itish name the imputation of unnecessary violence and oppression.

Aden, however, was now, whether for right or wrong, under the British
flag; but the hostile dispositions of the Arabs, notwithstanding the
treaties entered into, were still far from subdued; and the cupidity
of these semi-barbarous tribes was still further excited by the
lavish expenditure of the new garrison, and by the exaggerated
reports of vast treasures said to be brought from India for the
repairs of the works. Among the advantages anticipated by Captain
Haines in his official report from the possession of the town,
especial stress is laid on its vicinity to the coffee and gum
districts, and the certainty, that when it was under the settled
rule of British law, the traffic in these rich products, as well as
in the gold-dust, ivory, and frankincense of the African coast,
would once more centre in its long-neglected harbour. But it was
speedily found that the insecurity of communication with the
interior opposed a serious obstacle to the realization of these
prospects--the European residents and the troops were confined
within the Turkish wall--and though the extreme heat of the climate
(which during summer averaged 90 deg. of Fahrenheit in the shade within
a stone house) did not prove so injurious as had been expected to
European constitutions, it was found, singularly enough, to exercise
a most pernicious influence on the sepoys, who sickened and died in
alarming numbers. Aden at this period is compared, in a letter
quoted in the _Asiatic Journal_, to "the crater of Etna enlarged,
and covered with gravestones and the remains of stone huts;"
provisions were scarce, and vegetables scarcely procurable. By
degrees, however, some symptoms of reviving trade appeared and by the
end of 1839 the population had increased to 1500 souls.

The smouldering rancour with which the Arabs had all along regarded
the Frank intruders upon their soil, had by this time broken out
into open hostility; and, after some minor acts of violence, an
attack was made on the night of November 9th on the Turkish wall
across the isthmus, (which had been additionally strengthened by
redoubts and some guns,) by a body of 4000 men, collected from the
Abdallis, the Futhalis, and the other tribes in the neighbourhood.
The assailants were of course repulsed, but not without a severe
conflict, in which the Arabs engaged the defenders hand to hand
with the most determined valour--so highl