£o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



gether, one of our laughing boat-companions flole off on 

 foot, and, before day, I was awakened by the arrival of our 

 Rais Abou Cuffi, and his fon Mahomet.. 



Abou Cuffi was drunk^ though a Sberriffe, a :Hugi, and half 

 a Saint befides, who never tailed fermented liquor, as he told 

 me when I hired him. — The fon was terrified out of his wits. 

 He faid he mould have been impaled, had the meffenger 

 arrived ; and, feeing that I fell upon means to keep open, 

 a correfpondence with Cairo, he told me he would not run 

 the rifk of being furety, and of going back to Cairo to an- 

 fwer for his father's faults, leafl, one day or another, upon 

 fome complaint of that kind, he might be taken out of his 

 bed and baflinadoed to death, without knowing what his 

 offence was. 



An altercation enfued ; the father declined Haying upon 

 pretty much the fame reafons, and I was very happy to find 

 that Rifk had dealt roundly with them, and that I was ma- 

 iler of the firing upon which I could touch their fears. 



They then both agreed to go the voyage, for none of 

 them thought it very fafe to flay ; and I was glad to get 

 men of fome fubflance along with me, rather than trufl 

 to hired vagabond fervants, which I efleemed-the two Moors 

 to be. 



As the Shekh of the Howadat and I had vowed friend- 

 ship, he offered to carry me to Coffeir by land, without any 

 expence, and in perfect fafety, thinking me diffident of my 

 boatmen, from what had gaffed. 



I THANKED 



