CHAP. IX.] WILL ENGLAND SUPPRESS THE SLAVE-TRADE ? 257 
has received a practical proof that the boy is growing 
strong, as I found him the other day improving her 
style of beauty by sitting astride upon her stomach and 
punching her eyes with his fists, as she lay upon the 
ground furrowing Saat’s fat cheeks with her very dirty 
nails. It is only fair to the boy to say that Gaddum 
Her is always the aggressor. 
“ It is absurd to see the self-importance of the 
miserable cut-throats belonging to Koorshids party, 
who, far too great to act as common soldiers, swagger 
about with little slave boys in attendance, who carry 
their muskets. I often compare the hard lot of our 
honest poor in England with that of these scoundrels, 
whose courage consists in plundering and murdering 
defenceless natives, while the robbers fatten on the 
spoil. I am most anxious to see whether the English 
Government will take active notice of the White Nile 
trade, or whether diplomacy will confine them to simple 
jnotest and correspondence, to be silenced by a promise 
from the Egyptian Government to put a stop to the 
present atrocities. The Egyptian Government will, of 
course promise, and, as usual with Turks, will never 
perform. On the other hand, the savages are them¬ 
selves bad ; one tribe welcomes the Turks as allies 
against their neighbours, and sees no crime in murder, 
provided the result be ‘ cattle/ This, of course, pro¬ 
duces general confusion. 
“ Aug. 6th .—The difficulties of procuring provisions 
are most serious : the only method of purchasing 
flour is as follows. The natives will not sell it for 
anything but flesh; to - purchase an ox, I require 
molotes (hoes) : to obtain molotes I must sell my 
clothes and shoes to the traders' men. The ox is then 
driven to a distant village, and is there slaughtered, 
and the flesh being divided into about a hundred small 
portions, my men sit upon the ground with three large 
baskets, into which are emptied minute baskets of flour 
as the natives produce them, one in exchange for each 
parcel of meat. This tedious process is a specimen of 
s 
