280 THE AUTHOR PARTS WITH HIS HAIR FOR PROVISIONS. 
me ; lying" on some bundles of straw, near a fire,* the smoke 
of which almost prevented me from breathing or opening- my 
eyes ; procuring not without difficulty a few handfuls of rice 
badly cooked ; tormented in a thousand ways by the women 
and children, who took advantage of the absence of my 
Marabout to waken me, or throw stones at me ; I prayed to 
Heaven to deliver me from a miserable life, which was only 
a burthen to me. 
A singular circumstance suddenly relieved me from my 
severe affliction ; several women came one day into my hut, 
and offered me some calebashes full of milk, begging me to 
let them cut off a few locks of my hair for the purpose of 
making talismans ; I believe if I had allowed them, they 
would in a minute have clipped it quite close ; such was their 
desire to possess what was so precious to them, the hair of a 
white man. 
Ali often came to see me, but this young man had lost 
my confidence, after abandoning me in my flight. I believed 
him, however, to be rather weak than guilty ; he had suffered 
himself to be intimidated by the threats of his brother Abdoul, 
and those of Boubou ; besides, he had for several days been 
absorbed in a profound melancholy, which had somewhat 
disturbed his reason. His grief was occasioned by the 
* The Negroes keep a fire constantly in their huts, to preserve them as 
they say from thunderbolts. 
