THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 283 



good fervices he had done, previous to this, the only offence 

 which he had committed, ordered him to be pardoned. 



The Perfian king, in all expeditions, was attended by- 

 judges. We find in Herodotus *, that, in the expedition of 

 Cambyfes, ten of the principal Egyptians were condemned 

 to die by thefe judges for every Perfian that had been flain by 

 the people of Memphis. Six judges always attend the king 

 of Abyflinia to the camp, and, before them, rebels taken on 

 the field are tried and punifhed on the fpot. 



People that the king diftinguifhed by favour, or for any 

 public action, were in both kingdoms prefented with gold 

 chains, fwords, and bracelets f. Thefe in Abyflinia are un- 

 derftood to be chiefly rewards of military fervice ; yet Poncet 

 received a gold chain from Yafous the Great. The day 

 before the battle of Serbraxos, Ayto Engedan received a 

 filver bridle and faddle, covered with filver plates, from 

 Ras Michael ; and the night after that battle I was myfelf 

 honoured with a gold chain from the king upon my re- 

 conciliation with Guebra Mafcal, who, for his behaviour 

 that day, had a large revenue moil defervedly afligned to 

 him, and a confiderable territory, confifting of a number 

 of rich villages, a prefent known to be more agreeable to 

 him than a mere mark of honour. 



A stranger of fafhion, particularly recommended as I 

 was, not needy in point of money, nor depending from day 

 to day upon government for fubfiftence, is generally provi- 



N n 2 ded 



* Herod, lib. iii. -}■ Xenoph, lib. i. Xenoph. lib. viii. 



