50 AFRICAN WANDERINGS, although all 'the shots during the night had been fired on the happy-go-lucky principle. The tactics of our Napoleon-honouring Pascha went so far as to leave the wells, though some 200 paces 'from our camp, all night totally unguarded, and these might therefore have been with the greatest ease poisoned or filled up, by an enterprising enemy. A real piece of good luck it was for us that no large stones were to be had near to fill up these wells, as we had neither tools nor any means of removing such.

As a variety, the bands were ordered by the Pascha to perform: but a fearful punishment their music proved to our European ears, and bow could it be otherwise, as no two instruments were in tune, nor was there aught to soften the banging of the brass instruments. The Turkish cavalry, as well as the Magrabin, have some few small kettle-drums of four inches in diameter, which are incessantly thumped, while the Schaigies of Melik Mammud had only one great copper drum, on which were struck single blows at long irregular intervals, at the performer's pleasure.

9th April. — The Arabs rest not ; about midnight some slaves, having occasion to go to the wells, saw a crowd of them approaching, either with intent to fill up those by no means deep springs, which they ought already to have done, and which even now they could yet so easily have done, as, in spite of their high importance to the camp, their distance from it, and my urgent representations, that as usual were vain, these wells had been left all night without a guard,—or to attack the weaker side of the camp, make themselves masters of our supply of powder, or blow it and us into the air. That our whole store of powder was only guarded by a weak picquet of one sergeant and ten men, was doubtless well known to them, as well as the other arrangements of our camp, for they had many spies among the attendants of the Sheiks who accompanied us, and every day many Arabs were admitted to the camp, who brought for sale butter and honey, here very white and excellent.

On this night alarm, a part of the infantry, without waiting for orders, had advanced to the wells, but the incompetency of their leaders had here again done wrong, as the Pascha immediately sent them back again. The guard over the powder store had also quitted their post to take part in the dearly loved firing, and what was yet worse, a Bimbaschi had posted himself and party