THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 97 



middle of the tent, among which were two large fhip-blun- 

 derbuffes. He afked me if there was no danger of their go- 

 ing off? I faid, that it happened every now and then, when 

 their time was come. A very little after this, he took the cu- 

 fhion upon which he fat, went out, and placed himfelf at the 

 door of the tent. There the king's fervant got hold of him, 

 and told him roundly, he mull furnifh us with a goat, a kid, 

 and forty loaves, and that immediately, and write it off in 

 his deftar, or account-book, if he pleafed. He then went 

 away and fent us a goat and fifty cakes of teff bread. 



But my views upon him did not end here. His feven 

 horfes were all in very bad order, though there was a black 

 one among them that had particularly ftruck my fancy. 

 In the evening I fent the king's fervants, and Janni's, for a 

 check, to try. if he would fell that black horfe. The bar- 

 gain was immediately made for various pieces of goods, 

 part of which I had with me, and part I procured from my 

 companions in the caravan. Every thing was fafhionable 

 and new from Arabia. The value was about L. 1 2. Sterling, 

 forty fhillings more than our friend at Dixan had paid for a 

 whole family of four perfons. The goods were delivered, 

 and the horfe was to be fent in the evening, when he pro- 

 ved a brown one, old, and wanting an eye. I immediately 

 returned the horfe, infilling on the black one ; but he pro- 

 tefled the black horfe was not his own ; that he had returned 

 it to its mailer ; and, upon a little further difcourfe, faid, 

 that it was a horfe he intended as a prefent for the king. 



My friends treated this with great indifference, and de- 

 fired their goods back again, which were accordingly deli- 

 vered. But they were no foonerin the tent, when the black 

 Vol. III. N horfe 



