uds formed well-defined, thin, clean,
horizontal lines, or else when very high up patchy small skiffs.

One missed greatly the fat, rolling, globular clouds which are so common
to Europe, and which fill the sky with fantastic forms. There is such a
thing as getting tired of an everlasting spread of blue sky and the glow
of a roasting sun.

A strong westerly gale swept low over the surface of the desert. It was
very cold after sunset, but fortunately we had plenty of tamarisk shrubs
at hand and camel dung with which to make big fires.

The river bed below our camp was very wide, but the salt stream itself
not more than three to four feet across. It eventually lost itself to the
north-west in the desert. The camels had been let loose to graze and had
a good feed of tamarisk, which they seemed to enjoy much after their long
diet on reduced rations of straw and cotton seeds.

We left this camp (4,120 feet) soon after dinner at 7 p.m., and during
the night passed several ranges of hills, we travelling all the time on
the flat. In the middle of the night the cold was bitter, so cold that I
had icicles hanging on my moustache and eyelashes. It was impossible to
remain on the camels, and ill as we all felt we had to walk--drag
ourselves would be a more suitable expression--to keep ourselves from
freezing. On these cold nights we simply longed for the sun to come out.
The dark hours seemed interminable. One began slightly to revive when the
first glimmering of yellowish light began to tinge the dark blue sky, and
the dazzling stars gradually lost their brilliancy and eventually
disappeared altogether from the heaven above us.

On the first ray of sun appearing the devout camel men stopped the
caravan, spread a small cloth upon the ground, and, having picked up a
small stone, placed it in front of them. They duly turned towards sacred
Mecca and lifted their arms, then, muttering their prayers, knelt and
placed their heads upon the ground, as we have already seen others do, in
the usual Mussulman manner. They were most diligent in this respect, and
one could not help admiring the intent fervour of their appeals to Allah.
At sunset, too, their prayers never failed to be recited--no matter what
they were busy doing at the time, all being interrupted for the purpose.

At 5.30 a.m. we arrived at a village called Fedeshk--quite a large place,
situated in a flat oblong plain ten miles long and a mile and a half
wide, surrounded by