374 THE EXPLORATION OF THE NIGER out of which, when we were quite weary, of his stupid replies, he drew a small phial full of oil of pimento, and a number of tiny little pots — the whole paraphernalia of magic, in fact. Having set out all these odds and ends on the ground, he proceeded to make some grisgris to protect the hut in which he was from bullets.

He began by smoothing the sand of the floor with his hand, to bring good-fortune, he said, and he then skilfully drew with his finger in the sand four parallel lines formingparallelograms. These he combined two by two, three by three, four by four, and so on, reciting invocations all the time. He then rubbed all the first designs out and began again with fresh invocations, making the lines sometimes vertical, sometimes of other shapes.

With a very solemn face, as if he were celebrating mass, he now drew forth a little satchel of ancient paper, written all over in Arabic by some marabout, and muttered some words, evidently learnt by heart, for he certainly could not read. At last, with an expression as serious as that of the Sphinx of the desert, he announced : " Hitherto you have had none but enemies in the land, no one in the whole country is your friend. Beware of the marabouts ! Beware, above all, of one particular marabout ! There is a young man ill here (this was Bluzet, who was just then lying down with an attack of fever), but it will not be much. You must sacrifice a white chicken for his recovery ; have it broiled, and give it to the poor : this will conciliate the favour TYPICAL MARKET WOMEN.