The latter was sitting at table with an Italian, and just putting into his mouth a piece of roast meat, held between the fingers and thumb, when a monkey of the cynocephalus (Arabic Khirt) family snatched it hastily from him. The Bey very quietly ordered the hand of Abu Dom (so called from his reddish yellow colour, similar to the fruit of the Doum-palm) to be cut off as that of a robber (Garami), which was done on the spot. The poor monkey came immediately afterwards to his cruel master, and shewed him, with the doleful accent peculiar to him, the bleeding stump of his fore paw, whereupon the Bey ordered him to be killed. The execution, however, was prevented by the Italian, who begged him as a gift, for the purpose of healing him. I came, soon afterwards, into possession of this foolish beast, who contributed as much to the amusement so necessary to me on the return voyage to Egypt, as the filial attentions of my freedman Hagar from mount Basa, whom my brother had received as a present, and bequeathed to me. My servants would not believe but that the monkey was a transformed Gabir (caravan guide), because he always preceded us, and on the right road, even in the desert; and availed himself of every stone and rock to look about him, whereupon the birds of prey frequently drove him under the camels to complain to me with his “Oehm, Oehm.” This complaint he also uttered when he had been beaten, in my absence, by the people, whose merissa he helped to drink, till he could not move from the spot, and committed all sorts of misdemeanours. I found on the shore large snail shells (Ampullaria ovata), and also some river oysters (Ampulla tubulosa Caill), as well as a number of fresh foot-prints of hippopotami, though we had not as yet seen any of these animals. These river buffaloes must be of enormous size here, to judge from the foot-marks which we made use of to place the large household pots upon. We had already, however, seen many crocodiles, which are but seldom met with when the water is high and turbid, for they then, like the hippopotami, inhabit sloughs, caused by the swelling of the Nile, because fish are more plentiful there, whilst the graminivorus hippopotami find their nourishment in the thriving marsh plants.