260 TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 
more boring. We arrived at the kavia at the time 
appointed, dressed in our best clothes, which did not 
say much, as the best was very bad. I would we had 
been fortified by the possession of spotless garments 
to steel ourselves against the inquisitive looks of the 
Somali ladies. It is so hard for a woman to appear 
at ease in rags. He was a philosopher indeed who 
said, somewhere or other, “ It is our clothes-thatch 
that, reaching to our heart of hearts, tailorises and 
demoralises us. 55 
We were received by the usual curious crowd, who 
fingered our coats and tried to look into our pockets. 
Clarence explained we were to sit on the herios pre- 
pared, and the show would begin. Men and women 
took part in the dance, advancing from either side and 
then retreating. I have attended many an Indian 
“ potlatch 55 of extravagant description, but they were 
dignified in the extreme to the Somali equivalent. I 
won’t describe the dance in detail, because this is 
supposed to be a pleasant book ; besides, Mr. Stead 
may read it. To put the case mildly, the affair was 
savage to a degree of ignorance I had not dreamed of 
in its unvarnished vulgarity. 
It was the first indication we had that the Somalis 
are uncivilised savages. I tried to doze. And being 
very weary, slept. A violent push from Cecily aroused 
me to a sense of politeness again, and realising that 
peace reigned around we stood up, and through 
Clarence, thanked the gratified “ artistes,” and left 
them wrangling over the gifts which lay on the ground, 
looking as though they were trying to apologise for 
