* Mariette compares this kind of armour to the “dangabor” of the Congo tribes, but the “dangabor “is worn on the arm.  Livingstone saw a woman, the sister of Sebituaneh, the highest lady of the Sesketeh, who wore on each leg eighteen rings of solid brass as thick as the finger, and three rings of copper above the knee.  The weight of these shining rings impeded her walking, and produced sores on her ankles; but it was the fashion, and the inconvenience became nothing.  As to the pain, it was relieved by a bit of rag applied to the lower rings.

     ** These are two instances of abnormal fat production—­the
     earliest with which we are acquainted.

After an exchange of compliments, the more serious business of the expedition was introduced.  The Egyptians pitched a tent, in which they placed the objects of barter with which they were provided, and to prevent these from being too great a temptation to the natives, they surrounded the tent with a line of troops.

[Illustration:  365.jpg PRINCE PARIHU AND THE PRINCESS OF PUANIT]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Emil Brugsch-Bey.

The main conditions of the exchange were arranged at a banquet, in which they spread before the barbarians a sumptuous display of Egyptian delicacies, consisting of bread, beer, wine, meat, and carefully prepared and flavoured vegetables.  Payment for every object was to be made at the actual moment of purchase.  For several days there was a constant stream of people, and asses groaned beneath their burdens.  The Egyptian purchases comprised the most varied objects:  ivory tusks, gold, ebony, cassia, myrrh, cynocephali and green monkeys, greyhounds, leopard skins, large oxen, slaves, and last, but not least, thirty-one incense trees, with their roots surrounded by a ball of earth and placed in large baskets.  The lading of the ships was a long and tedious affair.  All available space being at length exhausted, and as much cargo placed on board as was compatible with the navigation of the vessel, the squadron set sail and with all speed took its way northwards.

[Illustration:  366.jpg THE EMBARKATION OF THE INCENSE SYCOMORES ON BOARD THE EGYPTIAN FLEET]

     Drawn by Bouclier, from a photograph by Beato.

The Egyptians touched at several places on the coast on their return journey, making friendly alliances with the inhabitants; the Him added a quota to their freight, for which room was with difficulty found on board,—­it consisted not only of the inevitable gold, ivory, and skins, but also of live leopards and a giraffe, together with plants and fruits unknown on the banks of the Nile.*