THE SOURCE OF THE NILE 593 
THE whole company pafled without difturbing me; and 
Woldo, feeming to walk as well as ever, afcended a gentle- 
rifing hill, near the top of which is St Michael Geefh. The 
Nile here is not four yards over, and not above four inches 
deep where we crofled ; it was indeed become a very trifling 
_ brook, but ran fwiftly over a bottom of fmall ftones, with 
hard, black rock appearing amidit them: it is at this place 
very eafy to pafs, and very limpid, but, a little lower, full of 
inconfiderable falls ; the ground rifes gently from the river 
to the fouthward, full of {mall hills and eminences, which 
you afcend and defcend almoft imperceptibly. The whole 
company had halted on the north fide of St Michael’s church, 
and there I reached them without affecting any hurry. 
Ir was about four o’clock in the afternoon, but the day 
had been very hot for fome hours, and they were fitting in 
the fhade of a grove of magnificent cedars, intermixed with 
fome very large and beautiful cuffo-trees, all in the flower ; 
the men were lying on the grafs, and the beafts fed, with 
the burdens on their backs, in moft luxuriant herbage. I 
- called for my herbary *, to lay the rofe-branch I had in my 
hand.f{moothly, that it might dry without {poiling the fhape; 
having only drawn its general form, the piftil and ftamina, 
the finer parts of which (though very neceffary in claffing 
the plant) crumble and fall off, or take different forms in 
drying, and therefore fhould always be fecured by drawing 
while green. I juft faid indifferently to Woldo in pafiing, 
that { was glad to fee him recovered ; that he would pre- 
fently be well, and fhould fear nothing. He then got up, 
Nias. JILL. Win we P and 
* Hortus Siccus, a large book for extending and preferving dry plants. _ 
