VISITED BY A SHEIKH. 
25 
great tower, a giant among all the little towers — a 
kind of keep, to which the defeated party retired to 
recruit its strength or escape utter destruction. 
This is likewise the case with many other double 
towns of the Sahara, and seems to prove that war is 
the native passion and trade of man. At any rate, 
punishment for such turbulence has not been want- 
ing ; for in this, as in so many other cases, whilst these 
poor wretches were engaged in cutting one another's 
tliroats, the conqueror has come and established his 
tyranny. They are now paying the penalty of their 
love of shamatah in the shape of an impost of four 
hundred mahboubs per annum, and in numbers are 
reduced to about a hundred and thirty heads of 
families. 
We had some additional camel-drivers from 
Kaleebah, who, of course, endeavoured to extort 
more than they had agreed for. When we had 
squabbled with them a little, we had the honour of 
receiving Sheikh Omer, of Mizdah, in the tent. He 
came with about thirty notables of the place, the 
greater part of whom sat outside the doorway, whilst 
he stroked his beard within, indulging in a touch of 
eau de Cologne and a cup of coffee. We read him 
the circular-letter of Izhet Pasha, and received all 
manner of civilities. The next day, indeed, he came 
to us to serve as guide through the country over 
which he wields delegated dominion. He had not 
far to go. His empire is a mere pocket one. The 
palm-trees are about three hundred in number, and 
