occasion, when the greatest expedition was required; having others, inferior in swiftness, for more ordinary messages. They say that one of these Aasharies will, in one night, and through a level country, traverse as much ground as any single horse can perform in ten, which is no exaggeration of the matter, since many have affirmed to me, that it makes nothing of holding its rapid pace, which is a most violent hard trot, for four-and-twenty hours upon a stretch, without shewing the least sign of weariness, or inclination to bait; and that having then swallowed a ball or two of a sort of paste, made up of barley-meal, and may be a little powder of dates among it, with a bowl of water, or Camel's milk, if to be had, and which the courier seldom forgets to be provided with, in skins, as well for the sustenance of himself as of his Pegasus, the indefatigable animal will seem as fresh as at first setting out, and ready to continue running at the same scarce credible rate, for as many hours longer, and so on from one extremity of the African Deserts to the other; provided its rider could hold out without sleep, and other refreshment This has been averred to me, by, I believe, more than a thousand Arabs and Moors, all agreeing in every particular.

I happened to be, once in particular, at the tent of that Princess, with Ali ben Mahamoud, the Bey, or Vice-Roy of the Algerine Eastern Province, when he went thither to celebrate his nuptials with Ambarca, her only daughter, if I mistake not. Among other entertainments she gave her guests, the favourite white Dromedary was brought forth, ready saddled and bridled. I say bridled, because the thong, which serves instead of a

bridle, was put through the hole purposely made in the gristle of the creature's nose. The Arab appointed to mount, was straitly laced, from the very loins quite to his throat, in a strong leathern jacket; they never riding these animals any otherwise accoutred; so impetuously violent are the concussions the rider undergoes, during that rapid motion, that were he to be loose, I much question whether a few hours such unintermitting agitation would not endanger the bursting of some of his entrails; and this the Arabs scruple not to acknowledge. We were to be diverted with seeing this fine Ashari run against some of the swiftest barbs in the whole Neja, which is famed for having good ones, of the true Libyan breed, shaped like greyhounds, and which will sometimes run down an ostridge; which few of the very best can pretend to do, especially upon a hard ground, perfectly level. We all started like racers, and for the first spurt, most of the best mounted among us kept up pretty well, but our grass fed horses soon flagged: several of the Libyan and Numidian runners held pace till we, who still followed upon a good round hand-gallop, could no longer discern them, and then gave out; as we were told after their return. When the Dromedary had been out of our sight about half an hour, we again espied it flying towards us with an amazing velocity, and in a very few moments was among us, and seemingly nothing concerned; while the horses and mares were all in a foam, and scarce able to breathe, as was, likewise, a fleet, tall greyhound bitch, of the young Prince's, who had followed and kept pace the whole time, and was no sooner got back to us, but lay down panting as if ready to expire. I

cannot tell how many miles we went; but we were near three hours in coming leisurely back to the tents, yet made no stop in the way. The young Prince Hamet ben al Guydom ben Sakhari, and his younger brother Messoud, told their new brother-in law, that they defied all the potentates of Africa to shew him such an Aashari; and the Arab who rode it, challenged the Bey to lay his lady a wager of 1000 ducats, that he did not bring him an answer to a letter from the Prince of Wargala, in less than four days, though Leo Africanus, Marmol, and several others, assure us, that it is no less than forty Spanish leagues, of four miles each, south of Tuggurt, to which place, upon another occasion, as I shall observe, we made six tedious days march from the neighbourhood of Biscara, north of which we were then, at least thirty hours riding, if I remember rightly. However, the Bey, who was a native of Biscara, and consequently well acquainted with the Sahara, durst not take him up. By all circumstances, and the description given us, besides what I know of the matter myself, it could not be much less than 400 miles, and as many back again, the fellow offered to ride, in so short a time; nay, many other Arabs boldly proffered to venture all they were worth in the world, that he would perform it with all the ease imaginable-Morgan's History of Algiers.

Chenier says" the Dromedary can travel 60 leagues in a day; his motion is so rapid, that the rider is obliged to be girthed to the saddle, and to have a handkerchief before his mouth to break the current of the wind." These accounts are probably much exaggerated.

"The royal couriers in Persia wear a white sash gird

ed from the shoulders to their waist many times around their bodies, by which means they are enabled to ride for many days without great fatigue."-Hanway.

The dreadful columns mov'd.-P. 189.

We were here at once surprised and terrified by a sight surely the most magnificent in the world. In that vast expanse of desert, from W. and to N. W. of us, we saw a number of prodigious pillars of sand at different distances, at times moving with great celerity, at others stalking with a majestic slowness: at intervals, we thought they were coming in a very few moments to overwhelm us, and small quantities of sand did actually, more than once, reach us. Again they would retreat so as to be almost out of sight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. There the tops often separated from the bodies, and these once disjoined, dispersed in the air, and did not appear more.

Sometimes they were broken near the middle, as if struck with a large cannon shot. About noon, they began to advance with considerable swiftness upon us, the wind being very strong at north. Eleven of them ranged alongside of us about the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest appeared to me at that distance, as if it would measure ten feet They retired from us with a wind at S. E. leaving an impression upon my mind to which I can give no name; though surely one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable deal of wonder and astonishment. It was in vain to think of flying, the swiftest horse, or fastest sailing ship, could be of no use to carry us out of this danger, and the full

persuasion of this rivetted me as if to the spot where I stood.

On the 15th, the same appearance of moving pillars of sand presented themselves to us, only they seemed to be more in number, and less in size. They came several times in a direction close upon us; that is, I believe, within less than two miles. They began immediately after sun-rise, like a thick wood, and almost darkened the sun. His rays shining through them for near an hour, gave them an appearance of pillars of fire. Our people now became desperate: the Greeks shrieked out, and said it was the day of judgment. Ismael pronounced it to be hell, and the Tucorories that the world was on fire. Bruce.