unhappy destiny, as every one thought senses, opened my eyes, and looked around me, without being able to discern any body. At last, however, I distinguished seven or eight sherifs and fakihs, who gave me their assistance, and shew

only of saving himself. Several mules with their burdens were left behind, and I found on my way two of my trunks on the ground, without knowing what was become of the mules which had ed me much kindness. I endeavoured been carrying them, the drivers had forsaken them as well as the care of my effects and of my instruments.

I looked upon this loss with the greatest indifference as if they had not belonged to me, and pushed on. But my horse began now to tremble under me, and yet he was the strongest of the whole Garavan. We proceeded in silent despair. When I endeavoured to encourage any of them to increase his pace, he answered me by looking steadily at me, and by putting his forefinger to his mouth to indicate the great thirst by which he was affected. As I was reproaching our conducting officers for their inattention which had occasioned this want of water, they excused themselves from the mutiny of the oudaïas; and besides, added they, "do we not suffer like the rest?" Our fate was the more shocking, as every one of us was sensible of the impossibility of supporting the fatigue to the place where we were to meet with water again. At last, at about four in the evening, I had my turn, and fell down with thirst and fatigue.

to speak to them, but an invincible knot in my throat seemed to hinder me; I could only make myself understood by signs and by pointing to my mouth with my finger.

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They continued pouring water over my face, arms, and hands, and at last I was able to swallow small mouthfulls of water. This enabled me to ask, “ Who are you? When they heard me speak, they expressed their joy, and answered me, "Fear nothing; far from being robbers, we are your friends," and every one mentioned his name. I began by degrees to recollect their faces, but was not able to remember their names. They poured again over me a still greater quantity of water, gave me some to drink, filled some of my leather bags, and left me in haste, as every minute spent in this place was precious to them, and could not be repaired.

This attack of thirst is perceived all of a sudden by an extreme aridity of the skin; the eyes appear to be bloody, the tongue and mouth both inside and outside are covered with a crust of the thickness of a crown piece; this crust is of a dark yellow colour, of an insipid taste, and of a consistence like the soft wax from a beehive. A faintness or languor takes away the power to move; a kind of knot in the throat and diaphragm, attended with great pain, interrupts respi

Extended without consciousness on the ground, in the middle of the desert, left only with four or five men, one of whom had dropped at the same moment with myself, and all without any means of assisting me, because they knew not where to find water, and if they had known it, had not strength to fetch it. I should ration. Some wandering tears escape have perished with them on the spot, if Providence, by a kind of miracle, had not preserved us.

from the eyes, and at last the sufferer drops down to the earth, and in a few moments loses all consciousness. These are the symptoms which I remarked in my unfortunate fellow travellers, and which I experienced myself.

Half an hour had already elapsed since I had fallen senseless to the ground, (as I have since been told,) when, at some distance, a considerable caravan, of I got with difficulty on my horse again, more than two thousand souls, was seen and we proceeded on our journey. My to be advancing. It was under the di- Beduins and my faithful Salem were gone rection of a marebout or saint called Sidi in different directions to find out some Alarbi, w who was sent by the Sultan to water, and two hours afterwards they reTtemsen or Tremecen. Seeing us in turned one after another, carrying along this distressed situation, he ordered some with them some good or bad water, as skins of water to be thrown over us. they had been able to find it; every one After I had received several of them over presented to me part of what he had my face and hands, I recovered my brought; I was obliged to taste it, and I

drank twenty times, but as soon as I erts any complete remains of sea-aniswallowed it my mouth became as dry as before; at last I was not able either to spit or to speak.

mals; but my situation prevented me from making assiduous researches, and it is possible that such remains, if they exist, áre only to be found at a great distance to the south or west of the Atlas, as the fury of the waves pulverizes every thing that in these parts is raised to the surface of the sea.

The greatest part of the soil of the desert consists of pure clay, except some small traces of a calcareous nature. The whole surface is covered with a bed of chalky calcareous stone of a whitish colour, smooth, round, and loose, and of The shock of the waves is so great, the size of the fist; they are almost all that even at times of the most perfect of the same dimension, and their surface calm, and without any preceding storm, is carious like pieces of old mortar; I and when the surface of the sea is entirelook upon this to be a true volcanic pro- ly quiet at a distance, the shore is nevduction. This bed is extended with ertheless so forcibly beaten by the surge, such perfect regularity, that the whole that mountains of foam from 50 to 60 desert is covered with it, a circumstance feet high, arise not only upon the rocks, which makes pacing over it very fatigu- but also on the sandy flats. ing for the traveller.

There is no animal of any kind to be At midnight, between Thursday and seen in this desert, neither quadrupeds, Friday, the 23d of January, 1807, or birds, reptiles, nor insects, nor any plant the 14th of the month Douikaada, in whatsoever, and the traveller who is the year 1221 of the Hegira, I arrived, obliged to pass through it, is surrounded through the favour of divine mercy, at by the silence of death. It was not till the first houses of the holy city of Mecfour in the evening that we began to dis- ca, fifteen months after my departure tinguish some small plants, burnt with from Morocco. the sun, and a tree of a thorny nature without blossom or fruit. I had gathered in the desert two pebbles, a piece of clay, and two pieces of ore, but they were all lost.

THE DESERTS.

All what we know of the deserts of sand which surround the chain of the Atlas to the east and south sides, proves that they are not like those of Tartary, composed of the humus depauperatus of Linneus; that is to say, of an earth which, in consequence of perpetual tillage and production, is become exhausted and deprived of those organic particles which are necessary to vegetation.

One may easily judge of the deserts which lie to the south of the Atlas, by those which I have seen to its north and west; I observed in these latter nothing but large beds of glutinous clay, which I consider as a volcanic sub-marine production; plains of moving sand, entirely composed of a flinty dust of quartz and feldspath mixed with finely pulverized shells; and banks of a recent chalky marl, evidently formed by the glutination of the sand, or pulverized animal sub

stances.

I have in fact not found in these des

There were at the entrance of the town several Mogrebins, or Arabs of the West, who were waiting my arrival, with little pitchers of the water from the well of Zemzem, which they presented me to drink, begging me not to take it of any other person, and offering to supply my house. They told me, secretly, never to drink the water which the chief of the wells should offer to me.

Several other persons, who were also waiting, disputed between themselves which should have me for a lodger; for the lodgings are one of the principal speculations of the inhabitants. But the persons who were charged with providing every thing for me during my stay at Djedda, soon put an end to these disputes, by taking me to a house that had been prepared for me. It was situated near the temple, and the house inhabited by the Sultan Scherif.

Pilgrims ought to enter on foot into Mecca; but, in consequence of my illness, I remained upon my camel until I arrived at my lodging.

The moment I entered I performed a general ablution; after which I was con- . ducted in procession towards the temple, with all my people, by a person ap

pointed for that purpose, who, as he north-west side rises a parapet about a walked along, recited different prayers leaning height, forming nearly a semiin a loud voice, which we repeated alto- circle, separated from the building, callgether, word for word, in the same tone. ed El Hajar Ismaïl, or the Stones of IsI was supported by two persons, on ac mael. count of my extreme weakness.

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The following is a detail of the ulterior ceremonies which are observed in this religious act, such as I performed them myself at this period.

In this manner we arrived at the temple, making a tour by the principal street to enter at the Beb-es-selem, or Gate of Health, which they look upon as a hap- The pilgrims go seven times round the py auspice. After having taken off our Kaaba, beginning at the black stone, or sandals we entered in at this blessed the eastern angle, and passing the princigate, which is placed near the northern pal front, in which is the door; from angle of the temple. We had already whence turning to the west and south, traversed the portal or gallery, and were outside of the stones of Ismael. Being upon the point of entering the great arrived at the southern angle, they stretch space where the House of God, or El out the right arm; when having touched Kaaba, is situated, when our guide ar- the angular marble with the hand, taking rested our steps, and, pointing with his great care that the lower part of their finger towards it, said with emphasis, garment does not touch the uncovered Schouf,schouf,el beit Allah el Haram." base, they pass it over the face and beard, "Look, look, the house of God, the pro- saying, " In the name of God, the greathibited." The crowd that surrounded est God, praises be to God;" and they me, the portico of columns half hid from continue to walk towards the north-east, view, the immense size of the temple, saying, "Oh great God! be with me! the Kaaba, or house of God, covered Give me the good things of this world, with the black cloth from top to bottom, and those of the next." Being returned and surrounded with a circle of lamps or to the eastern angle, they raise their lanterns, the hour, the silence of the hands as at the beginning of the canonical night, and this man speaking in a solemn prayer, and cry, "In the name of God, tone, as if he had been inspired, all serv- the greatest God." They afterwards ed to form an imposing picture, which say, with their hands down, "Praises be will never be effaced from my memory. to God;" and kiss the black stone. We entered into the court by a path a Thus terminates the first tour. foot high, bordering diagonally upon the northern angle of the Kaaba, which is nearly in the centre of the temple. Be fore we arrived at it, we passed under a sort of isolated triumphal arch, called Beb-es-selem, like the gate by which we had entered. Being arrived at the house of God, we repeated a little prayer, kissed the sacred black stone brought by the angel Gabriel, named Hajera el Assouad, or the heavenly stone; and, having the guide at our head, we performed the first tour round the Kaaba, reciting prayers at the same time.

The second is like the first, except that the prayers are different from the angle of the black stone to that of the south; but they are the same from the latter to the former, and are repeated with the same forms during the seven rounds. The traditional law orders that the last rounds should be made in a quick step, but, in consequence of my weak state, we went very slowly.

At the end of the seventh, and after having kissed the black stone, they recite in common a short prayer, standing near the door of the Kaaba, from whence they The Kaaba is a quadrilateral tower, go to a sort of cradle, called Makam entirely covered with an immense black Ibrahim, or the place of Abraham, sicloth, except the base. The black stone tuated between Kaaba and the arch Bebis discovered through an opening in the es-selem, when they recite a common cloth. It is encrusted on the eastern prayer. They then go to the well Zem* angle. A similar opening to the former zem, and draw buckets of water, of at the southern angle discovers a part of which they drink as much as they can it, which is of common marble. On the swallow. After this they leave the tem MON. MAG. No. 286.

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ple by El Beh Saffa, or the gate of Saffa, corners, repeating the same prayers as from whence they go up a small street before in each. Being come at last to facing, which forms what is called Djebel the east corner, I said a short prayer Saffa, or the hill of Saffa.

Arabia. No; there is not any religion tain. Towards the north-west there is a that presents to the senses a spectacle second platform for offering up prayers, more simple, affecting, and majestic! which is situated about a quarter of a Philosophers of the earth! permit me, league from the first, and is called DjaAli Bey, to defend my religion, as you máa Ibrahim, or the Mosque of Abraham. defend spiritual things from those which It was upon Mount Arafat that the are material, the plenum against a vacu- common father of all mankind met Eve and the necessary existence of the after a long separation; and it is on that account that it is called Arafat, that is to say, gratitude. It is believed that it was Adam himself who built this chapel.