DHALAG. ^35 
" January 14. — At day light I went with Abdallah and the two 
Europeans to the northern mosque, for the purpose of getting i)osses- 
sion of some of the monumental stones, mentioned in my former 
account. The best finished inscriptions were engraved on stones 
which were too heavy to carry away. I therefore made choice of 
two of the most perfect, carved in different characters, that were 
portable, and wrapping them up very carefully, proceeded back 
to our lodgings, not quite satisfied, I own, with the propriety of 
what I was about. Our proceedings having been observed, by the 
time we reached the house a crowd had assembled, among which 
were several principal inhabitants. I immediately perceived that 
they were acquainted with what we had been doing, and that they 
wished to examine the contents of our bags, which we evaded, and 
got our plunder safe into the yard. The crowd now began to in- 
crease, and I heard them debating the matter rather warmly on the 
outside. Soon afterwards they came into the yard, in a body, with 
Seied Yusuff and the Nayib's messenger at their head ; there were 
also, among the foremost, the Sheik-el-Belled and the Sheik of the 
mosque. Abdallah being called, they began a most lamentable 
complaint against our proceedings, said these stones were sacred to 
the dead, and that the Nayib had positively forbidden that any of 
them should be removed. The Nayib's man, however, who was 
spokesman, said nothing as from himself, but premised every 
sentence with, " thus do they infer." The Seied Yusulf also (having 
been previously bribed) kept a becoming silence ; so I cut the 
matter short by telling them, that they might rest assured that I 
should do nothing except what the Nayib approved; and that I 
should not think of arguing with them upon the subject, (whorn it 
VOL. II. H H 
