how
quickly the refreshing liquid had restored their strength.

I have elsewhere described the appearance of our camp, and the mode of
proceeding never varied. Before we started in the morning, the male
part of the population were called out to prayer; the herdsmen then
departed in all directions to tend the camels, horses, sheep, and goats
while grazing. As the day advanced, the extreme heat, and the absence
of most of the men, deprived the camp of all its bustle: a few women
were alone to be seen, occupied in grinding between two stones the
barley which was to serve for the evening repast; others were employed
at their looms, weaving camel-hair cloth, within the shade of the tents.

In the evening the whole scene became one of the greatest animation.
Various travellers were arriving, and seeking the hospitality of the
sheikh and his people: some came in troops, lightly mounted; others with
camels loaded with articles to dispose of in the Desert. The sheikh sat
on his carpet in front of his tent, calmly smoking his long hookah, and
habited in a white haique of extreme fineness, which hung over another
garment of sky-blue, ornamented on each side of the breast with silk
embroidery of various colours. On his feet were red morocco boots,
tastefully figured; while, instead of a turban, he wore round his head--
which was entirely shaved--a band of blue silk, a sign of his rank.
Each Arab as he arrived made his camel kneel before the tent, and then,
holding his musket in one hand, he touched the sheikh's head with the
other in token of respect. The sheikh congratulated each one on his
arrival, and returned the numerous salutations, without even inquiring
from whence the traveller came, or whither he was going.

Before dark, all were assembled for evening prayer; after which the
travellers formed themselves into groups, partaking out of one common
bowl the couscoussu prepared for them by their hosts. As night
approached the camels and flocks came trotting in; and by a peculiar
instinct each herd arranged itself before the tent to which it belonged,
the women hurrying out to milk the she-camels and goats. The hubbub
which ensued, caused by the numerous animals assembled, may be imagined.
A perfect calm then succeeded the bustle: the inhabitants retired to
their tents--the travellers, enveloped in their cloaks, lying down with
their camels by the side of the waning fires; the cattle, closely packed
together, remained i