This afternoon, when the cows were brought us, I procured a ring, with much difficulty, for sug-sug, and though badly manufactured, it is at least peculiar to the country. I saw several such rings among them, but not one of them had a circular form, and by this we may measure the standard of their skill. Those which are better worked, are found among the Nuèhrs. The five cows came from the Mek, who presented himself in person to Suliman Kashef, with whom Selim Capitan also happened to be: he was clothed in a ferda, which he had received from the Shilluks. He wore a very thick copper ring on his hand, and was of opinion that dress is the privilege of sheikhs. An old woman and a man preceded him; the former attired like an ancient Queen of the Witches. We dressed the mek in a red caftan, put a gay-coloured red handkerchief round his head, and hung glass beads on him. Another cow was brought to us, but they wanted an enormous quantity of sug-sug for it, (these trinkets are generally held in little value here, because the Gelabis frequent these regions,) and still more for goats and sheep. Thermometer, sunrise, 18°; noon and subsequently, 28° to 30°. _16th March._—Man is not appalled in the midst of danger itself,—if it were so, he would be lost; but the frail human heart throbs afterwards. Yesterday evening I left the vessel, in company with Thibaut, to get at a swarm of finches, which birds are said to give a delicious flavour to a pillau, of which we wanted to be joint partakers. We were soon obliged to separate, in order to salute the birds on both sides of their settlement. In my excursion, however, on the shore, I came all of a sudden within a few steps of a lion, without having the least distant idea that this fearful enemy could be in the neighbourhood of all our vessels, and I had only my double-barrel, which was loaded merely with small shot; whilst my huntsman Sale, was pursuing a gazelle, at a long distance off. Possibly our firing had awakened this supreme chief from his sleep, for otherwise I must have seen him before, although my eye was directed to a brace of birds at the left; because the underwood could not have concealed an object of such size, as it only reached up to the knee, and was merely interspersed here and there with a higher bush. I was just taking aim slowly and almost irresolutely at the two beautiful birds, who were looking at me with surprise and confidence, contrary to the custom of the cunning finches, when the lion stood before me on the right, as if he had sprung from the earth. He was so close to me that he appeared to stand as high as up to my breast, but yet I stood, my poor weak weapon in my hand, holding it close to my side, with perfect presence of mind, so as to keep my face free, and to wait for the attack; I was firm, and he seemed also to be resolute.