80 
people, who surrounded me whenever I wished to 
converse with any of them. 
The Sultan Scherif had sent, according to annual 
custom, a part of his troops, with four small pieces of 
artillery. It was reported even that he would come in 
person; but I did not see him. 
It is customary also, that an Imam of the Scherif 
should come every year and preach a sermon upon 
the mountain. The one that came this day was sent 
back by Saaoud before he commenced, and one of his 
own Imams preached in his stead; but I was too far 
off to be able to hear any thing. The sermon being 
over, I observed the Wehhabites make signs of ap- 
probation; and they cried outrageously. 
I could easily have found means to introduce myself 
to the Sultan Saaoud, which I very much desired, so' 
that I might have known him perfectly; but as it would 
have compromised me with the Sultan Scherif, who 
would have attributed this simple action of curiosity 
to some political motive, I abstained from effecting it. 
We waited upon the mountain for the period of the 
sun's setting. The instant it occurred, what a tre- 
mendous noise! Let us imagine an assemblage of 
eighty thousand men, two thousand women, and a 
thousand little children, sixty or seventy thousand 
camels, asses, and horses, which at the commence- 
ment of night began to move in a quick pace along a 
narrow valley, according to the ritual, marching one 
after the other in a cloud of sand, and delayed by a 
forest of lances, guns, swords, &c; in short, forcing 
their passage as they could. Pressed and hurried on 
by those behind, we only took an hour and a half to 
return to Mosdelifa, notwithstanding it had taken us 
more than two hours to arrive in the morning. The 
