One of the jars being now placed upon a low chair that had come to me as a memolagee for some medicine, a long mekanet, or girdle, from the loins of one of the party was carefully wrapped around the wide circular mouth of the jar, after the dirty dry seal of cow-dung and clay had been removed. Over the lip of the vessel, slowly strained through the cloth, flowed the now released liquor, which was received into well-shaped drinking-horns of a conical form, and about nine inches deep. One, full of the sparkling beverage, was handed to me, Walderheros, in the first place, pouring a little into the hollow of his hand and drinking it, as the tasters of food and of drink of old are represented to have done previous to serving their superiors. This little ceremonial, though its origin is entirely forgotten by the Shoans, is never omitted by them, and we here find a custom, first established by a fearful policy, still retained as a matter of form, and as a dutiful obeisance of inferiors to their masters. The drinking party sat together in the dark talking for some hours, industriously replenishing the horns until two of the jars were emptied of their contents, when, pretty comfortable, no doubt, Walderheros and his friends quietly subsided upon the ground, where they had been sitting so long; their busy talk was stayed at once, and all was soon as still as the night should be. _July 31st._--Long before sunrise I was again disturbed by Tinta’s servants, who were up and leaving my house to return home, so as not to be absent at the first call of their master. This day was to be devoted to the beautifying and adorning the new roof after the most approved design. The broken neck of an old jar was soon found, which served as a kind of coronet to gather the loose ends of the thatch at the apex. Immediately below this were thrust two sticks across each other, their projecting extremities preventing a tight band of very pliant twigs from starting, and which beneath it had been twisted several times around the loose ends, still farther to secure this part of the roof, that, as the centre of the whole, was something analogous to the key stone of an arch.