THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 283 
good fervices he had done, previous to this, the only offence 
which he had committed, ordered him to be pardoned. 
Tue Perfian king, in all expeditions, was attended by 
judges. We find in Herodotus *, that, in the expedition of 
Cambyfes, ten of the principal Egyptians were condemned 
to die by thefe judges for every Perfian that had been flain by 
the people of Memphis. Six judges always attend the king 
of Abyffinia to the camp, and, before them, rebels taken on 
the field are tried and punifhed on the fpot. 
Peopte that the king diftinguifhed by favour, or for any 
public action, were in both kingdoms prefented with gold 
chains, fwords, and bracelets +. Thefe in Abyffinia are un- 
derftood to be chiefly rewards of military fervice; yet Poncet 
received a gold chain from Yafous the Great. The day 
before the battle of Serbraxos, Ayto Engedan received a 
filver bridle and faddle, covered with filver plates, from 
Ras Michael; and the night after that battle I was myfelf 
honoured with a gold chain from the king upon my re- 
conciliation with Guebra Mafcal, who, for his behaviour 
that day, had a large revenue moft defervedly affigned to 
him, and a confiderable territory, confifting of a number 
of rich villages, a prefent known to be more agreeable to 
him than a mere mark of honour. 
A strANGER of fafhion, particularly recommended as I 
was, not needy in point of money, nor depending from day 
to day upon government for fubfiftence, is generally provi- 
Nn2 ded 
* Herod. lib. iii. + Xenoph, lib. i, Xenoph. lib. viii, 
