THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 495 



travels now fo far advanced, to childifli vanity. I deteripi- 

 ned therefore to abandon my gold chain, the honourable re- 

 compence of a day full of fatigue and danger. Whom to in- 

 trull it to was the next conlideration ; and, upon mature de- 

 liberation, I found it could be to nobody bin Hagi Belal, bad 

 as I had reafon to think, he was. However, to put a check. 

 upon him, I fent for the Sid el Coom, in whofe prefence I 

 repeated my accufation againll; Belal ; I read the SerafF's let- 

 ter in my favour, and the feveral letters that Belal had writ- 

 ten me whilft 1 was at Gondar, declaring his acceptance of 

 the order to furnifli me with money when I Ihould arrive at 

 Sennaar ; and I upbraided him in the flrongeft terms with 

 duplicity and breach of faith. 



But all that I could fay was very far fliort of the violent 

 expollulation from the Gindi that immediately followed. 

 He gave Hagi Belal many not obfcure hints, " that he looked 

 upon this injury as done to himfelf, and would repay him ;. 

 that though he had done this to pleafe the king, the time 

 might not be far off when that favour would be of very 

 little ufe to him ; on the contrary, might be a reafon for 

 ftripping him of all he had in the world." The force of 

 thefe arguments feemed to ftrike Hagi Belal's imagination 

 very powerfully. He even offered to advance 50 fequins, 

 and to fee if he could raife any more among his friends. 

 The Gindi (a rare inftance in that country) offered to lend 

 him fifty. But the dye was now caft, the chain had been 

 produced and feen, and it was become exceedingly danger- 

 ous to carry fuch a quantity of gold in any fliape along 

 with me. I therefore confented to fell it to Hagi Belal in 

 prefence of the Gindi, and we immediately fet about the 

 purchafc of neceffarics, with this provifo, that if Adelan, 



upon. 



