of the main wâdi. One traveller speaks of an irresistible river he met in this wâdi, eight feet deep, carrying all before it: and though our track lay up these dry watercourses or over the banks of former river beds, nowhere was a drop of water to be found! Yet the waters of Feiran, which disappear suddenly in the sand at this end of the oasis, are amply sufficient, if carefully stored and conveyed in aqueducts, to irrigate the whole wâdi as far as the sea, and to turn it into a fertile valley.

From here onwards we could hear the occasional chirp of a bird, a very strange sound in this wilderness. At length we came upon a running brook, where the camels drank and the men too, and then patches of wheat and palms. After refreshment we wandered through the oasis of palms and tamarisks, and as it was already dark we were constantly in the water crossing and recrossing the stream. From time to time Iesa lighted up the wâdi with magnesium wire, revealing the palm trees and silvery feathery tamarisks in wonderful relief against the rocks and sky. After an hour, or perhaps less, we saw the welcome sight of Bedouins from camp coming to meet us with two Chinese lanterns, and the last half mile we were escorted to camp by them. We arrived at a quarter past seven-thirteen and a-half hours from our start in the morning.

I spent the following day (Thursday, March 14th) in camp, writing up my diary, while Mackinnon made the ascent of Mount Horeb (Serbal). From any point of view the ascent seems impossible, but to mountain climbers it is possible. Mackinnon enjoyed his day immensely, and made perhaps a record in reaching the summit in four and a-half hours, including two or three rests, whereas Baedeker allows six hours for the task.

In the course of the day I had a visit from the sheikh of the district. He had two sons with him, about ten years of age, of whom he was very proud. Iesa had discovered that the sheikh had some turquoises, from the ancient mines of the Pharaohs, and these he was willing for me to have at what he said was a very low price," out of consideration for me and for Naum Bey Shoucair," of the War Office, Cairo, for whom he had a great admiration. I was very glad to have these stones, and found later the price was very reasonable.

Towards the evening I came across another camp, with a party making the journey northward. There were two ladies, three divinity professors, and a doctor, all of them French. We accepted an invitation to their camp in the evening, and spent a pleasant time with them comparing experiences.

In this region, quite naturally, we endeavoured to recall the

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