Bombay and
Russia were together on the extreme edge of it. The stars he believed to
be lighted up nightly, as one would candles or paraffin lamps.
Fortunately, while explaining to me his extraordinary theory of how it
was that the moon never appeared alike on two successive nights, he was
again seized with another fearful attack, and tumbled off the camel.

Sadek was most unfortunate with animals. He was hated by them all. When
he went near horses they would kick, buck and neigh as if a wolf had been
at hand; mules stampeded at his sight; cats bolted as if he were about to
beat them; and camels were restless and made most fearful noises of
disapproval and distress at his approach. When he tried to get on and
off, the kneeling camel would suddenly spring up again, causing him to
fall, and when he did get on the saddle the vicious brutes would assume a
most unusual and uncomfortable jerky motion, which bumped him to such an
extent that he could not stand it long, and had to get off. The animals
evidently did it purposely to get rid of him, for when I got on any of
them they went beautifully. Hence, whenever Sadek wished to ride
comfortably he always requested to change seats with my driver, who
occupied the front seat on the hump of my camel.

[Illustration: View of Sher-i-Rustam from Rustam's House. (South-east
section of City.)]

We had a glorious sunset on that evening, not unlike an aurora borealis,
in brilliant rays of light radiating from a central point. The sun had
already disappeared behind the blue mountain chain, and each bright
vermilion ray had like a fish bone or like a peacock's feather, myriads
of cross off-shoots in the shape of lighter sprays of light. There was a
brilliant yellow glow which tinted the blue sky and made it appear of
various gradations, from bright yellow at the lower portion to various
delicate shades of green in the centre, blending again into a pure deep
cobalt blue high up in the sky, and on this glorious background the
feathery vermilion sprays shot up to half way across the celestial vault.
Other smaller sprays of vivid yellow light flared up in a crescent nearer
the mountain edge.

It was quite a glorious sight, unimpeded by the grand spread of sand in
the foreground and a patch or two of humble tamarisks.

The rapidity with which night descends upon the desert, is, as we noticed
several times, quite amazing. There was hardly any twilight at all. In a
few seconds this beautifu