104 HABITS AND CUSTOMS.

dial behaviour of the natives of Kordofaii. I received many proofs of kindness at their hands, and I could not have expected better treatment in my own country from my nearest relations. This was especially the case when I had the misfortune to fall sick in the desert, where I lay helpless on the sands, as I was too weak to keep my seat on my camel. In this state of exhaustion I was obliged to remain, until I could receive assistance from the neighbouring village, which was, fortunately, only half an hour's march distant from the spot. A good-natured inhabitant carried me home, and I passed thirty days in his hut, stretched upon a bed of sickness. I cannot describe the interest these kind people appeared to take in my sufferings ; the one vied with the other to be of service to me. Some women and girls sat alternately by the side of my bed, by day and night, the one keeping off the flies, the other cooling me with a fan of ostrich feathers, for the heat was frequently at 40° Reaumur (122° Fahrenheit) in my hut, as there was no current of air through it. A young and beautiful slave, Agami was her name, evinced so much sympathy, that she frequently shed tears when she observed my sufferings. All the medicines with which I had taken the precaution to provide myself, proved ineffective ; I lay in a continued fever, and was already, on the fifth day, so weak that I could not move, and the good women were obliged to lift me on and off the bed ; for my own part, I had quite