3j6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



war, upon which he immediately difmounted, and, upon 

 feeing this, I ahghted Hkewife. We fahited one another 

 very courteoufly. He was a man about feventy, with a 

 very long beard, and of a very graceful appearance. It was 

 with the utmoft difficulty I could prevail upon him to mount 

 his horfe, af& he declared his intention was to walk by the 

 fide of my mule till he entered the town of Teawa. This 

 being over- ruled, by an invincible obflinacy on my part, he- 

 was at laft conftrained to mount on horfeback, which he 

 did with an agility only to be expefted from a young maa 

 of twenty. 



Being mounted, he fliewed us a variety of paces on horfe* 

 back. All this, too, was counted a humiliation and polite- 

 nefs on his part, as playing tricks, and prancing on horfe- 

 back, is never done but by young men before their elders, 

 or by meaner people before their fuperiors. We palled by 

 a very commodious houfe, where he ordered my fervants 

 to unload my baggage, that being the refidence alTigned 

 for me by the Shekh. He and I, with Soliman on foot by 

 the fide of my mule, crofTed an open fpace of about five 

 hundred yards, where the market is kept ; he protefted a 

 thoufand times by the way, what a fliame it was to him to. 

 appear on horfeback^ when a great man. like me was riding 

 on a mule.. 



A LITTLE after, having paiTcd this ixjuare, we came to the 

 Shekh's houfe, or rather a colledion of houfes, one llorey 

 high, built with canes j near the ftreer, at entering, there 

 was a large hall of unburnt brick, to which we afcended 

 by four or five flcps. The hall was a very decent one, co- 

 vered with lira w- mats ; and there was in the m.iddle of it,, 



a cliairi, 



