We returned the salutation, and the same horseman said to us: “The king demands who you may be, whence you come, and what is the object of your visit?”—“We come from Darfur,” was our reply; “our caravan is composed of merchants, of an envoy from the Prince of Darfur, and of another individual, a simple traveller, the Shereef, son of Omar of Tunis.” Our names were written down upon paper, and the king, mounting his horse, departed with five of his people, leaving the other five with those who at first met us. As he departed he said: “Remain here until you receive my orders.” We made our camels kneel down, and sat ourselves under the shade of a tree. Our guards gave us some water, and we waited about two hours, when there came to us, jingling their bells, another troop of horsemen. They were dressed in a long and ample garment, like the black dress of the Fellatah women of Egypt; but they were bareheaded. Every one of them, behind each ear, had a swelling something like the bubo of a plague-patient. These swellings are produced artificially, by the means of cups applied behind the ears, and from which the air is exhausted by suction. When the cups or horns are taken away the tumefied skin is puckered up by the fingers, and two lines of incisions being made, the portion of skin between them is removed, and the cups are again applied. When a good deal of blood has been drawn, cotton is applied, and, the wound being healed, there remains a projection resembling a gland. The people of Wadaï lay great stress upon these swellings, which may be called bumps of courage. Whoever does not possess them is looked upon as a coward, and is repulsed on all hands. In the language of the country they are called Dauma, in allusion to the fruit of the Daum. The Wadaïans despise strangers who are not thus distinguished, thinking it impossible that any one can be courageous who does not possess these bumps. As I have said, all these horsemen were bareheaded, except their chief, who wore a skull-cap of black stuff; he had also a Melayeb, or scarf-mantle, over his shoulders. The party alighted at a certain distance and ordered us to approach, and when we drew nigh their chief said:—“The Aguid (or governor), my master, salutes you.” We answered by compliments to the chief and to the Sultan; and after some further communications our names were written down, accompanied by a complete description of ourselves and the merchandise we brought with us. This done, we were told to wait during the hot time of the day, when they promised to take us to the Aguid.