138 
Our day's journey was shocking; we had a terrible 
wind in our faces, with heavy showers of rain, which 
obliged us to stop before our intended time. Our 
camp was near a douar, and I was told that lions 
were to be met with in this neighbourhood. 
At six in the evening the thermometer was at 12° 6\ 
and the hygrometer at 100°. 
The rain continued at eleven, without interruption, 
and some very precious insects took shelter in my tent. 
A very handsome toad placed himself on my inkstand, 
and beheld me for a while; I got up to open the door; 
the animal, as if aware of my meaning, went immedi- 
ately away. 
Friday, 2 March. The weather was so bad thatnobody 
wished to set out, but as I was anxious to arrive at 
Morocco, I ordered our camp to break up. 
We started at half past ten towards the S.W. and 
shortly after losing our way, we made many turns in 
£ a wood of large willows, and we should very likely 
not have got out of it so soon if we had not chanced to 
meet with a man whom we took for our guide. The 
high wind and the continual gusts of rain prevented 
me from noticing my compass, and I was not able to 
mark a single point of it; the sky was completely cov- 
ered, and the windings of the wood made me lose my 
calculation, so that I could not find out the position of 
my camp, which 1 placed close to a douar, about 
a quarter to four in the afternoon. 
The country was composed of vast plains, which at 
distances are cut by ravines, or narrow and deep val- 
leys. 
The ground consisted of a light vegetable earth, mixt 
with a deal of sand. 
