23d March.—I went back into the town, and found that Mukni was not to join us until the morrow; by which delay, we obtained time to furnish ourselves with many necessaries, which we had before forgotten to provide. 24th March.—Mukni did not arrive this day; but his two Negresses and household slaves came out and pitched their tents. These women were mounted on camels, in a kind of litter, called Shiblia شبليه which is a light frame of wood, covered with scarlet cloth, so arranged, as to prevent the person in the inside from being seen. One of them had been twice to the Niger with Mukni, and was named Zaitoon زيتون or olive tree; the other was the mother of his youngest child, and was called Zeman Donya, زمان دونيه time of the world. All was confusion this day; and the varied heaps of goods, camels, saddles, and animals, which were scattered about, presented a very lively scene. As I sat in our tent, writing a letter, some Arabs came in, and seemed to find much amusement in seeing me write from left to right; but, when I told them my letter was addressed to a Female, their astonishment knew no bounds; and they laughed heartily at the idea, that it was possible for a woman to be capable of reading. Colonel Warrington’s eldest son came to spend the evening with us. March 25th.—I went into the town, and took leave of all my Christian friends. At eight A.M. the kafflé, consisting of about two hundred men, and the same number of camels, set off. We followed them, and pitched our tents, to rest for the night, on the desert, near a well and a few palm trees. After dark, Mr. Ritchie, accompanied by our friends, Dr. Dickson, and Messrs. Carstensen, arrived. We amused ourselves in visiting little parties of the liberated Blacks, who were all joyful at the idea of returning once more to their native land; though their means of support were very slender, and many of them, with their young children, had to walk a distance of above two thousand miles, before they could reach their own country.