234 THE DOWNFALL OF THE DERVISHES to the dowdiness of the black patches upon their husbands and lovers, and, under the influence of the thore esthetic circles of Dervish society, the white gzdéehs were gradually tricked out with gaudy squares of blue, red, and purple. : Many of the dead bodies in the field had rosaries round their necks, usually made of box or sandal wood. Nobody paid much attention to these ornaments, but from one-point of view they are interesting. Was the use of a row of beads for religious purposes borrowed from the Christians by the Moslems, or vce versd ? Another curious relic was an insulator from a Dervish field telegraph, which had been worked between a point near Gebel Surgham and Omdurman during the battle. Many of the dead Emirs wore watches, one of which was marked ‘‘ Dent, London.”

Our soldiers seemed to thoroughly enjoy the rest at Omdurman. They had probably some very quaint ideas of our geographical surroundings and the reason for our presence in the Sudan. On 4th September some companies of Sudanese who had been sent up the river in pursuit of the Khalifa were seen returning in