something to moisten my mouth, that I could not control my inclination to beg a piece from them. Ishmael, our own muleteer, though not in the best of humours with us, readily gave me a slice; and I do not remember when melon ever seemed more delicious to me.

The Dialah flows in a deep bed, but we saw at last the palm trees which in some places adorn its banks. But on so level a plain the palms appeared more than three hours before we reached the stream; and when we at last arrived, after a ride of eight hours in the scorching sun, I found all my little skill in horsemanship put into requisition to enable me to retain my seat, while my surefooted beast found its way down the nearly perpendicular bank, and then to guide him through the rapid stream.

He paused in the midst of the current to quench his thirst, regardless of mine. What Tantalus felt I knew, when I sat with water all around me without the power of drinking. I was mounted too high on my baggage to be able to stoop low enough to dip up a draught in the pewter cup I carried in the bosom of my gown; and there was no one who cared to help me, the attention of each man being engaged in getting himself or his beast

across.

When I reached the opposite bank, I saw no one near on foot to hand me up a drink; and I was afraid to dismount, not knowing how I should be able to ascend again, without assistance, to my elevated position. I therefore, after pausing a few minutes to see if I could perceive any one who might help me, left the river with a heavy heart and a parched throat, disappointed in all the sanguine hopes with which I had for the preceding three hours been regarding the palms in the distance.

I saw gardens and plantations before me, however, and was happy in supposing that our resting-place was not far off, knowing that I should there be able to drink my fill. But going on and on, without reaching the village, I began to suspect that the resting-place might yet be a good way off, and determined that, at all events, my thirst should be appeased at the first pond, marsh, puddle, pool, or stream I might fall in with.

Soon after this determination, I saw a little rill stealing

down the lane it made green, and eagerly threw myself off my horse. But having two objects of attention, one to retain the bridle of my stubborn beast, and the other to obtain a draught, I got entangled up to my knees in the deep ditch mud, through which the little stream flowed, and also fell forward on my hands, begriming my front and my sleeves up to the elbow. I drank cup after cup, laughing to scorn all that doctors tell about the evil of taking the cool beverage in such circumstances.

To one who has never known that agony of thirst which a traveller in the East must often experience, the miseries of this day may seem light. But, if I may be allowed to judge from a tolerable ample experience of most of the miseries which flesh is heir to, I will venture to affirm that there are few physical sufferings comparable to that of thirst in a hot climate, and no physical pleasure equal to its gratification. Penny Magazine.

NOTES.-Aqueducts are channels for conducting water, raised on arches. Irrigation is watering the ground by artificial means. Tantalus was tied so that water flowed up to his chin, but never up to his mouth, and he could not bend his head.

QUESTIONS.

Over what did they travel the first day? Where is cultivation to be found? Why? Who made the canals? What shews the great heat? How many degrees in the sun? How much is it in England at the hottest? How do Europeans live there? From what does a traveller suffer most? How was the traveller provided? How was it a failure? How long would they have to wait? What did the men take? To what river did they come? What shaded it? How long had they ridden? Why could he not drink? How was he like Tantalus? Why did he not dismount? How did he console himself? How did he quench his thirst? What happened in doing so?

TRAVELLING IN THE EAST.

PART III.-ENCAMPMENTS, &c.

WE found the yard of the caravanserai full of horses, mules, and asses, with their burdens piled up in heaps.

These heaps of goods, on this and other occasions, were enclosed within a square formed by a rope, which was fastened to wooden or iron pins driven into the ground. To this rope the cattle were tied, forming a living wall around the packages.

There were several such squares, each party of muleteers having their cattle and goods separate. The men generally fix their quarters within the enclosure. This is the form of encampment most commonly used in the yards of caravanserais where there are no covered stables, or where they do not choose to use them, which they seldom do, except in cold weather.

When the encampment is not within walls, they prefer to form one great enclosure in a similar manner, yet so that each party, if there be more than one, occupies its own distinct place. The cattle are generally outside, fastened to the rope as before, and the merchandise within-as, indeed, often are the more valuable of the cattle.

These are general rules from which there are occasional departures, as danger is or is not apprehended. The goods often, for instance, form part of the exterior line; and while the muleteers commonly like to be within the enclosure, travellers often prefer to form their groups without, close to the heels of the cattle, generally so composing themselves to rest that their luggage cannot be disturbed without their being roused, or a stir occasioned among the beasts.

Finding the little rooms which the caravanserai afforded to be too close and warm for occupation, we, with some others, fixed ourselves and our baggage in the open air, under the shade of a high dead wall, laying out our quilts to recline on, with our baggage under our heads.

In Eastern travelling privacy is seldom attainable. Even if you get a room, every one feels quite at liberty to come. and sit down with you, inquiring into your circumstances and objects with a freedom which seems impertinent to an European. They also watch keenly the most minute or indifferent of your operations, and talk freely to one another about them, making a vast number of troublesome inquiries concerning everything they see.

To Arabs and Turks, however, the justice is due of say

ing that they will generally retire when they see a stranger preparing to eat; and sometimes, perhaps, the traveller will be tempted to eat merely to get rid of them. I do not know whether the Persians, who boast so much of their politeness, have a similar custom : if so, the insatiable curiosity of that people, which in the higher classes it is a point of etiquette to conceal, prevented them from observing it with us, though at times there seemed a show among them of keeping a little in the background on such occasions.

Having no servant, we had no cooking; and except when we came to towns, in whose bazaars ready-dressed meat might be had, we lived mostly on fruits and bread while we travelled with the caravans. Native gentlemen manage these matters more comfortably than those who are not accustomed to their mode of travelling. They have generally a cook and a good supply of cooking utensils with them. And as in villages meat is seldom to be had unless a whole sheep be bought, or unless the owner is sure of being able to dispose of all the meat among the travellers before he kills it, they often take with them meat potted in its own fat.

A bag of rice also is seldom forgotten, as without this grain an Oriental thinks his dinner good for nothing; though with it, lubricated with a little butter, oil, or fat, and garnished with onions, it is, in his view, a feast for a king. Moreover, if the stage be long or tiresome, they will occasionally push on a-head, and, when one comes up with the caravan, they are seen squatting by the wayside smoking their pipes and sipping the coffee which had been prepared in the interval.

They have great facility in getting ready a cup of coffee. Every man carries materials for kindling a fire about him, and the small quantity of fuel necessary to boil the little coffee-pot is easily collected. They let the caravan pass, but soon overtake it; and on the strength of this occasional refreshment with smoke and coffee, the two great luxuries of the East, they get on in excellent condition and spirits through the most wearisome stages.-Penny Magazine.

NOTES.-Caravanserai is a khan or inn where the caravan stops for the night. Bazaars are streets of shops, which are covered over from the heat, so that they seem to be all one large building.

QUESTIONS.

What is a caravanserai? Describe the scene in it. How were the cattle tied? How do they manage when there is no enclosure? Where do the travellers sleep? Why? Where are the rooms? Why were they not used? Why are they not private? Who, in the Bible, are said to have been unable to get a room in the inn? Where did they sleep? Who was born there? What did "the travellers" eat? Who retire when eating begins? Where can meat be bought? How is meat preserved? What dish do they make of rice? What are the two great luxuries of the East?

TRAVELLING IN THE EAST.

PART IV. THE HOT WIND OF AFRICA, CALLED THE CAMSIN.

IN the year 1822, May 21st, being seven hours distant from Cairo, and in the desert, we were overtaken by one of those violent winds from the south, about which many travellers have told us such wonderful and incredible stories.

During the night there had been a light breeze from the north-east; but a short time after sunrise it began to blow fresh from the S.S.E., and the wind gradually increased till it blew a violent storm. Clouds of dust filled the whole atmosphere, so that it was impossible to distinguish any object clearly as far off as fifty paces; even a camel could not be recognised at this distance.

In the meantime, we heard all along the surface of the ground a kind of rustling or crackling sound, which I supposed to proceed from the rolling sand that was dashed about with such fury by the wind. Those parts of our

bodies which were turned towards the wind were heated to an unusual degree, and we experienced a strange sensation of smarting, which might be compared with the pricking of fine needles. This was also accompanied by a peculiar kind of sound. At first I thought this smarting was occasioned by the small particles of sand being driven by