ARAB RECEPTION. 91 black though not fiery eyes, round faces, small rather stumpy noses, and thick though not blubber lijjs. Their greatest beauty was small very white teeth. All gazed with angry and hostile eyes on us, taking us lor Turks, as we were the only Franks that had as yet found their way into these lands.

Again, ere we reached Mitkenab, the country altered, and for the better, becoming almost beautiful, at least beautiful as far as any scenery can be without hill or water. All was now bright green ; older and finer trees were in numbers on the edge of the chaaba (bruch, thick jungle or bush). "We were most particularly pleased by the great nebbek-trees, forming bowers and halls, which were overgrown, and joined togetlier by a bright green creeper till complete roofs were formed, affording perfect shelter fi-om the hottest sun. The under branches of many of these trees were cut half through, and their ends being trained down to the ground, thus formed an enclosure for cattle the entrances to which were stopped up with thorny bushes. In all these lands the trees in general afford but a poor shade, and one can easily conceive how gladly we availed ourselves of such perfect camping places as these bowery trees offered. In their branches cooed thousands of doves. "We met hereabouts a large number of camels loaded with salt, which is procured in masses by evaporation of the waters of the Red Sea (Bachr male) ; and brought from thence by Sauakin, and sent even to India ; packed up' in pear-shaped basket-work cases. Mitkenab at last came into sight through the trees, offering us an asylum from the burning midday sun. On our halting outside the village under some shady trees, numbers of Arabs as usual gathered round us, curiously inquiring who we were, but it never occurred to any one of them to offer us, thirsting as they must have seen us to be, either milk or water. Ere long the two Sheiks of the village appeared, but evidently regarded us as very suspicious characters; they did certainly give us their hands in sign of welcome, but did not invite us to enter the village. Soon after one of them sent us a present of a fat sheep, but we declined accepting it, as we expected food would be provided us, and we saw no means of carrying the animal away with us. In its stead we begged some milk, though in vain. It was joyful news to us, to learn that some Schaigies had arrived at the wells near, belonging to the village of