praises of Lilia Fatma, the fat wife of Sheikh Barood. a white woman, who, he said, was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen* and so fat that she could scarcely walk: “ her arm (t’barek Allah, <11 cJjUi, God’s blessing on it!) is as big as my body,” continued he, “ and she says she should like to see you and Sidi Yussuf.” Such a hint was not to be rejected, and I therefore immediately paid her a visit, the boy acting as my Interpreter. On my entrance she so veiled herself as to exhibit to advantage her arm, with all its gay ornaments; and on my requesting to be favoured with a view of her face, she, with very little reluctance, gratified me. Her chin, the tip of her nose, and the space between her eyebrows, were marked with black lines; she was much rouged.; her neck, arms, and legs, were covered with tattooed flowers, open hands, circles, the names of God, and of her numerous male friends. She had a multitude of gold ear-rings and ornaments, set with very bad and counterfeit jewels, and weighing all together, I should think, two or three pounds. Her shirt was of striped silk; and she had a rich purple silk barracan, or mantle, gracefully thrown round her, and fastened at the breast by a gold pin, with ornaments of the same metal suspended from i t ; all the other articles of finery which she possessed were displayed round the tent, whilst a. multitude of poor thin wretches, resembling witches, sat round her in astonishment, never having in their lives seen such a paragon of perfection. Like all other Arabs, they touched whatever pleased them most, one admiring this object, another something near it, so that our poor belle was sometimes poked by a dozen fingers at once; all, however, agreeing on one point, that she was beautifully and excessively fat, and I must say I never before beheld such a monstrous mass of human flesh. One of her legs, of enormous size, was uncovered as high as the calf, and every one pressed it, admiring its solidity, and praising God for blessing them with such a sight. I was received most graciously, and invited, to sit close to her, when one of the first questions she asked me was, if in my country the ladies were as fat and handsome as herself? F or the plumpness of my countrywomen, I owned, with shame, that I never had seen one possessed of half such an admirable rotundity, which she took as a great compliment; but I did not attempt to carry the comparison farther, though she was really very handsome in face and features. She amused herself while speaking with playing on a kind of drum, made of clay, called Derbooka, iíjjó, by beating with one hand, and playing with the fingers o f the other; and perceiving that I was amused by it, she ordered an old man to get up and dance. The females sang and clapped their hands in good time, and the dancer went through a variety of figures, all equally indelicate. A woman then succeeded him, and in this respect quite threw him in the shade; but as I knew it to be the'general mode of dancing in this part of Barbary, I of course applauded it; Lilia F atma herself then thought proper to honour us with a few graceful attitudes in the same style ; but Mr. Ritchie’s entrance into the tent soon put a stop to the exhibition, and the ceremony of veiling took place in the same manner as before. Fatma soon discovered a likeness between her late husband and Mr. Ritchie, from their being both very slender; but unfortunately the resemblance failed in all other points, her former spouse being, at the time she was obliged to leave him by an order o f the Bashaw, fifty years old, with a grey beard; while, on the other hand, Mr. Ritchie wras but twenty-seven, and of a very fair complexion. She was at all events determined to be pleased with u s ; and having sprinkled us with rose-water, allowed us to take our leave. On returning to our tent, we sent her some coffee, and a few lumps of sugar. We found here much difficulty in obtaining water for our horses, owing to the great depth of the wells, and the people being employed in filling the skins for the morrow. In the evening, we
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