breakfasted. Everything was in favour of a long march; the dusty,
gusty north-easter had blown itself out in favour of a pleasant
southerly wind, a sea breeze deflected from the west.

After marching three miles we camped at the foot of the ridge to
be ascended next morning: the place is called Safhat el-Mu'ayrah
from a slaty schistose hill on the eastern bank. The guides
declared that the only practicable line to the summit was from
this place; and that the Sha'bs (Cols) generally cannot be
climbed even by the Arabs--I have reason to believe the reverse.
Musallim, an old Bedawi, brought, amongst other specimens from
the adjacent atelier, the Mashghal el-Mu'ayrah, a bright bead
about the size of No. 5 shot: in the evening dusk it was taken
for gold, and it already aroused debates concerning the proper
direction of the promised reward, fifty dollars. The morning
light showed fine copper. Here free metal was distinctly
traceable in the scoria, and it was the first time that we had
seen slag so carelessly worked. Not a little merriment was caused
by the ostentatious display of "gold-stones," marked by M.
Philipin's copper-nailed boots. Sulayman, the Bedawi, had killed
a Wabar, whose sadly mutilated form appeared to be that of the
Syrian hill coney: these men split the bullet into four; "pot" at
the shortest distance, and, of course, blow to pieces any small
game they may happen to hit.

Early on March 16th we attacked the Sharr in a general direction
from north to south, where the ascent looked easy enough. On the
left bank a porphyritic block, up whose side a mule can be
ridden, is disposed in a slope of the palest and most languid of
greens, broken by piles of black rock so regular as to appear