the earth), in this cafe, Alexandria being fuppofed to lye in
long. 30°, Syene muft be in 30” likewife ; but Gooz being in
34% it is impoffible that'Syene can be within a trifle north
o f Gooz; and therefore we muft have a much greater quantity
o f wefting to travel than Idris the’Hybeer imagines,
who places Syene a very little weft o f the meridian o f
Gooz, or immediately under the fame meridian, and due
north from it.
O u r camels were always chained by the feet, and the
chain fecured by a padlock, left they fhould wander in the
night, or be liable to be ftolen and carried off. Muling
then upon the geographical difiiculties jnft mentioned, and
g a z in g before me, without any particular intention or fuf-
picion,. I heard the chain o f the camels clink, as i f fome-
body was unloofing them, and then, at the end o f the gleam
made by the fire, I fawdiftin&ly a|man pafs fwiftly by, Hoopin
g as he went along, his face almoft to the ground. A little
time after this I.heard another clink o f the chain,.as if
from a pretty iharp blow, and immediately after a movement
among the camels. I then-rofe, and cried in a threatenin
g tone, in Arabic, “ I charge you on your life, whoever
you are, either come up to me direftly, or keep at a diftance
till day, but come that way no more; w hy Ihould you throw
your life away ?” In a m inute after, be repaffed in the ftad e
among the trees, pretty much in the manner he had done
before. As I was on guard between the baggage and the
camels, I was confequently armed, and advanced deliberate- .
lyfome fteps, as far as the light o f the fire flione, on purpofe
to difeover how many they were, and was ready to fire upon
the next I faw. “ If you are an honell man, cried I aloud,
and want anythin g, come up to the fire and fear not, I am
* alone.;
alone; but i f you approach the camels or the baggage a-
gain, the world will not be able to fave your life, and your
blood be upon your own head.” . Mahomet, Idris’s nephew,
who heard me cry, came running up from the w e ll to fee
what was the matter. We went down together to where
the camels were, and, upon examination, found that the
links o f one o f the chains hadheen b roke, but the opening
not large enough to let the coriefpOnding whole lin k
through to feparate it. A hard blue ftone; was driven
through a link o f one o f the chains o f another camel, and
left flicking there, the chain not being entirely broken
th rou gh ; we faw, befides, the print o f a man’s fe e t on the
iand. There was no need to tell us after this that we were
not to fleep that n igh t; we made therefore another fire
on the other fide o f the camels with branches o f the aca-
cia-tree, which we gathered. I then fent the man back to
Idris at the well, defiring him to fill his ikins with water
before it was light, and tranfport them to the baggage
where I was, and to be all ready armed there by the dawn
o f day ; fioon after which, i f the Arabs were fufficiently
itrong, we were very certain they would attack us. This
agreed perfeftly with Idris’s ideas alfo, fo that, contenting
themfelves with a leiler quantity o f water than they iirft
intended to have taken, they lifted the ikins upon the camels
I f c n t them, and were at the rendezvous, near the baggage,
a little after -four in the morning.
T h e Barbarins, and, in general, all the lower fort o f Moors
and Turks, adorn their arms and wrifts with amulets ; thefe
are charms, and are fome favourite verfe o f the Koran
wrapt in paper, neatly covered w ith Turkey leather. The two
Barbarins that were with me had procured for themfelves
new