Jan. 8[15].—Our course was still under the range of hills, and at five miles distance we came to another town called Alighi, and two miles beyond that another called Tukumani: these towns were built to the south of, and sheltered by slight projections from, the hills under which they were placed. The people always came out to meet us, and when within about fifty paces of the horses, fell on their knees singing and beating a sort of drum, which always accompanies their rejoicing. To the west of both these towns is a salt lake resembling the one near Ashenumma, but rather smaller. We proceeded from hence nearly south-west, leaving the hills, and while resting under the shade of some gourd trees, which are here abundant, we had the agreeable, and to us very novel, sight of a drove of oxen: the bare idea of once more being in a country that afforded beef and pasture was consoling in the extreme, and the luxurious thought of fresh milk, wholesome food, and plenty, was most exhilarating to us all. At two we came to a halt at Dirkee. A good deal of powder was here expended in honour of the sultan, who again met us on our approach: his new scarlet bornouse was thrown over a filthy checked shirt, and his turban and cap, though once white, were rapidly approaching to the colour of the head they covered; when, however, the next morning his majesty condescended to ask me for a small piece of soap, these little negligences in his outward appearance were more easily accounted for. We had rather a numerous assembly of females, who danced for some hours before the tents: some of their movements were not inelegant, and not unlike the Greek dances as they are represented. The sultan regaled us with cheese, and ground nuts from Soudan, the former of a pleasant flavour, but so hard that we were obliged to moisten it with water previous to eating. Dirkee is of a different description from the Tibboo towns we had seen: it stands in a wadey, is a mile in circumference, and it has two trona lakes, one to the east, and the other to the west. Of this saline substance an account will be found in the Appendix.—It is generally supposed that these lakes were originally caused by taking from the spot they now occupy the earth which was required for building the town, and its surrounding walls. Water, as we have before observed, is found in many parts of this country, at the depth of from six inches to six feet, and the soil near the surface, particularly in the neighbourhood of these Tibboo towns, is very powerfully impregnated by saline substances; so much so, that incrustations of pure, or nearly pure, trona are found sometimes extending several miles. The borders of these lakes have the same appearance: they are composed of a black mud, which almost as soon as exposed to the sun and air becomes crisp like fresh dug earth in a frosty morning. In the centre of each of these lakes is a solid body or island of trona, which the inhabitants say increases in