en constructed on this particular principle.

The bricks were laid round the vaults for two-thirds of the roof at an
angle of 45 deg. and the other third in a vertical position. There was the
usual upper central aperture and occasionally one or two side ones.

The natives were very civil and obliging, and as usual they all crowded
round to converse.

"Sahib," said one old man, "you must come to settle here."

"Why should I settle here?"

"It is very cheap to build houses at Warmal."

"How much does it cost to build a house?"

"Come and see and you will tell me whether you can build a house cheaper
in your country."

He took me to a spacious new residence, 14 feet by 14 feet inside, and 18
feet high.

"It is a fine house, is it not, Sahib?"

"Yes, very fine."

"It cost me exactly two tomans, four krans (about nine shillings) to
build it, as it stands."

Enumerating the various items of expenditure on the tips of his
fingers:--"Sun-baked bricks 1 kran (5_d._) per thousand," he continued;
"carpenter 1 kran a day for 5 days, and mason 1 kran a day. The people
who helped were not paid as they were relations!"

The dome of this house was very scientifically constructed, as can be
seen by the diagram, and formed a very strong vault. To make these
vaults, four workmen begin at the four corners of the quadrangular base
to lay bricks in successively enlarging concentric arcs of a circle, each
higher than the previous one, till each section meets the two side ones.
The small portion that remains above is filled in with bricks, laid
transversely, and these vaults are really of remarkable strength.

[Illustration: Vault, shewing how Bricks are laid.]

[Illustration: Semi-Spherical Roof, shewing how Bricks are laid.]

I have seen some built on this principle, and several centuries old,
standing in good preservation and as good as new.

The type of natives was quite different again from that in other places
already visited, and was most interesting. The men, like most men of the
desert, had elongated faces, with long, regular noses, slightly convex
and somewhat drooping. The nostrils were rather swollen and lacking
character, and not sharply cut. At the bridge the nose was very narrow,
but broad in its lower portion and quite rounded, which looked better in
profile than full face. The nostrils drooped considerably towards the
point of the nose and were high up where joining the cheek. The faces of
these fellows fo