172 
TRAVELS IN NORTHERN AFRICA. 
CHLAP. IV. 
otherwise, are abominably lousy ; and they make no secret of it. I 
have frequently observed the Sultan, when detecting an interloper, 
moisten his thumb to prevent its escape, and then demolish it with 
great composure and dignity. Some of the neighbours whom we 
visited, whilst reposing on their carpets, would send for a slave to 
hunt for these tormentors on their shirts ; and it is a great recom- 
mendation to a female slave, on sale, to say that she is well skilled 
in this art, and in that of shampooing. 
About the 20th of September, Mr. Ritchie again became ill, 
and was confined to his bed ; and though Belford had, in some 
degree, recovered his health, he was completely deaf. We hired 
a woman to cook for us, at a dollar a month ; but she was only 
required to come once a day to bake our bread, or to make our 
cusscussou, as we were now on an allowance. It often happened, that 
when she had stolen half our pittance, we were obliged to fast until 
the morrow. In all our troubles, however, I struggled to keep up 
my spirits ; and, in the evenings when Mr. Ritchie had composed 
himself to sleep, I sometimes accompanied Mohammed (who was 
civil to me on account of some tobacco I possessed) to the parties 
of the natives, where I joined them in dancing, and drinking Lackbi 
and Booza. The latter is a liquor resembhng in taste bad thick 
beer, and is made of dates, the flour of Gussub, and water ; it 
ferments in the course of a night, and on becoming sour, is fit for 
drinking : it is preferred when thick, and it soon intoxicates. 
As these meetings were not very select, I was obhged to promise 
secresy ; for, had it been known that Mohammed or myself ever 
tasted such unlawful beverage, we should have been looked on as 
downright kaffirs. The people who forpied these parties were gene- 
rally of the lower class, although I once detected amongst them the 
religious old Kadi himself, in a state very far from sober, and 
listening to a woman playing the Erbab ; but I found, by occasion- 
t 
