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Richardson, James, 1806-1851

"Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51, Volume 1 Under the Orders and at the Expense of Her Majesty's Government"

To
Said I gave a veneese and a lecture. Our servants have not behaved so
well as they ought to have done, considering that they are treated so
much better than the servants of Muslims.
Anecdotes of our late adventures are still in circulation amongst us,
and I have learned some new ones to-day. The _naivete_ of one of them is
extreme; but I can do more than allude to it. One of our party
transgressed a custom which the Mahommedans have absurdly made
obligatory. Great indignation was excited, even amongst the escort sent
for our protection by En-Noor; and one of them exclaimed: "If he do the
same thing again, and do not follow the way of us Muslims, I will send
an arrow through him."
During the night of the second affair, Oud-el-Khair used this nice
argument: "What will be gained if you do kill these three Christians?
There are plenty more in the English country!" Many topics of a similar
character were resorted to.
Some of the Tanelkums leave us to-day. We have to pay them two reals a
camel-load for bringing us from Tintaghoda to Tintalous. We have hired
of them eleven camels in all. The original agreement was to carry our
goods and baggage from Mourzuk to Tintaghoda, for which we paid dear.
Having heard that the great En-Noor would receive me to-day or
to-morrow, as I pleased, I determined at once to see him, and made ready
the presents for his highness.


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