t finish with them. The Sultan is said by his servants to have gone
to Tesaoua. I am extremely glad I came without him to this place.
Perhaps he also was ashamed to bring me. From Tesaoua he will be here
after some days. People call him, as in Aheer, An-Nour, and not En-Noor.
The prince of Zinder asked, where is An-Nour? The people are still at
work preparing this chieftain's apartments, consisting of a circular
wall of matting, enclosing a number of huts; there is a mud-house in the
middle, but it is now fallen into ruins.

I made a tour of the town, and was still more pleased than before with
its size. It is said to contain 20,000 inhabitants. There are many
divisions, separated by blocks of granite, and small hills. We visited
the Kaid of a district. He immediately brought us ghaseb-water and milk.
Really the world seems turned upside down when the conduct of the people
here is compared with the hospitality which we received from En-Noor,
although he personally paid us some attentions not vouchsafed by others.
We came through the souk, where were the sticks of meat roasting, and
lots of people. No one whispered _Kafer_! The Shereef sent me a horse to
ride on when I go out, and recommends me to do so.

The scavengers of Zinder are a multitudinous host of a small species of
filthy-looking vultures, brown and black in colour: they are exceedingly
tame, for the people never touch them, and they walk about the streets
tamer than the fowls. I believe the same species of vulture are also the
scavengers of Kanou. At Zinder they take their evening exercise by
flying in circles over the city, a hundred or two together. There are a
few white ones amongst the flock. The Sultan sent for a piece of camphor
this morning. I gave him some, with a silver French coin and a new
English farthing.

The news is, that I must stay here ten days, to oblige the slaves who
have been sent from Kuka to carry the baggage. We are also to stay at
Minyo a few days, _en route_ four days from this.

I spent the evening gleaning information of the interior. There is now
no war in any part of Central Africa, i.e. no great wars. Probably the
princes of Africa, like those of Europe, find that war will not pay. At
any rate, all is peace for the present. This will facilitate our
progress. I had a visit from the son of the Kadi of Kuka, an intelligent
young man, who has promised to come to-morrow to write the routes from
Zinder to his native place.

I ha