THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 484 
I RETURNED my moft humble thanks to my kind infor. 
mants ; with a {mall gratification of civet to the two elder 
ladies, and a feparate portion to the beautiful Aifcach, af- 
furing them I fhould not fail to profit by any advice they 
fhould give me. After this I again fell into a found fleep, 
which continued till morning ; and, though my affairs had 
not the moft profperous appearance, I felt a calmnefs of 
mind to which I had been utterly a ftranger ever fince I 
had left Ras el Feel. My fervants awakened me in the 
morning of the 11th; I drank coffee, and dreffed, and 
took along with me Soliman and Ifmael, without arms in 
our hands, but having knives and piftols in our girdles, to 
fhew that we had lived in fear. 
Tue Moullah’s name was Welled Meftah, or the /on of 
interpretation, Or explanation. He was reputed to have at- 
tained fuch a degree of holinefs as to work miracles, and, 
more than once in his life, to have been honoured with 
the converfation of angels and {pirits, and, at times, to have 
called the devil into his prefence, and reproved him. He 
was aman below the middle fize, of a very dark com- 
plexion, and thin beard, feemingly paft fixty, hollow-eyed, 
and very much emaciated. If holy, we could not fay he 
was the beauty of holinefs. I underftood, afterwards, he 
‘was much addicted to the ufe of opium, to the effects of 
which he probably was indebted for his converfation with 
fpirits. He had brought with him another faint, much 
younger and robufter'than himfelf, who had been feveral 
times at Mecca, and had feen Metical Aga, but did not 
know him. He had feen hkewife the Englifh fhips at Jid- 
da, and knew the name of. the nation, but nothing more. 
He was a fherriffe, (that is, a defcendant of Mahomet) a de= 
3C2 ‘ gree 
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