THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 77 



-rain. I remained arranging my journal, when, with fome 

 i'urprize, ,1 faw the Howadat Arab- come in, and lit down 

 cloie to* me; however, I was not afraid of any evil inten- 

 tion, having a crooked knife at my girdle, and two piftok 

 Lying by me. 



What's this? How now, friend? faid I; Who lent for 

 vou ? He v/ould have killed my hand, faying Fiarduc, I am 

 under your protection; he then pulled out a rag from with- 

 in his girdle, and laid he was going to Mecca, and had taken 

 that with him ; that he was afraid my boatmen would rob 

 hirn, and throw him into the Nile, or get fomebody to rob 

 and murder him by the way; and that one of the Moors, 

 Haffan's fervant, had been feeling for his money the nigh* 

 before, when he .thought him afiecp. 



I made him count his mm, which amounted to 7^ fequiirs, 

 and a piece of filver, value about half-a-crown, which in 

 Syria they call Abou Keib, Father Dog. It is the Dutch 

 Lion rampant, which the Arabs, who never call a thing by 

 its right name, term a dog. — in fhort, this trcaiure amounted 

 to fomething more than three guineas ; and this he denred 

 me to keep till we feparated. Do not yon tell them, faid lie, 

 and I will throw off my cloaths and girdle, and leave them 

 on board,, while I go to fwim, and when they find I have 

 nothing upon me they will not hurt me\. 



But what fecurky, faid I, have you that I do not rob 5 

 of this, and get you thrown into the Nile fome night ? No, 

 no, fays he, that I know is impoffiblc, I have never been 

 able to fleep till I fpoke to you ; do with me what you 

 pleafe, and my money too, only keep me out of the hands 



2.. '"■- 



