mrs. erasmus was with him , difficult to recognize in the native dress which she had been given , and weighted down as if she were in danger of floating away : earrings , armbands like coiled snakes on upper arms and lower , a great neck-collar of gold pieces strung on wire , interspersed with pieces of ivory , dark green jade , and ruby , certainly worth fifty thousand pounds at least , and a great emerald like an egg , set in gold , pinning a turban of silk upon her head .