SEVERE FALL. 
141 
Moors prepared their dress^ with the intention of preceding 
us on the following day^ in order, no doubt, to enjoy as 
soon as possible the pleasure of meeting their families. One 
of them, the son of Sidi-Aly, my guide, had paid court to 
me for several days, that I might be induced to lend him my 
wrapper, his own being torn : as I had less reason to 
complain of him than of his comrades, during the journey, 
I consented to lend it to him. 
About nine at night, we again decamped and took a 
north-west direction, as we had done from seven till ten in 
the morning. Toward midnight, we changed our course to 
N. N. E. through the passes of high mountains of granite, 
amongst which were pools of salt water. Enormous masses 
of these rocks, suspended over our heads, seemed to threaten 
to tumble and crush us. in one of these defiles, the camel 
that 1 rode took fright, turned aside and ran away. I was 
thrown flat on my back upon the gravel. 
The pain I experienced was so great, that I was per- 
suaded some of my bones w^ere broken, and indeed that I 
was near my end. A Moor came to my ast^istance; he took 
me in his arms, and pressed me violently against his breast, 
which afforded me some ease. He assisted me to overtake 
my camel, which had been stopped, and made it kneel, that 
I might remount with more ease ; this Moor was a stranger, 
who did not belong to the company of Aly. My sufferings 
were still so acute, that 1 could not restrain my groans ; 
I conceived that my skull was fractured ; I experienced a 
giddiness in my head and could scarcely see. I was not 
relieved from these symptoms till the following day, and the 
pains in my loins continued with much violence, so that I 
could not stoop without great difficulty. I felt the effects 
of this fall for more than two months. The Moor who 
assisted me to rise placed me himself upon my camel, which 
I should have been incapable of mounting without help. 
To issue from these defiles, we were obliged to climb a 
