p into little
balls or squares, as before spoken of: tobacco is likewise added, which
is shred fine for the purpose, and carried between the lip and upper row
of teeth. From the mastication of the first three proceeds a juice which
tinges the saliva of a bright red, and which the leaf and nut, without
the chunam, will not yield. This hue being communicated to the mouth and
lips is esteemed ornamental; and an agreeable flavour is imparted to the
breath. The juice is usually (after the first fermentation produced by
the lime) though not always swallowed by the chewers of betel. We might
reasonably suppose that its active qualities would injure the coats of
the stomach, but experience seems to disprove such a consequence. It is
common to see the teeth of elderly persons stand loose in the gums, which
is probably the effect of this custom, but I do not think that it affects
the soundness of the teeth themselves. Children begin to chew betel very
young, and yet their teeth are always beautifully white till pains are
taken to disfigure them by filing and staining them black. To persons who
are not habituated to the composition it causes a strong giddiness,
astringes and excoriates the tongue and fauces, and deadens for a time
the faculty of taste. During the puasa, or fast of ramadan, the
Mahometans among them abstain from the use of betel whilst the sun
continues above the horizon; but excepting at this season it is the
constant luxury of both sexes from an early period of childhood, till,
becoming toothless, they are reduced to the necessity of having the
ingredients previously reduced to a paste for them, that without further
effort the betel may dissolve in the mouth. Along with the betel, and
generally in the chunam, is the mode of conveying philtres, or love
charms. How far they prove effectual I cannot take upon me to say, but
suppose that they are of the nature of our stimulant medicines, and that
the direction of the passion is of course indiscriminate. The practice of
administering poison in this manner is not followed in latter times; but
that the idea is not so far eradicated as entirely to prevent suspicion
appears from this circumstance, that the guest, though taking a leaf from
the betel-service of his entertainer, not unfrequently applies to it his
own chunam, and never omits to pass the former between his thumb and
forefinger in order to wipe off any extraneous matter. This mistrustful
procedure is so common as