152 THE CAMEL. 



ing in the ordinary way ticklish enough in the 

 beginning, and you run considerable risk at first 

 of going off by a very illogical, d priori, or d 

 posteriori movement, as the animal rises. It is 

 a ' bad eminence ' to fall from, and until you 

 have had considerable practice in this sort of 

 slack-rope exercise, it is good to hold fast by the 

 saddle-pins both fore and aft, while the drome- 

 dary is unfolding his joints, and working his 

 traverse upwards. Further, see that your at- 

 tendant keeps one foot on your camel's knee 

 until you are well posited and balanced ; for he 

 is apt to start up on feeling the weight of his 

 rider, and in this case you may very likely go 

 up on one side and come down on the other. 

 When all is ready, you give the signal, your 

 Arab releases the camel, a sudden jerk from be- 

 hind pitches you upon the pommel as he raises 

 his haunches, (for, as we told you before, he 

 comes up stern foremost,) and then a swell 

 from the stem throws you aft, and so on, zig- 

 zag, until he is fairly up, when, after a little 

 more rolling, while he is poising and steadying, 

 backing and filling, and getting his feet into 

 marching order, he steps off, and you are at last 

 under way, on your quest for Mesopotamia, 

 Arabia Petra?a, or the Oasis of Jupiter Am- 

 mon. 



" Your first day is every where a dies non, 



