LOBO^S JOURNEY. 
57 
pursuing, he turned back and regained Fremona. 
The viceroy now raised openly the standard of re- 
bellion, but was soon after defeated by the impe- 
rial army, and put to death. 
Lobo was now ordered, by his superiors, into 
the kingdom of Damot, on the south-western 
frontier of Abyssinia. On his way he crossed the 
Nile (Bahr-el-Azrek), about two days' journey 
from its source. There was neither boat nor 
bridge, and the multitude of crocodiles and hippo- 
potami rendered it extremely dangerous to swim. 
The only way of passing is on floats, guided by long 
poles ; and even these are dangerous, as the above 
mentioned amphibia often cause them to overset. 
Lobo seems to have felt an extraordinary emotion 
at the view of this celebrated stream, and to have 
been highly elated with the idea of being so near 
that fountain head, which the greatest monarchs 
of antiquity had in vain laboured to approach. 
He thus describes the source, in a manner which 
would lead us to suppose that he had actually 
visited it " This spring, or I'ather these two 
" springs, are two holes, each about two feet dia- 
meter, a stone's cast distant from each other j 
the one is but about five feet and a half in 
** depth, at least we could not get our plummet 
^' farther, perhaps because it was stopped by 
roots, for the whole place is full of trees ^ of 
^* the other, which is somewhat less, with a line 
