for joy at his return. I gave the old woman some eye medicine, for which she wanted me to accept a line fat-tailed sheep; and his sister furnished us with eggs, fowls, and sour milk in abundance. Kaid Saad would not stop here; but after taking Lackbi enough to make him merry, set off for Zaizow, to prepare a welcome for us on the morrow. January I6th. Therm. 4“. We set out at ten for Morzouk. I suffered Belford and the camel to go on, and remained amongst the surrounding little hamlets, with Besheer, who introduced me to his friends and neighbours, many compliments passing on both sides. He also presented me to a very pretty girl whom he had fixed on as his new wife, making two his complement. About noon, we heard the firing of the Ghrazzie’s people on entering Beedan Jjoj a village near Zaizow, and soon after, arriving at the latter place, we alighted at the residence of Kaid Saad. We found him lying on the ground, most amusingly drunk and communicative, and surrounded by fowls and bread, eggs, cakes, soup, sweet and sour lackbi, and dates. He was all generosity, and would have given us his whole house, and into the bargain, even his old wife, who waited on us during the meal, and was highly oiled for the occasion. We soon discovered, as he was not in condition to keep a secret, why he had recourse to such large draughts of lackbi. He had boasted, all the time he was with me, of his second wife, and had promised I should be treated with a sight of her, if he could prevail on so beautiful and bashful a creature to show her face to any other man than her husband: no sooner, however, had he left Zaizow to accompany me a month before, than this charming person decamped. She first collected as much corn as she could find, and a dollar or two which were hoarded u p ; and after abusing her house-mate, the elder wife, set out for Morzouk. Beport spoke unfavourably of her conduct there, and the old man was endeavouring, in consequence, to drown his sorrows in his favourite liquor. The lady of the house presented me with a bowl of Soudan manufacture. This afternoon, a man came to me for medicine, for a pain in the chest, and opening his shirt, displayed the most sickening sight I ever beheld : he had been so. burnt over the whole of his breast, that it had festered, and become a sore of above a foot in diameter, and had so eaten into his skin, that I imagined he could not survive many days. I had nothing with me which would relieve him, but advised that his sore should be kept clean, a precaution which had never entered his head. His friend, who brought him to me, said, that for all the world he would not suffer him to be washed, as he had read in a book, that using water to a burn occasioned certain death. Thus, owing to their ignorance and prejudice, this poor man probably lost his life. After being nearly killed with kindness, we set out. The Kaid, though almost incapable of sitting his own poor lean horse, amused himself by riding at full speed before and across mine, screeching and discharging his gun out of compliment'to me; but happily for his own neck, and I may add for mine also, in about half an hour his powder failed him. In the evening we arrived at Morzouk, and found that my kind friends, Yussuf and the old Hadje, had prepared a feast for me. I went to visit Mukni, who received me very graciously, and thanked me |or going to meet his son, whom he pretended to be ashamed of, for not having presented me with a couple of Maherrys; one to eat, and the other to ride on. Yussuf and the old man spent the greater part of the night with us, relating all the city news ; and I promised them, that on the morrow, I would set out with the Sultan’s two youngest sons, to Hadge Hajeel, to meet and return with the Ghrazzie to Morzouk. l l 2
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