Life in Tripoli; With a Peep at Ancient Carthage (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1894 Excerpt: ...The bread party must have lately risen, for that comestible was as hot as the coffee. At noon Mr. L came for me, and proposed a visit to the orange gardens and to the desert. The very mention of oranges conjured up untold delights of scent, heat, and satisfied thirst. We chartered a little trap covered by a light awning, and the nag, with its Arab driver, careered over the golden, sandy shore where the green waves rolled in, bringing a refreshing sea breeze. Our way lay through many a sunny lane, under the shade of palms and olives, past some deep pits, used long ago as granaries for the stowage of corn; now, fig and other trees shoot up from their depths, filling the empty cavities with green shade. The gardens are surrounded by walls of dry, sandy mud, and are each entered through large gateways. The proprietor of the first one was not at home, but at the second we were hospitably received, and were soon revelling in the cool shade of the orange groves, plucking and devouring the juicy, golden fruit. The "sweet" oranges were nearly over, but the "blood,"or red, were in perfection, and we, in our colder island home, can form but little idea of what such fruit is when plucked and eaten direct from the trees. We were in a paradise, a sort of Garden of Eden, where the Arab owner lives out his quiet, uneventful life with his wife and children in a mud-built house. The pretty little bairns looked healthy and happy; they have but few wants, and pass their time among the fruit trees and animals. There are no streams in Tripoli, but throughout the, oasis water is near the surface, and each garden has its own well, worked on the system of irrigation peculiar to Eastern countries. For some hours during each day I the water must be pumped up to fe...