THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 479 



the miftionaries at the head of whom he was, to beheve 

 that it was polTible for a private man, fuch as Poncet, with- 

 out language, without funds, without prefents, or without 

 power or poflibihty of giving them any fort of protedion 

 in the way, to prevail upon 26 or 28 perfons, on the word 

 of an adventurer only, to attempt the traverfing countries 

 where they ran a very great rifk of faUing into llavery — to 

 do what ? why, to go to France, a nation of Franks whofe 

 veiy name they abhorred, that they might be inftrufted in 

 a religion they equally abhorred, to meet with certain death 

 if ever they returned to their own country ; and, unlefs 

 they did retiu-n, they were of no fort of utility whatever. 



M. de Mail let fliould have informed himfelf w^cll in the 

 beginning, if it was poffible that the nobility in Abyflinia 

 could be fo contemptible as to fufFer twelve of their chil- 

 dren to go to countries unknown, upon the word of a llran- 

 ger, at leaft of fuch a doubtful charucfler as Poncet. I fay 

 doubtful, becaufe, if he was fuch a man as M. de Maillet re- 

 prefents him, a drunkard, a liar, a thief, a man without re- 

 ligion, a perpetual talker, and a fuperlicial pradtitioner of 

 what he called his own trade, furely the Abyffinians muPc 

 have been very fond of emigration, to have left their homes 

 under the care of fuch a patron as this. When did M. de 

 Maillet ever hear of an Abyffinian who was willing to leave 

 his own country and travel to Cairo, unleis the very few 

 prieRs who go for duty's fake, for penances or vows, to Je- 

 rufalem?- When did he ever hear of an Abyllinian layman, 

 noble, or plebeian, attending even the Abuna though the firll 

 dignitary of the church? We fliall fee prefently a poor Have, 

 a Chriftian Abyflinian boy, immediately under the protec5tion 

 of M. de Maillet, and going direftly.from him into the pre- 



feuce 



