Chap. LXV. UNWELCOME VISITORS. 
399 
partaking of my simple dish of rice ; notwithstanding 
which, he took his seat at a short distance opposite to 
me. Not wishing to invite him to a share in my 
poor frugal repast by the usual " bismillah," I told 
him, first in Arabic and then in Fulfulde, that I was 
dining, and had no leisure to speak with him at 
present. Whereupon he took his" leave, but returned 
after a short while, and, in a rather peremptory manner, 
solicited a present from me, being, as he said, a great 
chief of the country ; but as I was not aware of the 
extent of his power, and being also afraid that others 
might imitate his example, I told him that I could 
not give him anything before I had made due in- 
quiries respecting his real importance from my com- 
panion who had just gone to the town. But he was 
not at all satisfied with my argument ; representing 
himself as a great " dhalem," or evil-doer, and that 
as such he might do me much harm ; till at length, 
after a very spirited altercation, I got rid of him. 
He was scarcely gone, when the whole house was 
filled with armed men, horse and foot, from Timbuktu, 
most of them clad in light blue tobes, tightly girt 
round the waist with a shawl, and dressed in short 
breeches reaching only to the knee, as if they were 
going to fight, their head being covered with a straw 
hat of the peculiar shape of a little hut with regular 
thatchwork, such as is fashionable among the in- 
habitants of Masina and of the provinces further 
west. They were armed with spears, besides which 
some of them wore also a sword : only a few of them 
