498 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER- 



place of that ungrateful culture, flax; will employ more 

 hands, and be a more ample field for diHinguilhing theii>- 

 genuity of our manufad:urers. 



We fee, then, how the leaft confideration poffible de- 

 ftroysthefe ill-founded objections, upon which the e very 

 ignorant enemies of Poncet attempted to deflroy his credit,, 

 and rob him of the merit of his journey. At lafl they ven- 

 tured to throw off the mafic entirely, by producing a letter 

 fuppofed to be written from Nubia by an Italian friar, who • 

 afierts roundly, that he hears Poncet .was never at the capi- 

 tal of Ethiopia, nor ever had audience of Tafous ; but llok 

 the clothes and money of father Brevedent, then married, 

 and foon after forfook his wife and Ethiopia together. 



Maillet could have eafily contradioled this, had he afted" 

 honeftly ; for Hagi Ali had brought him the king of Abyl- 

 fmia's letter, who thankedhim for his having fent Poncet, and 

 fignified to him his recovery. But without appealing to M. 

 Maillet upon the fubjedl, I conceive nobody v/ili doubt, that 

 Hagi Ali had a commiffion to bring a phyfician from Cairo 

 to cure his mailer, and that Poncet was propofed as that 

 phvfician, with confent of the conful. Now, after having 

 carried Poncet the length of Bartcho, where it is agreed he 

 was when Brevedent died^ (for he was fuppofed there to 

 have robbed that father of his mone)) what could be Hagi 

 Ali's reafon for not permirting him to proceed half a day's 

 journey farther to the capital, and prefenting him to the 

 king, who had been at the pains and expence of fending 

 for him from Egypt ? What cxcufe could Hagi Ali make 

 for not producing him, when lie mull have delivered the 



confurs 



