lU SAM DARLING'S REMINISCENCES 



Camels, donkeys, sheep, goats, turkeys, etc. All 

 manner of things were assiduously offered us — and 

 until you come to this country you can have but 

 scant idea of what it means not to take " No " 

 for an answer — but we emerged mthout being 

 drawn into purchases, and at this juncture an 

 elderly Huddersfield man cantered past us on a 

 large white donkey, evidently thinking well of 

 himself. Jehu would not have been in it with 

 our driver, who a moment or two after whipped 

 up his horses into a gallop, and dashed for a level 

 crossing over the railway, where the gates were 

 just closing and a train approaching. We squeezed 

 through at top speed just in time, our fragile 

 vehicle swinging on two wheels round the turn, 

 and it was not a pleasant experience. The man 

 on the white ass had managed to keep in 

 front — there was hardly room for him to let us 

 pass — and as we slowed down after getting over 

 the crossing, he reached the boat first, and declared 

 triumphantly that he had beaten us. Later on 

 he was heard repeating the same story to his 

 friends, as he walked about the deck with labori- 

 ously bowed legs to suggest habitual horsemanship. 

 The scene on our departure was sufficiently ex- 

 traordinary — a parti-coloured, clamorous crowd of 

 aU sorts and kinds, offering bracelets, shawls, fly- 

 switches, musical instruments, curios of innumerable 



