blast of a lime-kiln; we lay helpless and half
senseless, without appetite and without energy, feeling as if a few more
degrees of heat would be death. Nothing, on the other hand, could have
been more delicious than the hour of sunrise. The air was mild and balmy
as that of an Italian spring; the mountains, grim and bare during full
daylight, mingled their summits with the jasper tints of the sky; at
their base ran a sea of amethyst. Not less lovely was the sunset, but
after a quarter of an hour its beauty faded, and the wilderness of white
crags and pinnacles was naked and ghastly under the moon.

On arriving at Yambu we had to treat for camels, and make provision for
the seven days' journey to El Medinah. As I had injured my foot on the
voyage, I bought a shugduf or litter, a vehicle appropriated to women
and infirm persons; it had the advantage that notes were more easily
taken in it than on a dromedary's back. At 7 p.m. on July 18 we passed
through the gate of Yambu, and took a course due east. My companions, as
Arabs will do on such occasions, began to sing.

_II.--In the Footsteps of Mohammed_

Our little party consisted of twelve camels, and we travelled in Indian
file, head tied to tail, with but one outrider, Omar Effendi, whose rank
required him to mount a dromedary with showy trappings. In two hours we
began to pass over undulating ground with a perceptible rise. At three
in the morning we reached the halting-place and lay down to sleep; at
nine we breakfasted off a biscuit, a little rice, and milkless tea, and
slept again. Dinner, consisting chiefly of boiled rice with clarified
butter, was at two; and at three we were ready to start. Towards sunset
there was a cry of thieves, which created vast confusion; but the
thieves were only half a dozen in number, and fled when a few bullets
were sent in their direction.

Next day we travelled through a country fantastic in its desolation--a
mass of huge hills, barren plains, and desert vales. The third day was
spent uncomfortably at El Hamra, a miserable collection of hovels made
of unbaked brick and mud. It was reported that Saad, the great
robber-chief, was in the field, and there was consequently danger that
our march would be delayed. The power of this ruffian is a standing
proof of the imbecility of the Turkish Government.

The Holy Land of El Hejaz drains off Turkish gold and blood in
abundance, and the lords of the country hold in it a contemptible
po