dress gave him altogether so odd an appearance, that he might have been
taken for anything but what he really was. A few of the women on the
ground by the side of the king wore large white dresses, which covered
their persons like a winding-sheet. Young virgins, according to custom,
appeared in a state of nudity; many of them had wild flowers stuck behind
their ears, and strings of beads, &c., round their loins; but want of
clothing did not seem to damp their pleasure in the entertainment, for
they appeared to enter into it with as much zest as any of their
companions. Of the different coloured tobes worn by the men, none looked
so well as those of a deep crimson colour on some of the horsemen; but the
clean white tobes of the Mohammedan priests, of whom not less than a
hundred were present on the occasion, were extremely neat and becoming.
The sport terminated without the slightest accident, and the king's
dismounting was a signal for the people to disperse.

"We have here endeavoured, to the best of our ability, to describe an
African horse-race, but it is impossible to convey a correct idea of the
singular and fantastic appearance of the numerous groups of people that
met our view on all sides, or to describe their animation and delight; the
martial equipment of the soldiers and their noble steeds, and the wild,
romantic, and overpowering interest of the whole mass. Singing and dancing
have been kept up all night, and the revellers will not think of retiring
to rest till morning."

* * * * *




FINE ARTS.