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Vaskaran Sarcar

Simple and Efficient Programming with

C#
Skills to Build Applications with Visual Studio and
.NET
1st ed.
Vaskaran Sarcar
Kolkata, West Bengal, India

ISBN 978-1-4842-7321-0 e-ISBN 978-1-4842-7322-7

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7322-7

© Vaskaran Sarcar 2021

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively
licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Apress imprint is published by the registered company APress

Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.
The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY
10004, U.S.A.
Dear Reader,
You inspire me with your loving comments. I get upset by your critical
comments. But in every case, you help me grow into a better person and a
better author. So, you are my teachers. I dedicate this work with love to
you. I also try my best to help you grow.
Introduction
Welcome to your journey through Simple and Efficient Programming
with C#: Skills to Build Applications with Visual Studio and .NET. C# is an
object-oriented programming (OOP) language. You may already know
C# keywords, or even some interesting features. You may also know
how to write simple programs in C#. You can learn these things from an
introductory book or an online tutorial. These are useful things to
know, but they are not sufficient to understand an enterprise codebase.
This is why a novice programmer often finds it difficult to understand
an expert’s code. He or she wonders why an experienced programmer
wrote the program differently. It may appear to the novice that the
expert could have used an easier approach to solve the problem. But
there are reasons why an experienced programmer might follow a
different approach. The word “experienced” indicates that these
programmers have more experience in programming and know the
pros and cons of different approaches. They know how the C# features
can be used in the best possible way to develop an application. So, the
applications they make are usually powerful. What do I mean by a
powerful application? For me, a powerful application is robust,
extensible, and easily maintainable, but simple to use. This book is an
introductory guide to develop such applications. This is the core aim of
this book.
To write better quality programs, senior programmers follow in
experts’ footprints. They learn from collective wisdom and recorded
experience from the past. So, instead of attempting an entirely new
solution, you should first consider this knowledge base, which will help
you produce better quality code. It is best to have some idea about why
you should or shouldn’t follow any specific guideline.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers (Little, Brown and Company),
discussed the 10,000-hour rule. This rule says that the key to achieving
world-class expertise in any skill is, to a large extent, a matter of
practicing the correct way, for a total of around 10,000 hours. I
acknowledge that it is impossible to consider all experiences before you
write a program. Also, sometimes it is OK to bend the rules if the return
on investment (ROI) is nice. So, keep in mind the Pareto principle, or
80-20 rule. This rule simply states that 80% of outcomes come from
20% of all causes. This is useful in programming too. When you identify
the most essential characteristics of top-quality programs and use them
in your applications, you also qualify yourself as an experienced
programmer, and your application will be robust, flexible, and
maintainable. In this book, I share with you these important principles,
which will help you write better programs for case studies. Some of
these principles you may know already, but when you see them in
action and compare the case studies, you’ll understand their
importance.
How Is the Book Organized?
The book has four major parts, which are as follows:
The first three chapters form Part I, in which there is a detailed
discussion of polymorphism and the use of abstract classes and
interfaces. Here, code comments will be examined, and you will learn
when to use them effectively. These are the fundamental building
blocks for the rest of the book.
In the world of programming, there is no shortage of programming
principles and design guidelines. Each of these suggestions has its
own benefits. To become a professional programmer, you do not need
to learn everything at the same time. So, in Part II, I discuss six
design principles, which include SOLID principles and the DRY
principle. These are the foundation of well-known design patterns.
Once you understand them, you can consider yourself a better
programmer.
The best way of learning is by doing and analyzing case studies. So, in
Part III of the book, you will see interesting applications that use
some well-known patterns. This part gives you hints about how a
professional coder develops an enterprise application.
There is no end to learning. So, Part IV includes some interesting
topics such as how to prevent memory leaks, how to choose between
a static method and an instance method, and some common terms
from software development that are not discussed in detail in this
book. A quick overview of these topics will help you to be familiar
with them when you see them in your future endeavors.
You can download all the source code for the book from the
publisher’s website. I have a plan to maintain the “errata,” and, if
required, I can also make some updates/announcements there. So, I
suggest that you visit those pages to receive any important
corrections or updates.

Prerequisite Knowledge
This book is intended for those who are familiar with the basic
language constructs of C# and have an idea about pure object-oriented
concepts like polymorphism, inheritance, abstraction, encapsulation,
and, most important, how to compile or run a C# application in Visual
Studio. This book does not invest time in easily available topics, such as
how to install Visual Studio on your system, or how to write a “Hello
World” program in C#, or how you can use an if-else statement or a
while loop, etc. This book is written using the most basic features of C#
so that for most of the programs herein you do not need to be familiar
with advanced topics in C#. The examples are simple and
straightforward. I believe that they are written in such a way that even
if you are familiar with another popular language such as Java, C++, and
so on, you can still easily grasp the concepts in this book.
Who Is This Book For?
In short, you can pick up this book if the answer is “yes” to the
following questions:
Are you familiar with basic constructs in C# and object-oriented
concepts like polymorphism, inheritance, abstraction, and
encapsulation?
Do you know how to set up your coding environment?
Have you completed at least one basic course on C# and now are
interested in writing better programs? Are you also interested to
know how a professional programmer designs his or her
applications?
Are you interested in knowing how the core constructs of C# work
behind standard design patterns?
You probably shouldn’t pick this book if the answer is yes to any of
the following questions:
Are you absolutely new to C#?
Are you looking for advanced concepts in C#, excluding the topics
mentioned previously?
Are you interested in exploring a book where the focus is not on
standard design principles?
“I do not like Windows, Visual Studio, and/or .NET. I want to learn
and use C# without them only.” —Is this statement true for you?

Guidelines for Using This Book

To use this book more effectively, consider the following:
This book works best if you’ve gone through an introductory course
on C# and are familiar with the common terms, such as
polymorphism, and have heard about abstract classes and interfaces.
If this is not the case, please read about these topics before you start
reading this book.
I suggest you go through the chapters sequentially. This is because
some fundamental design techniques may have been discussed in a
previous chapter and I have not repeated those techniques in later
chapters.
I started this book using Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2019
(Version 16.8.4) in a Windows 10 environment. This community
edition is free of charge. If you do not use the Windows operating
system, you can use Visual Studio Code, which is also a source-code
editor developed by Microsoft to support Windows, Linux, or Mac
operating systems. This multi-platform IDE is also free. When I
started the book, I started with the latest versions of C# that were
available at that time. In this context, it is useful to know that
nowadays the C# language version is automatically selected based on
your project’s target framework(s), so you can always get the highest
compatible version by default. In the latest versions, Visual Studio
doesn’t support changing the version value in the user interface, but
you can change it by editing the csproj file.
Later, I also used Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2019 Preview
4.0 and set my target framework to .NET 6.0. As per the new rule,
you can simply say that when your target framework is .NET 5.x (and
later), you’ll get C# 9.0 and later by default. If you are interested in
the C# language versioning, you can go to this link:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-
us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/configure-
language-version .
Version updates will come continuously, but I strongly believe that
these version details should not matter much to you because I have
used the fundamental constructs of C#. So, the code in this book
should execute smoothly in the upcoming versions of C#/Visual
Studio as well. Though I also believe that the results should not vary
in other environments, you know the nature of software—it is
naughty. So, I recommend that if you want to see the exact same
output, you mimic the same environment.
You can download and install the Visual Studio IDE from
https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/ . You
are expected to see the screen shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Download link for Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio Code

Note At the time of writing, this link works fine, and the
information is correct. But the link and policies may change in the
future.

I have installed the class designer component in Visual Studio 2019

to draw class diagrams for my programs. But I needed to edit some of
these diagrams for better readability. For example, I added some
valuable notes in some diagrams, so that you can understand them
easily.

Conventions Used in This Book

Here, I will mention only two points: In many places, to avoid more
typing, I have used the word “his” only. Please treat it as “his” or “her,”
whichever is applicable for you.
Second, all the outputs and codes of the book follow the same font
and structure. To draw your attention, in some places, I have made
them bold. For example, consider the following code fragment (taken
from Chapter 4 when I discuss LSP) and the lines in bold.

...
// Instantiating two registered users
RegisteredUser robin = new
RegisteredUser("Robin");
RegisteredUser jack = new RegisteredUser("Jack");

// Adding the users to usermanager

helper.AddUser(robin);
helper.AddUser(jack);

GuestUser guestUser1 = new GuestUser();

helper.AddUser(guestUser1);

// Processing the payments using

// the helper class.
// You can see the problem now.
....

Final Words
I must say that you are an intelligent person. You have chosen a subject
that can assist you throughout your career. If you are a
developer/programmer, you need these concepts. If you are an
architect of a software organization, you need these concepts. If you are
a college student, you need these concepts, not only to score well on
exams but also to enter the corporate world. Even if you are a tester
who needs to take care of white-box testing or simply needs to know
about the code paths of a product, these concepts will help you a lot.
Remember that you have just started on this journey. As you learn
about these concepts, I suggest you write your own code; only then will
you master this area. There is no shortcut for this. Do you remember
Euclid’s reply to the ruler? If not, let me remind you of his reply: There
is no royal road to geometry. So, study and code; understand a new
concept and code again. Do not give up when you face challenges. They
are the indicators that you are growing better.
 I believe that this book is designed for you in such a way that upon
its completion, you will have developed an adequate knowledge of the
topic, and, most important, you’ll know how to go further.
Lastly, I hope that this book can provide help to you and that you
will value the effort.
Acknowledgments
First, I thank the Almighty. I sincerely believe that with HIS blessings
only could I complete this book. I also extend my deepest gratitude and
thanks to the following:
Ratanlal Sarkar and Manikuntala Sarkar: My dear parents, thanks
for all your support towards me.
Indrani, my wife; Ambika, my daughter; Aryaman, my son:
Sweethearts, I love you all.
Sambaran, my brother: Thank you for your constant encouragement
toward me.
Carsten: You are a great technical advisor. Whenever I was in need,
your support was there. Thank you one more time.
Celestin, Laura, and Smriti: Thanks for giving me another
opportunity to work with you and Apress.
Shrikant, Nirmal, Sherly, Sankar and Mohan : Thank you for your
exceptional support to finalize my work. Your efforts are
extraordinary.
Other documents randomly have
different content
 Besides our own people, and the followers of Boo-Khaloom, we
had a number of liberated slaves who were returning to their homes.
The bashaw had given freedom to twenty-four from the castle,
sixteen of whom were females. Our friend, Mohammed D’Ghies, had
also liberated three young women, all under twenty, natives of
Begharmi, the evening previous to our leaving Tripoli, telling them, in
my presence, that his friends the English wishing to visit their
country, was the cause of their being set at liberty. There are
circumstances attached to this act of D’Ghies beyond the mere
liberation of three healthy negresses, so creditable to the feelings of
this excellent old man, that they must not be omitted. Two of these
girls only had fallen into his hands, and on his intimating to them his
intention of giving them their liberty, they told him that another sister
had been brought to Tripoli with them, and sold, like themselves, to
slavery; but they knew not what was become of her. Mohammed
D’Ghies, after much inquiry, succeeded in finding out who had been
the purchaser, paid the price demanded for her liberation, and
provided the means for enabling all the sisters to return together to
their own country with Boo-Khaloom.
On the 20th October, in a date grove a short distance from the
town of Temenhint, we found a kafila from Mourzuk, and some of the
Mamelukes who had come from Darfoor and Waday. I visited them
with Boo-Khaloom: their tents scarcely held together, and they gave
a deplorable account of their sufferings: two of them had been beys,
and one, Mohammed Bey, was still in the prime of life, and
conversed with spirit; the other, Ali Bey, appeared weighed down by
his misfortunes, and was between fifty and sixty years of age: they
had left Cairo fifteen years, and had passed the greater part of their
exile in and near Dongala. On the approach of the army of
Mohammed Ali, three hundred and fifty of them mustered at
Dongala, and determined on passing to Kordofan, and from thence
to Darfoor. At Darfoor they refused to receive them, and they then
moved on to Wara, the capital of Waday, where also they were
refused permission to remain. For four months they had been in
great distress, the Waday people refusing to sell them any thing for
themselves, or forage for their horses, all of which they were
consequently obliged to part with: taking slaves for them, which they
again exchanged for ostrich feathers, and any thing they could get.
At Waday, all but twenty-six determined on proceeding to the south;
they, however, afterwards altered their minds, and took the direction
of the army of Mohammed Ali, meaning to claim protection there.
The twenty-six left Waday just before the Rhamadan (May), and
followed the tracks of camels until they came to a kafila of
Fezzaneers proceeding to Mourzuk: this kafila they joined; but in
passing through the Tibboo Borgoo country, one of their camels
strayed and tore a branch from a date tree, for which the Borgoo
people beat and wounded one of the Mameluke slaves: this was
resented by the Mamelukes, and a quarrel ensued, which the
Fezzaneers in vain attempted to arrange. They also became
sufferers: the Borgoo people attacked and followed the kafila for five
days, during which time twenty of the Mamelukes were killed, and
thirteen of the Fezzaneers; the six remaining Mamelukes were now
on their way to Tripoli, in the hope of obtaining from the bashaw
permission to pass the remainder of their lives in his regency: they
had lost forty thousand dollars since leaving Egypt.
Mohammed Bey describes the people of Borgoo and Waday as
savages of the worst description, abhorring even the sight of a white
man. I told him it was my intention to proceed in the direction of
Darfoor, if possible: he replied, placing my hand in Boo-Khaloom’s,
“Do not leave this good man, Sidi-Rais, if you hope to return.”—But
rarely a kafila passes from Dongala to Darfoor; to Bornou, never.
The army of Egypt had been repulsed with considerable loss at
Darfoor; the people of which country, Mohammed Bey said, could
muster one hundred thousand men, armed, in the field, equipped
with artillery and mortars. The beys of Egypt had sent the King of
Darfoor, many years ago, eight pieces of ordnance; they had made
others, and worked them, as well as the people of Egypt themselves.
The army had gone south, and meant to over-run all the Kordofan,
when it was thought, if they had no reinforcement, that they would
return to Egypt: with their present strength, they could do nothing
with Darfoor, but the people of Darfoor wished for peace with
Mohammed Ali, and feared him; on this account it was that they
would not receive the Mamelukes. Affecting my own plans so
materially as this information appeared to do, it was listened to by
me with the deepest interest.
On Thursday, the 24th of October, we halted at Sebha, and
remained there until Saturday the 26th, gathering our escort and
collecting our supplies.
On Wednesday, the 30th October, we made our entrée into
Mourzuk with all the parade and show that we could muster. By Boo-
Khaloom’s presents to the bashaw, but chiefly on account of his
having undertaken to conduct us to Bornou, he had not only gained
the bashaw’s favour, but had left Tripoli with strong proofs of his
master’s consideration. Boo-Khaloom, naturally liberal, had, by
successful trade, been enabled early in life to gratify his charitable
and benevolent inclinations. This made him so popular in Mourzuk,
that nearly half the inhabitants came out to meet him, at a short
distance from the town, although not any of the authorities, and we
entered the gates amidst the shouts of the people, preceded by
singing and dancing women; and the Arabs who formed our escort
made such repeated charges upon their jaded and tired animals, that
I really expected some of them would “fall to rise no more.” No living
creatures can be treated worse than an Arab’s wife and his horse,
and if plurality could be transferred from the marriage bed to the
stable, both wives and horses would be much benefited by the
change.
I could not quite resist a sensation of disappointment that no
friends came out to meet me: but as the sun was insufferably
powerful, and as I had received a message by Boo-Khaloom’s
brother, from Doctor Oudney, that he was unwell, and that
Clapperton had the ague, I did not much expect it; I was, however,
by no means prepared to see either of them so much reduced as
they were. Both my companions and Hillman I found had been
confined to their beds with hemma (fever and ague), had been
delirious, and the Doctor and Hillman only a little recovered.
Clapperton was still on his bed, which for fifteen days he had not
quitted. Doctor Oudney was suffering also from a severe complaint
in his chest, arising from a cold caught during his excursion to
Ghraat, and nothing could be more disheartening than their
appearance. The opinion of every body, Arabs, Tripolines, and our
predecessors, were unanimous as to the insalubrity of its air. To
account physically for the sickliness of the place, was beyond the
powers of wiser medical heads than mine, but facts are stubborn
things. Mr. Ritchie had fatally felt the baneful influence of the climate
of Mourzuk, and Captain Lyon had suffered extremely during his stay
there: every one of us, some in a greater or less degree, had been
seriously disordered; and amongst the inhabitants themselves, any
thing like a healthy looking person was a rarity.
Notwithstanding Boo-Khaloom made every exertion in his power
to get away from Mourzuk as early as possible, yet, from the
numerous arrangements which it was necessary for him to make, for
the provisioning so many persons during a journey through a country
possessing no resources, it was the 29th November before those
arrangements were complete. Doctor Oudney and Mr. Clapperton,
from a most praiseworthy impatience to proceed on their journey,
and at the same time, thinking their health might be benefited by the
change of air, preceded him to Gatrone by ten days. I had remained
behind to urge Boo-Khaloom and expedite his departure, and we
thought by these means to obviate any wish which he might have to
delay on account of his private affairs, even for a day. Our caution
was, however, needless; no man could be more anxious to obey the
orders he had received, and forward our views, than himself: indeed
so peremptory had been the commands of the bashaw, in
consequence of the representations of our consul general, when
complaining of former procrastination, that Boo-Khaloom’s personal
safety depended on his expedition, and of this he was well aware.
It may not be unacceptable to the reader, if I here give some
account of the strength of our party.
I had succeeded in engaging, on my return to Tripoli, as an
attendant to accompany me to Bornou, a native of the island of St.
Vincent, whose real name was Adolphus Sympkins; but who, in
consequence of his having run away from home, and in a merchant
vessel traversed half the world over, had acquired the name of
Columbus; he had been several years in the service of the bashaw,
spoke three European languages, and perfect Arabic. This person
was of the greatest service to the mission, and so faithful an
attendant, that His Majesty’s government have since employed him
to accompany my former companion and colleague, Captain
Clapperton, on the arduous service he is now engaged in: we had
besides three free negroes, whom we had hired in Tripoli as our
private servants; Jacob, a Gibraltar Jew, who was a sort of store-
keeper; four men to look after our camels; and these, with Mr.
Hillman and ourselves, made up the number of our household to
thirteen persons. We were also accompanied by several merchants
from Mesurata, Tripoli, Sockna, and Mourzuk, who gladly embraced
the protection of our escort to proceed to the interior with their
merchandize.
The Arabs in the service of the bashaw of Tripoli, by whom we
were to be escorted to Bornou, and on whose good conduct our
success almost wholly depended, were now nearly all assembled,
and had been chosen from the most obedient tribes; they gained
considerably in our good opinion, each day we became better
acquainted with them: they were not only a great and most
necessary protection to us, breaking the ground as we were for any
Europeans who might follow our steps, but enlivened us greatly on
our dreary desert way by their infinite wit and sagacity, as well as by
their poetry, extempore and traditional. We had several amongst our
party who shone as orators in verse, to use the idiom of their own
expressive language, particularly one of the tribe of Boo Saiff
Marabooteens, or gifted persons, who would sing for an hour
together, faithfully describing the whole of our journey for the
preceding fortnight, relating the most trifling occurrence that had
happened, even to the name of the well, and the colour and taste of
the water, with astonishing rapidity and humour, and in very tolerable
poetry; while some of his traditionary ballads were beautiful. The
names of the chiefs who were to accompany us were as follows:—
Of the tribe of M’Garha, Sheikh Abdi Smud ben Erhoma, from the
Syrtis, with seventy men. He often said that his father’s name was
renowned in song, for having killed one hundred men with his own
hand in battle, and please God! he should exceed him, for he was
but thirty-five, and had brought forty to the ground already.
 The M’Garhas are at this time in great favour with the bashaw,
and entirely exempt from tribute of any sort, from having assisted
him very materially in annihilating the Waled Suleyman: I must,
therefore, give some account of them.
They principally inhabit the Syrtis, where a considerable body
always remain; tribes of them, with their flocks, pitch their tents for
the months of pasture wherever they can find forage, and in times of
peace even to within a few leagues of Tripoli. When the present
bashaw determined on putting a finishing stroke to the Waled
Suleyman, by the extermination of the tribe, he, like a wily politician,
sent offers of peace and protection to the M’Garha, the ancient and
inveterate enemies of the Seffenusser[7]. In their occasional
skirmishes, no quarter was given; and a Waled Suleyman literally
sucked the blood of a M’Garha, after giving him the finishing blow:
children were even called upon to follow the parent’s example, so
that they might imbibe all the hatred felt by their ancestors, and vice
versa. The tribe of M’Garha readily accepted the bashaw’s offers;
and with their assistance, about six years back, the Waled Suleyman
struggled with the power of the bashaw for the last time. It was near
the borders of Fezzan, in one of those extensive upland plains called
Hormut Mahulla, that the grandsons of Seffenusser, the last of the
house, returned from Egypt, and headed the remaining followers of
their ancestors. The Orfilly, and several other tribes, flocked to the
standard: the M’Garha marched from the eastward to assist the
bashaw, who came from the side of Tripoli; the rebels were
surrounded, and the Orfilly capitulated, promising an enormous
tribute. No terms were, however, granted to the Waled Suleyman;
they were followed with fire and sword to their very huts—
Seffenusser’s children fell into the hands of their enemies; they were,
however, spared, and two of them sent to Mourzuk. Since that time,
the name of Waled Suleyman is scarcely breathed; indeed the tribe
has ceased to exist, with the exception of some few who escaped to
Egypt. A solitary being, who thinks himself unobserved, is
sometimes pointed out to you as having been one; but his misery
protects him. So complete an overthrow of the most numerous tribe
that inhabited the regency of Tripoli, and one whose riches and
influence were so well known, has had the effect of humbling the
turbulent spirit of the Arabs to a wonderful degree: the bashaw rules
them literally with a rod of iron, and for the slightest cause he has the
heads of their sheikhs over the gates of his palace in a few hours.
He makes it his policy to keep up their feuds and ancient enmities,
by which means he prevents that unanimity which might make them
dangerous. The name of Seffenusser is, however, still the tocsin of
revolt; it is in itself a thousand strong; and the bravery displayed by
Abdi Zeleel, the eldest survivor of the name, during the late
campaign in the negro country, has not a little contributed to
strengthen the feeling.
Abdallah Bougeel, a chief and a warrior, from the Shiati, whose
father and grandfather died because they would not fly; who never
attended to flocks, but were chief in fight—twenty men.
Sheikh Sultan ben Kaid, from the Shiati, a great warrior, who had
a terrible wound in his face, which had nearly demolished his nose,
from the sword of a Tuarick—ten men.
Hamed el Geide, Shiati—ten men.
Hamed Bendou el Hothmani, Shiati—ten men.
Sheikh Boo Bucker Saakhi, Shiati—ten men.
Salem Asheneen Hashnuowy, Shiati—thirty men.
The Maraboot Sid Hassan ben Eran—ten men.
Il R’baiah—ten men.
Boo Ahgoom, Osfilly—twenty men.
Futhaem—ten men.
Arabs are generally thin meagre figures, though possessing
expressive and sometimes handsome features, great violence of
gesture and muscular action. Irritable and fiery, they are unlike the
dwellers in towns and cities: noisy and loud, their common
conversational intercourse appears to be a continual strife and
quarrel; they are, however, brave, eloquent, and deeply sensible of
shame. I have known an Arab of the lower class refuse his food for
days together, because in a skirmish his gun had missed fire: to use
his own words, “Gulbi wahr,” “My heart aches;” “Bindikti kedip
hashimtni gedam el naz;” “My gun lied, and shamed me before the
people.” Much has been said of their want of cleanliness; I should,
however, without hesitation, pronounce them to be much more
cleanly than the lower order of people in any European country.
Circumcision, and the shaving the hair from the head, and every
other part of the body; the frequent ablutions which their religion
compels them to perform; all tend to enforce practices of cleanliness.
Vermin, from the climate of their country, they, as well as every other
person, must be annoyed with; and although the lower ranks have
not the means of frequently changing their covering (for it scarcely
can be called apparel), yet they endeavour to free themselves as
much as possible from the persecuting vermin. Their mode of dress
has undergone no change for centuries back; and the words of
Fenelon will at this day apply with equal truth to their present
appearance[8].
The fondness of an Arab for traditional history of the most
distinguished actions of their remote ancestors is proverbial:
professed story-tellers are ever the appendages to a man of rank:
his friends will assemble before his tent, or on the platforms with
which the houses of the Moorish Arabs are roofed, and there listen,
night after night, to a continued history for sixty, or sometimes one
hundred nights together. It is a great exercise of genius, and a
peculiar gift, held in high estimation amongst them. They have a
quickness and clearness of delivery, with a perfect command of
words, surprising to a European ear: they never hesitate, are never
at a loss; their descriptions are highly poetical, and their relations
exemplified by figure and metaphor, the most striking and
appropriate: their extempore songs are also full of fire, and possess
many beautiful and happy similes. Certain tribes are celebrated for
this gift of extempore speaking and singing; the chiefs cultivate the
propensity in their children; and it is often possessed, to an
astonishing degree, by men who are unable either to read or write.
Arabic songs go to the heart, and excite greatly the passions: I
have seen a circle of Arabs straining their eyes with a fixed attention
at one moment, and bursting with loud laughter; at the next, melting
into tears, and clasping their hands in all the ecstacy of grief and
sympathy.
Their attachment to pastoral life is ever favourable to love. Many
of these children of the desert possess intelligence and feeling,
which belong not to the savage; accompanied by an heroic courage,
and a thorough contempt of every mode of gaining their livelihood,
except by the sword and gun. An Arab values himself chiefly on his
expertness in arms and horsemanship, and on hospitality.
Hospitality was ever habitual to them. At this day, the greatest
reproach to an Arab tribe is, “that none of their men have the heart to
give, nor their women to deny.” Nor does this feeling of liberality
alone extend to the chiefs, or Arabs of high birth: I have known the
poor and wandering Bedouin to practise a degree of charity and
hospitality far beyond his means, from a sense of duty alone.
Notwithstanding all the savageness of an Arab, there are
sometimes noble thoughts which seem to cross over his powerful
mind; and then again to leave him choked up with weeds of too
strong a growth to be rooted out.
The M’Garha sheikhs were, after the defeat of Waled Suleyman,
all taken into the bashaw’s service; and are now amongst his most
faithful and favoured followers. Abdi Zeleel ben Seffenusser, upon
his submission, had been assigned some portion of his grandsire’s
extensive lands at Sebha in Fezzan; and on his being ordered to
repair with a certain number of camels to Mourzuk, and to
accompany the Sultan of Fezzan into the negro country, he was
reported to have delayed obeying the order: his enemies attributed
his reluctance to disaffection and want of courage. The bashaw’s
judgment was summary; and Hamet Ghreneim, the brother of my
chaoush, was despatched with a letter to Abdi Zeleel, and orders to
stab him while he read it, and return with his head. The M’Garha had
five hundred miles to ride, previous to executing his bloody
commission; and, by his account to me, it was the sixteenth of the
same kind that he had been intrusted with: he seldom failed either in
the execution or in receiving the reward, which always follows: “they
were his master’s orders—with Bis milla! (in God’s name) he struck,
and struck home!” His victim, in this case, was of more consequence
than any of his former ones, and his reward would have been greater
in proportion: Hamet was withal the descendant of the old enemy of
his clan; but there was still some magic in the name of the
Seffenusser. They were a race of heroes—cowardice could not be a
crime for any of the blood to be guilty of; and the chance of being
strangled on his return appeared to him preferable to assassinating
Abdi Zeleel, and he determined on hesitating before he executed the
bashaw’s orders. On arriving at the hut of the Arab chief,
notwithstanding his fallen state, friends enough remained to warn
him of his approaching fate: he met Hamet at the door, kissed the
signet of the bashaw, and desired him to perform his office; adding,
“You are a M’Garha, and an enemy to our house.” “I am,” replied the
other, “and therefore not capable of assassinating a Seffenusser: if
you are guilty, fly—mine be the risk.”
Cowardice is ever visited in an Arab by the most disgraceful
punishments; he is often bound, and led through the huts of the
whole tribe, with the bowels and offal of a bullock, or some other
animal, tied round his head; and amongst a people who only desire
to be rich in order to increase the number of their wives, probably the
greatest punishment of all is, that could even any woman be found
who would receive him as a husband, which would be an
extraordinary circumstance, no Arab would allow him to enter into his
family with such a stain on his character as cowardice.
The amor patriæ discoverable in even the wildest inhabitant of the
most barren rock is not felt by the wandering Arab, or the Moor. He
wanders from pasture to pasture, from district to district, without any
local attachment; and his sole delight is a roving, irregular, but
martial life. I have met with several, mostly Moors of Mesurata and
Sockna, who have made three times the pilgrimage to Mecca; visited
severally all the ports in the Red Sea; had been in Syria, from St.
Jean d’Acre to Antioch; had traded to Smyrna and Constantinople,
visiting Cyprus, Rhodes, and most of the islands in the Archipelago;
had penetrated to the west of Nyffe, in Soudan, and every other part
of the black country; had been two or three times stripped and
robbed of every thing in the Negro country, escaping only with life,
after receiving several wounds. Some of them had not seen their
families for fifteen or twenty years, yet were still planning new
expeditions, with as much glee as if they were just beginning life,
instead of tottering on the brink of death.
Arabs have always been commended by the ancients for the
fidelity of their attachments, and they are still scrupulously exact to
their words, and respectful to their kindred; they have been
universally celebrated for their quickness of apprehension and
penetration, and the vivacity of their wit. Their language is certainly
one of the most ancient in the world; but it has many dialects. The
Arabs, however, have their vices and their defects; they are naturally
addicted to war, bloodshed, and cruelty; and so malicious as
scarcely ever to forget an injury.
Their frequent robberies committed on traders and travellers,
have rendered the name of an Arab almost infamous in Europe.
Amongst themselves, however, they are most honest, and true to the
rites of hospitality; and towards those whom they receive as friends
into their camp, every thing is open, and nothing ever known to be
stolen: enter but once into the tent of an Arab, and by the pressure of
his hand he ensures you protection, at the hazard of his life. An Arab
is ever true to his bread and salt; once eat with him, and a knot of
friendship is tied which cannot easily be loosened.
Arabs have been truly described as a distinct class of mankind. In
the bashaw’s dominions, they have never been entirely subdued:
violent attempts at subjugation have often deprived them of tracts of
their vast territories; whole tribes have been annihilated; but, as a
people, they have ever remained independent and free.
The few fertile spots of scanty verdure, called “oases,” which now
and then refresh the languid senses of the weary traveller, and which
are desolate, beyond the wildest wastes of European land, are the
tracts inhabited by the eastern Arabs. Masses of conglomerated
sand obstruct the path which leads to these oases or wadeys;
nothing relieves the eye, as it stretches over the wide expanse,
except where the desert scene is broken by a chain of bleak and
barren mountains: no cooling breezes freshen the air: the sun
descends in overpowering force: the winds scorch as they pass; and
bring with them billows of sand, rolling along in masses frightfully
suffocating, which sometimes swallow up whole caravans and
armies, burying them in their pathless depths!

“Their hapless fate unknown!”

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Benioleed, a rich valley, bounded on all sides by whitish

brown hills, capped in many places with green stone and
amygdaloid, or vesicular lava, rugged villages, and ruinous
castles, on every point, some overtopping the columnar green
stone, and scarcely distinguishable from it.
The hills possess a very interesting structure. The height does
not exceed 400 feet, and limestone is the prevailing rock. On the
north side the whole of the range, till within a mile of the western
extremity, is limestone: at that point above the limestone is a thick
bed of columnar greenstone, with thick layers of vesicular lava.
On the southern side, most of the hills have their tops covered
with lava and columnar green stone, and have a structure similar
to that of the one I have delineated. A little difference is here and
there observable, but not so much as to be worthy of notice. The
tops of the hills on this side form an extensive, black, dreary-
looking plain, strewed over with loose stones, extending
eastwardly as far as the eye can discern. The upper, or, as I
would call it, the lavaceous crust, appears as if a layer left by a
flowing fluid, and therefore of more recent formation than the rock
on which it rests. This is seldom more than a few feet in
thickness, and spread over the subjacent rock.
The rocks dip in various directions, but generally at an angle of
18°.
The Jibel Gulat is one of the highest hills we have yet come to.
It is about six hundred feet high: its top is tabular, and its sides
exceedingly rugged, from an amazing number of detached
pieces. The lowest exposed stratum is a calcareous tufa,
containing, or indeed almost formed of sea-shells; the most
abundant are a species of oyster and limpet, in a very entire
state. Above, beds of soft carbonate of lime, like whiting, and
falling into dust on the slightest touch, and in which is imbedded a
large quantity of lamellar calcareous spar. Above, and apparently
extending to the summit, tolerably fine marble. The quantity of
debris, and the size and appearance of the masses, might make
one believe that an earthquake had been the cause of that rent
state; but it appears to me more probable that the undermining,
by the mouldering of the soft stratum underneath, accounts well
for the state and appearance of the side of the hill. The hill is
about three miles long, and runs from east to west. It is inhabited
by a solitary family; a man, his wife, and several children. We
were told that he had resided in this dreary and barren place for
eleven years, and it is said lives chiefly by plunder.
Near Niffud, the hills are of lime, and in structure and form not
unlike those of the Tarhona range.
In the vicinity of the long range there are a number of small
conical hills, of a soft whiting-like substance, appearing as if
recently thrown up, although, from every thing around, that is not
at all probable. The range runs parallel to that near the coast; but
we had no opportunity of determining how far it extends to the
eastward and westward. There are several passes, into one of
which we entered. It is rugged, from the number of masses that
have fallen from the sides of the hills. Several tumuli of stones are
observable, marking the burial-places of unfortunate travellers,
who have been murdered here, it was said, by large rocks rolled
from the overhanging heights. When I was examining the rocks,
in the dry bed of a river, these monuments were pointed out, to
make me aware my presence there was not free from danger.
This led to a valley, with some thick groves of acacias, and a plant
like a mespilus, with pleasant small astringent berries: it is called
by the natives butomo. From this we passed over a low hill, into
the valley Niffud. This valley has been the seat of much fighting,
as our conductors informed us, among the Arabs of different
tribes.
We left the valley, by a pass to the southward, and entered an
extensive plain, named Ambulum: in this we travelled the whole
day. The surface, in some places, a firm sand, with here and there
rocky eminences, and patches of gravel: the latter was fine, and
mixed with fragments of shells. Often, for a considerable extent,
not the least vestige of vegetation; and in no place was the
ground completely covered, except in a few small oases, where
there was a species of grass, of the genus festuca. The feniculum
duter, and a beautiful genista, which extends all the way from the
coast, were common. The butum occurred in abundance, and its
shade was a defence to us at times. We found some beautiful
fragments of striped jasper, and some small pieces of cornelian.
Bonjem.—We had no opportunity of examining any of these;
but from the strewed masses they appear to be limestone. The
wadey of Bonjem has characters different from any of the other
valleys we have passed through. This valley is strewed over with
gypsum in different states, with numerous shells, of the genus
pecten, and several terebrellæ. There are here and there sand,
and many incrustations of the carbonate, mixed with crystals of
the sulphate, of lime, that gives to the surface a shining white
appearance, which, in place of being pleasing, is disagreeable, by
the power of the reflected light. There are small ranges of low
hills, composed of soft white chalk (whiting), covered with a crust
of gypsum. In this structure we found one large pit, about forty
feet deep, and nearly as much in diameter. These low hills are
bounded by much higher, and of a dark brown colour: the low hills
are numerous, some are separate, but in general they are in short
ridges, and have, at a distance, very much the appearance of
fortifications. A small senecio, a geranium, and a statice, were the
principal beings of the vegetable creation. Barometer 30.020.
temperature 72.
Near the wells, the arundo phragmites grows in abundance; it
has long creeping roots, the first true roots of that kind I have
seen in North Africa. Plants of this kind would soon make
considerable encroachments on the desert, and render habitable
where it is difficult even to travel over. This quarter is poor in the
grasses, for I think I have not seen above eight different kinds.
Our course was among sand-hills, and over a gravelly road,
strewed with masses of common opal, with small portions of
botroidal iron ore, and thick layers of gypsum, with their edges
appearing above ground. The low hills presented the same
features as those near which we remained in the wadey: one,
detached on the road, had a curious appearance, and was called,
by the natives, “The Bowl of Bazeen.” It is about forty feet high,
and formed above of a calcareous crust, with sulphate of lime,
and below of soft chalk.
The higher ridge was observable on each side of us, running
south-south-east on the east side, and south-south-west on the
west: some of those to the westward have detached hills, and one
has the name of the “Salt Hill.” W. O.
[2]Captain Lyon’s travelling name.
[3]This is only called jaafa when a bride is conveyed in it—at
other times a caramood.
[4]Gibel Assoud and the hills on this side have the same name.
The valley is bounded on both sides by hills, from 400 to 600 feet
high—tops in general tabular; but a few are irregular, and two or
three end in conical peaks; the sides of all are covered with much
debris. The colour of the hills gives a very peculiar character to
the valley; the tops of a shining black, as if covered over with
black lead, that often extends some way down the sides, which
are of a light brown, mixed with a dirty yellow: this is often
observable in patches in the black, which gives to the whole a
very striking appearance. The lower strata are limestone, of a
yellowish colour, almost entirely formed of marine remains: this,
although hard, is easily acted on by the air, and the exposed
surface mouldering away leaves cavities in the rock, which,
undermining the superincumbent ones, gives rise to the quantity
of detached fragments. There are several thin strata of earthy
gypsum: above that, limestone, with a fine fibrous-looking
external surface, something like wood: this has the jingling sound
of burnt lime; above is the shining basalt, of a fine texture, mixed
with amygdaloid.
About six miles from where we halted, are a range of low white
hills, running about west by north, of the same name as the
plains. The top is a fine shining white, from thick beds of a milk-
white marble, the base of porphyritic limestone. W. O.
[5]The hills of Zeghren opened: a low range, running nearly
east and west; their appearance different from any we had yet
seen, long, oval, and truncated at the top—colour black, with
white streaks.
About the same time a detached rock came in view: it was
about a hundred feet high, and 200 from the land from which we
descended.
This is the geological structure of the neighbouring land, which
has at no very distant period been joined to this. W. O.
[6]The mother of peace.
[7]The name of their sheikh or chief; also often used when
speaking of the tribe.
[8]Leurs habits sont aisés à faire, car en ce doux climat on ne
porte qu’une piece d’étoffe fine et lègère, qui n’est point taillée et
que chacun met à longs plis autour de son corps pour la
modestie; lui donnant la forme qu’il veut.
 EXCURSION TO WESTWARD OF MOURZUK,
IN JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST, 1822,

BY WALTER OUDNEY, M.D.

Saturday, June 8, 1822.—At a little after sunrise departed from

Mourzuk. Lieutenant Clapperton, Mr. William Hillman and I were
accompanied by Hadje Ali, brother of Ben Bucher, Ben Khullum,
Mahommed Neapolitan Mamelouk, and Mahomet, son of our
neighbour Hadje Mahmud. It was our intention to have proceeded
direct to Ghraat, and laboured hard to accomplish our object.
Obstacle after obstacle was thrown in our way, by some individuals
in Mourzuk. Several came begging us not to go, as the road was
dangerous, and the people not at all under the bashaw’s control. We
at length hired camels from a Targee, Hadje Said; but only to
accompany us as far as the Wadey Ghrurby.
Our course was over sands skirted with date trees; ground
strewed with fragments of calcareous crust, with a vitreous surface,
from exposure to the weather. About mid-day, after an exhausting
journey from oppressive heat, we arrived at El Hummum, a
straggling village, the houses of which are mostly constructed of
palm leaves. We remained till the sun was well down, and then
proceeded on our course. The country had the same character. At
eight we arrived at Tessouwa.
The greater number of inhabitants are Tuaricks. They have a
warlike appearance, a physiognomy and costume different from the
Fezzaneers. More than a dozen muzzled up faces were seated near
our tent, with every one’s spear stuck in the ground before him. This
struck us forcibly, from being very different from what we had been
accustomed to see. The Arab is always armed, in his journey, with
his long gun and pistols; but there is something more imposing in the
spear, dagger, and broad straight sword.
About eight, we departed: several wadeys in our course, with
numerous small acacias, a few gravelly and sandy plains, and two or
three low white alluvial hills. About three, halted at a well of good
water.
Our course lay over an extensive high plain, with a long range of
hills, running nearly east and west. Distance, about fourteen miles.
We entered them by a pass which runs north and south, in which are
numerous recesses, evidently leading to more extensive wadeys.
Before reaching the hills, we found some people digging a well. It
was about a hundred feet deep.
The hills are at about a hundred yards’ distance. Their form is that
of a table top, with a peak here and there. The structure sandstone,
finely stratified with beds of blue and white pipeclay, and alum slate.
The pass led to another, the finest we have seen, and the only
part approaching to the sublime we have beheld in Fezzan. It is
rugged and narrow; its sides high, and overhanging in some places.
The whole exposed rock is a slaty sandstone, with thin strata of alum
slate. The path has several trunks of petrified trees, with branches
going out from them; the stem very similar to the acacia. They
appear as if precipitated from the top. Near the end of the pass, the
Wadey Ghrurby opens, with groves of date palms, and high sand
hills. The change is sudden and striking; and instead of taking away,
added to the effect of the pass we were descending. The hills from
the wadey have rugged, irregular, peaked tops, as if produced by
some powerful cause; although it appeared, on examination, that all
was produced by the mouldering away of the lower strata.
The hills are composed of thick beds of blue clay, alternating with
sandstone, beds of alum slate, and thick strata of porphyritic clay
stone, and all the tops of finely stratified sandstone.
Wednesday, June 12. Moved up the valley for about four miles,
and halted at a small town, Kharaik, having passed two in our
course. Valley, fine groves of palm trees, with cultivated patches;
water good, depth of the wells as about Mourzuk; hills bound the
valley on the south side, and sand hills on the north. The number of
date trees in the eastern and western division of the valley is said to
be 340,000. The first division, or Wadey Shirgi, extends from near
Seba to within a few miles of Thirtiba; the other, from the termination
of Shirgi to Aubari.
In the evening saw some of the preparatory steps for a marriage.
The woman belonged to this, and the man to the next town. A band
of musicians, accompanied by all the women of the village, dancing
and singing, with every now and then a volley of musketry. One
woman carried a basket on her head, for the purpose of collecting
gomah, to form a feast and pay the musicians. They came from the
village of the bridegroom, which was about a mile distant. The
marriage was not to take place till the feast after Rhamadan.
There are very few plants here. A species of asclepias, with milky
juice; the agoul, apparently a species of ulex, has a fine red
papilionaceous flower; species, with small obovate leaves, pod small
and obtuse at the apex. A species of sweet-smelling rue, and two
other plants in fruit, one like a veronica, and the other I have not
seen a similar one before.
Friday, June 14. Rain sometimes falls in the valley, sufficient to
overflow the surface, and form mountain torrents. But it has no
regular periods; five, eight, and nine years frequently intervening
between each time. Thus no trust can be placed in the occurrence of
rain, and no application made in agricultural concerns. The sheikh of
this town is Ali, a good natured Tiboo, exceedingly poor, but very
attentive, and always in good humour. The place is so poor, that we
had sometimes to wait half a day before we could get a couple of
fowls, or a feed of dates or barley for our horses. We are in hourly
expectation of camels from friends of Hateeta, for the purpose of
conveying us to Ghraat.
There are a number of ants, of a species different from any I have
seen in North Africa. Colour, a light shining brown, speckled with a
silvery white, a strong pair of nippers, like the large claws of a crab.
They run with great swiftness.
 Saturday, June 15. No camels have arrived, and we are obliged to
remain; much against our inclination. Hateeta was conversing
yesterday on the difficulty we experienced in getting away from
Mourzuk, from obstacles thrown in our way by the people. He said
that the dread they had of the Tuaricks was unfounded, and we
would soon be convinced of it. He further added, that he could, by
his influence alone, conduct us in perfect safety to Timbuctoo, and
would answer with his head. He was indignant at the feelings the
people of Mourzuk had against the Tuaricks, who, he said, pride
themselves in having but one word, and performing what they
promise.
Sunday, June 16. Our camels have not yet arrived; but we were
able to hire two from one Mahomet El Buin, and with these we
proceeded on to Germa. Our course lay along the wadey, which
grew finer and finer as we advanced, the number of gummah and
gussub fields and date groves increasing. The hills formed some
small recesses; the tops of most were level, and all of the same
height. Passed several villages built all in the same manner.
Notwithstanding the nearness and fitness of the stone, the salt
mould is preferred; perhaps from the want of lime, and the ease with
which the house is erected. Another thing: so very little rain falls, that
there is no danger of the fabric falling. Near Break passed some
imperfect inscriptions, apparently Arabic.
About eleven arrived at Germa, a larger town than any in the
wadey, but both walls and houses have the marks of time. We waited
in the house of the kaid till our camels came up. The sheikh,
Mustapha ben Ussuf, soon visited us. He is an old man, a
Fezzaneer, dark complexion, arch of nose small, tip depressed, and
alæ expanded, lips a little thick, but mouth not large, hair black, and
from the appearance of the beard, woolly. His ancestors are natives
of this place; and his features may be considered as characteristic of
the natives of Fezzan.
Monday, June 17. We had many accounts of inscriptions being
here, which the people could not read. We were conducted to-day by
Sheikh Mustapha to examine a building, different, as he stated, from