THE SOURCE OF THE NILE 599 
as a mark of duty to my fovereign, that, with thofe that 
-knew and efteemed me, I fhould be obliged to run in debt 
for the credit of a whole narrative of circumftances, which 
ought, from their importance to hiftory and geography, to 
have a better foundation than the mere memory of any man, 
confidering the time and variety of events which they em- 
braced; and, above all, I may be allowed to fay, 1 felt for 
my country, that chance alone, in this age of difcovery, had 
robbed her of the faireit garland of this kind fhe ever was 
to wear, which all her fleets, full of heroes and men of 
fcience, in all the oceans they might be deftined to explore, 
were incapable of replacing upon her brow. Thefe fad re- 
fletions were mine, and confined to myfelf. Luckily my 
companions were no fharers in them; they had already, 
in their own fufferings, much more than their little ftock. 
of fortitude, philofophy, or education enabled them. to: 
bear. ; 
Aszovut three o’clock in the afternoon of the 27th we 
faw. two kites, or what are called Haddaya, very numerous 
in Egypt; about a quarter of an hour afterwards, another of 
the fame fort, known to be carrion-birds, probably going in 
fearch of the dead camels. {-could not conceal my joy at 
what I regarded as a happy omen. We went five hours 
and a half this day, and at night came to Waadi el Arab, 
where are the firft trees. we had feen fince we left El Hai-- 
mer. 
On the 28th, at half paft feven in the morning we left 
Waadiel Arab, and entered into a narrow defile, with rug- 
ged, but not high mountains on each fide. About twelve: 
o'clock we came to a few trees in the bed of a torrent.. HL 
as 
