ointment;
his clothes, i.e. his one garment or tope, is covered with grease, and
internally he swallows as much as he can procure.

The great Sheik Abou Sinn, who is upward of eighty, as upright as a
dart, a perfect Hercules, and whose children and grandchildren are like
the sand of the sea-shore, has always consumed daily throughout his life
two rottolis (pounds) of melted butter. A short time before I left the
country he married a new young wife about fourteen years of age. This
may be a hint to octogenarians.

The fat most esteemed for dressing the hair is that of the sheep. This
undergoes a curious preparation, which renders it similar in appearance
to cold cream; upon the raw fat being taken from the animal it is chewed
in the mouth by an Arab for about two hours, being frequently taken
out for examination during that time, until it has assumed the desired
consistency. To prepare sufficient to enable a man to appear in full
dress, several persons must be employed in masticating fat at the same
time. This species of pomade, when properly made, is perfectly white,
and exceedingly light and frothy. It may be imagined that when exposed
to a burning sun, the beauty of the head-dress quickly disappears; but
the oil then runs down the neck and back, which is considered quite
correct, especially when the tope becomes thoroughly greased. The man is
then perfectly anointed. We had seen an amusing example of this when on
the march from Berber to Gozerajup. The Turk, Hadji Achmet, had pressed
into our service, as a guide for a few miles, a dandy who had just been
arranged as a cauliflower, with at least half a pound of white fat
upon his head. As we were travelling upward of four miles an hour in an
intense heat, during which he was obliged to run, the fat ran quicker
than he did, and at the end of a couple of hours both the dandy and his
pomade were exhausted. The poor fellow had to return to his friends with
the total loss of personal appearance and half a pound of butter.

Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade, but great attention
is bestowed upon perfumery, especially by the women. Various perfumes
are brought from Cairo by the travelling native merchants, among which
those most in demand are oil of roses, oil of sandal-wood, an essence
from the blossom of a species of mimosa, essence of musk, and the oil
of cloves. The women have a peculiar method of scenting their bodies and
clothes by an operation that is