THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 223 



degree of fafecy. The goods they carry are coarfe Surat 

 blue cloaths, called marowty; alfo myrrh and fait. This lait is 

 the principal and moil valuable article. 



The Galla fometimes marry the Abymnian women, but 

 the iffue of thofe marriages are incapable of all employ- 

 ment. Their form of marriage is the following : The bride- 

 groom, Handing before the parents of the bride, holds grafs 

 in his right hand and the dung of a cow in his left. He 

 then fays, "May this never enter, nor this ever come out,. 

 " if he does not do what he promifes ;" that is, may the 

 grafs never enter the cow's mouth to feed it, or may fhe die 

 before it is difcharged. Matrimonial vows, moreover, are 

 very fimple ; he fwears to his bride that he mall give her 

 meat and drink while living, and bury her when dead. 



Polygamy is allowed among them, but the men are 

 commonly content with one wife. Such, indeed, is their 

 moderation in this refpect, that it is the women that folicit 

 the men to increafe the number of their wives. The love 

 of their children feems to get a fpeedy afcendency over paf- 

 fion and pieafure, and is a noble part of the character of 

 thefe favages that ought not to be forgot. A young wo- 

 man, having a child or two by her hufband, intreats and 

 folicits him that he would take another wife, when me 

 names to him all the beautiful girls of her acquaintance, 

 efpecially thofe that fhe thinks likelieft to have large fami- 

 lies. After the hufband has made his choice, fhe goes to 

 the tent of the young woman, and, fits behind it in a Sup- 

 plicant pollure, till fhe has excited the attention of the fa- 

 mily within. She then, with an audible voice, declares who 

 {he is ; that fhe is daughter of .fuch a one ; that her hufband 



has 



