154 DENHAM AND CLAPPERTON. 



however, so bitter as a theological opponent, showed no^^ 

 the influence of a milder spirit, and said, — " No, God haa 

 preserved him ; let us not abandon him ;" and Maramy 

 declared, — " His heart told him what to do." They there- 

 fore moved on slowly till about midnight, when they passed 

 the Mandara frontier in a state of severe suffering ; but the 

 Major met with much kindness from a dethroned prince, 

 Mai Meegamy, who, seeing his wounds festering under the 

 rough woollen cloak which formed his only covering, took 

 off his own trousers and gave them to him. 



The Arabs had lost forty-five of their number, besides 

 their chief ; the rest were in a miserable plight, most of 

 them wounded, some mortally, and all having lost their 

 camels and the rest of their property. Renouncing their 



Eride, they were obliged to supplicate from Barca Gana a 

 andfiil of corn to keep them from starving. The sultan 

 of Mandara, in whose cause they had suffered, treated them 

 with the utmost contumely, which perhaps they might de- 

 serve, but certainly not from him. Deep sorrow was after- 

 ward felt in Fezzan when they arrived in this deplorable 

 condition and reported the fall of their chief, who was there 

 almost idolized. A national song was composed on the 

 occasion, which the following extract will show to be 

 marked by great depth of feeling, and not altogether devoid 

 of poetical beauty : — 



" Oh ! trust not to the gun and the sword ! The spear 

 of the unbeliever prevails ! 



" Boo Khalloom, the good and the brave, has fallen ! Who 

 shall now be safe 1 Even as the moon among the little 

 stars, so was Boo Khalloom among men ! Where shall 

 Fezzan now look for her protector 1 Men hang their heads 

 In sorrow, while women wring their hands, rending the air 

 with their cries ! As a shepherd is to his flock, so was Boo 

 Khalloom to Fezzan ! 



" Give him songs ! Give him music ! WTiat words can 

 equal his praise 1 His heart was as large as the desert ! 

 His coffers were like the rich overflowings from the udder 

 of the she-camel, comforting and nourishing those around 

 him! 



" Even as the flowers without rain perish in the fields, so 

 will the Fezzaners droop ; for Boo Khalloom letums no 



