To return to the camp at Bahardar Georgis. The survey work of the expedition was now completed, and our subsequent stages were upon the homeward journey. On February 3 we visited the village church. I obtained a clear photograph of some of the paintings in the interior. Unfortunately, as I am no archæologist, I cannot pretend to say whether the clothing of St. George, either in his combat or his victorious return, or the conception of the other figures, gives an indication of the origin of the Abyssinian school of ecclesiastical art. I hope that some of my readers who are better informed may be able to throw light upon the subject. It is, perhaps, of considerable interest for the following reason: If the usages of the Abyssinian church, which is strictly conservative, represent a really primitive form of Christianity, they show that the observance of ritual ceremonies was, in the early days, at least as much a matter of concern as the condition of the individual conscience. And the style of the Abyssinian pictures of sacred subjects may help to determine the date when the accepted liturgy took its present form. In the afternoon the guns of the party added some venison, poultry, and game to the larder, and in the evening we were serenaded—against our will and at our expense. A band of singers and dancers from the village—both men and women—came into camp. They had no intention of showing their skill without remuneration, and as it would have caused ill-will among them and disappointment to our own boys and escort if we had sent them away, we endured their performance and paid for it. One of the instruments which they use is a piece of board, over which strings are stretched, so that it looks like a rude archaic forerunner of the violin. They twang the strings with their fingers, but do not “stop” them to obtain different notes from the same string. Our troupe also played the tomtom and sang in the high nasal voice which is characteristic of the race. We heard the last of them, thankfully, at half-past nine. While we were at Bahardar Georgis, the Waitos near our camp drove a brisk trade in courbashes.[96] I bought of them some hippo tusks, which they were glad to sell, as they live in great poverty. If I had had some more small change (salt) I could have purchased a quite considerable stock. [Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH AT BAHARDAR GEORGIS. _See p._ 153.] Insects are an annoying pest in this part of the lake side. Hosts of mosquitoes and small beetles of a peculiar species appeared on the flat ground at sunset, and swarmed throughout the neighbourhood for an hour afterwards. The beetles settled upon us in throngs, and crawled into our noses and ears and under our clothes, and we could not even crush them on account of the unendurable smell which their bodies then gave forth. When the first hour after sundown is past, the temperature falls very rapidly, and one sees no more of these insects.