s we had to travel two or three days
without finding any inhabitants to supply us, and then we were forced to
travel more deliberately. Out of thirty or forty horses, we were always
sure to have the worst, being strangers, as every one took their choice
before it came to our turn. They always, however, provided me with a strong
horse, because I was corpulent and heavy; but whether his pace happened to
be hard or gentle, was all one to them, and I dared not to make any
complaints. Our horses often tired before we could fall in with any of the
inhabitants, and we were then obliged to beat and whip them up, being
obliged to lay our garments upon spare horses, and sometimes two of us
obliged to ride on one horse.

[1] Probably intended for what is now called Servia--E.

[2] This may be taken at a medium of thirty miles a day which, in
forty-six days, would amount to 1380 miles; no doubt a very fatiguing
journey for a corpulent heavy man as he describes himself--E.

SECTION XXIV.

_Of the Hunger, Thirst, and other Miseries we endured_.

There was no end of hunger and thirst, and cold and weariness. In the
morning they gave us something to drink, or some boiled millet; but
afterwards we had nothing to eat until the evening, when they bestowed some
flesh upon us, being generally the shoulder and breast of a ram, and every
one was allowed a proportion of the broth to drink; and we considered
ourselves fortunate when we had enough of broth, as it was exceedingly
refreshing, pleasant, and nutritive. Sometimes we were constrained to eat
our meat half boiled, or even almost raw, for want of fuel, especially when
we were benighted and obliged to pass the night in the fields, because we
could not conveniently gather horse or cow-dung to make a fire, and we
seldom found any other fuel, except a few thorns here and there, and a few
rare woods on the banks of some rivers. Every Saturday I remained fasting
until night, and was then constrained, to my great grief, to eat flesh, as
I could not procure any other food in the desert. In the beginning of our
journey our guide disdained us exceedingly, and seemed quite indignant at
being obliged to take charge of such base fellows as he seemed to esteem
us; but he afterwards behaved better, and often took us purposely to the
courts of rich Moals, who requested us to pray for them; and if I had been
so fortunate as to have a good interpreter, I might have been able to do
some g