Chap. LXVIII. INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS. 483 
scarcely any books with me to pass away my time, 
and my situation not allowing me to enter too closely 
into the discussions of my companions, as in that 
case they would have redoubled their endeavours 
to convert me to their creed, and would scarcelv have 
' «r 
allowed me to depart at all. 
Almost the whole of the time which I spent here 
the Sheikh left me quite to myself, sometimes not 
quitting his tent for a whole day ; but at other times 
we had some pleasant and instructive conversation. 
Among other subjects a rather animated discussion 
arose one day. An Arab, of the name of e Abd e' Rah- 
man, a near relation of my host, and of a rather 
presumptuous character, who had come on a visit from 
A'zawad, was extremely anxious to know the motives 
which induced me to visit this country, and scarcely 
doubted that it could be anything else than the de- 
sire of conquest. In order to show them of what 
little value the possession of the country would be 
to the Europeans, I jestingly told them, that our 
government, being informed that the natives of these 
tracts fed on sand and clay, had sent me out to dis- 
cover how this was done, in order to provide, in a 
similar way, for the poor in our own country. The 
Arab was naturally greatly surprised at my state- 
ment. But the Sheikh himself laughed very heartily, 
and inquired, with an expression of doubt, whether 
there were poor people among the Christians. 
Another evening, when the Sheikh was cheerfully 
sitting with us round the fire, we had an interesting 
i i 2 
