during the whole day and night; nor to describe the dances, the songs, the bonfires, the banquets, the tumult, and the cries of all sorts, which her arrival occasioned. Eight tribes were entertained by the hospitality of Fares. Two thousand pounds of rice, twenty camels, and fifty sheep, furnished out the feast; and in the middle of the night the cry was still, “Let him who is hungry come and eat.” So great was my reputation among them, that Giarah begged a talisman from me to insure the happiness of this union: I accordingly wrote his cipher and that of his spouse in European characters; placed the charm solemnly in his hands; and no one doubted the efficacy of it, when they observed the satisfaction of the new-married couple. Some days afterwards, hearing that the Wahabees, ten thousand strong, were besieging Palmyra, the Drayhy gave orders for marching against them. We encountered them at El Dauh, and exchanged some musket-shots till nightfall, but without coming to a pitched battle. I had here leisure to appreciate the advantage of the _mardouffs_, in these wars of the desert, in which it is always necessary to carry about the commissariat of the army, and often for a considerable time. These camels, mounted each by two soldiers, are like moving fortresses, provisioned with everything necessary for the nourishment and defence of their riders. A budget of water, a sack of flour and another of dried dates, a jar of sheep’s butter, and the munitions of war, are formed into a sort of square tower on the animal’s back. The men, conveniently placed on each side on seats composed of cordage, thus carry with them everything of which their temperate habits have need. When they are hungry, they knead a little of the meal with butter, and eat it in that state without baking; a few dates and a small quantity of water completing their moderate repast: nor do they quit their post to sleep, but throw themselves across the camel in the manner I have already described. The next day’s engagement was more serious. Our Bedouins fought with more inveterate obstinacy than their adversaries, because their women and children were in their rear, while the Wahabees, far from home, and with no other object than pillage, were little disposed to risk their lives in the cause. Night separated the combatants, but with the earliest dawn the battle recommenced: at length, towards evening, victory declared in our favour; the enemy having lost sixty men killed, took to flight and left us in possession of the field of battle, besides twenty-two prisoners, forty beautiful mares, and sixty camels. This victory still enhanced the reputation of the Drayhy, and filled Sheik Ibrahim with joy; in the exuberance of which he exclaimed, “Thanks be to God, our affairs prosper!”