The dates of Sockna are excellent, and in abundance: our animals were liberally supplied with this fruit of fruits; and after the first two days appeared to eat them nearly as well as corn. The population of Sockna must be considerably more than three thousand. The town is walled, and about a mile in circumference: has eight gates; and wears altogether a clean and neat appearance that surprised us. The women are certainly very pretty, and are said to be remarkable for their love of intrigue. This may be true, or not; but we had no opportunity of ascertaining it from our own knowledge. Of their affability and good humour, however, we had many proofs; and while only two of us were walking through the town one morning, with a little army of ragged boys following us, two, of rather the better order, quickly dispersed them; and invited us to enter a house, saying that a _mara zene_ (a beautiful woman) wished to see us. We put ourselves under their guidance, and entering a better sort of dwelling-house, were quickly surrounded by at least half-a-dozen ladies, most of them aged; but who asked us a thousand questions, and, when satisfied we were not dangerous, called several younger ones, who appeared to be but waiting for permission to appear. Our dresses and ourselves were then minutely examined. The yellow buttons on our waistcoats, and our watches, created the greatest astonishment; and a pair of loose white trowsers that I wore, into the pockets of which I accidentally put my hands, raised their curiosity to a wonderful degree: my hands were pulled out, and those of three or four of the ladies thrust in, in their stead: these were replaced by others, all demanding their use so loudly and violently, that I had considerable difficulty in extricating myself, and was glad to make my escape. The dress of the Sockna women is nearly that of the Tripoline: they wear striped shirts, of silk or linen, large silver ear-rings, with leg-lets and arm-lets of the same: the lower classes wear those of glass or horn. The remaining half of our journey to Mourzuk was over pretty nearly the same kind of surface as that we had passed before; in some places worse. Sometimes two, and once three days, we were without finding a supply of water; which was generally muddy, bitter, or brackish: nor is this the worst that sometimes befalls the traveller. The overpowering effects of a sudden sand-wind, when nearly at the close of the desert, often destroys a whole kafila, already weakened by fatigue; and the spot was pointed out to us, strewed with bones and dried carcasses, where the year before fifty sheep, two camels, and two men, perished from thirst and fatigue, when within eight hours’ march of the well which we were anxiously looking out for.