The French traveller Brue says the women on the banks of the Senegal appeared to consider the condition of European wives very enviable, and expressed great compassion for him in being separated from his only wife without the power of marrying another. When Dr. Lichtenstein visited Latakoo, the women were, as usual, very curious about the Christian custom of having but one wife. The queen approved the system, but she thought polygamy was necessary in Africa, because such numbers of the men were killed in war. Infants of a few hours old are washed in cold water and laid on a mat, with no other covering than a cotton cloth thrown loosely over them. In twelve or fifteen days the mothers carry them about, suspended at their backs, by means of the _pagne_ or mantle, which they fasten around the hips, and over one shoulder. Infants are kept in this situation nearly the whole day, while the women are busy at their various avocations. They are nursed until they are able to walk; sometimes until three years old. A few tumbles, or similar trifling accidents, are not considered worthy of much anxiety or commiseration. Till ten or twelve years old, children wear no clothing, and do nothing but run about and sport on the sands. Those who live near the sea-shore, are continually plunging into the water; in consequence of which scarcely any disease appears among them, except the small-pox. A child receives its name when it is eight days old. A sort of paste, called _dega_, is prepared for the occasion, and the priest recites prayers over it. He takes the babe in his arms, invokes the blessing of heaven upon it, whispers a few words in its ear, spits three times in its face, pronounces aloud the name that is given to it, and returns it to the mother. He then divides the consecrated _dega_ among the guests, and if any person be sick, he sends them some of it. A similar custom prevails in the Barbary states. The moment an African ceases to breathe, his wife runs out of the hut, beating her breast, tearing her hair, and summoning her neighbors by loud cries. Friends and relatives soon assemble in the hut, and join in her lamentations, continually repeating, “Woe is me!” When the marabouts have rubbed the corpse with oil and covered it with cloths, each person goes up and addresses it, as if still living. In a few minutes they go away, saying, “He is dead;” the lamentations are renewed, and continue till the next day, when the burial takes place. Major Denham speaks of hearing the Dugganah women singing funeral dirges all night long in honor of their husbands, who had fallen in battle. These dirges were prepared for the occasion, and were so solemn and plaintive, that they could not be listened to without the deepest sympathy.