THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 469 



fengers from Guflio and PowufTen, with various excufcs why 

 they had not joined. They were very ill received by the 

 Ras, and refufed an audience of the king. Their prefent, 

 which is always new clothes to fome value, was a (mall 

 piece of dark-blue Surat cloth, value about half-a-crown, 

 intended as an affront; they were not fuffered to fleep in the 

 camp, but forwarded to Fafil where they were going. 



The 3d of June the army encamped'on the river Kahha, 

 under Gondar. From the time we left Dingleber, fome one 

 or other of the Ras's confidential friends had arrived every 

 day. Several of the great officers of (late reached us at the 

 Kemona, many others met us at Abba Samuel. I did not per- 

 ceive the news they brought increafed the fpirits either of 

 the King or the Ras ; the foldiers, however, were all con- 

 tented, becaufe they were at home ; but the officers, who 

 faw farther, wore very different countenances, efpecially 

 thofe that were of Amhara. 



I, in particular, had very little reafon to be pieafed; 

 for, after having undergone a conftant feries of fatigues, 

 dangers, and expences, I was returned to Gondar difappoint- 

 ed of my views in arriving at the fource of the Nile, with- 

 out any other acquifition than a violent ague. The place 

 where that, river rifes remained itill as great a fecret as k. 

 had been ever fince the cataftrophe of Phaeton:— 



Nilus in extremum fugit pert err it us orhem t 



Oiculuitque caput, quod adhuc latet. 



Ovid. Metam. lib. iiij 



CHAR. 



