Chapter I. 
After a lapse of twenty-four centuries the verse of Aeschylus—- 
“ Egypt nurtured by the snow ”—once more receives its literal 
signification. The “Mountain of Silver” (a pyvpow opos), the 
source of the Nile, according to Aristotle, is at last revealed. 
Strange indeed are the vicissitudes of human knowledge. 
This classical tradition of the Nile issuing from vast lakes 
fed by snowy mountains was tenaciously preserved through 
subsequent history. We find it repeated in the description 
of the “ Mountains of the Moon ” taken by Ptolemy, with 
modifications of his own, from the writings of Marinus of Tyre. 
The same story recurs in the writings and maps of Arab 
geographers in the Middle Ages ; and again in the works of 
Western European compilators, such as the Prior of Neuville 
les Dames and Alphonse de Saintorge. In fact, notwith¬ 
standing the absolute lack of any confirmation of their 
existence, these mountains and lakes, indicated with uncertain 
forms and doubtful and varying geographical situation, never 
wholly disappeared from our maps of Africa up to the time 
ol their actual discovery. 
The belief in snow-clad mountains at the sources of the Nile 
had persisted with peculiar tenacity among the natives of the 
East Coast. Possibly it received fresh confirmation from time 
to time through news gathered from the caravans which brought 
ivory and slaves from the interior. Burton, Speke and Baker 
heard it again and again, and with positive affirmation, both 
from the Arabs and from the natives of Zanzibar. 
The discovery of Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimandjaro by the 
German missionaries Krapf and liebmann in 1848—49 seemed 
for the time to settle the question. These mountains, how¬ 
ever, are connected neither with the lakes nor with the Nile. 
In 1861 Speke believed that he had discovered the “ Mountains 
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