drunk very copioufly. The patients were numerous, and'
the floor o f the room received; a ll the evacuations. It was
moft prodigioufly hot, and the horrid, black .figures, moan»
in g and groaning with ficknefs alls around me, gave me, I
think, fome flight idea o f the punifliment in ,the world be*-
low. My mortifications, however, did not flop here. 1 ob-
fervéd that, in cominginto their prefence, the queens were
all covered with cotton; fliirts ; but no- fooner did their
complaints make part o£ our. converfation, than, to my ut-
moft furprife, each o f them, in her turn, ftript herfelf entire»
ly naked, laying h e r cotton ihirt loofely on her lap as fhe
fat crofs-legged lik e a.tailor. The cuftom o f going na»
ked in thefe warm.countries aboliflies all delicacy concernin
g it. I could not b u r obferve that the breafts o f each.of.
them reached the length.of.their knees..
T h i s exceeding confidence:on their part, th e y thought!
merited fome confideration on m in é ; and it was' not with»
out great aftonilhment that l heard the queen defire to fee
me in the lik e difhabille itr which fhe had fpontaneoufly
put he rfelf.. The whole court of: female attendants flocked
to the fpedfaele. Refufal, or. refiftance, were in vain. I
was furrounded with fifty or fixty women, all equal in fta<
ture and ftrength to myfelf; The whole of-my cloathing
was, like theirs, a long loofe Ihirt o f blue Surat cotton
cloth, reaching from the n eck down to the feet. The only
terms I could poflibly, and . that with great- difficulty*
make for myfelf were,, that they ihould be contented to.
ftfip me no farther than the ihoulders and breafl. Upon;
feeing the whiten efs-ofmy.ikin , they gave all a loud cry
in token o f diflike, and ihuddered, feeming to eonfider it
rather the effééis o f difeafe than natural- I. think in m y
life_-
life I never felt fo difagreeably. I have been in more than
one battle, but furely I would jo y fu lly have taken m y
chance again in any o f them to have been freed from that
examination. I could not help likewife reflecting, that, i f
the k in g had come in during this exhibition, the confe-
quence would either have been impaling, or ftripping off
that ikin whofe colour they were fo curious about; tho’
I can folemnly declare there was not an idea in my breafl,
fince ever I had the honour o f feeing thefe royal beauties,
that could have given his majefty o f Sennaar the fmalleft
reaionfor jealoufy; and I believe the famemay be faid o f the
fentimentsof theladies inwhat regarded inc. Ours was a m utu
a l paflion, but dangerous to no one concerned. I returned
home with very different fenfations from thofe I had felt
after an interview with the beautiful Aifcach-of Teawa.
Indeed, it was impoflible to be more chagrined at, or more
difgufted with, my prefent fituation than I was, and the
more fo, that-my delivery from it appeared to be very dif-
tant, and the circumftances were more and more unfavourable
everyday.
An event happened which added to my diflrefs. Going
one evening to w ait upon the king, and b e in g already within
the palace, pafling through a number o f rooms that are
now totally deferted, where the court o f guard ufed to be
kept, I met Mahomet, the k in g ’s fervant, who accompanied
us from Teawa. Such people, though in reality often
enough drunk, yet i f they happen to be.faber at the time o f
.their committing a crime, counterfeit drunkennefs, in order
to avail themfelves o f it as an excufe. This fellow, feeing me
alone, came fiaggering up to me, faying, “ Damn you, Ya-
goube, I have met you now, pay me for the trouble of-go-
3 ^ 2 in g