THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 



487 



M. de Maillet, by this letter, becoming mailer of the 

 ambaffador's deftiny, began firft to quarrel with him upon 

 etiquette, or who mould pay the firft vint ; and, after a va- 

 riety of ill-ufage, infilled upon feeing his difpatches. This 

 Murat refufed to permit, upon which the conful fent pri- 

 vately to the bafha, deiiring him to take the difpatches or 

 letters from Murat, fending him at the fame time a conn- 

 derable prefent. 



The bafha on this did not fail to extort a letter from 

 Murat by threats of death. He then opened it. It was in 

 Arabic, in very general and indifferent terms, probably the 

 performance of fome Moor at Mafuah, written at Murat's 

 inflance. And well was it for all concerned that it was fo ; 

 for had the letter been a genuine Abyflinian letter, like 

 thofe of the emprefs Helena and king David III. propofing 

 the deflruction of Mecca, Medina, and the Turkifh mips on 

 the Red Sea, the whole French nation at Cairo would have 

 been maflacred, and the conful and ambanador probably 

 impaled. 



The Jefuits, ignorant of this mancevure of M. de Maillet,, 

 but alarmed and fcandalized at this breach of the law of 

 nations, for fuch the bafha's having opened a letter, ad- 

 dreffed to the king of France, was juflly confidered, com- 

 plained to M. Feriol the French ambanador at Conflantino- 

 ple, who thereupon fent a capigi from the port, to inquire 

 of the bafha what he meant by thus violating the law of 

 nations, and affronting a friendly power of fuch confe- 

 quence as France. 3 



These 



