but, in general, the
groves of the oasis are a little distant from the walls. There is a
suburb of some fifty houses of stone and mud; and a number of huts, made
of straw and palm-branches. The whole oasis is not more than three miles
in extent; the gardens produce only a little wheat, barley, and ghaseb,
with some few kinds of fruit. Good water is supplied by wells; but all
the palm vegetation is stunted.

From the hill that overlooks the town, a fine view is to be obtained of
the little oasis and the vast extent of desert that encircles it on
every side. Far to the south wave in the air the summits of the
palm-groves of Berket, on the way to Aheer. To the west, hills and
ridges succeed one another to the horizon; and to the east, above a line
of glittering sand-hills, rises the unbroken wall of the Wareerat
range--the rampart thrown up by the demons to protect their favourite
Tuaricks from the inroads of the conqueror. The contrast of the bright
green of the oasis with the stony waste beyond is striking; and when the
sun sheds its bright rays over the scene, it may really be called
beautiful.

But these are reminiscences. This day, as soon as we saw the town
appearing over the trees between the rocks, we hailed it with delight;
not, however, as the termination, but as the starting-point of a
journey. Beyond, southward, everything to us was unknown, and, we
believed, to all Europeans. Every step further, then, promised to be a
discovery. Should we be allowed to proceed unmolested? Would no
obstacle, natural or artificial, intervene? Much would depend on our
reception in Ghat. On my former visit I had not, on the whole, reason to
complain of the Sheikhs of the Tuaricks, whose chief place this is. I
remembered the venerable Shafou, the dashing Khanouhen, with Jabour, and
all the others, from whom I had received what might be called kindness.
Hateetah, it is true, had hitherto somewhat disappointed me; and I know
that great expectation had been already aroused in this little secluded
territory of profit to be made out of my mission. Whether I should be
able to meet all demands was a serious question with me. I am pleased to
say that the Governor's son came out to meet us, and conduct us to the
housed of his father, who, with several of the notables of Ghat, were
assembled, and gave us, in truth, a cordial reception.

It may be as well to remind the reader that Ghat is a small town which
has grown up in the territory of