136 
OUR TABLE-ATTENDANT. 
the ivory and slave mart. In their file two men and 
a girl were in chains together — no doubt recent invest- 
ments. Our Seedees, by their curious ways, continued 
to amuse us. Our table-attendant, Mabrook, or Bur- 
ton's " bull-headed Mabruki," was a thorough African, 
so opposite to what an Indian servant is. Ever naked 
from head to waist (and looking gross with fatness), he 
would come up to " lay the table," whistling or singing, 
with a bunch of knives, spoons, and forks in his hand ; 
having placed the tin lids and pots at our feet, he 
would squat on the ground beside them and dole out 
our dinner. Should he have to clean your plate, a 
bunch of grass or a leaf is generally within his reach ; 
and, if he has to remove the plate, he seldom returns 
without wiping his mouth. He chaffs his comrades as 
he sits by you ; and dinner over, you see him eating 
with your spoons and drinking out of the teapot or 
the spout of the kettle. 
