26 
A DAY OF QUARRELS. 
there are but haif-a-dozen diminutive fields of barley 
ripening in the ear, fed by irrigation from several 
wells which supply tolerably sweet water. A few 
onion-beds occur in the little gardens, which are 
partially shaded by some small trees. 
Sheikh Omer supplied us with copious bowls of 
milk ; the most refreshing thing, after all, that can 
be drank in the heat of the day. We were, however, 
impatient to get off, but had to wait for a blacksmith 
to shoe the horses of our chaouch. The only knowing 
man in this department was away at some neigh- 
bouring village, and it was necessary to send mes- 
sengers to find him. There being nothing better to 
do, the day, accordingly, was spent in quarrelling. 
We had at least a hundred tongue-skirmishes between 
our people and the people of Mizdah — between our 
chaouch andtheother chaouch — between our chaouch 
and the sheikh of the country — betvveen Y'usuf and 
the Fezzanee — between every individual black and 
every other individual black — between our chaouch 
particularly and all the people of Mizdah : — in short, 
there were as many rows as it were possible for a 
logician to find relations betwixt man and man. 
I must not forget that our chaouch, in spite of all 
this effervescence, had got up this morning in a 
very pious state of mind. He told us that a mara- 
bout had appeared to him in a dream, and had said, 
" O man ! go to Soudan with the Christians, and 
thou shalt return with the blessing of God upon 
thee!" This vision seemed to have made a deep 
