WAD SHELLAYEH. 36?

slender yellow dogs of Soudan barked on all sides. While the rai's and sailors were procuring their mareesa I entered one of the tokuls, which was superior to those I had already seen, inasmuch as it contained an inner chamber or tent, made of fine yellow grass, and serving as a canopy to the family angareb. The people had kindled a fire on the ground, and the dry mimosa branches were blazing in close proximity to the straw walls of their dwelling. They were greatly inferior to the Hassaniyehs of the first village, both in appearance and courtesy of manners. The mareesa, which the rails at last brought, was weak, insipid stuff, and I returned to the boat, leaving the men to drain the jars.

In the morning we reached another large Hassaniyeh village, which was also called Wad Shellayeh. It was the only village on the river worthy of notice, as it had four vessels moored to the shore, and boasted a few mud houses in addition to its array of tokuls. Several of the latter were built in tent form and covered with a striped cloth made of camel's hair. I entered the residence of the shekh, who, however, was absent with his wife to attend the funeral of a relative. The tent was thirty feet long, with an arched top, and contained two inner chambers. The sides were ornamented with gourds, skins and other articles, grouped with some taste, and large quantities of the cowries, or small white shells, which are used as currency in some parts of Central Africa, were sewed upon the cloth cover, in the form of crosses and stars. I looked into the principal chamber, which inclosed a broad and handsome angareb, made of plaited palm-leaves. The walls were entirely concealed by the articles hung upon them, and every thing exhibited a taste and neatness which is rare among the