THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 68x 
king was not to exact his tribute, becaufe it was underftood 
fuch a quantity only was produced as was fuflicient for the 
_ maintenance of the landholder and labourer. This was re- 
ferred to the Nilometer, whofe divifion fhewed to what 
height the Nile had rifen. Men appointed by the fovereign 
were to fuperintend this Nilometer, and to publith the height 
of the Nile, whilft the reafon why the king was to have the 
direction of the Nilometer, and not his fubjects, was very 
obvious, though it has not yet been underftood, becaufe the 
king could not gain by fubftituting falfe meafures, where- 
as the people might. 
‘Tue Nile, though in an average of years it brought down 
mearly the fame quantity of water, yet, in particular ones, 
it varied fometimes more and fometimes lefs. It is like- 
wife obferved, like moft other rivers, to run more on one 
fide of the valley for fome years than to the other. The 
confequence of this varying and deviation was, that though, 
upon the whole, the quantity indicated by the Nilometer was 
the fame, yet nobody knew his guota, or what proportion of 
the whole was drawn from the property of each individual; 
as for this they were obliged to apply to actual menfuration. 
Suppofing a man’s property was a fection of the land of E- 
gypt, of 12,000 feet from the brink of the river to the moun- 
tain, and of any given breadth, 4ooo feet of this perhaps 
were overflowed, whilft the other 8coo remained dry, and 
above the level of the water. The tenant, after having mea- 
fared, did not till then know what his farm of 12,000 feet 
would give him for that year, only 4000 of which had been 
overflowed by the water, and was then fit for fowing ; for 
this he paid his landlord the higheft rent laid upon cultiva- 
Vou. II. 4R ted 
