CHAPTER VI.
SHEIK ACHMET ABOU SINN.
A mong tlie retinue of the aged sheik, whom we now
accompanied, were ten of his sons, some of whom
appeared to he quite as old as their father. We had
ridden about two miles, when we were suddenly met
by a crowd of mounted men, armed with the usual
swords and shields; many were on horses, others
upon' hygeens, and all drew up in lines parallel with
our approach. These were Ahou Sinn s people, who
had assembled to give us the honorary welcome as
guests of their chief; this etiquette of the Arabs
consists in galloping singly at full speed across the
line of advance, the rider flourishing the sword over
his head, and at the same moment reining up his
horse upon its haunches so as to bring it to a sudden
halt. This having been performed by about a hundred
riders upon both horses and hygeens, they fell into
line behind our party, and, thus escorted, we shortly
' arrived at the Arab encampment. In all countries
the warmth of a public welcome appears to be
exhibited by noise—the whole neighbourhood had
congregated to meet us—crowds of women raised the
wild shrill cry that is sounded alike for joy or sorrow,
drums were beat, men dashed about with drawn
swords and engaged in mimic fight, and in the midst
of din and confusion we halted and dismounted. With
peculiar grace of manner the old sheik assisted my
wife to dismount, and led her to an opén shed
arranged with angareps (stretchers) covered with
Persian carpets and cushions, so as to form a divan.
Sherbet, pipes, and coffee were shortly handed to us,
and Mahomet, as dragoman, translated -the customary
interchange of compliments; the sheik assured us
that our unexpected arrival among them was “ like
the blessing of a new moon,” the depth of which
expression no one can understand who has not .experienced
life in the desert, where thé first faint -
crescent is greeted with such enthusiasm. Aftér a
long conversation we were led to an excellent mat
tent tbat had been vacated by one of his sons, and
shortly afterwards an admirable dinner of several
dishes was sent to us, while with extreme good taste
we were left undisturbed by visitors until the following
morning. Our men had been regaled with a fat
sheep, presented by the sheik, and all slept contentedly.
At sunrise we were visited by Abou Sinn. It
appeared that, after our conversation of the preceding
evening, he had inquired of Mahomet concerning my
future plans and intentions; he now came specially
to implore us not to proceed south at this season of