CH. xvri.] The Son of a Prophet. 23 



leading it to the subject of the Anazeh, some of 

 whom, it turns out, he knows or at any rate has 

 seen ; for he talks about Siiliman ibn Mershid and 

 his death at Deyr. He was also, he tells us, ac- 

 quainted with Akhmet Beg the Modli Sheykh, 

 whom he describes as the finest man ever seen in 

 the desert, as tall as himself (Mohammed is fuUy 

 six feet high). Jedaan, he says, is nothing much 

 to look at, but a wonderful horseman. He knows 

 nothing, or at any rate will tell nothing of the 

 present whereabouts of any of the Bedouins, but 

 says they are sure to pass by Tudmur in the course 

 of the spring. They do so, every year, on their way 

 north. He himself is the son of the Sheykh of 

 Tudmur ; and his family is descended from a certain 

 prophet, called the Nebbi Taleb, who converted the 

 villas:es of Tudmur and Arak to Mahometanism ; 

 but he does not know how long ago. His family 

 came originally from the Beni Laam, in Nejd, and 

 established itself first in the J6£ He has relations 

 still there and is going next year to get a wife from 

 his own people. About going to see the Anazeh 

 now, he should have no objection to go with us, but 

 he does not know where they are. We had better, 

 he says, go on to Tudmur. His uncle and the 

 caravan will overtake us to-night. 



We had not gone far, when a large caravan of 

 some two hundred camels came in sight, travelling 

 from the west towards us ; and we galloped up to 

 get news. We found they were from Sokhnc, a 



