THE SOURCE OF THE NILE 407 
with our fervants; and plundered them, as belonging to 
the king and the Ras. 
I was, for fome minutes, in the utmoft aftonifhment at 
this torrent of bad news.. Whether the others knew more 
than. I, it is impoflible to fay ; diflimulation, in all ranks of 
thefe people, is as natural as breathing. Guebra Mchedin 
and Confu were the Iteghé’s two nephews, fons of Bafha 
Eufebius her brother, a worthlefs man, and his fons no bet- 
ter. They were young men, however, whom I faw conti- 
nually at the queen’s palace, and to whom I fhould have 
gone immediately without fear, if I had known their houfes 
had been in my way, and they happened to be near Lebec 
at the hot wells ; notwithftanding their rank, they were of 
fuch:diffipated manners, that they were of no account, but 
treated as caftaways. in the houfe of the queen their aunt,. 
and never, as far as I knew, had entered into the pre- 
fence of the king. I had often ate and drank with them,. 
however, in the houfe of Ayto Engedan,, their coufin- 
german,, who was gone off with Welleta Ifrael his aunt, at. 
the paflage of the Nile as before mentioned... They had beat 
Strates, who was their intimate acquaintance, violently ; as. 
alfo two others of my fervants, to make them confefs in: 
what package the gold was. They had taken from them’ 
alfo a large blunderbufs, given me by the Swedifh conful,. 
Brander, at Algiers; a pair of piftols, a double-barrelled: 
gun, and a. Turkifh fword mounted.with filver, which, as: 
there was then. no profpect of their being immediately 
needed, were fent forward with the baggage. 
Netrcuo and Adigo, and all prefent, agreed that the 
whole was a.fiction, and. that, fuppofing the account to be: 
true 
