by Abedd, who treated me very politely, and requested me to explain the intentions of the Drayhy. I gained his entire confidence, by the assistance of his wife, and, before the end of the day, he himself solicited permission to accompany me to the Drayhy; which I opposed, telling him that I should not dare to present him to the emir without notice, because he was so highly irritated against him; but that I would plead his cause and send him an immediate answer. I left them at least as desirous of joining the confederacy as I had been to persuade them to do so. By the invitation of the Drayhy, Abedd went a few days afterwards to set his seal to the treaty, and to exchange the camels which had been reciprocally taken during the war. This difficult affair thus terminated in so satisfactory a manner, we left the sands to pass eight days in the district of Atteria, at three hours’ distance from the Tigris, near the ruins of the castle El Attera, where the pasturage is abundant. Having here refreshed the cattle, we continued our route eastwards. We one day met a Bedouin, mounted on a fine black dromedary: the sheiks saluted him with an air of concern, and inquired what had been the issue of his unfortunate adventure of the preceding year. I asked his history, and found the recital sufficiently interesting to give it a place in my journal. Aloian (this was the name of the Bedouin,) while hunting the gazelle, arrived at a spot where broken lances, bloody sabres, and unburied corpses indicated a recent battle. A plaintive sound, which scarcely reached his ear, attracted him to a pile of dead bodies, in the midst of which a young Arab still breathed. Aloian hastened to his assistance, placed him upon his dromedary, led him to his tent, and by his paternal cares restored him to life. After four months’ convalescence, Faress (the wounded man) began to talk of his departure; but Aloian said to him:--“If we must absolutely separate, I will conduct you to your tribe, and there take leave of you with regret; but if you will remain with me, you shall be my brother, my mother shall be your mother, and my wife your sister: consider my proposal, and give it a deliberate answer.”--“Oh! my benefactor,” replied Faress, “where shall I find such relations as you offer me? But for you, I should not now be living; my flesh would have been devoured by birds of prey, and my bones by the beasts of the desert: since you are willing to keep me, I will live with you and serve you to the end of my life.” A motive less pure than he dared to avow had prompted Faress’s decision: love for Hafza, the wife of Aloian, who had been his nurse, was beginning to agitate his bosom, and was returned. Aloian, who entertained no suspicion, one day charged Faress to escort his mother, his wife, and two children to a new encampment, while he went hunting. Faress could not resist this fatal opportunity: he laded a camel with the tent, placed the mother and two children upon it, and