AND LOWER EGYPT. 207 



The women of Thebais, who have embraced the 

 Catholic rehgion, are again distinguished from the 

 IVIahometans by the disuse of an article of dress 

 generally worn in these districts. It is an orna- 

 ment of luxury and coquetry, which the monks 

 have also obliged them to lay aside, for which they 

 are not greatly to be found fault with, as it is by 

 no means becoming, at least as far as I can judge 

 of it, from seeing female dancers and courtezans, 

 who walk about without veils, disfigured by rings -x 

 of metal suspended from the nose. This fashion / 

 consists in wearing one or more hoops of gold or 

 silver, passed through the nostrils,which are pierced 

 for the purpose : some of these hoops are very large, 

 and the richer people add to them small jewels of 

 gold, which fail not to load the wing of the nose, 

 and produce a very disagreeable effect. But I have 

 never heard that it was a piece of gallantry in 

 Egypt to kiss the women through these hoops, as 

 BufFon has given out, on the authority of a tra- 

 veller *. It is displaying much ignorance of the 

 genius of the Egyptians and of the Arabians, even } 

 to suppose them desirous of these amorous kisses. | 

 These people are any thing but gallant, and the 

 delicious preliminaries of pleasure are quite un- 

 known to them. Besides, it is difficult to kiss a 

 woman through a ring, which piercing one of the 

 sides of the nosc^hangs of necessity over the mouth, 



* Natural Hibtory of Man, 



Vansleb, 



