five in the afternoon. At about four I suddenly descried the Red
Sea and its shores. This circumstance delighted me, for I felt
assured that we should reach the coast in the course of another
hour, and then our laborious journey to Suez would be accomplished.
I called to my servant, pointed out the sea to him, and expressed my
surprise that we had sighted it so soon. He maintained, however,
that what I beheld was not the sea, but a fata morgana. At first I
refused to believe him, because the thing seemed so real. But after
an hour had elapsed we were as far from the sea as ever, and at
length the mirage vanished; and I did not behold the real sea until
six o'clock on the following morning, when it appeared in exactly
the same way as the phantom of the previous evening.

At five in the afternoon we at length halted. I lay down on the
earth completely exhausted, and enjoyed a refreshing sleep for more
than three hours, when I was awakened by my servant, who informed me
that a caravan was just before us, which we should do well to join,
as the remainder of our road was far less safe than the portion we
had already traversed. I was at once ready to mount my camel, and
at eight o'clock we were again in motion.

In a short time we had overtaken the caravan, and our camels were
placed in the procession, each beast being tethered to the preceding
one by a rope. It was already quite dark, and I could barely
distinguish that the people sitting on the camels before me were an
Arab family. They travelled in boxes resembling hen-coops, about a
foot and a half in height, four feet in length, and as many broad.
In a box of this kind two or three men sat cross-legged; many had
even spread a light tent over their heads. Suddenly I heard my name
called by a female voice. I started, and thought I must be