Chap. XXV. 
THE AUDIENCE. 
105 
a son (Makhmud) and two daughters, one of them 
named Fatima Zahar, and the other Saretu. The 
governor was then eight and thirty, the ghaladhna 
seven and thirty years of age. They were both stout 
and handsome men, the governor rather too stout 
and clumsy. Their apartments were so excessively 
dark that, coming from a sunny place, it was some 
time before I could distinguish anybody. The go- 
vernor's hall was very handsome, and even stately 
for this country, and was the more imposing as 
the rafters supporting the very elevated ceiling were 
concealed, two lofty arches of clay, very neatly 
polished and ornamented, appearing to support the 
whole. At the bottom of the apartment were two 
spacious and highly decorated niches, in one of which 
the governor was reposing on a " gad 6," spread with 
a carpet. His dress was not that of a simple Piillo, 
but consisted of all the mixed finery of Hausa and 
Barbary ; he allowed his face to be seen, the white 
shawl hanging down far below his mouth over his 
breast. 
In both audiences (as well that with the " ghaladi- 
ma" as with the governor) old Elalji was the speaker, 
beginning his speech with a captatio benevolentice, 
founded on the heavy and numerous losses sustained 
on the road by me and my companions. Altoge- 
ther he performed his office very well, with the excep- 
tion that he dwelt longer than was necessary on Over- 
weg's journey to Maradi, which certainly could not 
be a very agreeable topic to a Ba-Fellanchi. Sidi 'Ali 
