MISTAKES AND FALSE NEWS 395 Galadio. So I sent to ask him whether, as he was too old to visit me, I should go to see him, for were we not friends like two fingers on one hand, or, to use the native simile, like two teeth of one comb? If he would see me, when should I come ?

It would only take me three days to go, I reflected, and it was of importance for us to let the whole country see that Galadio was our friend, and that when we broke up our camp we should leave behind us an ally devoted to our interests, in fact so compromised that he must remain true to us. It would be very important to us to have such a helper when it came to the organization of the district, and he might be made its ruler as a protected native chief My messengers returned a few days later, bringing horses with them for me to make the journey, and assuring me that their master would be delighted to receive me.

While waiting for the envoys to come back, we worked very hard at our vocabularies. All went well with them, and we completed them in a few days. Between whiles Tayoro turned our knowledge of his dialect to account, by telling me the following charming stor>' about the time of the Fulah reformation in Sokoto.

When the great reformer, Othman Fodio, who, by the way, was a noted robber and slave-hunter, preached the so-called reformation, that is to say, the revolt against the chief of the Haussa Fulahs, he was followed by a great many disciples, as of course all prophets are.

One evening when Othman was preaching and expounding the truth, his eyes suddenly fell upon a venerablelooking old man who was sobbing.

" Look ! " cried the reformer, " look at that old man weeping ; follow his example, for Allah has touched his heart." Then the poor old fellow, the tears still rolling down his