sures which he adopted to subdue these freebooters had rendered it so secure, that, to use an eastern phrase, "a man might travel over it with gold upon his head," and fear no molestation. Since the Pasha's death, however, the Arabs had again returned to their inveterate habits of stealing wherever they could, and on this account we availed ourselves of an escort of forty Albanians who were being sent from Mosul to meet the newly-appointed governor. The country is well cultivated for about ten miles from the city gates, the wheat and barley were just coming into ear, the weather was delightful, and at noon we reached Atmeidât, which we found deserted, the villagers having all gone to pasture their flocks among the Jubeilah hills a few miles to the south. We accordingly pitched our tent upon the grass, and after spending a few hours in chatting over the friends we had left behind, prepared to partake of our evening repast. To our surprise it was now told us that the guards expected us to provide food for them also. Not having dreamt of this, we offered them money to return and buy provisions; but they refused. Each had brought a loaf or two in his saddle-bags, and this they said would suffice them for the desert journey. We invited the captain to dine with us, but he declined, on the ground that he did not wish to be taken more care of than his men, who during the three days that they escorted us had nothing else to eat than the scanty fare already mentioned. I scarcely ever saw soldiers behave better: they never uttered a word of complaint, always threw down their cloaks to rest and picketed their horses at a respectful distance from our tent, and took thankfully the present which we distributed among them when we parted company. All this was the more remarkable because they were Arnaoot, or Albanians, whose very name among the orientals is connected with everything that is low, inhuman, and barbarous; and their general conduct, so far as I am acquainted with it, fully justifies the native horror of these mercenaries.
May 3rd.—We started from Atmeidât at half-past 2 a.m. by the light of a bright moon, and after travelling an hour all signs of cultivation ceased; but the ground was now covered with a carpet of thick grass, and decked with innumerable hyacinths, many-coloured anemones, irises, daisies, and a great variety of
