desire with all tribes,' except the Jalyn, is to have a
vast quantity of hair arranged in their own peculiar
fashion, and not only smeared, but covered with as
much fat as can he made to adhere. Thus, should a
man wish to get himself up as a great dandy, he
would put at least half a pound of butter or other fat
upon his head; this would be worked up with his
coarse locks by a friend, until it somewhat resembled
a cauliflower. He would then arrange his tope or
plaid of thick cotton cloth, and throw one end
over his.left shoulder, while s l u n g from the same
shoulder, his circular shield would hang upon his
.back; suspended by a strap over the right shoulder
would hang his long two-edged broadsword.
Eat is the great desideratum of an Arab ; his head,
as I have described, should be a mass of grease, he
rubs his body with oil or other ointment; his clothes,
i.e. his one garment or tope, is covered with grease,
and internally he swallows as much as he can procure.
The great Sheik Abou Sinn, who is upwards of
eighty, as upright as a dart, a perfect Hercules, and
whose children and grandchildren are like the sand of
the sea-shore, has always consumed daily throughout
his life two rottolis (pounds) of melted butter, A
short time before I left the country, he married- a
new young wife about fourteen years of age. This
may be a hint to octogenarians. •
The fat most esteemed for dressing the hair is that
of the' sheep. This undergoes a curious preparation
which 'renders it similar in appearance to cold
cream, upon the raw fat being taken from the
animal it is chewed in the mouth by an Arab for
about two hours, being frequently taken out for
examination during that time, until it has assumed
the desired consistency. To prepare sufficient to
enable a man to appear in full dress, several persons
must be employed in masticating fat at the same
time. This species of pomade, when properly made,
is perfectly white, and exceedingly light and frothy.
It may be imagined tnat when exposed to a burning
sun, the beauty of the head-dress quickly disappears,
but the oil then runs down the neck and back, which
is considered quite correct, especially when the tope
becomes thoroughly greased ; the man is then perfectly
anointed. We had seen an amusing example of this
when on the march from Berber to Gozerajup. The-
Turk, Hadji Achmet, had pressed into our service, as
a guide for a few miles, a dandy who had just been
arranged as a cauliflower, with at least half-a-pound
of white fat upon his head. As we were travelling
upwards of four miles an hour in an intense heat,
during which he was obliged to run, the fat ran
quicker than he did, and at the end of a couple of
hours both the dandy and his pomade were exhausted;
the poor fellow had to return to his friends with the
total loss of personal appearance and half a pound of
butter.
Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade,
but great attention is bestowed upon perfumer)',
especially by the women. Various perfumes are