rise.

As I have already said, we see nothing on this journey but many and
large companies of camels, which march one behind the other, while
their drivers shorten the way with dreary inharmonious songs. Half-
devoured carcasses of these "ships of the desert" lie every where,
with jackals and vultures gnawing at them. Even living camels are
sometimes seen staggering about, which have been left to starve by
their masters as unfit for further service. I shall never forget
the piteous look of one of these poor creatures which I saw dragging
itself to and fro in the desert, anxiously seeking for food and
drink. What a cruel being is man! Why could he not put an end to
the poor camel's pain by a blow with a knife? One would imagine
that the air in the vicinity of these fallen animals was poisoned;
but here this is less the case than it would be in more temperate
regions, for the pure air and the great heat of the desert rather
dry up than decompose corpses.

From the same cause our piece of roast beef was still good on the
fifth day. The hard-boiled eggs, which my servant packed so
clumsily that they got smashed in the very first hour, did not
become foul. Both meat and eggs were shrunk and dried up. On the
third day the white bread had become as hard as ship-biscuit, so
that we had to break it up and soak it in water. Our drinking water
became worse day by day, and smelt abominably of the leathern
receptacles in which we were compelled to keep it. Until we reached
Suez our poor camels got not a drop to drink, and their food
consisted of a scanty meal of bad provender once a day.

At eight in the morning we set off once more, and rode until about