24 
TRAVELS Itf AFRICA. CHAr. XXII. 
parodying the usual salute of " ina labari " (what is 
the news) ? I asked my people immediately the news 
of our cooking-pot, " ina labari -n-tokonia " (what 
news of the pot) ? I was greatly pleased with my 
day's excursion ; for Tasawa was the first large place 
of Negroland proper which I had seen, and it made 
the most cheerful impression upon me, as manifesting 
everywhere the unmistakable marks of the comfort- 
able, pleasant sort of life led by the natives: — the 
courtyard fenced with a " derne " of tall reeds, ex- 
cluding to a certain degree the eyes of the passer-by, 
without securing to the interior absolute secrecy; 
then near the entrance the cool shady place of the 
"runfa" for ordinary business and for the reception 
of strangers, and the " gida," partly consisting en- 
tirely of reed (" daki-n-kara ") of the best wicker- 
work, partly built of clay in its lower parts 
( u bongo"), while the roof consists of reeds only 
("shibki") — but of whatever material it may con- 
sist, it is warm and well adapted for domestic pri- 
vacy, — the whole dwelling shaded with spreading 
trees, and enlivened with groups of children, goats, 
fowls, pigeons, and, where a little wealth had been 
accumulated, a horse or a pack-ox. 
With this character of the dwellings, that of the 
inhabitants themselves is in entire harmony, its most 
constant element being a cheerful temperament, bent 
upon enjoying life, rather given to women, dance, and 
song, but without any disgusting excess. Everybody 
here finds his greatest happiness in a comely lass; 
