BARGAINING — SHEREEF SAGHIR. 
235 
in their apostasy. Ibrahim of Zinder is worth about 
six or seven thousand dollars, and, besides being a 
working- -jeweller, is a merchant. I tried to ex- 
change some of my imitation rings for his silver 
ones, but it was useless. He had the conscience to 
demand thirty of my nicely-made rings for one of 
his trumpery, ill-made silver ones — silver with a 
very bad alloy. Then he wanted a pretty cotton- 
print handkerchief for a miserable silver bead. 
With such people it is impossible to strike a bar- 
gain. These Barbary Jews are the hardest and 
most tricky dealers in the world. Ibrahim has been 
laid up with a bad leg for live months, and intends 
going 'to Kuka when he gets better. He wanted 
me to sell him some mastic, but I refused. He 
said he wished to have one jolly day, but the fellow 
is almost a skeleton with his ulcerous leg. 
The Shereef Saghir is quite a character. He has 
been over the greater part of the world, and along 
the Indian coast — has seen the English in India, 
and the Christians in many ways and manners ; 
and so is free from all sort of fanaticism. He wants 
now to return with me to England. He says — 
Soudan is batal (worthless), and that if he take his 
wife, the daughter of the Sarkee of Zinder, with 
him to the north coast, he will sell her, and so finish 
his connexion with the negroes ! I forgot to men- 
tion that Ibrahim has brought with him a Muslim 
wife from Mourzuk, and has now two or three 
black wives, and several children. 
