nt, and to ask his parting blessing on the expedition. They told
us to go on, and joined us soon after. Two hours after us, the Turkish
Agha arrived, accompanied with colours, music, and some thirty men. The
Bey received the venerable old gentleman under an immense tent in the
shape of an umbrella, surrounded with his mamelukes and officers of
state. After their meeting and saluting, three guns were fired. The Agha
was saluted every day in the same manner, as he came up with his
infantry after us. We retired for the night at about eight o'clock.

The form of the whole camp, when pitched, consisting of about a dozen
very large tents, was as follows:--The Bey's tent in the centre, which
was surrounded at a distance of about forty feet with those of the
Bash-Hamba [31] of the Arabs, the Agha of the Arabs, the Sahab-el-Tabah,
Haznadar or treasurer, the Bash-Boab, and that of the English tourists;
then further off were the tents of the Katibs and Bash-Katib, the
Bash-Hamba of the Turks, the doctors, and the domestics of the Bey, with
the cookery establishment. Among the attendants of the Bey were the
"guarda-pipa," guard of the pipe, "guarda-fusile," guard of the gun,
"guarda-cafe," guard of the coffee, "guarda-scarpe," guard of the shoes,
[32] and "guarda-acqua," guard of water. A man followed the Bey about
holding in his hand a golden cup, and leading a mule, having two paniers
on its back full of water, which was brought from Tunis by camels. There
was also a story-teller, who entertained the Bey every night with the
most extraordinary stories, some of them frightfully absurd. The Bey did
not smoke--a thing extraordinary, as nearly all men smoke in Tunis. His
Highness always dined alone. None of his ladies ever accompany him in
these expeditions.

The tents had in them from twenty to fifty men each. Our tent consisted
of our two selves, a Boab to guard the baggage, two Arabs to tend the
horses and camels, and another Moor of all work, besides Captain
Balfour's Maltese, called Michael. We had three camels for our baggage.
The first night we found very cold; but having abundance of clothing, we
slept soundly, in spite of the perpetual wild shoutings of the Arab
sentries, stationed round the camp, the roaring and grumbling of the
camels, the neighing and coughing of the horses, all doing their utmost
to drive away slumber from our eyelids.

We halted on the morrow, which gave us an opportunity of getting a few
things from