Note 46 — DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY FROM UPPER EGYPT THROUGH THE DESERTS OF NUBIA TO BERBER AND SUAKIN, AND FROM THENCE TO DJIDDA IN ARABIA. (continued 4)
Reading edition
A curious proof of this happened while I was in Upper Egypt; a great man who had bought two girls at Siout from the Darfour caravan, soon afterwards made a party with some friends to spend an afternoon in the cool caves in the mountain behind Siout, and ordered the two girls to attend him. When they entered the caves they immediately conceived it to be the place destined for their immolation; and when the knives were produced to cut the meat that had been brought for dinner, one of them ran off, and endeavoured to escape, while the other threw herself on the ground, imploring the company to spare her. It required a considerable time to convince them that their fears were ill-founded.