THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 4 8i 



This is to be underftood of his travels to Abyffinia, his 

 journey in returning being much more inaccurate and in- 

 complete, the reafon of which we have in his own words : 

 " I have not, fays he, exactly noted down the places through 

 " which we paired, the great weaknefs I then lay under not 

 " permitting me to write as I could have wilhed." I mall, 

 therefore, fay little upon his return, as the deficiency will 

 be carefully fup plied by the hiftory of my own journey 

 from Mafuah, the road by which he left the country being 

 very nearly the fame as that by which I entered. 



It was on the 2d of May of the year 1700 that Pon- 

 cet left Gondar and took his journey to the town of Em- 

 fras. Here there is a miftake in the very beginning. Em- 

 fras *, at which place I ftaid for feveral weeks, is in lat. 12* 

 12' 38", and long. 37 38' 30", confequently about 22 miles 

 from Gondar, almofl under the fame meridian, or fouth from 

 it ; fo that, as he was going to the eaft, and northward of 

 eaft, this muft have been fo many miles out of his way ; 

 for, going towards Mafuah, his firft flation muft have been 

 upon the river Angrab. 



The fame may be faid of his next to Coga. It was a 

 royal refidence indeed, but very much out of his way. He 

 has forgot likewife, when he fays, that, in the way fr )ra 

 Gondar to Emfras, you muft go over a very high mountain. 

 The way from Gondar to Emfras is the beaten way to Be- 

 gemder, Foggora, and Dara, and fo on to the fecond cataract 

 of the Nile. It is on that plain the armies were encamped 



Vol. II. 3 P before 



* It is plain Poncet had no inflruments for obfervation wab him, nor was he probably ac- 

 quainted with the ufe of them. 



