134 AFRICAN WAXDERINGS.

little for the sun's rays as the others. It is very remarkable, that persons with perfectly smooth-shaved heads, and tlie rest of their body all bare, save some old rag about the loins, will expose themselves all day to the most glowing sun, and not complain of headache, or any thing of the' kind. What would we poor Europeans do in such a case? In less than five minutes we would be raving mad. Our youngest attendant, Sale, from Mahass, sits the whole day in the sun, his head uncovered, save by his short-cut hair. Out of pity we gave him an under cap, to somewhat protect him ; and as it was a new possession he wore it delightedly till noon, when I again saw him, though then the heat was strongest, sitting bareheaded by the fire ; and even the smallest children, such as are with us yet carried in arms, one sees lying for hours long under the glowing sun; and surely those with their tender bones should not be better able to bear its rays, than we with our fully developed bodily powers. How comes it that these delicate creatures do not sicken under it ? Of their being accustomed to it, there can be no talk here ; and how would infants of our race bear it ? However, custom does something ; as at first we could not venture out here in the sun without having, in a few minutes, blisters and painful scalds on our naked hands ; the skin of our faces was scorched, and, regularly every week, peeled ofi" in great blotches; but without our gaining by it a more juvenile appearance, although we often jested over and amused ourselves with such hopes. Being burnt almost as brown as Arabs, we can now venture to expose our hands without gloves : but still we dare not allow any part of our body usually covered, to be exposed naked to the sun, even for a short while, without we choose to pay for it by a painful redness, almost to be considered a kind of erysipelas. Besides, the covered parts of the body have, in spite of the fiery heat, preserved their original colour. What a fearful state it would be in this country should a man not perspire ! The whole body is burning hot ; one is tortured by a not to be assuaged inward thirst, and racking restlessness ; the hair of the head stands on end ; and, although one is inside the house, and sheltered from the sun, it is of a burning heat ; every separate hair seems to act as a conductor of the sun's rays to the brain ; one knows not where to fly from such a torturing state, which, besides, is generally accom-