THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 503 



The conful had perfuaded du Roule,. that the proper pre- 

 fents he mould take with him to Sennaar were prints of 

 the king and queen of France, with crowns upon their heads; 

 mirrors, magnifying and multiplying objects, and deform- 

 ing them ; when brocade, fattin, and trinkets of gold or nU 

 ver, iron or fteel, would have been infinitely more accept- 

 able. 



Elias, an Armenian, a confidential fervant of the French 

 nation, was firft fen t by way of the Red. Sea into Abyiiinia, 

 by. Mafuah, to proceed to. Gondar, and. prepare Yafous for 

 the reception of that ambalTador, to whom he, Elias, was ta 

 be the interpreter. So far it was well concerted; but, in pre- 

 paring for the end, the middle was neglectecL A> number 

 of friars were already, at Sennaar, and hadpoifoned the 

 minds of that people, naturally barbarous,- brutal, and jea- 

 lous. Money, in prefents, had gained. the great; while lies,; 

 calculated to terrify and enrage the lower clafs of people, had* 

 been told fo openly and avowedly, and gained fuch root, 

 that the ambalTador; when he arrived at Sennaar, found it, 

 in the firft place, necelTary to- make 2Lproce%. verbal, or what: 

 we call' a. precognition, in which the names of the authors,, 

 and fubflance of thefe reports, were mentioned, and of- this* 

 he gave advice to M. de Maillet, but. the names and thefe; 

 papers perifliecLwith him. 



It was on- the 9th of July 1704 that Ivl. dti Roule fet our 

 from Cairo,, attended by a number of people who, with; 

 tears in their eyes, forefaw the pit into which he was falk 

 ing. He embarked on the Nile; and, in his^paiTage to Si- 

 Qut, he found at. every halting-place fo^e new and dan- 

 gerous.- 



