January 4th. Thermometer 2°, wind northerly.—I was again very severely attacked with hemma, and, as usual, suffered much pain in the spleen and liver. I imagined this attack to proceed from the coarseness of our bazeen, which was made of bad gaphooly, and resembled dough. The Sheikh brought me a dome date, which was a curiosity rarely seen in Fezzan; it was the size of a large cob walnut. The rind, which is hard and dry, is the only part eaten, and is gnawed off; under it is a hard covering, which encloses the stone; the outer shell is so strong as to resist a hammer, and even to break knives. The taste of the rind is not much unlike that of stale gingerbread, which it resembles both in smell and colour. There were four trees of the dome date here, which I purposed seeing. I was so fortunate as to purchase a dried and smoked fish from the Niger near Kashna, which I intended taking to England. This evening, while lying in my bed, I heard the mewing of a cat, which our people imagined must be the devil. At first they attempted to laugh; but the boy significantly remarking that “the Castle was a very old place,” Besheer and the Kaid hastened to load their guns, and to fire them off in the Skeefa; Iblis, or the devil, being much averse to gunpowder, or any thing of which sulphur forms a part; each then, taking a lighted palm branch, rushed out to look for the cause of their alarm; the poor cat had, however, in the meantime escaped. On their return, the camel man, whom they considered a great scholar, roared out the Korsi, a most powerful charm against every kind of spirit, from Iblis and the little Shiateen, or young devils, down to gholes and afrites. After this comforting stave, he hurried over several chapters of the Koran in the same key; but owing to the Kaid’s musket not going off until he had snapped it four or five times, their fears remained in full force, and they continued talking and praying until a late hour, convinced that Iblis was still in the house. They were not much pleased with my ridiculing their fears, observing, that although in my country there might be no devils, I ought not, therefore, to doubt their existence in Fezzan, for there were plenty in every old house. Even the discovery of the cat after this disturbance, could not in any way remove their prejudices. January 5th. Thermometer 7°, wind north-east.—Belford and myself better to-day; the water very brackish, which not a little increased our weakness. From a Zuela Arab, who had lately returned from Benghāzi and Derna, I obtained the following account, which I have reason to suppose correct, as he was a better informed man than the generality of Arabs. Zuela to Temissa, 2 days of eight hours each; the first east, the second north. Temissa to Fuggha, 2 long summer days, and three and a half in winter, north-north-east. It is one day west of the Harutz el Abiad, and is situated in a wadey between two mountains, which run north-east and south-west.