MOTHERLY ATTENTION BY A NEORESS. 
219 
We were soon comfortably encamped^ and my wife^ eating bread 
and honey/^ brought to her by the mother/^ a withered dame 
clothed in skins. I had a chiboque filled with native tobacco^ a 
luxury I had been a stranger to for some time. The old lady 
trotted about on hospitable thoughts intent/^ ‘and soon brought 
eggs and a fowl she had cooked ; she expressed delight when she saw 
how much it was appreciated. With what tender care she aided 
my wife^ who was very weak ! laving her feet_, preparing many little 
comfortS;, touching her hair admiringly^ which^ being so soft,, was 
something new to her. All honour to that good creature for her 
motherly care — never will it be forgotten. I strolled about the 
village, and observed that there were several lepers amongst the 
inhabitants, one of whom I induced to accompany me to the 
Doctor^s tent, who pronounced him to be a veritable leper ; he 
was not born one, but became so when a boy. 
This was the first instance of lepers amongst the negroes that 
had come to my knowledge. In Kordofan I have occasionally met 
with Arabs so afflicted. 
September 2\st . — Marched at 8.15 a.m., Atchwack leading. The 
chief Bohl, a tall, good-looking negro, with his mother, cordially 
bade us farewell, offering their services on any future occasion. To 
Bohl a pair of copper bracelets were given, to his mother sundry 
beads, with which they expressed great satisfaction. Our march, 
once out of the village, lay through a flat country, slightly inun- 
dated and covered with rank grass ; and though I was on horse- 
back it reached my shoulders. A terrible walk for our followers, 
as the pathway was wide enough for one only, and the sharp 
blades of grass made ugly gashes on faces and hands. My wife, 
who, long before, had lost veil, gloves, and the brim of her wide 
