ALBINO NEGROES. 259 
effect would be produced upon me by her appearance ; she 
had neither eye-brows or eye-lashes, her colour was a chalky 
white ; her eyes could scarcely bear the light of the sun, her 
hair and her features resembled those of the Negroes, she 
walked slowly ; her whole exterior indicated a state of debility 
and ill health, I was therefore much surprised to learn that 
the blacks marry these women, and that they bear children ; 
I was assured that when united to men of their own colour, 
the offspring of this union are as white as themselves. The 
sight of such a child whom they presented to me, excited in me 
an emotion of pity, which the spectators mistook for a feeling 
of horror. " If," said one of them to me, " thou beholdest 
beings of the same mce as thyself with disgust, be not astonished 
that we should dislike thy colour." I had long been accus- 
tomed to such compliments, and was not irritated by this. 
When the crowd attracted by this spectacle had with- 
drawn, I reminded Ali of his promise to conduct me to the 
sources of the Senegal. To my extreme vexation, I no longer 
found in him that courageous and decided character which 
had formerly led him to confront danger. " Why," said he to 
me, " dost thou wish to visit the sources of all the rivers of 
our country ? have you then none in your own ?" " No," 
answered I, " we have only wells or marshes, almost dried 
up, and all Europeans ardently desire to see so extraordinary 
a phenomenon as the source of a mighty river." These 
motives did not satisfy Ali, who persisted in his refusal to 
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