ab women who occupied the little cabin in the
forepart of the vessel, were very good-natured and attentive to me.

They wished me to accept a share of every thing they possessed, and
gave me a portion of each of their dishes, which generally consisted
either of pilau, beans, or cucumbers, and which I did not find
palatable; when they drank coffee in the morning, the first cup was
always handed to me. In return I gave them some of my provisions,
all of which they liked, excepting the coffee, which had milk in it.
When we landed at a village, the inhabitants would inquire by signs
if I wished for any thing. I wanted some milk, eggs, and bread, but
did not know how to ask for them in Arabic. I therefore had
recourse to drawing; for instance, I made a portrait of a cow, gave
an Arab woman a bottle and some money, and made signs to her to milk
her cow and to fill my bottle. In the same way I drew a hen, and
some eggs beside her; pointed to the hen with a shake of my head,
and then to the eggs with a nod, counting on the woman's fingers how
many she was to bring me. In this way I could always manage to get
on, by limiting my wants to such objects as I could represent by
drawings.

When they brought me the milk, and I explained to the Arab woman by
signs that, after she had finished cooking, I wished to have the use
of the fire to prepare my milk and eggs, she immediately took off
her pot from the fire and compelled me, in spite of all
remonstrances, to cook my dinner first. If I walked forward towards
the prow to obtain a better view of the landscape, the best place
was immediately vacated on my behalf; and, in short, they all
behaved in such a courteous and obliging way, that these
uncultivated people might have put to shame many a civilised
European. They certainly, however, requested a few favours of me,
which, I am ashamed to say, it cost me a great effort to grant. For
instance, the oldest among them begged permission to sleep in my
apartment, as they only possessed a small cabin, while I had the
larger one all to myself. Then they performed their devotions, even
to the preliminary washing of face and feet, in my cabin: this I
permitted, as I was more on deck than below. At first these women
called me Mary, imagining, probably, that every Christian lady must
bear the name of the Virgin. I told them my baptismal name, which
they accurately remembered; they told me theirs in return, which I
very soon forgot.