acquainted ; for it had hitherto, on the journey, been turned inside
out, or more properly speaking, with the outer side in, to prevent it
from being soiled, and from fading in the sun, His saddle-cloth also,
which had hitherto consisted of a dirty piece of white flannel, was
now of bright scarlet cloth ; and, besides the embroidered covers to
his silver-embossed pistols, he had carefully suspended from different
parts of his body a great variety of little bags, of different colours and
sizes: these were the repositories of his powder and ball, and earned
tinder, flints and steel, money, nails, and tobacco, with sundry other
little matters too numerous to mention. By his side also hung a
neat little smàat, or goat skin, with the long black hairs left to ornament
and protect the outside ; and which, properly, speaking, was
meant to hold water, but which likewise served indifferently for
holding milk, oil, or butter, or any other substance which it might be
necessary to carry in it.- We should state that, under all this variety
of ornament, Shekh Mahommed el Dûbbah sat with dignity upon his
mare, a recently-acquired present from the Bashaw, whose spirit had
been prudently roused on this occasion by the stimulus of an extra
feed of eom. The display of Arab horsemanship which concluded
the procession, received additional éclat from this precaution ; and
the Dûbbah’s mare, after manoeuvring her head to admiration, first
on one side and then on the other, and prancing, and pacing, and
rearing, to the delight of the assembled spectators, no sooner felt the
angle of the spur assail her sides, than she sprang forward with a
bound in advance of the party, and being suddenly pulled up with a
powerful bit, was thrown back upon her haunches within a foot of
our tent-cords. The old Dûbbah looked round to enjoy the applause
which he felt he had deserved, for his horsemanship and his mare,
from the crowd who had witnessed the exhibition ; and the two
Shekhs alighted and entered the tent, each apparently well pleased
with himself.
Within they found everything arranged for their reception : the
dusty ground had been previously adorned with a mat, over which
had been spread some small carpets ; and we had taken care to have
coffee and sherbet in readiness, which were served up as soon as they
were seated. Shekh Belcâzi was introduced to our acquaintance by
the Dûbbah, who took care at the same time to inform us of his rank
and importance ; accompanying his harangue with a profusion of
fulsome Arab compliments, which were received by Belcâzi as a
matter of course, and appreciated by us as they deserved. As soon
as the usual salutations were over, and the coffee and lemonade had
been disposed of (though not before Belcâzi had satisfied his curiosity
with regard to the several uses of every object in the tent), we
began to make arrangements for the number of camels which would
be necessary for our journey across the Syrtis. The Shekh of Mesu-
rata undertook to provide them, and freely offered his assistance in
any other way in which it might be serviceable to our party.
The camels could not be procured on the moment, but it was
settled that Belcâzi should let us know the next morning how soon
he would be able to collect them. The Dûbbah, in his turn, now
began to expatiate .upon the attention which he would shew us when
we reached the district of Syrt, over which he presided as Shekh;