bullets; also what the birds were for, and how I preserved them, and
what was done with them in England. Each of my answers and explanations
was followed by a low and serious conversation which we could not
understand, but the purport of which we could guess. They were evidently
quite puzzled, and did not believe a word we had told them. They then
inquired if we were really English, and not Dutch; and although we
strongly asserted our nationality, they did not seem to believe us.
After about an hour, however, they brought us some supper (which was
the same as the breakfast, but without the fish), and after it some very
weak coffee and pumpkins boiled with sugar. Having discussed this,
a second conference took place; questions were again asked, and
the answers again commented on. Between whiles lighter topics were
discussed. My spectacles (concave glasses) were tried in succession by
three or four old men, who could not make out why they could not see
through them, and the fact no doubt was another item of suspicion
against me. My beard, too, was the subject of some admiration, and many
questions were asked about personal peculiarities which it is not the
custom to allude to in European society. At length, about one in the
morning, the whole party rose to depart, and, after conversing some time
at the gate, all went away. We now begged the interpreter, who with a
few boys and men remained about us, to show us a place to sleep in, at
which he seemed very much surprised, saying he thought we were very well
accommodated where we were. It was quite chilly, and we were very thinly
clad and had brought no blankets, but all we could get after another
hour's talk was a native mat and pillow, and a few old curtains to hang
round three sides of the open shed and protect us a little from the
cold breeze. We passed the rest of the night very uncomfortably, and
determined to return in the morning and not submit any longer to such
shabby treatment.
We rose at daybreak, but it was near an hour before the interpreter
made his appearance. We then asked to have some coffee and to see the
Pumbuckle, as we wanted a horse for Ali, who was lame, and wished to
bid him adieu. The man looked puzzled at such unheard-of demands and
vanished into the inner court, locking the door behind him and leaving
us again to our meditations. An hour passed and no one came, so I
ordered the horses to be saddled and the pack-horse to be loaded, and
prepared to start. Just then the interpreter came up on horse back, and
looked aghast at our preparations. "Where is the Pumbuckle?" we asked.
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