18 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
Chap. XXI*. 
in advance of us. In the evening I might have fan- 
cied myself a prince ; for I had a splendid supper, 
consisting of a fowl or two, while a solitary maim61o 
cheered me with a performance on his simple three- 
stringed instrument, which, however monotonous, was 
still expressive of much feeling, and accompanied 
with a song in my praise. 
Wednesday, At the Vei T daWI1 ° f <%> t0 m J g reat 
January isth. astonishment, I was called out of the tent 
by Mohammed, who told me that Farraji, Lusu'sman, 
our companion from Ghat, had suddenly arrived from 
Zinder with three or four Bornu horsemen, and had 
express orders with regard to me. However, when I 
went out to salute him, he said nothing of his errand, 
but simply told me that he wanted first to speak to 
Elaiji, the chief of the caravan. I therefore went 
to the latter myself to know what was the matter, 
and learnt from the old man, that though he was not 
able to make out all the terms of the letters of which 
Farraji was the bearer, one of which was written by 
the sherif and the other by Liisu, he yet understood 
that the horsemen had come with no other purpose 
but to take me and Overweg to Zinder, without 
consulting our wishes, and that the sherif as well as 
Liisu had instructed him to send us off in company 
with these fellows, but that they had also a letter 
for A'nnur, who ought to be consulted. As for him- 
self, the old man (well aware of the real state of 
affairs, and that the averment of a letter having ar- 
rived from the consul at Tripoli, to the effect that till 
