Chap. XLIX. 
THE FA'kI SA'MBO. 
373 
fine countenance, and a bushy half- silvery beard. 
This man was the religious chief of Bidden, a place 
of which I shall speak hereafter. 
The third visitor was Faki Sambo, a very tall and. 
slender Pullo, with a scanty beard, and an expressive 
countenance, except that it lacked the most important 
feature which enlivens the human face, he being totally 
blind. At that time, however, I did not know him, 
although, when I heard him convey a considerable 
degree of knowledge in a lively and impressive man- 
ner, I almost suspected he might be the man of whom 
I had heard so much. I was puzzled, however, at 
his first question, which was, whether the Christians 
did not belong to the Beni I'srayll; that is to say, 
to the Jews. 
This was the first conversation I had with this man, 
who alone contributed to make my stay in the 
place endurable. I could scarcely have expected to 
find in this out-of-the-way place a man not only 
versed in all the branches of Arabic literature, but 
who had even read (nay, possessed a manuscript of) 
those portions of Aristotle and Plato which had been 
translated into, or rather Mohammedanized in Arabic, 
and who possessed the most intimate knowledge of 
the countries which he had visited. His forefathers, 
belonging to that tribe of the Fulbe which is called 
Fittobe, had emigrated into the southern parts of 
Waday, where they settled in the village of Barek- 
alla. When he was a young man, his father, who 
himself possessed a good deal of learning, and who 
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