440 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXXIV. 
room I myself took possession, spreading my carpet 
upon the raised platform, while the mallem, my 
servants, and whosoever paid me a visit, found a place 
on the floor. The wall, which was rather thicker than 
usual, was all coloured with a reddish brown tint, and 
upon this ground several objects had been so unartisti- 
cally delineated, that, with the exception of wooden 
tablets, " alio," such as the boys here use in learning to 
write, it was impossible to tell what they were in- 
tended for. 
The hut opposite this parlour (&), which was 
smaller than (a) but larger than (c), seemed intended 
for the ordinary dwelling of the landlady, being 
ornamented in the background with the " gangar," as 
it is called in Kaniiri, " nanne " in Fulfulde, a raised 
platform or sideboard for the cooking utensils ; here 
four large-sized new jars were placed, as in battle 
array, surmounted by smaller ones. With regard to 
the other arrangements the two huts were of similar 
construction, having on each side a couch, one for 
the man and the other for his wife. In both the 
woman's couch was the better one, being formed of 
clay on a wooden frame, and well protected from pry- 
ing eyes by a thin clay-wall, about five feet high, and 
handsomely ornamented in the following way : run- 
ning not only along the side of the door, but enclosing 
also half of the other side, it excluded all imper- 
tinent curiosity; while the man's couch^which was 
less regular and comfortable, reached to the very 
border of the door, and on this side had the protec- 
