NOT A ''MERRY CHRISTMAS:' 33 the following day, which was Christmas Day, I started off by myself, on my camel, to see how they were getting on ; and, in an hour's time, I found them under a tree.

They had left the camp the previous afternoon late, so as to avoid the heat of the sun. Their camel-men had deserted them, and they had lost their way : so they slept out under a tree, which was no hardship, as the nights were warm, and there was no dew. On the morning that I encountered them, they had made a farther march of two hours. When we had left them at Khor Langeb, I had reminded the doctor to see that he had plenty of medicine with him ; as I told him, that, although the Arabs informed us water was near at hand, I knew well from former experience that they were not to be relied on to speak the truth, and that we were bound to push on to water, even if it were two days' journey distant. He had assured me that he had kept plenty with him when we parted ; and yet, thirty-six hours after our departure, all the medicine was finished. Lort Phillips had accidentally discovered the presence of dysentery, and told the doctor of it ; when he found that he not only had no medicine to check it, but had none of any kind left.

I remained with Lort Phillips while the doctor went to the camp for medicine : it was, however, eighteen hours after the discovery that the disease had turned to dysentery, before poor Jules had any medicine whatever.

In the cool of the afternoon we went on to Wandi, where we spent the rest of anything but a " merry Christmas."

Mahoom's master had presented him, before leaving England, with a plum-pudding, and requested us to let the boy know when it was Christmas Day, in order that he might regale himself upon it. We did so ; and he devoured it with evident satisfaction, doubtless considering the consumption of plum-