THE TIRIKEZA. 



359 



us after their fashion, with a kind of " portion " on 

 plates ; the best part, of course, remained in the pots 

 and digesters ; these, therefore, were ordered to do duty 

 as dishes. When tea or coffee is required in a drinkable 

 state, we must superintend the process of preparing it, 

 the notions of the Goanese upon such subjects being 

 abominable to the civilised palate. When we have 

 eaten our servants take their turn ; they squat opposite 

 each other over a private " cooking-pot " to which they 

 have paid unremitting attention ; they stretch forth their 

 talons and eat till weary, not satiated, pecking, nodding, 

 and cramming like two lank black pigeons. Being 

 " Christians," that is to say, Roman Catholics, they 

 will not feed with the heathenry, moreover a sort of 

 semi-European dignity forbids. Consequently Bombay 

 messes with his "brother" Mabruki, and the other 

 slaves eat by themselves. 



When the wells ahead are dry the porters will scarcely 

 march in the morning ; their nervous impatience of thirst 

 is such that they would exhaust all their gourds, if they 

 expected a scarcity in front, and then they would suffer 

 severely through the long hot day. They persist, more- 

 over, upon eating before the march, under the false 

 impression that it gives them strength and bottom. In 

 fact, whenever difficulties as regards grain or drink 

 suggest themselves, the African requires the direction 

 of some head-piece made of better stuff than his own. 

 The hardships of the tirikeza have already been de- 

 scribed : they must be endured to be realised. 



Night is ushered in by penning and pounding the 

 cows, and by tethering the asses — these "careless 

 ^Ethiopians" lose them every second day, — and by col- 

 lecting and numbering the loads, a task of difficulty 



A. As. 4 



