I had scarcely pitched my tent, when that cruel minister of police, Lamíno, a man whose character my friend Háj Edrís used significantly to describe in the few words, “kárgo díbbi, kíndi díbbi” (bad in heart, and bad in deed), brought into my presence a famous cut-throat of the name of Barka-ngólo, whose neck was secured in a large machine called “bégo,” consisting of two pieces of wood from four to five feet in length, and very heavy, so that every movement was accompanied with the greatest pain. Nevertheless my mischievous friend persuaded himself that it would gratify me to see this miserable wretch fight with another culprit secured in the same manner, by giving to each of them a long whip of hippopotamus-hide, and forcing them by threats to flog each other. It was a horrible sight; and I had great difficulty in convincing my cruel friend that such a scene was far from being agreeable to me. In order to get rid of him, I presented him with a quantity of cloves to give to his beloved ʿAáisha, of whose culinary powers we had already had several proofs. He was greatly pleased with my present; and with an amorous smile he described to me how deeply he was in love with his darling, saying that he loved her, and she loved him also: “and,” added he in a very sentimental way, “such a mutual love is the greatest bliss on earth.” Europeans must not fancy that there is no such feeling among these Africans as love, although it is not quite so ethereal as it sometimes seems to be with us. Notwithstanding these amorous declarations, which sounded very ridiculous coming from such a mass of flesh as he was, I was glad when he was gone. We were now approaching hostile territory, and in the evening a “gangéma,” or proclamation accompanied by beat of drum, was made throughout the whole encampment, to the effect that the train of camels and pack-oxen, which previously had greatly hemmed in the cavalry, should not start until after the former had moved on. Zógoma is the farthest town of the Bórnu territory in this direction; and the following day we encamped in a district of the name of Mása, close to a swamp, thickly covered with water-plants, principally the _Pistia stratiotes_. Several Shúwa villages were lying about at short distances from each other.