Sunset, this evening, a man proclaimed from the housetops the arrival of the ghafalah, long expected from Tripoli: only a courier arrived. By him I received the first letter from Tripoli, and the first newspaper, the _Malta Times_! That mark of admiration means, gentle reader, my poor old paper, the paper I established at so much cost and waste of time, money, health, and labour, for the good pleasure and caprice of The Island of Malta and its dependencies. It's yet pleasing to see the old paper following me; it will, perhaps, follow at my heels to Central Africa. Ramadan began a day earlier in Tripoli. The courier, also, brings the news, banditti are prowling about the The Mountains attacking isolated travellers and small caravans. I am sorry to see, by my papers, the people advocates of their own slavery, and that the Texans have carried through their Congress "the Annexation with the United States," the republican patrons and upholders of slavery and the slave-trade! In this case, at any rate, 'it is not kings and despots enslaving mankind,' but the people wilfully forging their own chains. There is also a humble case before my eyes. Here sits by my side, the slave of Haj Abd-Errahman, who is sent every year by his master to buy and sell goods, as if a regular free merchant. It is wonderful fidelity on the part of this slave that he does not run away. Unquestionably the negro has some fine qualities. This slave, however, in palliation of the wrong, tells me he brings few slaves, and mostly goods. I don't fail to tell him, slaves are _haram_, ("prohibited,") to the English. My taleb comes in, and after asking me the news, takes up the Arabic Bible, and reads the following beautiful prophetic sentiment: ‮ولكثرة الاثم تبرد المحبة من كثير‬ and then asks what it means? "_And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold_," I reply, "may be illustrated in this way: Suppose the Rais buys up or bribes the people, so that nearly all the people applaud whatever he does, whether right or wrong, then the love of your country, amongst you few faithful remaining, will wax cold?" _Ben Mousa._--"Yes, I understand, _Seedna Aysa_, ('our Lord Jesus,') was a prophet." FOOTNOTES: [27] I always thought phrenology too good to be true. Such a study, however, may be of some service in classifying mental phenomena, and induce a taste for metaphysical research. [28] _Mungalah_ or _Saah-el-ma_. Watches are very uncommon: only the Governor, and a few of the richest people, have a watch. [29] Once passing through Lyons, I heard of an English tourist who hired a steam-boat to himself to pass down the Rhone in, hired an hotel to himself, and one evening took the upper part of a theatre to himself, including the boxes, and all to enjoy himself _tranquillement_, said my French informant. CHAPTER VII. FAST OF THE RAMADAN.