out leaving his knife with the gate-keeper, but when he comes out in a morning it is restored to him. The gate is shut at night, and strongly guarded.

"We remained two moons at Timbuctoo, waiting for the caravan, but it had perished on the Sahara; neither did the yearly caravan from Tunis and Tripoli arrive, for it had also been destroyed.

"I had bought a small snuff-box, filled with snuff, in Marocco, and I shewed it to the women in the principal street of Timbuctoo, which is very wide. There were a great many about me in a few minutes, and they insisted upon buying my snuff and box: one made me one offer, and another made me another, till one, who wore richer ornaments than the rest, told me, in broken Arabic, that she would give me all she had on her person for my box and its contents. I agreed to accept them; and she pulled off her nose-rings and ear-rings, and the bracelets from her wrists and ancles, and gave them to me. They would weigh more than a pound, and were made of solid gold at Timbuctoo, and I carried them to my wife, who now wears a part of them.

"When the caravans arrive, they encamp in a deep valley, about two miles from the city, and they bring their merchandise near the walls, where the inhabitants purchase all their goods; not more than fifty men, from any one caravan, being allowed to enter the city at a time, and these must go out before others are permitted to enter.

"The king is dressed in a white shirt, reaching to the knees, and covered with gold and silver plates that glitter in the sun; he has also many other shining ornaments of stones and shells hang

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ing about him, and has a kind of white turban on his head, pointing up, and strung with different ornaments, and wears breeches like the Moors his feet are covered with red Marocco shoes. He has no other weapon about him than a large white staff, with a golden lion on the head of it, which he carries in his hand. I only saw him four or five times, for he did not go into the Moors' town. The people do not fear and worship God, like the Muselmen, and they cannot read and write, but they are honest.

"The Shegar, or King, of Timbuctoo had collected about a thousand slaves which come from the south-west, some gums, elephant's teeth, golddust, and other things, to be ready for the caravans; but he now gave them up for lost, and he dispatched a caravan consisting of about 3,000 men, 3,000 asses, and 200 camels, with salt, tobacco, cloths, and iron, under the command of his brother, to Wassanah, a great city to the south-east. My brother Seid, myself, and ten of our companions, were hired to carry loads on our camels, and were to receive, when we came back, two hayks each, and some gold."

Time and labour are here valued at a low rate. A journey of fifty-seven days of actual travelling onwards, and of eight months duration, in the whole, is undertaken by two men, with their two camels of burden, for a reward of which two hayks form a principal part.

"All being prepared, we went south, about two hours ride, to the bank of the river, which is here about 500 yards wide. There is a miserable village, containing about 200 small houses. We travelled six days within sight of the river, which

we went.

was on our right hand, and running the same way We then went fifteen days on a more southerly course, through a hilly and woody country, when we came to the river again. Every night we made large fires round the caravan, to keep off lions, tigers, and other wild beasts, which made a dreadful howling.

"Having rested five days, we went on in a south-east direction, winding as the river ran for three days; we then climbed a high ridge of mountains, which took up six days; the river ran by the steep side of the mountains. Having got over them, we came to the river again, where it was very narrow, and full of rocks that dashed the water dreadfully. We travelled twelve days on a good winding path, in sight of the river nearly every day; it was now very wide, and looked deep. After this we travelled fifteen days, mostly in sight of the river, when we arrived at Wassanah.

"Wassanah is near the bank of the river, but not very close to it. The river is here so wide that, looking across it, we could hardly see a man on the other side. The people of Timbuctoo call it Zolibib; those of Wassanah call it Zadi." Here we have a new name for the great river of central Africa. The Niger of Europeans, the Neel el Abeed of the Arabs and Moors, the Joliba of the Bambarrahs, the Dialliba of the Foolahs, the Zolibib of the Timbuctans, is the Zadi of the people of Wassanah. To dispute concerning the proper name of a river which waters so many countries, is to dispute the right of each people to call the river of their country by what name they please.

"The walls of Wassanah are thick and strong, and much higher than the walls of Timbuctoo;

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but the stones are not laid in clay or mud. I was permitted to walk round them, in company with six black men, and it took me one whole day. They form a square, with a large gate on every side. The country around is cultivated, and has barley, rice, and other things planted in it. There are many cattle, asses, and speckled fowls, belonging to the city.

"The people of the caravan were allowed to enter the city only twenty at a time, and these were obliged to go out before night; we had been there more than one moon before it came to my turn; when I found almost the whole of the ground -covered with huts, made of stones without clay, with reeds laid across the top, and, over them, large leaves.

"The king is called Oleeboo, which means, in the black men's talk, good sultan. His house is a very large square, and high, and built with stone; they would not let me go into it. He dresses in a white shirt, and a caftan of red cloth with sleeves, and a pair of trowsers. His hair is tied in small bunches; he wears a very high hat made of canes handsomely coloured, and adorned with fine feathers. His sandals are bound up with gold chains; he has a great gold chain over his shoulder, with a bunch of bright stones and shells hanging on his breast; and, by his side, a large dagger in a gold case.

"The city has twice as many inhabitants as Timbuctoo, and we saw a great many towns near it, on the other side of the river. The people are heathens, and they do not read or write; yet they are hospitable, and do not steal. But I hope the time is near when they who fear God and his pro

phet shall either turn them to the true belief, or drive them from this goodly land."

How should we be surprised to see the genuine piety of Seedy Hamed, his trust in God and submission to his will, blended with intolerance; if the history of mankind, and our own observation, did not inform us that every man's belief is, in his opinion, the true one, and that most bodies of men, who have had the power, have endeavoured to force their belief upon others!

"The inhabitants," continued Hamed," catch a great many fish, and have boats, hollowed out of great trees, that will hold ten, fifteen, or twenty men.

"Having traded away all our goods at Wassanah, Shelbaa, the King of Timbuctoo's brother, and the leader of the caravan, took 300 slaves, and many teeth of ivory, and dazzling stones, shells, and gold, and we went back the same way to Timbuctoo, which took us three moons; and we were gone, from the time we left it to the time we returned, eight moons. At Timbuctoo I was paid, by the chief of the caravan, according to promise; and, a few days after, a caravan arrived from Tunis, which we joined, on our return to our own country.

"The caravan we joined at Timbuctoo was a very large one, being the caravans from Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Fas, united; and when every thing was ready, we set off; and we travelled northeasterly twenty days, among hills and trees, passing many small streams of water, running towards the great river, and many small towns, most of them fenced with good stone walls, but some with cane, and thorn bushes. The inhabitants are Moors and