APPENDIX. 109 



and unclean people expofe in the ftreets with cut burial, 

 and who firmly believe that thefe animals are Falafha from 

 the neighbouring mountains, transformed by magic, and 

 come clown to eat human flefh in the dark in fafety. Many 

 a time in the nighty when the king had kept me late in the 

 palace, and it was not my duty to lie there, in going a- 

 crofs the fquare from the king's houfe, not many hundred 

 yards diitant, I have been apprehenfive they would bite me 

 in the leg. They grunted in great numbers about me, 

 though I was furrounded with feveral armed men, who 

 feldom palled a night without wounding or flaughtering 

 fome of them. 



One night in Maitiha, being very intent on observation, 

 I heard fomethingpafs behind me towards the bed, but up- 

 on looking round could perceive nothing. Having finifhed 

 what I was then about, I went out of my tent, refolving di- 

 rectly to return, which I immediately did, when I percei- 

 ved large blue eyes glaring at me in the dark. 1 called upon 

 my fervant with a light, and there was the hysena Handing 

 nigh the head of the bed, with two or three large bunches 

 of candles in his mouth. To have fired at him 1 was in 

 danger of breaking my quadrant or other furniture, and he 

 feemed, by keeping the candles fteadily in his mouth, to wifh 

 for no other prey at that time. As his mouth was full, and 

 he had no claws to tear with, I was not afraid of him, but 

 with a pike ftruck him as near the heart as I could judge. 

 It was not till then he ihewed any fign of fiercenefs ; but, 

 upon feeling his wound, he let drop the candles, and endea- 

 voured* to run up the fhaft of the fpear to arrive at me, {0 

 that, in felf defence, I was obliged to draw out a piftol from 

 my girdle and moot him, and nearly at the fame time my 



Qj2 fervant 



