IV 



My Log 405 



finger ; at one end of this was a solid ball of iron, 

 as large as a large orange and with divers mysterious 

 rings and bits of chain attached to it. On getting 

 tired of this charming plaything, the man howled 

 ten times worse than ever, and seemed very sorry 

 indeed for himself, really very sorry, as if he had 

 to do something particularly unpleasant, but which 

 it was his duty to do. After several feints he 

 advanced to the centre of the court, and, throwing 

 his head back, stuck the sharp point of the spike 

 into the inner corner of his right eye, holding it 

 perpendicularly there for a few seconds. Then with 

 yells worse than ever he began screwing it round 

 and round, forcing the eye farther and farther out, 

 till I really began to be afraid that it would part 

 company with his head altogether. Humbug though 

 it might all be, the thing was really horrible ; the un- 

 natural round white eye coming farther and farther out 

 on to the gorged and purple cheek, the contortions 

 of agony, simulated or not, while the creature's 

 incessant ear-splitting yells and the unceasing 

 tum-tumming of the tambourines, really almost made 

 one's head spin. He had enough of it at last ; his 

 yells subsided into panting groans, and, holding his 

 head forward, the spike with its heavy ball remained 

 suspended from his eye for half a second and then 

 tumbled with a bump and a jingle on the floor. 

 At this moment a young Nubian, who was sitting 

 close to me under a flaring tallow candle, jumped up 

 with a yell and a bounce that made me start from its 



