THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 525 



made at Tunis, about five yards long, with a filk fringe of 

 the fame colour; it was as beautiful a web of (ilk as ever 

 I faw ; it had a fmall waved pattern wrought in it ; the 

 nexr was a yellow, with a red narrow border, or flripe, and 

 a filver- wrought fringe, but neither fo long nor fo thick as 

 the other; the next were two Cyprus manufactured fames, 

 filk and cotton, with a fattin flripe, the one broader than the 

 other, but five yards long each ; the next was a Perfian pipe, 

 with a long pliable tube, or worm, covered with Turkey lea- 

 ther, with an amber mouth- piece, and a chryftal vale for 

 fmoking tobacco through water, a great luxury in the eaft- 

 ern countries ; the next were two blue bowls, as fine as the 

 one he had juft then broken, and of the fame fort. He moved 

 them from him, laughing, and faid, " I will not take them 

 from you, Yagoube ; this is downright robbery; I have done 

 nothing for this, which is a prefent for a king."—" It is a 

 prefent to a friend, faid I, often of more confequence to a 

 ftranger than a king; I always except your king, who is the 

 ftranger's beft friend."—" Though he was not eafily difcon- 

 certed, he feemed, at this time, to be very nearly fo."— " If 

 you will not receive them, continued I, fuch as they arc of- 

 fered, it is the greater! affront ever was put upon me; I can 

 never, you know, receive them again." 



By this he was convinced. More feeble arguments would 

 indeed have fatisfied him, and he folded up the napkin with 

 all the articles, and gave them to an officer ; after which 

 the tent was again cleared for confultation ; and, during this 

 time, he had called his man of confidence, whom he -was 

 to fend with us, and inftrucled him properly. I faw plainly 

 that I had gained the afcendant ; and, in the expectation of 

 Bias Michael's fpeedily coming to Gondar, he was as willing 



to 



