 1. Extream hot. 2. Foggy in the Morning; about 9. _a. m._ a few Drops; after clear. 3. In the Morning a great Fog; about 9. _a. m._ it rained small Rain for near an Hour; toward night more foggy than ever before; about 6. _p. m._ small Rain for a little time; from 8. till past 9. somewhat more brisk Rain, after that it cleared up. 4. From 9. _a. m._ to 3. _p. m._ small Rain, the rest foggy; between 10. and 11. _p. m._ some Rain. 5. From 2. _a. m._ till past 8. constant Rain, sometimes very fierce, sometimes moderate; about 10. _a. m._ some Rain; between 2. and 3. _p. m._ it began to Rain, but continued not long; from 8. _p. m._ to 10. Rain.
6. From about 2. _a. m._ to 6. Rain, after fair. 7. Foggy and cloudy; between 7. and 8. _a. m._ some Drops. 8. Foggy in the Morning, otherwise clear and hot. 9. About 1. _a. m._ a smart Shower, between 3. and 5. some more Rain, the time of which we know not exactly. The Day after foggy. 10. Very dull and cloudy; from 3. _p. m._ till Night a very great Mist. 11. Tolerably clear, and very hot, yet somewhat foggy Morning and Evening. 12. Cloudy; thence to 15. in the Morning and Evening foggy; else very hot. 15. Cloudy; about 10. _a. m._ some Drops; from half an Hour past 2. till 4. moderate Rain; about 7. some Drops. 16. Cloudy, several times it drop'd a little but nothing considerable. 17. A little before Day, a short Shower; after cloudy; thence to 20. foggy Morning and Evening, and the most part cloudy. 20. Very clear all Day, and extream hot. 21. Not foggy at all; yet somewhat cloudy, but about Mid-day it cleared up. 22, And 23. very clear and extream hot. 24. Cloudy in the Morning; after as the Two last. 25. Cloudy but not misty nor foggy, sultry hot. 26. In the Morning cloudy, after extream hot. 27. Hot and clear. 28. Thin Clouds, through which the Sun shone very hot.
29. And 30. cloudy. 31. About 3. _a. m._ Two short Storms of Rain, the Day after clear and hot. Two Funerals, one the 17th drowned; the other 21. of a Fever. _August, 1687._ To 5. clear, for the most part in the Mornings cloudy; but without Fogs; sometimes very hot. 5. About 5. _a. m._ a Shower near an Hour long, about 7. another for ½ Hour, till 10. some small Rain; thence cloudy till 1. about 7. _p. m._ a few Drops. 6. Cloudy all Day, sometimes it drop'd a little. 7. about 2. _a. m._ violent Rain, with Wind for above ½ Hour. The Day after cloudy. 8. And 9. cloudy and foggy. 10. More foggy than ordinary; about 10. _a. m._ a great Mist, or small Rain for most part of the Day after. 11. Foggy as the former and Misty; between 8. and 9. _a. m._ a Shower of small Rain; after Noon clear. 12. Small Rain in the Morning; after as 11. 13. Clear and hot, the Land Breze very strong. 14. Cloudy all Day, the Land Breze turn'd to a kind of Hermitan, but not troublesome, nor continued beyond this Day. 15. Cloudy, several times very misty, and some small Rain. 16. Cloudy, but no Mist; after Noon clear. Thence to 22. clear and hot, but the Nights colder than at other times.
22. At 6. _p. m._ cloudy, a Wind Tornada but moderate, with some few Drops of Rain very large. 23. Clear and hot. 24. Cloudy and misty at first; about 10. _a. m._ clear and hot. 25. Clear and hot. 26. Very foggy, Morning and Evening; for the rest hot. 27. From 5. to 10. _a. m._ it rain'd smartly; thence cloudy, about 2. _p. m._ it clear'd up for a while; about 9. _p. m._ a sharp Rain for ½ Hour. 28. Between 12. and 3. _a. m._ it rained about Two Hours; about 7. some few Drops, after Cloudy, in the middle of the Day, it clear'd a little, but quickly overcast again. 29. In the Night some Rain; at 7. _a. m._ Rain for ½ Hour; till past 12. a very thick Mist; about 3. _p. m._ clear; at Night a very thick Mist. To the end cloudy and Misty. Three Funerals, 6. one of a Fever, 7. another of a Consumption, 29. a third of a Fever. _September, 1687._ 1. And 2. as the last. 3. Some few Drops. Thence to 8. cloudy also and misty. 8. About 6. _p. m._ some small Rain; between 8. and 10. _p. m._ for an Hour pretty brisk Rain. 9. In the Morning cloudy and misty. 10. About 10. _p. m._ a little Rain.
11. Extream hot and clear; in the Night, considerable Rain for several Hours. 12. About 10. _a. m._ some small Rain, the Morning very foggy, Afternoon clear. 13. Clear and hot. 14. And 15. In the Morning extream cloudy, and some Drops of Rain. 16. Clear and extream Hot. 17. Moderate, about 7. _p. m._ some Drops; at Night also some Rain, not considerable. 18. Cloudy; in the Morning about 12. some Drops; all this Week, Morning and Evening Foggy and thick. 19, 20, 21. Extream hot, the Fogs ceased. 22. About 1. _a. m._ some Rain, the Day after cloudy. 23, 24, 25. In the Morning cloudy after very hot. 26. At Night also somewhat Misty, with many Flashes of Lightning, but no Thunder. The like Flashes most Nights to the end of the Month, also often cloudy; at other times extream hot. Two Funerals, one the 19th of a Fever, the other the 26th, whose Disease I do not know. _October, 1687._ 1. About 3. _a. m._ a very fierce Rain for near an Hour, but milder toward the end; the Day after some flying Clouds. 2. About 4. _a. m._ a little Rain, the Day after as before; from 8. _p. m._ till 10. moderate Rain. 3. Cloudy; about 10. _a. m._ Rain for somewhat more than an Hour.
4. Cloudy between 8, and 10. _p. m._ a very smart Rain for above an Hour. 5. About 9. _a. m._ a little Shower. 6. About 5. _a. m._ a little Shower; another past 6. the Day after, and 7 extream hot. 8. Hot in the Morning; after Noon a shew of a Tornada, with Thunder, and a considerable Wind, but no Rain. Thence to 16. some flying Clouds, but generally hot. 16. About 4. _p. m._ a little Rain, the Sun shining then, and the whole Day very hot; about 8. _p. m._ a very strong Tornada, Wind and Rain for about ½ Hour, afterward the Rain continued, but more moderate, for near Two Hours. 17. Clear and hot. 18. So too, except that about 3. _p. m._ there was a very short Shower. 19. And 20. somewhat cloudy. 21. About 7. _a. m._ a few Drops, after clear and extream hot, but quickly cloudy again; at 11. _a. m._ a violent Tornada, with very strong Rain and Thunder for near an Hour; thence all the time till Night, thick and misty; till 2. _p. m._ Rain. 22. Cloudy. 23. Clear and hot. 24. Somewhat cloudy; at 7. _p. m._ a little Rain. 25. Cloudy; about 11. _a. m._ Expectation of a Tornada, with some Thunder, but it ended in a few Drops of Rain about 1. _p. m._
26. About 2. _a. m._ a very violent Tornada, and after the Wind, Rain not very fierce, which lasted till 8. _a. m._ the Day after cloudy. 27. About 10. _p. m._ a violent Wind with Rain, but it lasted not long. 28. About 3. _a. m._ a strong Rain for near an Hour the Day after extream hot. 29. And 30. hot, yet with some Clouds. 30. Half an Hour after 11. _p. m._ began a very furious Tornada, the Wind was quickly over, but the Rain lasted with extream violence about Two Hours. 31. In the Morning very hot; about 2. _p. m._ a violent Tornada, with Rain and Thunder very near; it ceased sometimes, but beginning again, lasted till near 4. _p. m._ afterward cloudy. Three Funerals, all upon the 6th Day, Two of Fevers, the other I know not. _November, 1687._ Clear and extream hot till the 6th. 6. About half an Hour past 1. in the Morning a very violent Rain for more than an Hour. Thence to 14. except that the 11th at Night there were some few Drops, very hot. 14. Extream hot, about 9. _p. m._ a little Shower; the same Night about 1. a smart Rain for an Hour and half. 15. Hot; toward Night Cloudy and Foggy. Thence to 19. very hot.
19. Some likelihood of a Tornada, but nothing followed. 20. About 1. _p. m._ a short Shower; about a quarter past 2. another not much longer; till Night Cloudy. Thence to 26. no Rain, but cloudy and somewhat cooler; yet some Days extream hot. 26. About 10. _p. m._ a short Shower. 27. About 2. another; the rest clear. 30. About 2. _a. m._ fierce Rain for about ½ Hour. _An Account of the _Moorish_ Way of Dressing their Meat (with other Remarks) in _West-Barbary_, from Cape _Spartel_ to Cape _de Geer_. _By Mr._ Jezreel Jones._ The _Mauritanian_ or _Barbarian Moor_, when he rises in the Morning, washes himself all over, and dresses, then goes to their _Jiama_, or Church, says his Prayers, and returns home, where his Wife, Concubine, or Slave, hath his Breakfast provided for him, which is sometimes made of Barly or Wheat-Gruel; for I have known both. It is made somewhat thicker than ours, till it be ropy; they put Origan, and other Herbs, powder'd, into it, which for such uses they keep dry'd all the Year; some will put a little Pepper, and other Spice. I have often been treated with warm Bread, fresh Butter, and Honey, in a Morning, which is not seldom used among themselves, an Hour or two after they have had Gruel; as also Hasty-Pudding, with Butter, and sometimes Butter and Honey, (as the Guests are, and according to the Ability of the Entertainers.) Some again give _Cuscusoo_, with Milk, others with Flesh, a third with Roots. It is to be observed, when any one hath a Guest or Guests in his House, the Neighbours bring their Dish to welcome him or them, on account of the Respect and Love they bear to their Neighbour, as well as to shew their Readiness to entertain the Stranger.
This Practice is found constantly used throughout the whole Country among the _Moors_, one towards another, reciprocally. And I have as often found the like Civility, as I had occasion to take up my Lodging at any Place, where I was acquainted with any of the Inhabitants. The _Jews_ likewise shew great Civility to any _Christian_, and treat him with what they have, as stew'd or bak'd Hens, Capons, hard Eggs, boil'd or roasted, which they press flat with Pepper, and Salt, Wine, Brandy, _&c._ They have generally the best Bread, and every thing else of the kind that they can get. They put Annis, and two or three other sorts of Seeds, in their Bread; one is black and angled, tastes almost like Carrot-seeds, and I think I have seen these sometimes used in Bread in _Spain_; I know not the Names of the other Seeds in _English_, nor any Language but _Arabick_. They esteem Honey as a wholsome Breakfast, and the most delicious that which is in the Comb, with the young Bees in it, before they come out of their Cases, whilst they still look Milk-white, and resemble (being taken out) Gentles, such as Fishers use: These I have often eat of, but they seem'd insipid to my Palate, and sometimes I found they gave me the Heart-burn.
In _Suse_ I had a Bag of Honey brought by a Friend who made a Present of it, as being of great Esteem, and such as they present to Men of greatest Note among them. This, he told me, I was to eat a little of every Morning, to the quantity of a Walnut; it was thick as _Venice_ Treacle, and full of small Seeds. I used to breakfast on it for several Days together, taking the said quantity at a time; it always made me sleepy, but I found my self well, and in very good temper of Body after it. The Seeds were about the bigness of Mustard, and, according to the Description of them to me, and the Effects I found by eating the Honey and them, they must be a large sort of Poppy-seed. The Honey was of that sort they call in _Suse_, _Izucanee_, or _Origanum_, which (the Bees feed on) and these Seeds were mixed with. _Cuscus_, or _Cusksoo_, is the principal Dish among them, as the _Olla_ is in _Spain_: This is made of Flower of Wheat, and when that is scarce, of Barley, Millet, _Indian_ Corn, _&c._ They shake some Flower into an earthen Pan, made on Purpose, which is not glazed, sprinkling a little Water on the bottom of the Pan first, and then working it with both their open Hands flat, turning them backwards and forwards to grain it, 'till they make it much resembling _Sago_, which comes from the _East-Indies_.
They stew their Flesh keeping their Pots close covered, which are made of Earth, put the _Cusksoo_ into an earthen Cullender, which they call _Caskass_, B. _vid._ Fig. and this Cullender into the Mouth of the Pot, C. that so all the Steam which arises from the Meat may be imbibed by the _Cusksoo_, which causes it to swell, and make it fit to be eaten: When it is enough, for they love every thing thoroughly done, they put this _Cusksoo_ out into the Dish they serve it up in, which is somewhat like D. and the _Cusksoo_ being heaped up, they make (as it were) a Bed or Place for the Meat to lie in, then they put good store of Spice, as Ginger, Pepper, Saffron, _&c._ This Dish is set upon a Mat on the Ground, and four Men may easily sit about it, tho' I have seen six and more at one Dish; they sit with their Buttocks upon the Calves of their Legs, with the bottom of their Feet on the Ground. If there are many to eat at this Meal, there are more Dishes. This Dish they have in use sometimes at Breakfast, as well as Dinner and Supper, but it is commonly used for the two last Meals.
They cover it with a thing made on purpose, somewhat like E. and it will keep hot enough two Hours. At a stately Entertainment they will have a Sheep roasted whole, sometimes a half, or a quarter, on a wooden Spit, or the most convenient thing they can find. They do not continually keep turning it, as we do, but leisurely let one side be almost roasted before they turn the other. The Fire is commonly of Wood burnt to clear Coal, and made so, that the Heat ascends to the Meat. They baste it with Oil, and a little Water and Salt incorporated. They let it be thoroughly roasted; then they say, _Bismiillah_, _In the Name of God_, after they have washed their Right Hands, and pulling the Meat in pieces, they fall to eating. It is to be noted, that they never use but their Right Hand in eating, and one holds whilst the other pulls it asunder, distributing the pieces to the rest, as he pulls it off. They seldom use a Knife, and a Fork is a strange thing among them. They are dextrous at this way of carving, and never flinch at the Heat or warmth, for that would look mean, and might occasion one more bold to take his Office upon him to perform.
When they have done, they lick their Fingers, and as often as they have a hot Dish, they wash their Hands afresh. Then they have _Alfdoush_, or _Virmizzelli_, with some Meat on it, stew'd Meat, well spiced, with savoury Broth; which after they have eat the Meat, they dip their Bread in the Sauce, or Broth, and eat it. They are cleanly in their Cookery, and if a Hair be found it is a capital Crime, but a Fly not, because it has Wings, and may get in after it passes from the Cook's Charge or Management; to be well and strongly season'd is no great Fault; and if one should say it is too high of Pepper, they'll reply, it is better to be _Ah_ than _Faugh_; alluding to the Differences between a strong, high, or hot, and savoury Taste, and an insipid, watry, or unpleasant. _Cubbob_ is small pieces of Mutton, with the Caul of a Sheep wrapped on them. Some make good _Cubbob_ of the Liver, Lights, and Heart. They Pepper and Salt them, and put Sweet Herbs and Saffron into them, and then roast them, and when they dish them up, squeeze an Orange or two on them. Thus they use commonly in their stew'd Meats, Lemon and Orange for Roast or Fish.
_Elmorosia_ is another: This is pieces of Beef, of Cow or Camel, stew'd with Butter, Honey, and Water; some will put _Rob_ of Wine among it; they add Saffron, Garlick, or Onions, a little Salt, and when 'tis enough, serve it up. They esteem this a delicious Dish, used mostly in the Winter, and say it is good against Colds, notwithstanding they say Beef is cooler than Mutton. They have a piece of good Housewifery for a ready Dish, which is likewise appropriated to the Winter Season; and this I will give an Account of before I have done. Then they will treat you with Hare stew'd, stew'd and roasted Hens and Partridges: These they disjoint, and let stew in Water, and Oil, or Butter, if they are not fat enough of themselves. When they are almost enough, they beat a couple of Eggs, mix them with the Liquor, with Juice of Lemon or Vinegar, which they usually have very good, and serve it up.
Then you may have more baked and roast, and another Dish of stew'd Meat, which for its Goodness would be esteem'd among us: They take a Leg of Mutton, cut off the fleshy part, leave out the Skin and Sinews. This Flesh they mince very fine (with two Knives, one in each Hand) by holding them across, which they manage with great Dexterity; they also mince some Suet, Parsly, Thime, Mint, _&c._ Then they take Pepper, Salt, and Saffron beaten together, and some Nutmeg; all these they add to the rest, with about half a handful of Rice; they cut an Onion, of the best sort, half through, and take off the first Lay, as not so fit for use, unless it be thick. (They that are curious take out the inner Skin, saying it is not wholsome, and bad for the Eyes, it being the worst thing in an Onion, which otherwise would be the best of Roots.) This Lay they fill with forc'd Meat, then the next, and so on, which makes them look like so many Onions; some they put up in Vine-leaves of the best they can find for their purpose. Whilst this is doing, the Bones and Residue of the Leg of Mutton, being in moderate pieces, are stewing, with as much Water as will just cover them; then they put on their forc'd Meat-Balls a top of the Meat, and a green Bunch of Grapes upon them, cover it, and let it boil till thoroughly enough. This I think, is one of their best Dishes, which they often use in _Fess_ and other Cities. _Pillowe_, or _Piloe_, is a Dish very well known, made with Rice boil'd, with a good Hen, Mutton, and Spice, the Flesh and Fowl being put on the Rice in a Dish as _Cusksoo_, and so served up.
Ideas discussed in this chapter
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.