_Occurrences at the camp continued.--Information collected by the Author concerning Houssa and Tombuctoo; and the situation of the latter.--The route described from Morocco to Benowm.--The Author's distress from hunger--Ali removes his camp to the northward,--The Author is carried prisoner to the new encampment, and is presented to Queen Fatima.--Great distress from want of water_.
One whole month had now elapsed since I was led into captivity; during which time each returning day brought me fresh distresses. I watched the lingering course of the sun with anxiety, and blessed his evening beams as they shed a yellow lustre along the sandy floor of my hut; for it was then that my oppressors left me, and allowed me to pass the sultry night in solitude and reflection.
About midnight a bowl of kouskous, with some salt and water, was brought for me and my two attendants. This was our common fare, and it was all that was allowed us, to allay the cravings of hunger, and support nature for the whole of the following day: for it is to be observed, that this was the Mahomedan Lent, and as the Moors keep the fast with a religious strictness, they thought it proper to compel me, though a Christian, to a similar observance. Time, however, somewhat reconciled me to my situation: I found that I could bear hunger and thirst better than I expected; and at length I endeavoured to beguile the tedious hours by learning to write Arabic. The people who came to see me soon made me acquainted with the characters; and I discovered, that, by engaging their attention in this way, they were not so troublesome as otherwise they would have been: indeed, when I observed any person whose countenance I thought bore malice towards me, I made it a rule to ask him, either to write in the sand himself, or to decipher what I had already written; and the pride of showing his superior attainments generally induced him to comply with my request.
April 14th. As Queen Fatima had not yet arrived, Ali proposed to go to the north, and bring her back with him; but as the place was two days' journey from Benowm, it was necessary to have some refreshment on the road; and Ali, suspicious of those about him, was so afraid of being poisoned, that he never ate anything but what was dressed under his own immediate inspection. A fine bullock was therefore killed, and the flesh being cut into thin slices, was dried in the sun: and this, with two bags of dry kouskous, formed his travelling provisions.