THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 33s 



prehenfive of what the French call a Coup defokil. " Go, 

 laid I to the Rais, to Mahomet Gibberti, who was lying juft 

 before us, tell him that I am a Chriftian, and have no juris- 

 diction over ghofts in thefe feas." 



A moor called Tafim, well known to me afterwards, now 

 came forward, and told me, that Mahomet Gibberti had 

 been very bad ever fmce we failed, with fea-fickncfs, and 

 begged that I would not laugh at the fpirit, or fpeak fo fa- 

 miliarly of him, becaufe it might very poflibly be the devil, 

 who often appeared, in thefe parts. The Moor alfo defired 

 I w^ould fend Gibberti fome coffee, and order my fervant to 

 boil him fome rice with freih water from Foofht ; for hi- 

 therto our fifh and. our rice had been boiled in fea water, 

 which I conftantly preferred. This bad news of my friend 

 Mahomet banifhed all merriment,. I gave therefore the ne- 

 ceflary orders to my fervant to wait upon him, and at the 

 fame time recommended to Yafine to go forward with the 

 Koran in his hand, and read all night, or till we mould get 

 to Zimmer, and then, or in the morning, bring me an ac- 

 count of what he had feen. 



The 8th, early in the morning, we failed from Foofht^ 

 but the wind being contrary, we did not arrive at our def- 

 tination till near mid-day, when we anchored in an open, 

 road abo*t half a mile from the ifland, for there is no har- 

 bour in Baccalan, Foofht, nor Zimmer. I then took my 

 quadrant, and went with the boat afhore, to gather wood, 

 Zimmer is a much fmaller ifland than Foofht, without in- 

 habitants, and 'without water; though, by the ciflerns which 

 flill remain, and are fixty yards fquare, hewed out of the folid- 

 rock, we may imagine this was once a place of conic- 



quencc ;■; 



