74 AFRICAN WANDERINGS.

CHAP. V.

A Pilgrim To\vii.— Nimr the Tiger.— Character of the French.— Blood Feud. — Excursion from the Camp.— Arab Infants.— Medical Advice El Soffre.— Interview with Moliammed Din.

Isi May.—Hot? often have the Germans sung the praise of lovely May ! But here all is hot, brown, and scorched ; and day by day these horrors increase ; our wines and spirits are dwindled away under this heat to two bottles of Geisenheimer, which certainly will not be too liberally sacrificed. All is quiet, as before. We remain here awaiting the Tulba, and while doing so seek amusement in converting our straw huts into large mansions, as no one now can exist under a tent. At times it thunders, a sign the rainy season is within a month or two, and no very pleasant look-out. Yesterday evening, when Avith us, Topschi Baschi perpetrated the bad joke, after sundry glasses of araki, of sending his Mameluke to fetch to our Recubathe dancing girls (Guawasi), who are also the women of the camp ; nor did he trouble himself that, it being evening and the hut lighted up, it could be seen into from all sides. Ere long we beheld two brown nymphs enter, who would have entertained us with dancing and moving songs ; these, though lost on us, gave him such exquisite delight, and put him into such boisterous spirits, that lie commenced a series of personal jokes with the frail ones, thus in his turn affording amusement to the Arabs and soldiers gazing in at the door and other openings. That an European officer of like rank (major) would, for a moment, think of tlius joking in public with such women no one will suppose ; but Topschi Paschi had, doubtless, intended amusing and affording us pleasure by calling these young dames to our tent, as he afterwards insisted on paying them himself. Moral, and truly Turkish ! In Chartum no feast, public or private, is considered complete if these women are not present to dance and sing, and there the almost naked Bajazzo (procurers) never fail to carry on the lewdest jokes with them. Any day one may see even the most respected Turks talking with these girls in the bazaars, as also with well-known procuresses ; stand-