bears me out, they are far better off in this respect than those who have the misfortune to be received into the hospital at Lobeid, whilst under the direction of medical men who have pursued the whole course of their studies from beginning to end at Abusabel.[53] There is more discontent among these Bedouins or Mogghrebeen, as they are also termed, (although they constitute the less number of the body,) than in any other corps. The greater part of them are quartered at Lobeid, the rest are distributed over the country, where they perform a species of gens d’armes duty. The circumstance of their being used by the government as catchpolls, and the excess of which they are frequently guilty in their ill-humour and discontent, render them obnoxious to the natives, and they themselves take no pains to heal the breach or to remove this ill impression. They are of robust constitution, and can defy the climate and all weather. An instance presenting the opportunity of convincing myself of their capability of bearing more than ordinary men came under my own observation. It appears, indeed, an adventure _á la Münchhausen_, but I can vouch for the truth, for I was not the only person present at the time, but several thousands witnessed the feat:—The governor held a review of all the troops prior to a march, the occasion was a slave-hunt. After inspecting the Mogghrebeen, he commanded them to dismount; in the confusion attending this movement, a horse broke loose and ran away. Some of the men pursued it on horseback, whilst others endeavoured to catch it on foot: and thus it happened that a Bedouin who tried to stop the animal came in collision with it, his forehead, indeed, striking the front of the horse. Both man and beast instantly fell, the horse dead on the spot, but the man survived the shock for several days. Their arms consist of a long gun, two pistols, and a sabre; their colours are a green silk flag, which they regard as sacred, and two kettle-drums attached to the saddle-bow of the drummers are beaten on a march by way of music, which is, of course, very monotonous. These troops are irregulars, and their attacks are always made with impetuosity, and in the greatest disorder. Hence the first moment is decisive, whether they shall keep the ground, or seek their safety in a precipitate flight.