If any one is so imprudent as to obey summons and issue forth, he is at
once devoured.

The Sfaxee pledges his word of honour that there was a female slave a
year ago in Mourzuk who killed five of her companions with her looks. On
this a council was held by the merchants and great people of Mourzuk, to
know what to do with her, and the decision come to was to send her back
to Bornou; a happy decision for the poor slave! Lucky for her that she
was not born in some parts of Europe, with her marvellous power. Even
our friend Gagliuffi has not escaped these superstitions of the people
among whom he lives. On my seeing his young turkeys for the first time,
in very considerable numbers, I exclaimed, "What a host of young turkeys
you have got!" On this he became quite alarmed, lest I had cast a malign
look upon them, and ejaculated a counter-exclamation, "Oh, God bless
them!"

The Sfaxee and Yusuf do not speak very favourably of some parts of
Soudan as to morality. In some districts of Begarmi, Yusuf says, a male
takes the first female he meets with, no matter how near the
relationship. All the women, in fact, are in common. We must receive his
asseverations for what they are worth, on this subject in general, and
on the developements into which he entered. According to him, in those
regions where scarcely any other roof is required but the heavens, there
is no other couch spread than the earth, and no one shuns, in any act of
life, the eyes of his neighbours.

Whilst these wonders of witches and tales of African lewdness were being
related, a thing happened which none could disbelieve, none call in
question. This was the appearance of an immense meteor in the sky,
shooting over half the heavens, with a slight curve, from east to west.
It had a tail like a comet, and around its head burnt a blue light of
excessive brilliancy. This phenomenon appeared at a quarter to eight
o'clock in the evening. I never saw anything like it before, and perhaps
shall never again see its equal. It might have been visible two minutes.
We all cried out with surprise at beholding it. We had our faces towards
the south, and the course of the meteor was across the south, but not
very high, at about the third of the circle of the heavens. Afterwards,
every few minutes, small meteors were seen sporting about in the same
direction, some in a straight line and others descending.

_9th._--The wind of this fine cool morning prevented a visit from
En-No