154 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XII 
Whilst I was writing these things, a clever, pretty 
lady came into my library. She was adorned with 
ornaments, bangles, and charms, although deeply and 
conscientiously devout. Among the ornaments the sub¬ 
joined may be compared with those of the old Ja-Luo 
savage :— 
1. A tiny locket with a design in blue enamel which 
was given on the occasion of her confirmation. 
2. A silver medal embossed with the figure of St. 
Anthony of Padua. Worn with the hope that if she 
lost anything, this Saint would help her to regain it. 
3. A pig carved out of Irish bog wood. This had a 
piece of its leg broken off on the very day her husband 
asked her hand in marriage. She still wears it “ for 
luck.” 
4. A piece of turquoise supposed to come from a 
mastodon’s tooth. 
5. The key of a dispatch box suspended on a metal 
label impressed with the family coat of arms. 
6. An image of the Virgin Mary carved in ivory. 
7. A copper ring worn to cure “nerves.” Bought from 
a pedlar in Venice. This fellow had the crural muscles 
and nerve prepared from a frog and laid on a zinc 
plate ; whenever he laid the copper ring on the plate 
and allowed it to touch the nerve, the muscles moved. 
It amused me to watch the clever way this cheap-jack 
gulled the men and women. 
8. A whistle to call cabs. 
9. A vanity case, containing a powder-puff, face 
powder, and a looking glass. 
10. She also wore a small silk bag containing 
eucalyjDtus leaves as a protection against chicken pox. 
Almost all tourists in British East Africa are 
interested in the ornaments worn by naked natives. 
It has been pointed out already (p. 120) that the ear 
ornaments possess tribal and social significance ; it is 
also clear that the apparently commonplace adornments 
