arture, as it was impossible for _Ibrahim Ali_ to appear, being
perfectly vanquished by--"the bitters!" The poor devil hiccoughed
between his words, and so earnestly and with so many bodily gyrations
implored my interference with the Fullah guide, that I saw at once he
was in no condition to travel.

As the caravan was my personal escort and designed exclusively for my
convenience, I did not hesitate to command a halt, especially as I was
in some measure the cause of my landlord's malady. Accordingly, I tied
a kerchief round my head, covered myself with a cloak, and leaning
very lackadaisically on the edge of my hammock, sent for the Fullah
chief.

I moaned with pain as he approached, and, declaring that I was
prostrated by sudden fever, hoped he would indulge me by
countermanding the order for our march. I do not know whether the
worthy Mussulman understood my case or believed my fever, but the
result was precisely the same, for he assented to my request like a
gentleman, and expressed the deepest sympathy with my sufferings. His
next concern was for my cure. True to the superstition and bigotry of
his country, the good-natured Fullah insisted on taking the management
of matters into his own hands, and forthwith prescribed a dose from
the Koran, diluted in water, which he declared was a specific remedy
for my complaint. I smiled at the idea of making a drug of divinity,
but as I knew that homoeopathy was harmless under the circumstances,
I requested the Fullah to prepare his physic on the spot. The chief
immediately brought his Koran, and turning over the leaves attentively
for some time, at last hit on the appropriate verse, which he wrote
down on a board with gunpowder ink, which he washed off into a bowl
with clean water. This was given me to swallow, and the Mahometan left
me to the operation of his religious charm, with special directions to
the servant to allow no one to disturb my rest.

I have no doubt that the Fullah was somewhat of a quiz, and thought a
chapter in his Bible a capital lesson after a reckless debauch; so I
ordered my door to be barricaded, and slept like a dormouse, until
Ibrahim and Ali-Ninpha came thundering at the portal long after
mid-day. They were sadly chopfallen. Penitence spoke from their aching
brows; nor do I hesitate to believe they were devoutly sincere when
they forswore "_bitters_" for the future. In order to allay suspicion,
or quiet his conscience, the Fullah had been presen