First of all, you will find him talking fluent, if not always perfect, Arabic, that most difficult of tongues. An interpreter is present in case of an emergency, but he is seldom appealed to. In turn, a bewildering variety of subjects is dealt with. A criminal trial has to be steered through one of its stages. Next, two sets of villagers come in with a petition as to a dispute of land-ownership. In a land which has seen such vicissitudes as the Soudan, questions of title are numerous and difficult in the extreme; within the last twenty years the same plot of land may have had several sets of _bonâ fide_ occupiers, and finally none. The two parties come in scowling fiercely at each other (they have probably had a fight already on the land in question), and squat down on the floor, while their spokesmen step forward to tell their tale. The Mudir is addressed as the Protector of the Poor, the Shield from Oppression, and a number of other names. When the matter is disposed of, after a great deal of hard swearing on both sides, everybody who has anything to do with it attempts to give his version simultaneously, and finally the whole crowd has to be thrust out separately by the police, still talking as they go. Then comes a succession of applicants with other grievances and petitions—Greeks alleging some breach of contract, Arab land-owners demanding remission of taxation or loans for a sakieh, or for sowing seeds. Next the plan of a house has to be examined, the quality of certain bricks to be looked into, an auction of river-fisheries to be held, or a contract about a Government ferry adjusted. Then there are questions concerning drains or wells, pumps or police, licenses for boats or liquor, and a thousand and one other questions of administration. Finally, there is correspondence with headquarters, to adjust some financial, legal, or educational matter. It is no use being a Mudir, or, indeed, any other official, under the Soudan Government, unless you are prepared to work like a horse, and deal fearlessly with nearly every department of human life. CHAPTER XVIII JUSTICE AND SLAVERY