272 allee's admiration of owssa. 



the produce of these for the purpose of making 

 butter. It is a favourite drink of the Dankalli, 

 from its medicinal virtues, being a gentle aperient. 

 It is a light and agreeable beverage, having very 

 little body, as connoisseurs are accustomed to say 

 when speaking of their wines. Camels yield milk 

 at all hours, and not merely at the stated morning 

 and evening's milkings of the flocks, which is 

 a great recommendation of these animals to a 

 Dankalli family. 



On turning in for the night, Allee the Second 

 sat at the entrance of my hut, telling me a long 

 tale of the luxuries of Owssa, dates, milk, and 

 wheaten bread, and nothing to do but sleep and 

 eat, and eat and sleep. He seemed to think that if 

 there were Paradise upon earth, it was situated in 

 this particular part of Africa; but I expect that 

 the poets of Greece and Rome, held a more correct 

 opinion, when they made it the kingdom of hell, 

 for I am convinced myself, that when they send 

 their heroes to the infernal regions, they are only 

 describing some journey, made into this dangerous 

 and desert-spread continent. The punishments of 

 Tantalus, or the mirage; of Sisyphus, or the 

 whirlwind of sand ; and of Ixion for his amour 

 with a cloud, or the necessity of continually 

 revolving water-wheels, to irrigate even the most 

 favoured spots ; all tend to connect Africa, in my 

 opinion with the hell of mythological history ; 

 and the natural phenomena there witnessed are the 



