TRIPOLY TO BENGAZI. 239 country is much encumbered with sand-hills, which are however I partially covered with vegetation ; and finding we made but little progress in passing among them, we kept along the beach, which is hard and level as far as Rhout el Assoud, so called from its dark colour. Near Sheibah we found the water tasted very strong of sulphur, besides being brackish and stinking, but among some sandhills two miles beyond it there were several wells of sweet water ; a circumstance which it is essential to know, as the water of Sheibah can scarcely be called drinkable, and there is no other but that just alluded to at less than two days from the place.

On our w’ay to Rhout el Assoud we passed several flocks of sheep, but could not persuade the shepherd to part with a single one.

As we were now heartily tired of being so often refused what there seemed to be no sufficient reason for withholding, we told the man that we should act as the Bashaw’s people would on similar occasions, if he did not think more considerately on the subject ; which was as much as to say, that if he would not part with his sheep voluntarily, we should certainly make bold to take it without his leave ; the only difference being, that His Highness’s people would have taken the animal without paying for it, while we were quite ready to pay the full price of it. But the Arab, who had evidently been tampered with by the Dfibbah, was steady in his decided refusal; and we were too hungry to wait very long in endeavouring to reason him out of his obstinacy.

Besides, we had already proposed an alternative, and could not with credit avoid putting our threat in execution. As neither our dignity, therefore, nor our appetites, would allow us to discuss with our obstinate Arab friend the propriety or impropriety of eating his mutton