best to treat the business jocularly. I observed to them, that it was not customary in my country to give occular demonstration in such cases, before so many beautiful women; but that if all them would retire, except the young lady to whom I pointed, selecting the youngest and handsomest, I would satisfy her curiosity. The ladies enjoyed the jest, and went away laughing heartily; and the young damsel herself, to whom I had given the preference, though she did not avail herself of the privilege of inspection, seemed no way displeased at the compliment; for she soon afterwards sent me some meal and milk for my supper.'

March 28th. This morning, a large herd of cattle arrived from the eastward; and one of the drivers to whom Ali had lent my horse, came into my hut with the leg of an antelope as a present, and told me, that my horse was standing before Ali's tent. In a little time Ali sent one of his slaves to inform me, that, in the afternoon, I must be in readiness to ride out with him as he intended to shew me some of his

women.

About four o'clock, Ali, with six of his courtiers, came riding to my hut, and told me to follow them. I readily complied. But here a new difficulty occurred: The Moors, accustomed to a loose and easy dress, could not reconcile themselves to the appearance of my nankeen breeches, which they said were not only inelegant, but, on account of their tightness, very indecent; and as this was a visit to ladies, Ali ordered my boy to bring out the loose cloak which I had always worn since my arrival at Benowm, and told me to wrap it close round me. We visited the tents of four different ladies, at every one of which I was presented with a bowl of milk and water. All these ladies were remarkably corpulent, which is considered here as the highest mark of beauty. They were very inquisitive, and examined my hair and skin with great attention; but affected to consider me as a sort of inferior being to themselves, and would knit their brows, and seem to shudder, when they looked at the whiteness of my skin. In the course of this evening's excursion, my dress and appearance afforded infinite mirth to the company, who galloped round me as if they were baiting a wild animal; twirling their muskets round their heads, and exhibiting various feats of activity and horsemanship, seemingly to display their superior prowess over a miserable captive.

The Moors are certainly very good horsemen. They ride without fear; their saddles being high before and behind, afford them a very secure seat, and if they chance to fall, the whole country is so soft and sandy, thatt hey are very seldom hurt. Their greatest pride, and one of their principal amusements, is to put the horse to his full speed, and then stop him with a sudden jerk, so as frequently to bring him down upon his haunches. Ali always rode upon a milkwhite horse, with its tail died red. He never walked, unless when he went to say his prayers; and even in the night, two or three horses were always kept ready saddled, at a little distance from his own tent. The Moors set a very high value upon their horses; for it is by their superior fleetness, that they are enabled to make so many predatory excursions into the Negro countries. They feed them three or four times a day, and generally give them a large quantity of sweet milk in the evening, which the horses appear to relish very much.

April 3d. This forenoon a child, which had been some. time sickly, died in the next tent, and the mother and relations immediately began the death howl. They were joined by a number of female visitors, who came on purpose to assist at this melancholy concert. I had no opportunity of seeing the burial, which is generally performed secretly, in the dusk of the evening, and frequently at only a few yards distance from the tent. Over the grave they plant one particular shrub, and no stranger is allowed to pluck a leaf, or even to touch it; so great a veneration have they for the dead.

April 7th. About four o'clock in the afternoon, a whirlwind passed through the camp with such violence, that it overturned three tents, and blew down one side of my hut. These whirlwinds come from the Great Desert, and, at this season of the year, are so common, that I have seen five or six of them at one time. They carry up quantities of sand to an amazing height, which resemble at a distance, so many moving pillars of smoke.

The scorching heat of the sun, upon a dry and sandy country, makes, the air insufferably hot. Ali haying rob bed me of my thermometer, I had no means of forming a comparative judgment; but in the middle of the day, when the beams of the vertical sun are seconded by the scorching wind from the Desert, the ground is frequently heated to

such a degree, as not to be borne by the naked foot; even the Negro slaves, will not run from one tent to another without their sandals. At this time of the day, the Moors lie stretched at length in their tents, either asleep, or unwilling to move; and I have often felt the wind so hot, that I could not hold my hand in the current of air which came through the crevices of my hut, without feeling sensible pain.

April 8th. This day the wind blew from the south-west, and in the night there was a heavy shower of rain, accompanied with thunder and lightning.

April 10th. In the evening the tabala, or large drum, was beat, to announce a wedding, which was held at one of the neighbouring tents. A great number of people of both sexes assembled, but without that mirth and hilarity which take place at a Negro wedding; here was neither singing, nor dancing; nor any other amusement that I could perceive. A woman was beating the drum, and the other women joining at times, like a chorus, by setting up a shrill scream; and at the same time moving their tongues from one side of the mouth to the other, with great celerity. I was soon tired, and had returned into my hut, where I was sitting almost asleep, when an old woman entered, with a wooden bowl in her hand, and signified she had brought me a present from the bride. Before I could recover from the surprise which this message created, the woman discharged the contents of the bowl full in my face. Finding that it was the same sort of holy water, with which, among the Hottentots, the priest is said to sprinkle a new married couple, I began to suspect that the old lady was actuated by mischief, or malice; but she gave me seriously to understand, that it was a nuptial benediction from the bride's own person; and which, on such occasions, is always received by young unmarried Moors as a mark of distinguished favour. This being the case, I wiped my face, and sent my acknowledgments to the lady. The wedding drum continued to beat, and the women to sing, or rather to whistle, all night. About nine in the morning, the bride was brought in state from her mother's tent, attended by a number of women, who carried her tent, a present from the husband, some bearing up the poles, others holding by the strings; and in this manner they marched, whistling as formerly, until they came the place appointed for her residence, where they pitch

K

ed the tent. The husband followed, with a number of men leading four bullocks, which they tied to the tent strings; and having killed another, and distributed the beef among the people, the ceremony was concluded.

CHAPTER XI.

Occurrences at the camp continued. Information collected by the Author concerning Houssa and Tombuctoo: and the situation of the latter. Route from Morocco to Benorm. Author's distress from hunger. Ali removes his camp. The Author carried prisoner to the new encampment, and is presented to Fatima the queen. Great distress from the want of water.

ONE whole month had now elapsed since I was led into captivity; during which time, each returning day brought me fresh distresses. I watched the lingering course of the sun with anxiety, and blessed his evening beams as they shed a yellow lustre along the sandy floor of my hut; for it was then that my oppressors left me, and allowed me to pass the sultry night in solitude and reflection.

About midnight, a bowl of kouskous with some salt and water was brought for me and my two attendants; this was our common fare, and it was all that was allowed us, to allay the cravings of hunger, and support nature for the whole of the following day: For it is to be observed, that this was the Mahomedan lent; and as the Moors keep the fast with a religious strictness, they thought it proper to compel me, though a Christian, to a similar observance. Time, however, somewhat reconciled me to my situation: I found that I could bear hunger and thirst better than I expected; and at length, I endeavoured to beguile the tedious hours, by learning to write Arabic. The people who came to see me, soon made me acquainted with the characters; and I discovered, that by engaging their attention in this way, they were not so troublesome as otherwise they would have been; indeed, when I observed any person whose countenance I thought bore malice towards me, I made it a rule

to ask him, either to write in the sand himself, or to decipher what I had already written; and the pride of shewing his superior attainments, generally induced him to comply with my request.

April 14th. As queen Fatima had not yet arrived, Ali proposed to go to the north, and bring her back with him; but as the place was two days' journey from Benowm, it was necessary to have some refreshment on the road; and Ali, suspicious of those about him, was so afraid of being poisoned, that he never eat any thing but what was dressed under his own immediate inspection. A fine bullock was therefore killed, and the flesh being cut up into thin slices, was dried in the sun; and this, with two bags of dry kouskous, formed his travelling provisions.

Previous to his departure, the black people of the town of Benowm came according to their ancient custom, to shew their arms, and bring their stipulated tribute of corn and cloth. They were but badly armed; twenty-two with muskets, forty or fifty with bows and arrows; and nearly the same number of men and boys, with spears only: They arranged themselves before the tent, where they waited until their arms were examined, and some little disputes settled.

About midnight on the 16th, Ali departed quietly from Benowm, accompanied by a few attendants. He was ex

pected to return in the course of nine or ten days.

April 18th. Two days after the departure of Ali, a Shereef arrived with salt and some other articles, from Walet, the capital of the kingdom of Biroo. As there was no tent appropriated for him, he took up his abode in the same hut with me. He seemed to be a well informed man, and his acquaintance both with the Arabic and Bambarra tongues, enabled him to travel with ease and safety, through a number of kingdoms; for though his place of residence was Walet, he had visited Horsa, and had lived some years at Tombuctoo. Upon my inquiring so particularly about the distance, from Walet to Tombuctoo, he asked me if I intended to travel that way; and being answered in the affirmative, he shook his head, and said, it would not do; for that Christians were looked upon there as the devil's children, and enemies to the Prophet. From him I learned the following particulars; that Houssa was the largest town he had ever seen; that Walet was larger than Tombuctoo,