£84 JOURNEY TO CENTRAL AFRICA.

which grew a tall tamarind tree, we were received by an Italian monk, in flowing robes, who conducted us into a second court, inclosed by the residence of the Vicar. Here we met two other priests, a German and a Hungarian, dressed in flowing Oriental garments. They ushered us into a large room, carpeted with matting, and with a comfortable divan around the sides.

The windows looked into a garden, which was filled with orange, fig and banana trees, and fragrant with jasmine and mimosa blossoms. We had scarcely seated ourselves, when the monks rose and remained standing, while Dr. Knoblocher entered. He was a small man, slightly and rather delicately built, and not more than thirty-five years of age. His complexion was fair, his eyes a grayish blue, and his beard, which he wore flowing upon his breast, a very decided auburn. His face was one of those which wins not only kindness but confidence from all the world. His dress consisted of a white tur ban, and a flowing robe of dark purple cloth. He is a man of thorough cultivation, conversant with several languages, and possesses an amount of scientific knowledge which will make his future explorations valuable to the world. During my stay in Khartoum I visited him frequently, and derived from him much information concerning the countries of Soudan and their inhabitants.

On our return we called upon Moussa Bey, the commander of the expedition sent into the lands of the Shukorees and the Hallengas, the foregoing summer. He was then ill of a fever and confined to his bed, but we entered the room without ceremony, and found with him the new Governor of Berber and Abd-el-Kader Bey, the Governor of Kordofan, besides several secretaries and attendants. Moussa Bey was a Turk, perhaps