194 'POWDER, BALL, AND BRANDY: 



strong upon AbduUali when he sniffed once more- 

 his natal air : he fell away from prayer and 

 ablution and grace generally, to the more conge- 

 nial practices of highwaying and of hard drink- 

 ing. This amiable youth, who was endowed 

 with an infinite power of surprise and an inveter- 

 ate itching for beggary, sat with us half the day 

 and inspected our weapons for hours, wondering 

 how he could obtain something of the kind. He 

 asked at one time for the Colt, at another for a 

 barrel of gunpowder : now he offered to barter 

 slaves for arms and ammunition, and when night 

 fell he privily sent Hamdan to request a bottle of 

 cognac. All these things were refused in turn, and 

 the Sultan was fain to be content with two caps, a 

 pair of muslins, and a cotton shawl. He seriously 

 advised us to return with some twenty kegs of 

 the best gunpowder, which, as the article was ever 

 in demand, would bring, he assured us, excellent 

 business in ' black diamonds.' He stated that his 

 people had but three wants— powder, ball, and 

 brandy, and that they could supply in return three 

 things — men, women, and children. Our parting 

 was truly pathetic. He swore that he loved us, 

 and promised us on the down march the use of 

 his canoe. But when we appeared with empty 

 hands, and neither caps nor muslins remained, 



