fasted three days, which was thought sufficient to screen me from
the reproachful epithet of kafir. During the fast all the slatees
belonging to the coffle assembled every morning in Karfa's house,
where the schoolmaster read to them some religious lessons from a
large folio volume, the author of which was an Arab of the name of
Sheiffa. In the evening such of the women as had embraced
Mohammedanism assembled and said their prayers publicly at the
missura. They were all dressed in white, and went through the
different prostrations prescribed by their religion with becoming
solemnity. Indeed, during the whole fast of Ramadan the negroes
behaved themselves with the greatest meekness and humility, forming
a striking contrast to the savage intolerance and brutal bigotry
which at this period characterise the Moors.

When the fast month was almost at an end, the bushreens assembled at
the missura to watch for the appearance of the new moon, but, the
evening being rather cloudy, they were for some time disappointed,
and a number of them had gone home with a resolution to fast another
day, when on a sudden this delightful object showed her sharp horns
from behind a cloud, and was welcomed with the clapping of hands,
beating of drums, firing of muskets, and other marks of rejoicing.
As this moon is reckoned extremely lucky, Karfa gave orders that all
the people belonging to the coffle should immediately pack up their
dry provisions and hold themselves in readiness; and on the 16th of
April the slatees held a consultation and fixed on the 19th of the
same month as the day on which the coffle should depart from
Kamalia. This resolution freed me from much uneasiness, for our
departure had already been so long deferred that I was apprehensive
it might still be put off until the commencement of the rainy
season; and although Karfa behaved towards me with the greatest