324 
WE REACH A CAMP OF EGYPTIANS. 
house, and the hen hatches upon grass placed upon 
the forks. A custom which we had not before ob- 
served was, that in the early morning a jar of hot 
water was sent us to wash with ; and along with this 
came a present of some beer of the country. 
De Bono's ivory - traders had selected Faloro, a 
favourable position, for their camp, situated on the con- 
cave side of a hill, with a stream below. Our junction 
with them at sunset of the 3d December was one of 
those happy epochs which can never be forgotten. 
We announced our approach by firing guns when 
within a few hundred yards of the settlement, and a 
very lively scene ensued. Turkish banners flew, wel- 
come guns were fired, and an army of well-dressed 
men, "fezzed" or turbaned, turned out with drums 
and fifes to greet our arrival and escort us the rest of 
the way. A procession was formed, with music and 
colours in the van, the two commanders with drawn 
sabres went next, and then we followed in our rags of 
clothes, the soldiers bringing up the rear. As we 
passed outside the village enclosure others joined, 
kissing our hands ; women shouted shrilly with de- 
light, and we were told to be seated upon a bed 
covered with leopard-skins placed for us in front of 
commander " Mahomed's " door. The traders all knew 
Petherick by name, but they either could not or would 
not tell us anything about him, excepting that he was 
twenty marches away to the north, and that our letter 
sent to him from Unyoro had not been forwarded. 
Everything around us looked strange ; we had be- 
come such "roughs" that the most common object in 
this semi-civilised life gave us pleasure. Every one 
seemed so well dressed, they had all shoes, regular 
