CHAP. III. 
OF THE TUARICK. 
115 
while at full speed, which is a long trot, in which, the maherry can 
continue at about nine miles an hour for many hours together. 
They do not much esteem horses, and never buy them but for the 
purpose of exchanging them for slaves in Soudan. 
We had many visits from these extraordinary people, who 
came to see us as curiosities, and minutely examined every thing 
we would aUow them to handle. The report which they had heard 
of our great knowledge, and of our being able to look steadfastly at 
the sun, or in other words, to take celestial observations, brought 
large parties to our habitation, on whom we not unfrequently 
played a few tricks. Phosphorus astonished them beyond all mea- 
sure ; kaleidoscopes, and the camera obscura, also excited great 
amazement ; but the compass was quite beyond their compre- 
hension, so much so, that they generally were afraid to touch it. 
Our arms were more suited to their taste, and they took much 
pleasure in handHng them. The pistols with stop locks were 
looked upon with great reverence, and a sword which T had, with a 
pistol in the handle, was considered so valuable, that I might have 
purchased with it a couple of Negresses. Our having a stock of 
medicines was a sufficient inducement for all our visitors to find 
themselves very ill, and to imagine not one, but every disorder of 
the country. One man had bad eyes ; if he succeeded in getting 
something to relieve them, the whole party all began immediately 
to blink, and affect to be half blind, hoping also to get some me- 
dicine. Another had a liver complaint ; the rest then were all so 
ill as to 'be unable to walk or to speak without a great many 
ejaculatory oh's ; and so on, until they had exhausted the whole 
cliapter of ailments. We at first gave them medicine, but soon 
discovered it was a preconcerted plan to impose on us, and that 
when one set had obtained what they wanted, another brought 
forward a friend or two, who were exactly in the same miserable 
Q 2 
