164 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. LXXV. 
does not seem to contribute much to its honour ; but, 
even in his case, we must take into account the cus- 
toms of the country, and not judge of him accord- 
ing to our views of nobility. 
The light dwelling which had been erected for my 
protector, simple as it was, was spacious and elegant, 
affording a very cool resting-place during the heat of 
the day. It was of an oblong shape, 
^ [ZdJ' ^^^^^^^"S about 20 feet by 9, with two 
" doors opposite each other, a large an- 
gdreb forming a comfortable resting-place. The mats 
of which these huts are constructed are very large 
and excellently woven, the huts being supported by 
a framework of slender bushes. But the hut, although 
very pleasant, was too crowded, and, during the hot 
hours of noon, I retired to a group of magnificent 
gerredh trees, which overshaded the cemetery, lying 
at the southern side of the village, and, interwoven by 
a dense growth of creepers, afforded a most agreeable 
shade, such as I had never before observed in the case 
of this tree. 
Together with the adjoining tobacco fields, which 
were just exhibiting their freshest green, this cemetery 
formed a striking contrast to the barren country 
further north, which, although broken by a dhaye, 
or pond, of considerable size, and excellently adapted 
for the cultivation of rice, has neither trees nor 
bushes, with the exception of two or three isolated 
date-palms surrounding the border of the pond. 
We had considerable difficulty in obtaining from 
