her happened to fall in with
and slay the son of the Arab Sheikh himself, who commanded the Wahabi;
and, having despoiled him of his arms, he led away with him the mare
which his antagonist had mounted. He too well knew the value of such a
prize not immediately to take the utmost care of it; and, in order to
keep his good fortune from the knowledge of the Turkish chieftain, who
would do everything in his power to get it from him, he sent the beast
to his encampment, with orders that it should be carefully concealed,
and lodged in the tent which his harem occupied. His precautions were
useless, because the feat which he had performed, and the circumstances
attending it, were soon known to every one; but as the Pasha had a great
esteem for him, and there being no reason to suppose that the mare was
more than an ordinary one, he made no inquiries about her. However, not
very long after the war had ceased, the Wahabi having been driven back
into the desert, and the Curds having retired to their mountains, we
were surprised one morning by a visit from one of the Pasha's chief
officers, viz. the _Mirakhor_, or master of the horse, who came escorted
by a handsome train of ten men, well mounted and armed. Everybody was
immediately on the alert to do them honour. Their horses were taken to
the nearest pasture, and picketed with plenty of grass before them: the
horsemen were led into the men's tent with much ceremony, where they
were treated with coffee and pipes; and a large cauldron of rice was
set on the fire to make a pilau. Two lambs were immediately killed, and
cooked into a savoury dish by the women, who also baked piles of bread
on the occasion. In short, we did all in our power to put into practice
those obligations of hospitality which are binding upon the wandering
tribes.

'As soon as my father was apprised of the approach of his visitors, even
when they were first espied at a distance, it immediately occurred to
him what might be their object, and he ordered his eldest son to mount
the mare without a moment's delay, to take her into a neighbouring dell
until he should hear further from him. Our tents were pitched in a line,
on the brink of a mountain torrent; and it was therefore easy to steal
away unperceived in the deep bed through which it flowed; and the high
mountains in our neighbourhood, with the intricacies of which we were
well acquainted, afforded good shelter to us in case of disturbance.

'I recollect th