to, would be carefully hidden from us. This reticence explained
how, on our first visit, the two Staff-officers sent to prospect
the diggings had been misdirected to a block lying north of the
townlet, the "Red Hills," alias the Jebel el-Shegayg.

Shortly after I left Egypt an Italian, Sig. F--, returned to Suez
from El-Muwaylah, with some fine pearls worth each from L20 to
L30, and turquoises which appeared equally good. He was then
bound for Italy, but he intended returning to Midian in a month
or two. These are the men who teach the ready natives the very
latest "dodges;" such as stimulating the peculiar properties of
the pearl-oyster by inserting grains of sand.

I also collected notes concerning the ruins of M'jirmah, of which
we had heard so many tales. The site, they said, is a branch of
the Wady Azlam, the first of the three marches between Ziba and
El-Wijh, and seven and a half hours' sail along the coast. This
watercourse shows, above the modern Hajj-station, the ruins of a
fort built by Sultan Selim: Wellsted (II. X.) also mentions a
castle lying three miles inland. From the head of the Sharm
Dumayghah, seventy to seventy-two knots south of El-Muwaylah,
Shaykh Furayj pointed out to us the pale-blue peaks of the Jebel
Zafar:[EN#15] in the upper part of its Wady, the 'Amud Zafar, a
southern branch valley of the Azlam, lies the ruin. He made it
six hours' march from the seaboard. It was an ancient gold-mine
(?), whose house-foundations and a "well with steps" still
remain. "M'jirmah," which must not be confounded with the "Umm
Jirmah," an atelier that we shall visit to-morrow, has been
identified with the (Rhaunathi Pagus) of Ptolemy
(north lat. 25 40'). We will return to this subject when