298 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



on very excellent provision, drefled according to their cuf- 

 tom. He faid the country near the fhore was defert, bu* 

 a little within land, or where the roots and gravel had fix- 

 ed the fand, the foil produced every thing, efpecially if they 

 had any mowers of rain. It was fo long fmce I had heard 

 mention of a Ihower of rain, that I could not help laughing, 

 and he feemed to think that he had faid fomething wrong, 

 and begged fo politely to know what I laughed at, that I 

 was obliged to confefs. " The reafon, faid I, Sir, is an ab- 

 furd one. What pafled in my mind at that time was, that 

 1 had travelled about two thoufand miles, and above twelve 

 months, and had neither feen nor heard of xjhower of rain 

 till now, and though you will perceive by my converfation 

 that I underfland your language well, for a ftranger, yet t 

 declare to you, the moment you fpoke it, had you afked, 

 what was the Arabic for a Ihower of rain, I could not have 

 told you. I declare to you, upon my word, it was that 

 which I laughed at, and upon no other account what- 

 ever." " You are going, fays he, to countries where you 

 will have rain and wind, fufhciently cold, and where the 

 water in the mountains is harder than the dry land, and 

 people Hand upon it * We have only the remnant of 

 their fhowers, and it is to that we. owe our greateft happi- 

 nefs." 



I was very much pleafed with his converfation. He 

 feemed to be near fifty years of age, was exceedingly well 

 drefled, had neither gun nor piftol about him, not even a 



knife. 



5 Yemen, or the high land of Arabia Felix, where water freezes, 



