THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 



453 



and hearing it was upon bread, they called it dung, I fup- 

 pofe as having the appearance of that bread which I have 

 feen the miferable Agows, their neighbours, make from 

 feeds of baflard rye, which they collect in their fields un- 

 der the burning rays of the fun. They laughed at Cam- 

 by fes's requifition of fubmitting to him, and did not con- 

 ceal their contempt of his idea of bringing an army thi- 

 ther. 



They treated ironically his hopes of conqueft, even fuppo- 

 fing all difficulties of the defert overcome, and his army 

 ready to enter their country, and counfeled him to return 

 while he was well, at leaft for a time, till he mould pro- 

 duce a man of his army that could bend the bow that they 

 then fent him ; in which cafe, he might continue to ad- 

 vance, and have hope of conqueft. — The reafon of their re- 

 ference to the bow will be feen afterwards. I mention thefe 

 circumftances of the quantity of gold, the hunting of ele- 

 phants, their living upon the raw nefh, and, above all, the 

 circumftances of the bow, as things which I myfelf can 

 teftify to have met with among this very people. It is, in- 

 deed, highly fatisfactory in travelling, to be able to explain 

 truths which, from a want of knowledge of the country 

 alone, have been treated as falsehoods, and placed to the 

 difcredit of hiftorians. 



The Perfians were all famous archers. The mortifica- 

 tion, therefore, they experienced, by receiving the bow they 

 could not bend, was a very fenfible one, though the narra- 

 tive of the quantity of gold the meftengers had feen made 

 a much greater impreffion upon Cambyfes. To procure 



this 



