“It is now beginning to get very cold here, the mornings are nearly as chilly as with you, so that we find it necessary to have recourse to warm clothing. The people are really very obliging, but they are great beggars. They are always asking for one thing or another, and very frequently I feel it necessary to reject their suit. They are lively, and the lower orders are fond of dancing and music. The dances are not like those in our country, and the musical instruments and tunes are as rude and wild as is the country to which they belong. How would you like to be locked up always in the house and never allowed to go out, as are many of the women here? The lower orders, indeed, are exempted, and they are more happy than those who can boast of their rank. This place is much more tolerant than many other Mahometan states; and we have lived here as safely as we could have done in _Auld Reekie_.” TO THE SAME. “_Gatroni, December 5_, 1822. “We have commenced our journey, and find travelling very pleasant. We find it very cold, particularly in the mornings and evenings—a circumstance which obliges us to wrap ourselves up the same as in your northern regions. Our company is a very large one; it consists of nearly 300 men, of whom 200 are Arabs sent for our safety. I would have been better pleased to have had none, as the road is free from danger, and the people no way to be dreaded. We have never, thank God, had had any thing to fear—our path has been smooth. With good conduct, I expect our dangers will be few, some hardships must, doubtless, be encountered, but where can we be without them? The people here are mostly Teboos, a different race from the natives of Fezzan. Some of the women have very pretty countenances and a lively expression. I have just been witnessing some of their dances, which are really very chaste and pleasing. They want the spirit of your reels, and resemble the movements of a minuet. There is something smooth and sweet in the songs that always accompany these performances, but the instrumental music is grating to the ears. We leave this to-morrow; it is the joyful period we have long looked forward to. We go under most propitious auspices, and all, I trust, will be well. TO THE SAME. “_Kuka, Kingdom of Bornou, April 2_, 1823.