ter. The ladies were singularly complaisant, and one offered
me her friend; another was offered by a man. I believe these offers made
in the way of compliments. In the East, it would not be prudent to take
him at his word who should say, "Everything I have is yours." The huts
of the village are very clean, and are inhabited entirely by slaves of
En-Noor. These villages of Damerghou, at a distance, have the appearance
of Chinese villages, such as I have seen drawn, with eaves cocked up
like the rim of a French hat. The evening was given up to festivities,
the slaves of the caravan uniting with those of the Tagelel. A regular
procession brought the supper from the village to the people of the
caravan, and then the music and dancing began. We had no supper sent.
His highness is amazingly shabby in this respect. He fancies, perhaps,
he could send us nothing better than what we have ourselves got, but he
might try the compliment. We are, however, obliged to him for preventing
others from levying contributions upon us in this new region. The
Tuaricks here--all the strangers--are very civil; on account, I believe,
of our being with the old man. He is of great negative utility.

Overweg went to a lagoon, with little green isles in the midst of it,
and shot some ducks. Ducks! This convinces us that we are now in the
country of water. A wader was shot, and a fine plump bird something like
a partridge, which Mohammed Tunisee calls _poule de Carthage_, but it is
much smaller than those that I have eaten in Tunis. Many aquatic birds
were flying or floating about the lake.

The dancing in the evening was after this fashion. Two men beat drums,
standing on one side of a circle marked. The dancers advanced towards
them with shy and coyish gesture, and then swung round and round to the
opposite side of the circle in a sort of time kept by the beating of the
drum. They threw up their legs, but not in an indecent manner. It was a
kind of simple waltzing. The men were not more violent in action than
the women. Each sex danced separately, the women beginning first and
then retiring. During the performance a song was kept up, a continually
recurring rhyme. When it became dark the male and female slaves made
love, and coquetted together. We, too, had our music; a strolling
minstrel came to our tent by appointment to play on his guitar. He sang
all our praises in very nice Haussa words, and indulged in the most
extraordinary flattery I ever he