252 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

When dining with Arabs on such occasions, we always ate with our fingers, and after a little practice became quite accustomed to that method of conveying food to our mouths. It had one advantage, and that was that one's hands could be always kept clean, which could not be said of the knives and forks in those regions.

' At first one was tempted to use the left hand as well as the right, but as that is a sign of bad breeding, we were careful, and became quite expert with the right hand. It is not the custom to sit round a table in European fashion; a small stool is generally placed on a carpet in the middle of the room, or sometimes in the open air, around which, if the host is a rich man, cushions are arranged. Upon the stool stands a round tray, on which the kisreh is placed, one pile for each person ; and generally there are also several dishes of food, preserves, pickles, upon it, with the bowl of soup in the centre, and a small wooden spoon for each guest. Until the guests are ready to commence the repast the tray is always covered by a cloth or wicker-work cover, to protect the viands from the evil eye. Before doing this, however, a boy comes, bringing an ewer of water and a basin, called " ibreek and tisht"; he kneels down before the guests in succession and pours the water over their hands, which they wash ; and the mouth also is washed, if they have been smoking. The company then goes to table, and the cover is removed ; the master of the