INTERESTED CIVILITY OF OLD NEGRO AT LALIA. 265 
village on our way to Timbo. This old Negro came up to me, 
clasped me in his arms, kissed my hair, raised my hand to 
his forehead, and expressed so much joy at seeing me again, 
that I began to doubt his sincerity. He conducted us, however, 
to Lalia, gave up to us his own hut, in which was a bed of 
earth in a sort of alcove, and again loaded me with marks 
of his friendship. " Thou must," said he, " be a prey to some 
poignant grief to have thus quitted thy country ; for according 
to what I have been told, white men have all that they can 
' desire ; tables loaded with exquisite dishes when they are 
hungry, delicious liquors if they are thirsty, clothes enough 
for six men if they are cold. The hatred of thy king, the 
perfidy of thy mistress," cried he, " could alone have impelled 
thee to come to our desert country." But while my host 
lavished upon me a thousand testimonies of his attachment, 
and assured me that all he had was mine, my fellow-travellers, 
impatient at seeing the hour of supper pass away without the 
■ appearance of any thing to eat, went like prudent men to 
seek in the village the means of preventing us from going to 
bed fasting. As soon as they had left the house, my host, who 
then began to shew his avarice, brought me a small measure of 
maize and milk, and invited me to eat. He then begged me 
not to forget his wife. Happy at being provided with a supper, 
I paid largely for my humble fare, and went and related to 
my companions how our host had conducted himself after their 
departure. Irritated at being treated in this way, and at 
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