Such has been the negligence shewn in regard to the hot well at Monghyr, that, although it stands within two miles of the Ganges, is not more than three miles from the Fort of Monghyr, (a grand depôt for stores, garrisoned by upwards of two thousand invalids,) and is in the direct track from Calcutta to the upper provinces; nay, although the waters of this well are sent for from all parts of the country, and form, frequently, a part of the stock of persons, especially ladies, going to sea; for which purpose it is bottled in very large quantities; yet, strange to tell, its properties have never been duly analyzed. I have been in company with various medical men, who differed as to its basis; some asserting it to be chalybeate, others considering it as impregnated with soda, while some, I know not why, declared it to possess no particular impregnation, nor any active principle.
It must be evident, that, in a country whose soil is subject to be parched during so many months in the year, heavy fogs and miasma must abound; consequently, during the four months following the cessation of the annual rains, it frequently happens that the atmosphere is laden with mists and vapors until a very late hour in the day. In great cities, the bad effects of these are not so perceptible, on account of the general fumigation which takes place during the evenings, when the bulk of the inhabitants, as if by general consent, kindle fires for the purpose of cooking their victuals; of which they rarely eat at an earlier hour than six or seven o’clock; the cold remains of the repast being put by for the morning’s meal. This fortuitous circumstance tends to purify the air, and obviates a large portion of those evils to which the villages, which stand more exposed in the midst of the marshy tracts, are imminently subject. In such, it is common to find a very large portion of the inhabitants annually laid up with intermittents of a very obstinate description, but from which they are rescued by their moderation in regard to diet, and by a few medicinal simples every where common, and whose application is sufficiently understood. Great numbers are, however, swept off by the disease itself, or by the obstructions it generally creates. Those obstructions are ever to be dreaded, even though a perfect cure should apparently have taken place. It is by no means uncommon to see persons, especially Europeans, who have, to appearance, been cured of Jungle, or Hill-fevers, as they are locally designated, and which correspond exactly with our Marsh-fever, laid up at either the full or change of the moon, or, possibly, at both, for years after.