Altogether Ábú el Hassan made a favourable impression upon me. He was by no means a man of stately appearance, or of commanding manners, and his features wanted the expressive cast which in general characterises the Fúlbe; and being destitute of any beard, he looked much younger than he really was, as his age can certainly not be much under sixty. His skin was very fair, and his dress of great simplicity, consisting of a shirt and turban of white colour, the red bernús which my companions had presented to him only hanging loosely from his shoulders. He is a native of the island of Ansóngho where his forefathers were settled from ancient times; and it is entirely owing to his personal courage and his learning that he has reached the position he now occupies. Ábú el Hassan, seems fully to deserve to be under the orders of a more energetic liege lord than the monkish and lazy Khalílu, who allows his kingdom to be shattered to pieces; and in any attempt to ascend the Niger, the governor of Támkala is of considerable importance. The principal weakness of his position consists in his want of horses, as he is thus prevented from following up the partial successes which he at times obtains over his enemies. Having thus met with full success in our transactions with the governor, we left the audience hall, (which struck me by its simple mode of architecture,) consisting of a long narrow room covered with a gabled roof thatched with reed, such as are common in Yóruba. On returning to my quarters I distributed my last presents among those of my companions who were to remain here, and handed them a letter for the Sheikh, wherein I again assured him of my attachment to his family, and expressed the hope that, even at a great distance, we might not cease to cultivate our mutual friendship. It had been our intention this time to choose the road by Junju, the place which I have mentioned before as lying on the northern part of the course of the dallul Máuri; but the governor advised us urgently to avoid this place, which, being only of small size, and not strong enough to follow a certain line of policy, was open to the intrigues of friends as well as enemies. [Sidenote: Sunday, August 6th.] Before we started, the governor sent me a camel as a present, but I gave it to my companions, although my own animals were in a very reduced state. There was a good deal of cultivation along the track which we pursued, but the irregular way in which the crops had sprung up, did not seem to testify to any considerable degree of care and industry; but my people argued that famished men, like the distressed inhabitants of this town, did not possess sufficient energy for cultivating the ground.