154 an aromatic flavour, derived from the wild thyme and other aromatic herbs on which the bees feed. Among these people every meal is preceded with a washing of their hands with water, which is brought round for the purpose in a brass pan ; each guest dips his right hand in the pan, and a napkin is presented to wipe them j they then break the bread, and, after saying grace, which is universally this,— bismillah, i. e. " in the name of God,'' each guest takes a bit of bread, dips it in the honey and butter, and eats it. It is reckoned uncourteous or vulgar to bite the bread ; therefore the piece broken off is sufficient for a mouthful, so that there is nothing that should offend a delicate appetite in this antique mode of eating. We remained several hours with our hospitable Shelluh friend ; and we departed, after taking a little sleep, at four o'clock in the afternoon. Travelling all night, we arrived, at the dawn of day, at a large house in Idaugourd ; the Shelluh to whom it belonged brought us carpets, and we slept under the wall of his house till the sun arose. The people of this country prefer sleeping in the open air to a room, and they have an excellent mode of securing themselves from the heavy dews of the night, by covering their heads and faces with a thin woollen hayk or garment, which they throw over their heads and faces. When I have had the Arabs of Sahara (who have conducted the caffilahs from Timbuctoo) at my house at Santa Cruz, I gave them a long narrow room, 48 feet long, which