which the houses in the oases of
Northern Africa are often built, can be so easily melted
down.--ED.

In this day's agricultural and horticultural walk I fell in with the
nymphs of the gardens; or, in other words, the washerwomen of Mourzuk.
They come out constantly to the wells, when the irrigation is going on,
early in the morning or late in the evening, and thus take advantage of
the supply of water raised. They are all dark women of the city, for the
most part unlovely and very dirty in appearance, despite their
occupation. Their system of washing is the primitive one practised by
the labouring classes all over the north of Africa. They roll up the
clothes into a round flat heap, and then with their heels keep up a
continual round of treading, using for soap a peculiar sort of clay.
Some of the girls are very impudent and immodest when a stranger passes
by; but as a rule they are not so. The wells at Mourzuk are not all
good; some are fresh, others salt. In many places will be found a well
of very sweet, delicious water; and running nearly to the surface, at
twenty paces distant from it, are found others really quite salt. The
same phenomenon has been observed at Siwah, in the Libyan desert.

One of our party received a present this morning of some fresh and most
delicious leghma. A good deal is drunk in Mourzuk, in an acrid state,
for the purposes of intoxication.

In the evening I went to see the acting Pasha, with the Consul. He
received us with his usual urbanity, and gave coffee and lemonade twice.
He mentioned the things which a functionary of government was permitted
to receive as presents,--viz., two sheep, twelve pounds and a half of
butter, fifty eggs, and two fowls. This to be received once only from a
friend. But some of the functionaries say they can receive a cantar of
butter, if divided into sufficiently small quantities, and spread over
several days.

People all admire the clock I purchased for the Sultan of Sakkatou, to
give him instead of the chronometer. When it strikes the hours, I tell
them it speaks various languages, at which they are greatly astonished.

Yesterday evening, a shower of bats made their appearance at dusk.

_22d._--I went with Dr. Overweg to visit the Pilgrims. We had previously
examined the head of one of them phrenologically. The news had been
spread in the tents, and the whole troop came to have their craniums
studied on our arrival amongst them. This scien