When the sun is down, the landscape around begins to look like Old England, the species of trees not being visible. The doom reminds me of the shorn elms along the hedges.
_23d._--The Sultan of Asoudee sent this morning for powder, and was thankful for a small quantity. We remained here this day. All the valleys and country around are called _Unan_. This is also the name of a well near us, but water is usually obtained by scooping out the sand in the bed of the valleys, and there are few regular wells; those which are dug are destroyed as soon as the rain returns. Such alone remain entire as are out of the reach, or beyond the range of the periodic floods.
_24th._--We were not to come on to-day; but En-Noor changed his mind, and we journeyed on five hours, up the valley of Unan. The eternal sameness of the tholukh and doom--for dooms are now in great numbers--would be wearisome, had we not had so much desert before; but we are still delighted with the continual occurrence of trees, be they of what species they may. There is, besides, a great abundance of wild water-melons, which the people sometimes eat. They are very small, but hard and sound. The lizard, which almost through the whole desert was found darting about and around the camels' feet, has now disappeared. It would be a curious inquiry for a naturalist to endeavour to account for its disappearance, for the nature of the soil has not so much changed. The only difference--but perhaps this is great for the lizard--is that hereabouts occur periodic rains, which deluge the land for a few days in the year; and during these few days, probably, all the land lizards found in low places would be destroyed.
This is Christmas-eve; a sorry one for us all! We receive no news but bad news. For to-day a man came up to us, who said he left Tripoli three months ago, and that the cholera had been very severe in Tripoli, making many victims; but he brought no particular news for us. He came by the way of Ghadamez and Ghât, and yet had heard nothing of our misfortunes on the frontier. I suppose the people of Ghât had already ceased to talk about us and our affairs; for here in the desert, as elsewhere, things are soon forgotten. We saw little of the rest of the caravan _en route_, but if we ever see the whole of the camels going with us, and the division of Aghadez, I am quite sure they will never reach the exaggerated number of 10,000! All numbers are dreadfully exaggerated in Africa.