Page 16 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

XVII*

agricultural methods in usage here are described for the first
time. These observations are verifiable today. Their exact­
ness and comprehensiveness are amazing.
The material on Southern and Western Arabia con­
tained in the second volume is similar in tenor to the con­
tents of the first volume. According to Rodger (1842), the
descriptions of, for example, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Sinai
peninsula or the island of Dschesiret Far’on are “the best
and most complete which we possess.” Experts were partic­
ularly impressed with the inscriptions which Wellsted dis­
covered during his visit to Bi’r Ali and to the stone tower of
Hasn Ghorab in Hadhramaut, for the finds proved that the
Himyarite culture was derived from that of the Sabaeans.—
Further proof of the scientific importance of Wellsted’s in­
vestigations as set out in volume two could be presented.
This, however, would merely entail a quantitative elabora­
tion of the comments already made on Wellsted’s work.
Nevertheless, the reader may be interested in a quotation
from Rodger’s preface to the German edition:
“One should not seek in Wellsted a man of learned
education, equipped with sufficient knowledge of the suit­
able languages and pursuing his investigations systematically
according to a carefully thought out scheme. Rather he
absorbs impressions as they are offered to him and is able
to convey them to his reader in an easy, unaffected and
occasionally cheerfully humourous manner. Even when he
does at times engage in the discussion of learned questions,
then he at least does so with modest restraint and without
noticeable affectation . . .”
Reservations about Wellsted’s academic qualifications
are implied in this quotation from Rodger. However, it
should be clear from the preceding comments on the con­
tents of Wellsted’s travel report that these reservations need
to be modified. In my opinion, Wellsted’s work may be
recommended, with complete justification, as an impres-