414 said hamza's adventure. 



told me of an adventure of his in the country of 

 the Muzeguahs, some five or six weeks' journey up 

 the large river that empties itself into the Indian 

 Ocean at Lamoo. He had been fined by the chief 

 for forming some matrimonial connexion without 

 his authority, so he determined to have nothing 

 more to do with their women. A girl coming into 

 his hut, he accordingly walked out, and this caused 

 a much greater quarrel than before, for the whole 

 tribe asserted, he had treated them with contempt 

 by his haughty conduct towards the girl, and 

 demanded to know if she were not good enough 

 for him. Said Hamza in the end was again 

 mulcted of a lot of brass wire and blue sood, 

 before he could allay the national indignation, 

 which his extreme caution had thus excited. 



Such delicate dilemmas are best avoided, as I have 

 before remarked, by engaging the first old woman 

 that makes her appearance. To her must be referred 

 all new comers of her sex, and she will generally 

 manage to send them away without compromising 

 the traveller at all. 



As a light nutriment during my journey, I had 

 been recommended in Aden to take with me some 

 soojee, the fine oatmeal-like flour of ground rice. 

 This I had reserved for food, on occasions of 

 sickness during the journey, but considering that 

 I had quite recovered, and being tired of boiled 

 wheat, I now resolved to make use of it, as long as it 

 would last. There being abundance of milk in this 



