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    Visit to the Great Oasisof the Libyan De...

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    Visit To The Great Oasis Of The Libyan D...

    foul , flat , state , and unprofitable . But do see , now , how our friend Hoskins takes not only all " the shine" out of the idea , but all the charm , refreshment , and sense of Elysian rest in a green shade within the sound of music and fountains .

    " The distance from the summit of the mountain into the valley of the Oasis , is about three miles . On account of the extreme roughness of the road , we were obliged to descend it on foot . It took us two hours to reach the plain , which would seem to indicate that the

    mountain is higher than I have stated ; but it must be taken into consideration , that the path for half of the way was level , sometimes even slightly ascending , and that the descent when rapid was zigzag . I regret that none of us had a barometer . The variation of the

    thermometer upon the higher and lower ground was seven degrees ; from which we must deduct the usual increase of heat between ten o ' clock and noon .

    " We arrived by four o clock at a brook of water which runs at a short distance below a range of hills , in the centre of the valley , called el Gern . We there encamped for the night . " It was interesting to see the _delio-ht which our Arabs and

    animals exhibited , each in his particular way , on arriving at the water . Without being urged , the camels , from experience or instinct , quickened their pace , as we approached the stream : and without waiting- to the stream ; and without waiting to

    be unloaded , rushed to the water and took a hearty draught . They were all very much annoyed with a disgusting kind of vermis , about the size of a caterpillar , that had lodged in their nostrils ; but by

    Visit To The Great Oasis Of The Libyan D...

    means of the water , blowing at the same time through their noses , and shaking their heads , they managed to throw off most of their

    tormentors . I could not prevail upon the owners of the camels to clear them away . The Arabs nourish their camels as cheaply as they can ., rejoice when there are a few thorns and bushes to save the

    expense of giving them better food , and otherwise bestow no care or trouble upon them . " Our men ran to the water as eagerly as the camels ; and , from the quantity they drank , I thought

    they would have made themselves ill . They afterwards performed their ablutions for their comfort , if not for their religion ' s sake ; and many of them , by way of giving themselves a thorough soaking , bathed in the stream . We also

    were glad to have the luxury of an unlimited supply for our tubs , as in the desert we could not , of course , spare many bottles of our valuable water for that purpose . I indeed

    occasionally followed the advice of Mahomet , who tells his followers to use sand when they have no water for their ablutions ; but I must confess I found it a very poor substitute . "

    Very likely—but amidst all this plunging , and splashing , and diving * , and wading , and floating , and drinking during each buoyant evolution , there

    was surely much to have excited the feelings to a high degree of blessedness after such a jour ney . " Not so , " quoth our hard-hearted traveller . And

    now lor his reduction of our ideas of an Oasis . " The traveller in the fruitful , but dreary _, naked plains of Bohe-

    Visit To The Great Oasisof The Libyan De...

    Visit to the Great Oasisof the Libyan Desert . 68

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 1, 1837, page 63, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/mrp_01071837/page/61/