94 
JOURNEY FROM 
acquainted ; for it had hitherto, on the journey, been turned inside 
out, or more properly speaking, with the outer side in, to prevent it 
from being soiled, and from fading in the sun. His saddle-cloth also, 
which had hitherto consisted of a dirty piece of white flannel, was 
now of bright scarlet cloth ; and, besides the embroidered covers to 
liis silver-embossed pistols, he had carefully suspended from different 
parts of his body a great variety of little bags, of different colours and 
sizes: these were the repositories of his powder and ball, and carried 
tinder, flints and steel, money, nails, and tobacco, with sundry other 
little matters too numerous to mention. By his side also hung a 
neat little smaat, or goat skin, with the long black hairs left to orna- 
ment and protect the outside ; and which, properly speaking, was 
meant to hold water, but which likewise served indifferently for 
holding milk, oil, or butter, or any other substance which it might be 
necessary to carry in it. We should state that, under all this variety 
of ornament, Shekh Mahommed elDhbbah sat with dignity upon his 
mare, a recently -acquired present from the Bashaw, whose spirit had 
been prudently roused on this occasion by the stimulus of an extra 
feed of corn. The display of Arab horsemanship which concluded 
the procession, received additional eclat from this precaution ; and 
the Hhbbah’s mare, after manoeuvring her head to admiration, first 
on one side and then on the other, and prancing, and pacing, and 
rearing, to the delight of the assembled spectators, no sooner felt the 
angle of the spur assail her sides, than she sprang forward with a 
bound in advance of the party, and being suddenly pulled up with a 
powerful bit, was thrown back upon her haunches within a foot of 
