relatives, as but a single person is usually in the secret.  Money is in this way buried by tribes, who have nothing whatever to fear from their sovereigns and their sheikhs; they do it from immemorial custom.  It is for this reason the Arabs consider that under all ancient ruins heaps of money are buried, placed there by men or demons, who hold the shining hoards under their invincible spell.  They cannot comprehend how European tourists can undertake such long journeys, merely for the purpose of examining old heaps of stones, and making plans and pictures of such rubbish.  When any person attempts to convince the Arabs that this is the sole object, they only laugh with incredulity.

Went to Nefta, a ride of about fourteen miles, lying somewhat nearer the Sahara than Toser.  The country on the right was undulating sand, on the left an apparently boundless ocean, where lies, as a vast sheet of liquid fire, when the sun shines on it, the now long celebrated Palus Libya.  In this so-called lake no water is visible, except a small marsh like the one near Toser, where we went duck-shooting.  Our party was very respectable, consisting of the Agha of the Arabs, two or three of the Bey’s mamelukes, the Kaed of the Jereed, whose name is Braun, and fifty or sixty Arab guards, besides ourselves.  On entering Nefta, the escort immediately entered, according to custom, a marabet (that of Sidi Bou Aly), Captain B. and R. meanwhile standing outside.

There were two famous saints here, one of whom was a hundred years of age.  The other, Sidi Mustapha Azouz, had the character of being a very clever and good man, which also his intelligent and benevolent appearance betokened, and not a fanatic, like Amour Abeda of Kairwan.  There were at the time of our visit to him about two hundred people in his courtyard, who all subsisted on his charities.  We were offered dates, kouskousou, [39] and a seed which they call sgougou, and which has the appearance of dried apple-seed.  The Arabs eat it with honey, first dipping their fingers into the honey, and then into the seed, which deliciously sticks to the honey.  The Sheikh’s saint also distributed beads and rosaries.  He gave R. a bag of sgougou-seed, as well as some beads.  These two Sheikhs are objects of most religious veneration amongst all true believers, and there is nothing which would not be done at their bidding.

Nefta, the Negeta of the ancients, is the frontier town of the Tunisian territories from the south, being five days’ journey, or about thirty-five or forty leagues from the oases of Souf, and fifteen days’ from Ghadumes.  Nefta is not so much a town as an agglomeration of villages, separated from one another by gardens, and occupying an extent of surface twice the size that of the city of Algiers.  These villages are Hal Guema, Mesaba, Zebda Ouled, Sherif, Beni Zeid, Beni Ali, Sherfa, and Zaouweeah Sidi Ahmed.