232 
MARRIAGE FEAST. 
the bride is agreed upon : it consists of one, two, or three 
slaves, according to the beauty and other recommendations 
of the bride. These slaves are given to the mother, who, 
if satisfied with the price, consents to her daughter's mar- 
riage. The husband defrays all the expence of the nuptial 
feast, which usually takes place at night, and when it is 
over, the marriage is consummated, without the observance of 
any religious ceremony. 
It rained a little during the evening, and some thunder 
was heard, but the storm did not last long. In the course 
of the night, I heard the joyous songs of the negroes and 
negresses, who were dancing to the sound of a small drum. 
Their dance was more decorous than that of the Wolof 
negroes in the neighbourhood of the Senegal : it was little 
more than walking in measured time accompanied by 
motions of the arms and head. The women all wore two 
pagnes, and their head-dress consisted of a piece of cloth 
passing over the forehead, and fastened at the back of the 
head. They plait their hair and grease it with butter. I 
had not the pleasure of seeing the bride. I was not even 
invited to the feast; but this I had no reason to regret, for, 
from what I saw of it, it was not very tempting. 
At six on the morning of the 4th of June, we set off 
and travelled four miles to the S. E. among the gorges of 
mountains of granite. Our caravan consisted of fourteen 
men and one woman carrying a burthen. We proceeded 
three miles over a tract of country covered with trees and fine 
vegetation : the ce or butter- tree was growing in profusion, 
and I also saw the indigo and nede. We met a party of 
Foulah traders returning from Kankan. They took me at 
first for a christian, and exclaimed with astonishment : — 
A white going to the east ! Surely, the great men of the 
Fouta do not know this, or they would not suffer it." They 
even wished to prevent me from going further ; but Lamfia, 
my guide, who had lingered a little behind, came up and 
