Gracious God! make us all thankful for health and strength: may we ever
praise thy protecting care of us and our mission. For the sake of our
Saviour, born on this day, pardon all our sins; give us grace to lead a
new life, and a most willing mind to receive Jesus as the Lord our
righteousness! O God, have mercy upon all our friends and relations, and
give them the will to receive the Saviour, born on this day, as their
only chance of salvation! O God, have mercy upon Africa, and on all men!

Some musicians came this morning to salute us with a little of their
rough music, a drum and a clarionet. I gave them three rings and a
little sugar. I have very little to bestow, and were I to be more
generous, or to make an effort to give them anything like a Christmas
gift, I should then have all the people upon me, begging everything I
had left. Yesterday I spoke a few words to Hamma, son-in-law of En-Noor,
and he immediately asked me for a turban. I had not spoken to him for
several weeks, or only saluted him with a few words, in order to avoid
his begging. This man has already had from me presents to the amount of
fifty dollars! Thus I am cut off from all conversation with these
people, and have no practice in speaking the languages of the interior.
I must try to get on better than this. Overweg, as doctor, is better
off. The sick, and the people who bring the sick, must talk to him, and
must receive a favour from him. And he frequently gets a few cheeses in
return. The women make extraordinary propositions. The other day they
offered him a slave or a bullock for a medicine to produce a child.

The place of our encampment is called Bargot, which I believe is also
the name of a well, near or about an hour and a-half distant. I have
also heard the name of Bergu. Yesterday we passed some ruins of houses,
built of stone and mud. I am glad that Barth borrowed my Bible, and is
reading to-day. Overweg also was the first to propose prayers on Sundays
when we are staying long together in one place.

We are now near the Hamadah, which is a journey of full four days
without water. We arrive at the water on the morning only of the fifth
day. I gave a Christmas-box to all the servants of the expedition, seven
persons, each a cotton handkerchief and a ring. This is all I could
spare. Yusuf had a silk handkerchief and no ring. The kind of ring
esteemed here is one having a good imitation of a stone, and the metal
is as good as gold for the