SHILLOOK. 
75 
their skins. With the same view of preserving their skins, though 
they have a clean shirt every day, they sleep with a greased one at 
night, having no. other covering but this. Their bed is a tanned bull’s 
bide, which this constant greasing softens very much ; it is also very 
cool, though it gives a smell to their bodies, from which they cannot 
be freed by any washing. 
Our author gives a very curious description of the queen and ladies 
of the court of Sennaar. He had access to them as a physician, and 
was permitted to pay his visit alone. He was first shewn into a large 
square apartment, where there were about fifty black women, all 
quite naked, except a very narrow piece of cotton rag about their 
waists. As he was musing whether these were all queens, one of them 
took him by the hand, and led him. into another apartment, much 
better lighted than the former. Here he saw three women sitting 
upon a bench or sofa, covered with blue Serat cloth, they themselves 
being clothed from the neck to the feet with cotton shirts of the same 
colour. These were three of the king’s wives ; his favourite, who was 
one of the number, appeared to be about six feet high, and so corpu- 
lent, that our traveller imagined her to be the largest creature he had 
seen, next to the elephant and rhinoceros. Her features perfectly 
resembled those of a negro; a ring of gold passed through her under 
lip, and weighed it down, till, like a flap, it covered her chin, leaving 
her teeth bare, which were small and very fine. The inside of her 
lip was made black with antimony. Her ears reached down to her 
shoulders, and had the appearance of wings ; there was a gold ring 
in each of them about five inches in diameter, and somewhat smaller 
than a man’s little finger, the weight of which had drawn down the 
hole, where her ear was pierced, so much, that three fingers might 
easily pass above the ring. She had a gold necklace of several rows, one 
below another, to which were hung rows of sequins pierced. She 
had two manacles of gold upon her ankles, larger than those used for 
chaining felons. Our author could not imagine how it was possible 
for her io walk with them, till he was informed that they were hollow. 
The others were dressed much in the same manner, only there was 
one who had chains coming from her ears to the outside of each nos- 
tril, where they were fastened. A ring was also put through the gris- 
tle of her nose, which hung down to the opening of her mouth, hav- 
ing altogether something of the appearance of a horse’s bridle j and 
Mr. Bruce thinks she must have breathed with difficulty. 
Senegalians. 
These are the inhabitants of the island of Senegal. The men are tall, 
and the women are accounted the handsomest negresses of all Africa. 
The Senegalians may be considered as the most courageous people in 
that part of the world, without even excepting the Moors. Their 
courage, fipwever, is more nearly allied to temerity than to bravery. 
In the course of a voyage to Galani, they met the greatest dangers 
with gaiety and song. They dread neither musket nor cannon, and 
are equally fearless of the cayman or crocodile. Should one of their 
companions be killed, and devoured by these animals before their face. 
