SULEIMAN CAUGHT. 255 to them, of course tliey have an utter objection to touching it. I have known Arabs refuse to eat anything at a meal, when they have chanced to see preserved meat. It is needful when entertaining them to be careful in such matters, and to avoid, if possible, wounding their susceptibilities.

At Dara we met the officer who had commanded the soldiers who shot Suleiman Bey, and also Sheikh Ismaen, that, as I mentioned before, had carried Gessi Pasha's ultimatum to him. Ismaen said the rebels felt so secure in the village of Gara, that they had not even a sentry posted; and they were so tired, with their flight, that he walked straight into Suleiman's tent and woke him, saying, " The Pasha's salaams, and if you do not lay down your arms in ten minutes, you are all dead men." Suleiman had nearly 700 men, Gessi only 290, and the surprise and rage of the slave-dealers when they discovered this too late, can be well understood. Gessi kept his men well under cover, and went to meet Suleiman attended by only a few officers, but he had given his men orders to make as much noise as possible ; bugles and drums were sounded on all sides, and a few men moved about in every direction, allowing the bright barrels of their guns to be seen above the grass. Thus the number of his men appeared to be much greater than it was in reality, and Suleiman had previously heard that 3000 more troops had been sent by Gordon Pasha to Gessi. So