Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51, Volume 2 | Page 9

dug to the depth of a man, and found nothing, for it
had buried itself deep in the earth. According to him, a great profusion
of meteors denotes abundance of rain and herbage: but these
phenomena exert also a sinister influence like comets, signifying the
death of some great personage. I have no doubt that extraordinary
meteors are very frequent in this part of the Sahara. En-Noor was very
condescending, as usual: no change is observable in his manners.
It turned out that he had come with the intention of speaking on a very
delicate subject, but had refrained. We learned what it was afterwards.
Dr. Overweg was sent for in the course of the day to attend upon one of
En-Noor's wives, who had been frightfully beaten by his highness the
previous evening. This domestic broil formed the common topic of
conversation in Tintalous. Every scandal-monger has got hold of one
version of the story. From what we could gather, the great man was
lying down quietly, when suddenly, without any apparent provocation,
he started up, took a large stick from the fire, one of its ends still
burning, and with this terrific weapon belaboured his wife over the face,
striking especially at the mouth, and cutting the upper lip in two. The
poor woman is now very ill. No cause can be discovered for this piece
of brutality. En-Noor has, they pretend, two wives here, and one on his
estate at Damerghou; but he has only one son and three daughters. No

larger family has this great man, with all his wealth and slaves, been
able to bring up.
Beating a wife is so common in these countries, that, only when the act
is attended with features of unusual atrocity, as in this case of En-Noor,
does it excite any attention. There cannot be a question of the fact, that
our friend the Sultan is a great despot in every point of view. Perhaps in
no other way could he maintain any authority amongst these
semi-barbarian Kailouees. This, nevertheless, cannot excuse the
atrocity of beating his wife with burning fagots. Some say that the
exciting cause of his brutality was the eternal loquacity of the woman,
of which his highness began to be afraid. This may be true, or be only
an excuse invented by his courtiers. Supposing, however, the cause to
have been her infidelity, let us examine what can be reasonably
expected from these African women. They are not allowed scarcely to
believe themselves to possess souls; they have no moral motives to be
chaste, and certainly none of family and honour, being mostly slaves.
Then the greater part of the young girls of consequence are married to
old men, who are worn out by their sensual habits and indulgence with
innumerable concubines. These young women are thus left, though
married, like so many widows, without education or religious motives,
and with all their passions alive, to the first opportunity which presents
itself. We know what they do, and we cannot expect anything else from
them.
We have often dancing now of evenings. Yesterday, hearing the
tambourines and other instruments strike up, I went to the house of the
Sfaxee to see what was going on. They were dancing again their
Mourzuk dances before a number of delighted Kailouees, male and
female; amongst the rest Lady En-Noor herself. The whole beauty and
appropriateness of this exercise amongst the Moors consists, as is well
known, in gross imitations of natural acts. No further description or
comment can I permit myself. I have often thought that the present
dance must be an inheritance from very ancient times. There seems to
be a part of our nature to which it is adapted. The performances at
European Operas are often nearly as indelicate.

Evil communications corrupt good manners. One of our servants has
learned to act the Tuarick. He quarrelled with Yusuf, and on being told
to go away replied, "Yes. I will go; but when you get up to Damerghou
I will bring down the people upon these Christians, and they shall be
eaten up!"
11th.--Zangheema, En-Noor's principal slave, came early this morning
for Dr. Overweg, that he might attend the "beaten wife." My privileged
friend went accordingly, and visited at the same time all the women of
the household. They received him in a very friendly manner: some of
them proved nearly white.
12th.--This day I finished my Kailouee vocabulary, which contains
about a thousand words. I have never yet collected so large a quantity
of materials of any of the languages of Africa. I carefully packed up my
vocabulary for England, and got it ready, with other matters, to send by
the first opportunity.
Dr. Overweg has again visited the belaboured wife this morning, and
reports her to be