THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 327 



I shall now ftate, in his own words, the account given 

 of this by Alvarez, chaplain to the Portuguefe embaffy, 

 under Don Roderigo de Lima. 



The king had invited Don Roderigo de Lima, the Portu- 

 guefe ambafTador, to be prefent at the celebration of the 

 feftival of the Epiphany. They went about a mile and a 

 half from their former ftation, and encamped upon the fide 

 of a pond which had been prepared for the occafion. Al- 

 varez fays, that, in their way, they were often afked by 

 thofe they met or overtook, " Whether or not they were go- 

 ing to be baptized ?" to which the chaplain and his com- 

 pany anfwered in the negative, as having been already 

 once baptized in their childhood. 



" In the night, fays he, a great number of priefts afTem- 

 bled about the pond, roaring and fmging with a view of 

 "bleiling the water. After midnight the baptifm began. The 

 Abuna Mark, the king and queen, were the firft that went 

 into the lake ; they had each a piece of cotton cloth about 

 their middle, which was juft fo much more than the reft 

 of the people had; At the fun-rifing the baptifm was moft 

 thronged ; after which, when Alvarez* ca?ne, the lake was 

 full of holy water, into which they had poured oil." 



It mould feem, from this outfet of his narrative, that he 

 was not at the lake till the ceremony was half over, and did 

 not fee the benediction of the water at all, nor the curious 



4 exhibition 



» Vide Alvarez's narrative in his account of the embaffy of Don Roderigo de Lima, paje 155, 



