226 AFRICAN WANDERINGS.

grew angry. I saw, through a crevice, that food was prepared for us in the recuba, and begged him to let us eat our meal. My brother held him persuasively in his embrace, and as the Sheik opened the door, I drew the angareb into the doorway, under the pretext that we would eat in his presence ; he began to yield a little, said we had acted ill towards him, in forcing him yet to live fourteen days. After some remonstrance, he took a little milk, and gave up his purpose of dying. No sooner did his family and the merchant Mohammed remark his drinking from the distance, than they rushed up to him, and embraced him. I afterwards told all this to the Pascha, who gave me an assurance that nothing to harm or annoy the Sheik should happen. The people, who had heard of this wonderful medicine, now came about us, and would have some of it. My brother, who well knew the greed of these Arabs, told them first to bring honey and butter into the camp ; on this they hurried off as fast as they had come, but, as usual, brought us nothing.

The Aggem, or language of Taka, has no means of counting over the thousand, and by this is therefore often meant much more. Mabuck and Abba mean father ; Oho, merissa ; el Dura, honey and water as drink ; Eiim, water ; Tohscha, Toschi, flesh Dahanita, Good day ; Dabaiakn, How goes it ? Tiah, milk ; Ola, butter ; Thau, honey ; Otamm, bread ; an Harguab, I am hungry ; an Guib, I am thirsty ; Ohatta, horse ; Okamm, camel ; Omir, ass Ditock, mother ; Sannock, brother, &c. This language has great similarity with that of the Bischari, and like it is very widely spread, and to be viewed as the original language of the old foes of Egypt. Whether the words of Arabic occurring in it have been introduced by the Arabs, or ai-e an original part of the language, cannot well be decided.

In the stalls of the cows in milch were always some stuffed skins, taken from the slain calves, stufled and placed there, that the cows at the sight of their sucklings might yield their milk. The Hallenga possess many suits of chain armour (labbis) and good straight swords ; the first however they only now use in their forays upon their foes about here, as these would not protect them from musket-balls. Their food is chiefly milk and asside (meal soup'); in such meat dishes as they have, they put so much of a small