evolution might have been
wrought on my spirit had I not suddenly become critical! A stately
dame passed within twenty feet of my thicket, whose _coiffure_ excited
my mirth so powerfully that I might have been detected as a spy, had
not a bitten lip controlled my laughter. Her ladyship belonged,
perhaps, to the "upper-ten" of Timbo, whose heads had hitherto been
hidden from my eyes by the jealous _yashmacks_ they constantly wear in
a stranger's presence. In this instance, however, the woman's head,
like that of the younger girls, was uncovered, so that I had a full
view of the stately preparation. Her lower limbs were clad in ample
folds of blue and white cotton, knotted in an immense mass at the
waist, while her long crisp hair had been combed out to its fullest
dimensions and spliced with additional wool. The ebony fleece was then
separated in strands half an inch in diameter, and plaited all over
her skull in a countless number of distinct braids. This quill-like
structure was then adorned with amber beads, and copiously anointed
with vegetable butter, so that the points gleamed with fire in the
setting sunlight, and made her look as if she had donned for a
bewitching headdress a porcupine instead of a "bird of paradise."

* * * * *

My trip to Timbo, I confess, was one of business rather than pleasure
or scientific exploration. I did not make a record, at the moment, of
my "impressions de voyage," and never thought that, a quarter of a
century afterwards, I would feel disposed to chronicle the journey in
a book, as an interesting _souvenir_ of my early life. Had I supposed
that the day would come when I was to turn author, it is likely I
might have been more inquisitive; but, being only "a slaver," I found
Ahmah, Sulimani, Abdulmomen, the Ali-Mami, and all the quality and
amusements of Timbo, dull enough, _when my object was achieved_.
Still, while I was there, I thought I might as well see all that was
visible. I strolled repeatedly through the town. I became excessively
familiar with its narrow streets, low houses, mud walls, cul-de-sacs,
and mosques. I saw no fine bazaars, market-places, or shops. The chief
wants of life were supplied by peddlers. Platters, jars, and baskets
of fruit, vegetables, and meat, were borne around twice or thrice
daily. Horsemen dashed about on beautiful steeds towards the fields in
the morning, or came home at nightfall at a slower pace. _I never saw
ma