I thanked the Sheikh for having at length put me in possession of these despatches, but I repeated at the same time my previous remark, that if he and his friends wanted to have “imána,” or well established peaceable intercourse with us, security ought first of all to prevail as to our letters, and I was assured that this parcel had been lying in Ázawád for at least two months. But the Sheikh excused himself, stating that one of the chief men in that district, probably the chief of the Bérabísh, had kept them back under the impression that they might contain something prejudicial to his country; an opinion which, of course, could not fail to be confirmed by the proceedings of the French in the south-western districts bordering upon Algeria. But, altogether, the history of this parcel was marvellous. It had evidently come by way of Bórnu; yet there was not a single line from the vizier, who, if all had been right, I felt sure would have written to me; moreover, the outer cover had been taken off, although the seal of the inner parcel had not been injured. But the reason, of which I, however, did not become aware till a much later period, was this, that, before the parcel left Sókoto, the news of the execution of the vizier had already reached that place, when the letter addressed by that person to myself was taken away, and probably also something else which he had sent for me. But, it moreover happened that the man who was commissioned to convey the parcel to Timbúktu was slain by the Góberáwa, or Mariadáwa, on the road between Gando and Say, at a moment when the packet was by accident left in the hands of a companion of his, who, pursuing his route in safety, took it to Ázawád. But the death of the principal bearer of the letters addressed to me, in all probability, contributed not a little to confirm the rumour of myself having been slain near Marádi. However, at that time, and even much later, I had no idea that such rumours were current in the quarter which I had left. [Sidenote: Thursday, May 18th.] It was with a very pleasant feeling that I at length found myself in the company of my noble host, again pursuing my journey eastward; and I enjoyed the peculiar features of the country with tolerable ease and comfort. The varied composition of our troop, among whom there were several well disposed friends, afforded also much relief. The country was the same that I had already traversed; but it presented some new features, as we followed another path. I was principally struck with the enormous size of the “retem,” or broom, which here assumed the proportions of considerable trees of more than twenty feet in height, while the siwák, or _Capparis sodata_, was in great abundance.