THE CARAVAN. 155 



ish purpose of lunching, or to make any halt in 

 the course of the day's march, except such as 

 you can snatch in the way I have just men- 

 tioned. It is fair to admit, that the majority of 

 my fellow-travellers are against me on this point, 

 but n'importe, wisdom is better than numbers. 

 Hear my reasons ; those of mine opponents I 

 need not give. Why should I perplex you ? 



" For mere lunching, (faugh ! I hate the 

 word,) if lunch you must, an orange or two, a 

 biscuit, a morsel of bread, a bunch of dried figs, 

 dates, apricots, or such other pretty little tiny 

 kickshaws, as you can take in your saddle-bags, 

 and munch on your camel, are abundantly suf- 

 ficient, and as for resting, I know no better way 

 than now and then to exchange your camel for 

 that ' horse with ten toes,' upon which, accord- 

 ing to old Fuller, Tom Coryate, memorable for 

 the introduction of forks into England, enter- 

 prised his journey to India. To walking, how- 

 ever, there is sometimes a pretty serious objec- 

 tion, the provocation of increased thirst, namely. 

 When you are travelling in hot weather, and 

 your supply of water is low or spoiled, this dif- 

 ficulty becomes nearly insurmountable, and if 

 there be an absolute necessity for stopping, you 

 must prick ahead and gain time, or lag in the 

 rear. A general halt of the caravan is attended 

 with great inconvenience. Barely stopping, 



