THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 423 



confiderable diftance, and Mahomet and his fervants known. 

 All the people of the village furrounded the mules directly, 

 paying each their compliments to the matter and the fer- 

 vants ; the fame was immediately obferved towards us; and, 

 as I faluted the Shum in Arabic, his own language, we 

 fpeedily became acquainted. Having overfhot the cataract, 

 the noife of which we had a long time diftinctly heard, I re- 

 filled every entreaty that could be made to me to enter the 

 houfe to refrefh myfelf. I had imbibed part of Strates's 

 fears about the unfettlednefs of the times, and all the kind 

 invitations were to no purpofe ; I was, as it were, forced to 

 comply to refrefh ourhorfes.. 



I happened to be upon a very deep part of the hill full' 

 of bufhes ; and one of the fervants, dreiTed in the Arabian 

 fafhion, in a-burnoofe, and turban ftriped white and green, 

 led my horfe, for fear of his flipping, till it got into the path 

 leading to the Shum's door. I heard the fellow exclaiming 

 in Arabic, as he led the horfe, "Good Lord! to fee you here! 

 Good God! to fee you here!" — " I afked him who he was 

 fpeaking of, and what reafon he had to wonder to fee me 

 there." — " What ! do you not know me !" " I faidl did not." — 

 " Why, replied he, I was feveral times with you at Jidda. 

 I faw you often with Capt. Price and Capt. Scott, with the 

 Moor Yafine, and Mahomet Gibberti. I was the man that 

 brought your letters from Metical Aga at Mecca, and was to? 

 come over with you to Mafuah, if you had gone directly 

 there, and had not proceeded to Yemen or Arabia Felix. I 

 was on board the Lion, with the Indian nokeda (fo they call 

 the captain of a country fhip) when your little veflel, all co- 

 vered with fail, parted with fuch brifknefs through the Eng- 

 lifh mips, which all fired their cannon ; and everybody faid 3 , 



there. 



