172 
KINGDOM OF AHEER BERKET. 
magnificence perhaps by the mirage of report, was 
the unknown kingdom of Aheer, of which Leo 
Africanus hints something, but the names of whose 
great cities are scattered as if at haphazard over 
the maps, possibly hundreds of miles out of their 
right position. What reception shall we meet wdth 
in that untried land ? In wdiat light will its untra- 
velled natives — fierce from ignorance and bigotry — 
regard this mission of infidels, coming from 
latitudes of which they have never dreamed, with 
objects unappreciable and perhaps hostile? Will 
nature itself be hospitable? Are there no enemies 
in the climate, no perils peculiar to the seasons? 
These questions occupied my mind as the caravan 
wound between the last palm-groves of Ghat; and 
my camel, resuming its swinging march, went away 
with its neck advanced like a bowsprit over this 
desert sea, which might be scattered with hidden 
dangers at every step. 
The wind does not always serve at the outset of 
a voyage. Our first stage was only of two hours 
southwards, as far as Berket, a considerable town, 
well walled, situate under a low hill, and surrounded 
w^ith palm-trees and gardens. The people visited 
us on our arrival ; all proved troublesome and some 
insolent. I had heard a better account of them. 
Their country is pleasanter than themselves, cer- 
tainly the most picturesque piece of desert I have 
seen since leaving Tripoli. A range of lofty black 
mountains extends on the east, with mounds of sand 
