l mal"), and no goods are allowed to be sold unless
they are thus marked. The head of the beit el mal himself also went to
the market and personally stamped all the private goods of merchants;
and in this way the fraud was stopped. A merchant selling unstamped
goods would have all his property confiscated.

All went well for a time; but soon it was discovered that false stamps
were in use. This led to another inspection of all goods in the market,
and the confiscation of a considerable quantity of property, an
operation which caused business to be suspended for about eight days.

Large quantities of printed cotton stuffs are imported; also perfumes,
medicines, cloves, rice, sugar, and dried fruits. The home-trade is, of
course, much brisker than imported trade, and consists for the most part
of provision dealing. Dongola and Dar Shaggieh supply Omdurman with
dates; Berber sends salt, mats and baskets made of palm leaves; from
Kordofan comes gum, sesame, and dukhn; the Gezireh exports dhurra,
dammur, and cotton; Karkoj supplies sesame and a small quantity of gold.
Omdurman is thus the great wholesale and retail mart, which in turn
supplies the provinces. Here the whole population--men, women, and
children from eight years of age--are all dealers.

The older women have their own quarter of the market, in which they sell
oil, grease, pearls, vegetables, drugs, dhurra, and dates. Young women
are not allowed to go to the market; but they send their slaves, who
take charge of the goods. The latter are obliged to render full accounts
when they return in the evening; and woe to the unfortunate slave who
makes a mistake in his calculations! Quantities of vegetables are grown
in the gardens in Khartum, Buri, and Gereif, and are brought to Omdurman
for sale. The Baggara women are naturally good dealers, and have now
secured almost the entire custom.

In the early days of Mahdiism everyone lived in the most simple way, and
dressed even more simply. The staple article of food is dhurra, which is
merely boiled, made into a cake and eaten. Bread, which is generally
known as "kesra," is eaten with a sauce which is usually made of pounded
bamiehs boiled with red pepper and salt. Sometimes beans are used
instead of bamiehs. Meat is scarce, but a meat sauce boiled in milk and
mixed with pounded dried fish is a favourite dish. Quantities of fish
are obtained from the Nile, and tortoises, which sometimes take the
place of meat, are not u