MOCHA. 
413 
July 10. — The alarms respecting an attack of Mocha by the 
SberifFe of Abou Arish gained ground. The Banian at Loheia had 
written to Devage to give him notice of it, and advise him to be 
on his guard. The SherifFe was said to have at least fifteen thousand 
soldiers. We had then at Mocha about four hundred and fifty, as 
some arrived with an escort of coffee from Oudein on the 7th, and 
were detained. A few more came in on the 10th, wretchedly looking 
animals, and rather injurious than serviceable, as provisions were 
extremely scarce. If the Wahabee had surrounded the town, in a 
week there would have been an absolute famine among the com- 
mon people. Fruit had been very scarce, and of grapes we had had 
no supply during the last fortnight. The weather had been ex- 
tremely sultry ; calm in the day time ; the thermometer 90° to 95 
at night occasionally a strong breeze from the north. One night 
we had a wind as hot as at Lucknow, which drove us all from the 
upper apartments to the rooms that could be shut up. It lasted 
about an hour. Hadje Abdullah told us it was the true Simoom, 
which blows all day at Mecca during the summer months. My health 
was much better than it was last year, 
July 16th. — On the 15th in the evening the Wahabee carried off 
seventy camels, loaded with coffee and goods, between this place 
and Moosa. The garrison was immediately ordered out, but re- 
turned the next morning, bringing in with them only one lame 
camel. The party they went after being too powerful for them to 
attack, they contrived to go a wrong road. Two Ascari were put in 
prison for cowardice. 
July 18.— The Dola's new soldiers quarrelled with him, and 
marched off. There had been no provision of grain in the bazar for 
