The most of the inhabitants soon visited us, and all appeared pleased at our arrival. The kadi of the two neighbouring towns paid us many compliments, and pressed us hard to spend a few days in his towns. We could not take advantage of his offer, which was no doubt of a selfish nature; for I had not conversed long with him before he began to beg a shirt. I told him mine could be of no use to him, as it was very different from those of the country. On that he asked for a dollar to buy one, which I took care to refuse; and said to him, that I only gave presents of money to the poor. The people made numerous urgent demands for medicines; and, in a very short time, our large tent was surrounded with sick: the female part formed the majority. Some beautiful faces and forms were clothed in rags: the plaited hair and necks of these even were loaded with ornaments. The physiognomy of the women, as well as of the men, is of two kinds,—that of the Bedouin Arab and Fezzaneer, with mixtures also which it would puzzle a physiognomist to discover and describe. The females are rather under the middle stature, stoutly built, and possess considerable vivacity and liveliness: complexion of those not much exposed to the sun of a dirty white. Thursday, July 4.—Numbers of patients greatly augmented, and several of the applicants brought small presents for medicines, such as a bowl of liban. I was also applied to in a new capacity—that of a charm writer. A man came and offered me two fowls if I would give him a charm for a disease of the belly; but I was obliged to decline the office of charm writer, and confine myself to cure diseases by medicine. A buxom widow applied for medicine to get her a husband. It is not good to pretend ignorance: I therefore told her I had no such medicine along with me. The same worthy personage took my friend Clapperton for an old man—from his light coloured beard and mustachios—to my great amusement, and his chagrin. He had prided himself on the strength and bushiness of his beard, and was not a little hurt that light colour should be taken as a mark of old age. None of them had ever seen a light coloured beard before, and all the old men dye their grey beards with henna, which gives them a colour approaching that of my friend.