Chap. XXXVIII. MR. OVERWEG'S MEMORANDA. 
9 
little world of its own with which he had thus come 
into contact, and into which we might hope to obtain 
by degrees a better insight. He enjoyed excellent 
health, far better than when I saw him before, on his 
first rejoining me in Kiikawa ; and as he was well 
aware of the strong reasons which our friend the 
vizier had for wishing us not to stay in the swampy 
lowlands round the capital during the latter part of 
the rainy season, he agreed to join me on this ad- 
venturous expedition to the north-east. 
Those regions had, from the very beginning of 
our setting out from Murzuk, attracted Mr. Over- 
weg's attention, and while as yet unacquainted with 
the immense difficulties that attend travelling in these 
inhospitable tracts, he had indulged in the hope of 
being able, at some future time, to ramble about 
with our young Tebu lad, Mohammed el Gatroni, 
among the fertile and picturesque valleys of Burgu 
and Wajanga. For this reason, as well as on account 
of my debility, which left me, during the following 
expedition, the exercise of only a small degree 
of my natural energy, it is greatly to be regret- 
ted that my unfortunate companion, who seemed 
never fully aware that his life was at stake, did not 
take into consideration the circumstance that he 
himself might not be destined to return home, in 
.order to elaborate his researches. If all the inform- 
ation which he occasionally collected were joined to 
mine, those countries would be far better known 
than they now are; but instead of employing his 
