Communication--Amulets--The Foundation of a City in the
Desert--En-Noor's Political Pretensions.


_Oct. 10th._--My garrulous friend the Sfaxee has gone off this morning,
to bring his merchandise from Tintaghoda. The little fighi came, as
usual, to see me. I showed him the Arabic New Testament. He read a few
sentences, and then laid the book aside. I offered it to him, but he
refused to accept the inestimable present. He represents the feelings of
all the Muslims of these countries. They have not even any _curiosity_
to know the contents of the Gospel, much less the inclination to study
or appreciate them. They remain in a state of immovable, absolute
indifference. Even the beautiful manner in which the Arabic letters are
printed scarcely excites their surprise. En-Noor paid me his usual
morning visit, drank tea, and ate pickles and marmalade. We asked him
about meteors. He recollects the fall of many. One, he says, fell upon a
house, and terrified the inhabitants, who came running to him.
Afterwards they dug to the depth of a man, and found nothing, for it had
buried itself deep in the earth. According to him, a great profusion of
meteors denotes abundance of rain and herbage: but these phenomena exert
also a sinister influence like comets, signifying the death of some
great personage. I have no doubt that extraordinary meteors are very
frequent in this part of the Sahara. En-Noor was very condescending, as
usual: no change is observable in his manners.

It turned out that he had come with the intention of speaking on a very
delicate subject, but had refrained. We learned what it was afterwards.
Dr. Overweg was sent for in the course of the day to attend upon one of
En-Noor's wives, who had been frightfully beaten by his highness the
previous evening. This domestic broil formed the common topic of