THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. A97 



ment, all of whom treated me well, and refpeded my na- 

 tion." Ki/ig. " You are not fo gay as when you firft ar- 

 rived here." Ta. " I have had no very great reafon." Our 

 converfation was now taking a very laconic and ferious 

 turn, but he did not feera to underiland the meaning of 

 what I faid laft. K. " Adelan has fent for you by my dein^e 5 

 Wed AbrolF and all the Jehaina Arabs have rebelled, and 

 will pay no tribute. They fay you have a quantiiy of power- 

 ful fire-arms with you that will kill twenty or thirty men 

 at a fliot." Ta. " Say fifty or fixty, if it hits them." K. " He 

 is therefore to employ you with your guns to punifli thofe 

 Arabs, and fpoil them of their camels, part of which he will 

 give to you." I prefcntly underflood what he meant, and 

 only anfvvered, " I ?.m a ftraager here, and defire to hurt 

 no man. My arms are for my own defence againft robbery 

 and violence." At this inftant the Tuik, Hagi Ifmael, cried 

 /rom without the door, in broken Arabic, *' VVliy did not 

 you tell thofe black Kafrs, you fent to rob and murder us 

 ihe other night, to flay a little longer, and you would have 

 been better able to judge what our fire-arm.i can do, with- 

 out fending for us either to AbrolF or Adelan. By the head 

 of the prophet ! let them come in the day tinxe, and I will 

 iighc ten of' the beft you have in Sennaar." 



K. " The man is mad, but he brings me to ("peak of what 

 was in my head when I dcfired to fee you. Adcliiii has 

 ■been informed that Mahoiiu^t, my fervant, who brought 

 you from T'eawa, has been guilty of a -drunken frolic at 

 the door of his houfe, and has fent foldiers to take him to- 

 day, with two or three others of his companions." Ta. " I 

 \know nothing about Mahomet, nor do i drink with hinij 

 Vol. IV. 3 R or 



