Few of the wretched inhabitants seemed to have any coyer-
ing but the scanty rags which formed their unique apparel ;
but in some cases, the father of a family had literally *^ spread
his skirt '' oyer the whole brood as they lay nestled up together
in a heap. Numerous blind men were groping about in a cloud
of dust with long sticks to find a suitable comer out of the
main thoroughfare, and out of reach jof the hoofs of camels
and asses. Whether this sleeping * sub dio ' was a matter of
preference, or rendered necessary by the houseless condition
of these poor people, I cannot say, but few things, even in this
land of misery, struck me with a more painful impression.
Blind beggars abounded in the morning; one, haying found
out there was a Frank boat, got a boy to guide him to its side,
and, in piteous terms, entreated for a garment : all he had on
scarce served the purposes of decency, and had been so patched
and darned, that there was no longer any place for needle to
hold ; no skill could hold its tatters together much longer, and
I expected with every gust to see them decompose, and leave
him without a rag : poor fellow, his need was certainly des-
perate as his entreaties were urgent. It so happened, that I
had on board an old pair of Turkish cotton drawers, which I
had taken to go into the water, and 1 tossed them to him ; he
passed his fingers carefully over them, and when he found they



J



ISO



SIOUT.
