THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 593 



The whole company pafTed without difturbing me ; and 

 Woldo, feeming to walk as well as ever, afcended a gentle- 

 rifing hill, near the top of which is St Michael Geefh. The 

 Nile here is not four yards over, and not above four inches 

 deep where we croffed ; it was indeed become a very trifling 

 brook, but ran fwiftly over a bottom of fmall ftones, with 

 hard, black rock appearing amidft them : it is at this place 

 very eafy to pals, and very limpid, but, a little lower, full of 

 inconfiderable falls ; the ground rifes gently from the river 

 to the fouthward, full of fmall hills and eminences, which 

 you afcend and defcend almoft imperceptibly. The whole 

 company had halted on the north fide of St Michael's church, 

 and there I reached them without affecting any hurry. 



It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, but the day 

 had been very hot for fome hours, and they were fitting in 

 the fhade of a grove of magnificent cedars, intermixed with 

 fome very large and beautiful cuffo-trees, all in the flower ; 

 the men were lying on the grafs, and the hearts fed, with 

 the burdens on their backs, in mod luxuriant herbage. I 

 called for my herbary *, to lay the rofe-branch I had in my 

 hand (moothly, that it might dry without fpoiling the fliape; 

 having oniy drawn irs general form, the piftil and ftamina, 

 the finer parts of which ('hough very neceffary in clailing 

 the plant) crumble and fall off, or take different forms in 

 drying, and therefore ihould always be fecured by drawing 

 while green. I juft faid indifferently to Woldo in paffing, 

 that I was glad to fee him recovered ; that he would pre- 

 sently be well, and ihould fear nothing. He then got up, 



Vol. III. 4 F and 



* I'lortus Siccus, a large book, for extending and preferring dry plants. 



