466 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. LXVIII. 
their prayers, guided by the melodious voice of their 
teacher, who never failed to join them. At this time 
a chapter of the Kuran was chanted by the best in- 
structed of the pupils, and continued often till a late 
hour at night, the sound of these beautiful verses, in 
their melodious fall, reverberating from the downs 
around ; at other times animated conversation ensued, 
and numerous groups gathered on the open ground 
by the side of the fire. 
We returned into the town on the 13th. The first 
day had passed off rather quietly, save that a party of 
twelve Imoshagh, of the tribe of the Igwadaren, partly 
mounted on camels, partly on horses, trespassed on 
the hospitality of the Sheikh. I had an opportunity 
of inspecting their swords, and was not a little sur- 
prised at finding that they were all manufactured 
in the German town of Solingen, as indeed were 
almost all the swords of these Tawarek, or Im6shagh. 
The interests of the different members of the 
family now began to clash. The Sheikh himself was 
firm in his opposition against the Fiilbe, and requested 
me in future, when I visited him, to come to his house 
fully armed, in order to show our adversaries that I 
was ready to repulse any violence ; and it was in vain 
that I protested that, as I came with peaceable inten- 
tions, nothing could be farther from my wish than 
to cause any disturbance in the town. Meanwhile 
his brother, Sidi Alawate, suborned one of the Sheikh's 
pupils to make another attempt to convert me to 
Islamism. This man, who was one of the most 
