THE SOURCE 0F THE NILE. 5% 



violent rains, and lodged in holes, and roots of trees and 

 grafs, by the torrents,, and there picked up by the natives ; it 

 is called Tibbar, or, corruptly, gold- dull. The greateft part 

 finds its way to Sennaar by the different merchants, Pagan 

 and Mahometan, from Fazuclo and Sudan. The Agows and 

 Gibbertis alio bring a fmall quantity of it to Gondar, moftiy 

 debafed by alloy ; but there is no gold in Abyflinia, nor 

 «ven in Nubia, weft of Tchelga, among the Shangalla them- 

 felves. 



Cambyses marched from Egypt exprefsly with a view of 

 conquering the gold country, and fent meffengers before 

 him to the king, or chief of it, requiring his immediate 

 fubmiffion. I omit romantic and fabulous circumftances ; 

 but the anfwer of the king of Macrobii to Cambyfes was, 

 Take this bow, and till you can bring me a man that can 

 bend it, you are not to talk to us of fubmimon. The bow- 

 was accordingly carried back with the defiance, but none of 

 the Perfian army could bend it. Yet it was their own wea- 

 pon with which they practifed from their infancy ; and we 

 are not to think, had it been poffible to bend this bow, but 

 that fome of their numerous archers would have done it, 

 for there is no fuch difproportion in the ftrength of men. 

 But it v/as a bow which had loft its elaftic force from the 

 circumftance above mentioned, and had been long given up 

 as impofuble to be bent by the Macrobii themfelves, and was 

 now taken down from the tree where it had probably fom-e 

 time hung, and grown fo much the lefs flexible, and in- 

 tended to be buried, as thefe bows are, in the grave with 

 their matter, who is to ufe it, after his refurrec"tion, in an- 

 other world, where he is to be endowed with ftrength infi,- 



4 B 2 nitely 



