MASSOWAH. 69 
down at the water side in their best cloths, to wash themselves and 
the widow in the sea, after having assisted her all night in her 
lamentations. At the end of four months she may marry again. 
None of them attempted to keep their faces covered. Their dress 
consisted of two pieces of the striped cloths of Arabia, one worn 
round their middle, and another over their shoulders, but both 
without any making. Their hair was plaited, whether woolly 
or not : the pains taken with these plaits, when the former is the 
case, conquers nature, and gives a length of several inches to the 
hair. They wore ornaments of beads, small hoop ear-rings of gold 
or silver, and sequins. The dress of the men is nearly similar. The 
higher order wear the Arab dress, or a plain shirt and drawers of 
the same : the common people, a single wrapper round the middle. 
They use sandals, as drawn by Niebuhr. My servant and the men 
went oflP with the catamaran for the islands. The boys brought a 
great many shells: some were good. I sent to Captain Keys for the 
cutter to be here early to-morrow morning to take the people round 
the bay to renew their search. 
June 13. — At four the cutter was ready, but the lascars had no 
water or provision ; they were therefore obliged to go back to the 
ship to get them. They returned at night without the least success. 
June 18. — Nothing particular occurred during five days; we had 
been chiefly employed in packing the madrapore. The air till the 
18th had been much hotter; the wind rather southerly. The 
clouds hung over the Habesh hills, and rain on the 16th fell so 
near as Arkeko. It lightened much, and thunder was heard at 
at a distance : dappled clouds covered the horizon every morning. 
The thermometer was never above 96°, yet the want of the usual 
