250 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXVIII. 
to do, and asked where the other things were, when 
Lamino did not hesitate to declare that the orna- 
mented gun and the handsome pair of pistols had 
been sold. Upon hearing this, though I had been 
treated very kindly and hospitably on my arrival, 
and had received immense quantities of provision of 
every kind, I could not refrain from declaring that 
if in truth they had behaved so unscrupulously with 
other people's property I had nothing more to do here, 
and returned to my quarters immediately. 
My firmness had its desired effect; and late in 
the evening I received a message from the vizier, 
that if I wanted to have a private interview with him 
I might come now, as during the daytime he was 
always troubled by the presence of a great many peo- 
ple. The person who brought me this message was 
Haj Edrfs, a man of whom in the course of my pro- 
ceedings I shall have to speak repeatedly. Satisfied 
with having an opportunity of conversing with the 
vizier without reserve, I followed the messenger im- 
mediately, and found Haj Beshir quite alone, sitting 
in an inner court of his house, with two small wax 
candles by his side. We then had a long interview, 
which lasted till midnight, and the result of which 
was that I protested formally against the sale of those 
things left by Mr. Eichardson, and insisted that all 
should be delivered to me and to Mr. Overweg as 
soon as he should arrive, when we would present to 
the sheikh and to the vizier, in a formal manner, all 
those articles which we knew our companion had in- 
