themselves with great reverence, but endeavour to shorten the
discussion by observing, "Mo o mo inta allo" ("No man knows anything
about it"). They are content, they say, to follow the precepts and
examples of their forefathers through the various vicissitudes of
life, and when this world presents no objects of enjoyment or of
comfort they seem to look with anxiety towards another, which they
believe will be better suited to their natures, but concerning which
they are far from indulging vain and delusive conjectures.

The Mandingoes seldom attain extreme old age. At forty most of them
become grey-haired and covered with wrinkles, and but few of them
survive the age of fifty-five or sixty. They calculate the years of
their lives, as I have already observed, by the number of rainy
seasons (there being but one such in the year), and distinguish each
year by a particular name, founded on some remarkable occurrence
which happened in that year. Thus they say the year of the Farbanna
war--the year of the Kaarta war--the year on which Gadou was
plundered, etc., etc.; and I have no doubt that the year 1796 will
in many places be distinguished by the name of tobaubo tambi sang
(the year the white man passed), as such an occurrence would
naturally form an epoch in their traditional history.

But notwithstanding that longevity is uncommon among them, it
appeared to me that their diseases are but few in number. Their
simple diet and active way of life preserve them from many of those
disorders which embitter the days of luxury and idleness. Fevers
and fluxes are the most common and the most fatal. For these they
generally apply saphies to different parts of the body, and perform
a great many other superstitious ceremonies--some of which are
indeed well calculated to inspire the patient with the hope of