owner. It had neither saddle nor bridle; but
I quietly mounted on its back, and without my
taking any trouble to guide it, it moved on in
the way I intended to go, and being somewhat
weary and thirsty, after having ridden for
several hours, I jumped down from its back,
held it firmly by the ears, and directed the boy
to go to a spring of water that was not far off,
and to return as speedily as he could. When
he came back, he found the donkey had departed.
I was lying on my face in the sand. I will tell
you the whole truth, Khowajah. I had been
repeating the Bishmillah. No evil spirit can
abide when a verse from the Koran is uttered.
It was an Afrit, and I have told you how it
came and why it went away.

I. Now, was it really so, Hassan? Are you
not frightened when you come into these parts?

HASSAN. Al hamdur lillah. Praised be Allah.
Not now. Have I not learnt that the Afrit
is always frightened away by El Kitab (the
book)?

I. La mahalah! No doubt about it.

HASSAN. And now I will tell you of another
meeting, most true, most true. I once saw an
Afrit as tall as an obelisk. He was a great way
off. He lifted up his hand, and beckoned me
to come to him. I covered my face with my
cloak. I repeated a verse from the Kitab. I
heard a dreadful howl. The Afrit passed close
to me, but dared not do me any mischief; and
when I let fall my cloak no Afrit was to be
seen.

He told us that the Afrits did not always
take the shape either of man or beast. They
sometimes hid themselves in the clouds and the
thunder-storms—that he had once seen a grey
mist in the island of Elephanta—it was an Afrit;
it fled when the Koran was quoted. "And now,"
said he, " we do not fear the Afrits as our
forefathers feared them; and the Afrits, knowing
that we can always get rid of them, do not
the same mischief they were formerly used
to do."

When Hassan had finished, other contributions
poured in, and one of our fellow-travellers said:
"I have heard from the Arabs a tale connected
with this very spot. Not far away rough
granite rocks are piled upon one another, so as
to form a rude but inaccessible fortification.
In the very centre there lived, not many years
ago, a terrible giant who, from time to time,
came out of his hiding-place, stood at the
entrance of one of the narrow passes, and levied
contributions on every traveller before he was
allowed to go through. His first ordinary
demand was for a fair young virgin for his harem,
with a jar of araki for his table; if the traveller
declared that he had no means of procuring
these, the option was given of surrendering a
bag of gold; but when the giant was
disappointed of both his requirements, the unfortunate
victim was seized, thrown into a den within the
castle, where in his turn he was murdered and
devoured. But though the giant sometimes
failed in mulcting those who fell into his hands,
he had had so much success as to fill his apartments
with beautiful maidens, his cellars with
great supplies of araki, and his coffers with
enormous quantities of gold. Among the
imprisoned damsels was the lady-love of a young
merchant, who determined, at whatever hazard,
to effect her liberation. After turning over
various stratagems in his mind, he at last
resolved to disguise himself as a woman, and, with
a very large vessel of araki, placed himself at
the entrance of the pass. At sunrise the giant
came forth to prowl as he was wont and, seeing
the immense jar filled with his beloved liquor,
he exclaimed, 'This is indeed an unexpected
good fortune!' So he seized the jar, and
beckoning to the supposed lady, he commanded
her to follow him. The youth did so, and while
the giant was descending the rugged steps, made
of the granite rocks, which led down to his
abode, his follower drew a sword which he had
concealed under his garments, and suddenly cut
the hamstrings of the giant, who fell, crushed by
the weight of the araki jar, and stifled with the
liquor it poured out, as it was broken by the
fall, upon which the young man came forward,
tumbled the giant into the abyss below, pelting
him with the fragments of the broken vessel. He
then made his way into the dungeons of the
castle, and having first liberated his beloved one,
he released numberless other imprisoned ladies,
gathered together immense treasures, which
enabled him to live the rest of his life in luxury
and splendour, having, as a matter of course,
married the damsel he had redeemed."

And here we hear another version of the
turban story, and are assured the real facts
were, that: " A devout Mussulman, being very
thirsty, reached a sacred well in the desert which
was close to the place where we were sitting
—for it must be mentioned that the Arabs like
to identify a tale with a locality, which adds not
a little to its interest and seeming truth. He
took off his turban, and placed it on a
neighbouring rock. After drinking he went to the
rock, and instead of his turban he saw there a
large piece of raw beef, but on the summit of a
higher and more distant cliff he perceived the
missing turban. While he stared with astonishment
the cliff moved, and its summit was
stretched out like the neck of a dromedary,
carrying the turban on its head. The holy man
then knelt down at the side of the well, and
implored the favour of the sheikh in remembrance
of whom it had been built. He continued praying
till he fell asleep from weariness, and on
awakening he found his turban on his head. The
piece of beef had disappeared, the rock had
returned to its natural shape, and he went on his
way rejoicing."

Wells in the wilderness are often dedicated to
the memory of some holy man who has left
behind him a reputation for wisdom and piety.
On one occasion, when exhausted with heat and
travel, we entered the dome-shaped tomb of a
venerated hadji, in which we found a lamp burning,
and a jar of fresh water; the lamp was to
be kept always a-light, the cruse always filled, so
that a fire to cook his victuals, and water to