# Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile/Volume 4/Book 8/Chapter 8

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GHAP. VIII.
Conver/atim ivli/j the King — With Shekh Addan^ — Interview with the
Kt?igs Ladies^ &C. &c.
WE were condudled by Adelan's fervant to a very fpaci- ous good houfc belonging to the Shekh himfclf, ha- ving two ftoreys, a long quarter of a mile from the king's pa- lace. He left a meffage for us to rcpofe ourfelves, and in a, day or two to wait upon the king, and that he fliould fend to tell us v/hen we were to come to him. This we re- folved to have complied with moll exadlly ; but the very next morning, the 30th of April, there came a fervant from the palace to fummon us to wait upon the king, which we imrr.ediately obeyed. I took with me three fervants, black Soliman, Ifmael the Turk, and my Greek fervant Michael. The palace covers a prodigious deal of ground. It is all of one ftorey, built of clay, and the floors of earth. The cham- bers through which we pafled ^ere all unfurniflied, and.
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feemed as if a great many of them had formerly been def- tined as barracks for foldiers, of whom I did not fee above fifty on guard. The king was in a fmall room, not twenty feet fquare, to which we afcended by two fhort flights of narrow Heps. The floor of the room was covered with broad fquare tiles ; over it was laid aPerflan carpet, and the walls hung with tapeflry of the fame country ; the whole very well kept, and in good order.
The king was fitting upon a matrefs, laid on the ground, which was likewife covered with a Perfian carpet, and round him was a number of cufliions of Venetian cloth of gold. His drefs did not correfpond with this magnificence, for it was nothing but a large, loofe ftiirt of Surat blue cotton cloth, which feemed not to differ from the fame worn by his fervants, except that, all round the edges of it, the feams were double-Hitched with white filk, and likewife round the neck. His head was uncovered ; he wore his own fliort black hair, and was as white in colour as an Arab. He feemed to be a man about thirty-four, his feet were bare, but co- vered by his fliirt. He had a very plebeian countenance, on which was ftamped no decided character ; I fliould rather guefs him to be a foft, timid, irrefolute man. At my co- ming forward and kifling his hand, he looked at me for a mmute as if undetermined what to fay. He then aflced for an Abyfiinian interpreter, as there are many of thefe about the palace. I faid to him in Arabic, " That I apprehended I tinderftood as much of that language as would enable me to anfwer any quefl.ion he had to put to me," Upon which he turned to the people that were with him, " Downright Arabic, indeed! You did not learn that language in Habefli?'* faid he to me. I anfwered, " No ; I have been in Egypt, I Turke/j ​THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 431
Turkey, and Arabia, where I learned it ; but I have Hkewife often fpoken it in Abyffinia, where Greek, Turkilh, and fe- veral other languages, were ufed." He faid, " Impoilible ? he did not think they knew any thing of languages, except- ing their own, in Abyffinia."
There were fitting in the fide of the room, oppofite to him, four men drefiTed in white cotton fliirts, with a white fhaul covering their heads and part of their face, by which it was known they were religious men, or men of learning, or of the law. One of thefe anfwered the king's doubt of the Abyffinians knowledge in languages. " They have languages enough; and you know that Habefli is called the paradife of afTes." During this converfation, I took the llierrifFe of Mecca's letter, alfo one from the king of Abyffinia; I gave him the king's firfl, and then the flierriiFe's. He took them both as I gave them, but laid afide the king's upon a cufhion, till he had read the fher- riffe's. After this he read the king's, and called immediate- ly again for an Abyffinian interpreter ; upon which I faid no- thing, fuppofmg, perhaps, he might chufe to make him de- liver feme meflage to me in private, which he woidd not have his people hear. But it was pure confufion and ab- fence of mind, for he never fpoke a word to him when he came. " You are a phyfician and a foldier," fays the king. " Both, in time of need," faid I. " But the flierrifTe's letter tells me alfo, that you are a nobleman in the fcrvice of a great king that they call Englife-man, who is mafter of all the Indies, and who has Mahometan as well as Chriflian fubjccfls, and allows them all to be governed by their own laws."—" Though I never faid fo to the flier- riiTe, replied I, yet it is true ; I am as noble as any inchVi-
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dual in my nation, and am alfo fervant to the greatell king now reigning upon earth, of whofe dominions, it is likewife truly faid, thefe Indies are but a fmall part." —
fhould not fay that : You forgot the grand lignior ; there are four, Otman, Ferfee, Bornow, and Habelh." — " I neither forgot the grand lignior, nor do him wrong, re- plied I. What I have faid, I have faid." — " Kafrs and flaves ! all of them, fays Ifmael ; there is the Turk, the king of England, and the king of France ; what kings are Bornow and the reft? — Kafrs." — " How comes it, fays the king, you that are fo noble and learned, that you know all things, all languages, and fo brave that you fear no dan- ger, but pafs, with two or three old men, into fuch coun- tries as this and Habefh, where Baady my father perifhed with an army? how comes it that you do not flay at home and enjoy yourfelf, eat, drink, take pleafure and reft, and not wander like a poor man, a prey to every danger ?" — " You, Sir, I replied, may know fome of this fort of men ; certainly you do know them ; for there are in your religion, as well as mine, men of learning, and thofe too of great rank and nobility, who, on account of fins they have com- mitted, or vows they have made, renounce the world, its riches and pleafures : They lay down their nobility, and become humble and poor, fo as often to be infuked by wicked and low men, not having the fear of God before their eyes." — *' True, thefe are Dervifli," faid the other three men. " I am then one of thefe Dervifli, faid I, content with the bread that is given me, and bound for fome years to travel in hardfliips and danger, doing all the good I can to poor and rich, ferving every man, and hurting none." " Tybe ! that is well," fays the king. " And how long 4 have ​THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 433
have you been travelling about ?" adds one of the others.
fays the king, to have committed fo many fins, and fo early ; they muft all have been with women ?" — " Part of them, 1 fuppofe, were, replied I ; but I did not fay that I was one of thofe who travelled on account of their fins, but that there were fome Derviflies that did fo on account of their vows, and fome to learn wifdom." He now made a fign, and a flave brought a cufliion, which I v;ould have refufed, but he forced me to fit down upon it.
I FOUND afterwards who the three men were who had joined in our converfation ; the firll was Ali Mogrebi, a na- tive of Morocco, who was Cadi, or chief judge at Sennaar, and was then fallen into difgrace with the two brothers, Mahomet Abou Kalec, governor of Kordofan,and ShekhAde- ian, prime minifler at Sennaar, then encamped at Aira at the head of the horfe and Nuba, levying the tax upon the Arabs as they went down, out of the limits of the rains, into the fandy countries below Atbara to protect their cattle from the fly. Another of thefe three was Cadi of Kordofan, in the interell of Mahomet Abou Kalec, and fpy upon the king. The third was a faint in the neighbourhood, confervator of a large extent of ground, where great crops of dora not only grow, but when threflied out are likewife kept in large excavations called Matamores ; the place they call Shaddly. This man was efteemed another Jofeph among the Funge, who accumulated grain in years of plenty, that he might diflribute it at fmall prices among the poor when fcarcity carne. He was held in very great reverence in the neigh- bourhood of Sennaar.
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The cadi then afkcd me, " If I knew when Haguige Ma-i giu;;c was to come ?" Remembering my old learned friend' at Teawa, I fcarce could forbear laughing. " I have no Willi to know any thing about him, faid I ;. I hope thofo- days are far off,, and w-iil not. happen in my time." "Whac do your books fay concerning him ? (fays he, affecting:, a great look of wifdom) Do they agree with ours ?" " I don't' know that, faid I, till I hear what is written in your books." " Hagiuge Magiuge, fays he, are little people,. not fo big, asf bees, or like the zimb, or fly of Sennaar, that come in great fwarms out of the earth, aye, in multitudes that cannot be counted ; two of their chiefs are to ride upon an afs, and eve- ry hair of that afs is to be a pipe, and every pipe is to play a different kind of mufic, and all that hear and follow tliem are carried to hell." " I know them not, faid. I, and, in the name of the Lord, I fear them not, were they twice as little as you fay they are, and twice as numerous. I truft in God I fhall ne\^r be fo fond of mufic as to go to hell after an afs for all the tunes that he or they can play." The king laughed violently.. I rofe to go away, fori was heartily ti- red of the converfation. I whifpered the AbylFmian fervant in Amharic, to alk when I fhould bring a. trifle I had to offer the king. He faid, Not that night, as I fhould be tired, but defired that I fhould now go home, and he would fend me notice when to come. I accordingly went away, and found a number of people in the ftreet,.all having fome taunt or affronting matter to fay. I paffed through the great fquare before the palace, and could not help fliuddering-, upon reflecftion, at what had happened in that fpot to the Unfortunate M. du Roule and his companions, though un«. ■der a protei5lion v/hich fhould have fecured them from all datjgcr, every part of which I was then unprovided with.
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The drum beat a little after fix o'clock in the evening. "vVe then had a very comfortable dinner fent us, camels flelh ftewed with an herb of a vifcous ilimy fubftance, called Bammia. After having dined, and finiftied the journal of the day, I fell to unpacking my inilruments, the barometer and thermometer firft, and, after having hung them up, was converfmg with Adelan's fervant when I fhould pay my vifit to his mailer. About eight o'clock came a fervant from the palace, telling me now was the time to bring the pre- fent to the king. I forted the feparate articles with all the fpeed I could, and we went diredlly to the palace. The king was then fitting in a large apartment, as far as I could guefs, at fome diftancc from the former. He was na- ked, but had feveral clothes lying upon his knee, and about him, and a fervant was rubbing him over with very ftinking butter or greafe, with which his hair was dropping as if wet with water. Large as the room was, it could be fmell- ed through the whole of it. The king afked me, If ever I greafed myfelf as he did ? I faid, Very feldom, but fancied it would be very expenfive. He then told me. That it was elephants greafe, which made people flrong, and preferved the flcin very fmooth. I faid, 1 thought it very proper, but could not bear the fmell of it, though m.y fkin fhould turn as rough as an elephant's for the want of it. He faid, " If I had ufed it, ray hair would not have turned fo red as it was, and that it would all become white prefently when that rednefs came off. You may fee the Arabs driven in here by the Daveina, and all their cattle taken from them, becaufe they have no longer any greafe for their hair. The fun firil turns it red and then perfectly white ; and you'll know them in the flreet by their hair being the colour
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of yours. As for the fmell, you will fee that cured pre- fently."
After having rubbed him abundantly with greafe, they brought a pretty large horn, and in it fomething fcent- cd, about as liquid as honey. It was plain that civet was a great part of the compofition. The king went out at the door, I fuppofe into another room, and there two men deluged him over with pitchers of cold water, whilll, as I imagine, he was ftark-naked. He then returned, and a ilave anointed him with this fweet ointment ; after which he fat down, as completely drefled, being jull going to his women's apartment where he was to fup. I told him I won- dered why he did not ufe rofe- water as in Abyllinia, Arabia, and Cairo. He faid, he had it often from Cairo, when the merchants arrived ; but as it was now long fmce any came, his people could not make more, for the rofe would not grow in his country, though the women made fomething like it of lemon- flower.
His toilet being finiflied, Ithen produced my prefcnt which I told him the king of Abylfmia had fent to him, hoping that, according to the faith and cuftom of nations, he would not only proteifl me while here, but fend me fafely and fpcedily out of his dominions into Egypt. He anfwered, There was a time when he could have done all this, and more, but thofe times were changed. Sennaar was in ruin, and was not like what it once Avas. He then ordered fome perfumed forbet to be brought for me to drink in his pre- fence, which is a pledge that your perfon is in fafery. I there- upon withdrew, and he went to his ladies. ​THE SOURCE OFTHENILE. 437
It was not till the eighth of May I had my audience of Shekh Adelan at Aira, which is three miles and a half from Sennaar; we walked out early in the morning, for the greateft part of the way along the fide of the Nile, which had no beauty, being totally divefted of trees, the bottom foul and muddy, and the edges of the water white with fmall concretions of calcarious earth, which, with the bright fun upon them, dazzled and affedled our eyes very much.
We then ftruck acrofs a large fandy plain without trees or buflies, and came to Adelan's habitation ; two or three^ very confiderable houfes of one ftorey occupied the middle of a large fquare, each of whofe fides was at leaft half of an Engliih mile, hiftead of a wall to inclofe this fquare, was a high fence or impalement of ftrong reeds, canes, or ilalks of dora, (I do not know which) in fafcines ilrongly joined together by flakes and cords. On the outfidc of the gate, on each hand, were fix houfes of a flighter conflru(5tion than the reft; clofeupon the fence were iheds where the fol- diers lay, the horfes picqueted before them with their heads turned towards the ilieds, and their food laid before them on the ground ; above each loldier's fleeping-place, co- vered only on the top and open in the fides, were hung a lance, a fmall oval fhield, and a large broad-fword. Thefe, I underftood, were chiefly quarters for couriers, who being Arabs, were not taken into the court or fquare, but fliut out, at night.
Within the gate was a number of horfes, with the fol- dicrs barracks behind them ; they were all picqueted in ranks, their faces to their mailers barracks. It was one of the finefl: fights 1 ever faw of the kind. They were all above
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fixteen hands high, of the breed of the old Saracen horfes, all finely made, and as llrong as our coach-horfes, but ex- ceedingly nimble in their motion ; rather thick and fliort in the forehand, but with the moil beautiful eyes, ears, and heads in the world ; they were moflly black, fome of them black and white, fome of them milk- white foaled, fo not white by age, with white eyes and white hoofs, not per- haps a great recommendation.
A STEEL fliirt of mail hung upon each man's quarters oppofite to his horfe, and by it an antelope's fkin made foft like Ihamoy, with which it was covered from the dew of the night. A head-piece of copper, without crell or plumage, was fufpended by a lace above the fliirt of mail, and was the moft pidlurefque part of the trophy. To thefe was add- ed an enormous broad-fword in a red leather fcabbard ; and upon the pummel hung two thick gloves, not divided into fingers as ours, but like hcdgers gloves, their finders in one poke. They told me, that, within that inclofure at Aira, there were 400 horfes, which, with the riders, and ar- mour complete for each of them, were all the property of Shekh Adelan, every horfeman being his flave, and bought with his money. There were five or h^ (I know not which) of thefe fquares or inclofures,noneof them.half amile from the othei-, which contained the king's horfes, flaves, and fer- vants. -Whether they were all in as good order as Adelan's 1 cannot fay, for I did not go further ; but no body of horfe could ever be more magnillcently difpofed^under the direc- tion of any Ghriftian power.
Adelan was then fitting upon a piece of the trunk of a
palm-tree, in the front of one of thefe divifions of liis hor-
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fes,. which he feemed to be contemplating with pleafure ; a-- number of black people, his own fervants and friends, were- ftanding around him. He had. on a long drab-coloured- camlet gown, lined with yellow fattin, and a camlet cap like a head piece, with two fliort poinis that covered his ears. This, it feems, was his drefs when he rofe early in? the morning to vilit his horfes, which he never negleded; The Shekh was a' man above fix- feet high, and rather cor^ pulent, had a heavy walk, feemingly more from affectation: of grandeur than want of agility. He was about fixty, o^ the colour and features of an Arab< and not of a Negro, but had rather more beard than falls to the lot of people in this country; large piercing eyes, and a determined, tho', at the fame time, a very pleafmg countenance. Upon my coming near him he got up, " You that are a horfeman, (fays he, without any falutation) what would your king of Habefh give for thefe horfes ?"— What king, anfwercd 1, in the fame tone, would not give any price for fuch horfes if he knew their value >"—^' Well, replies he, in a lower- voice, to the people about him, if we are forced to go to Habefh (as Baady was) we will carry our horfes along with lis." I underilood by this he alluded to the ilTue of his approaching quarrel with the king.
We then went into a large faloon, hung round with mirrors and fcarlet damailc ; in one of the longed fides, were two large fofa's covered with crimfon and yellow damaflc, and large cufliions of cloth of gold, like to the king's. He now pulled off his camlet gown and cap, and remained in a crimfon fattin coat reaching down below his knees, which lapped over at the breaft, and was girt round his waiO with a fcarf or fafli, in which he had ftuck a fhoPt ' tlagger in an ivory Iheath, mounted with gold ; and one of
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the largefl and mod beautiful amethyfls upon his finger that ever I faw, mounted plain, without any diamonds, and a fmall gold ear-ring in one of his ears.
" Why have you come hither, fays he to me, without arms, and on foot, and without attendants ?" Tagotibe. " I was told that horfes were not kept at Sennaar, and brought none with me." Adclan. " You fuppofe you have come through great dangers, and fo you have. But what do you think of me, who am day and night out in the fields, furrounded by hundreds and thoufands of Arabs, all of whom would eat me alive if they dared ?" I anfwered, " A brave man, ufed to command as you are, does not look to the number of his enemies, but to their abilities; a wolf does not fear ten thou- fand fheep more than he does one." Ad. " True ; look out at the door ; thefe are their chiefs whom I am now taxing, and I have brought them hither that they may judge from v/hat they fee whether I am ready for them or not." Tag. " You could not do more properly ; but, as to my own af- fairs, I wait upon you from the king of AbyiTmia, defiring fafe conduct through your country into Egypt, with his roy- al promife, that he is ready to do the like for you again, or any other favour you may call upon him for." He took the letter and read it. Ad. " The king of Abyfilnia may be af- fured I am always ready to do more for him than this. It is true, fince the mad attempt upon Sennaar, and the next ilill madder, to replace old Baady upon the throne, we have had no formal peace, but neither are we at war. We un- derftand one another as good neighbours ought to do ; and what eife is peace ?" Yog. " You know I am a ftranger and traveller, feeking my way home. I have nothing to do with peace or war between nations. All I beg is a fafe con- 3 dud ​THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 44?
duifl through your kingdom, and the rights of hofpitality beftowed in fuch cafes on every common flranger ; and one of the favours I beg is, your acceptance of a fmall prefent. I bring it not from home ; I have been long abfent from thence, or it would have been better." Ad, " I'll not re- fufe it, but it is quite unnecefTary. I have faults like other men, but to hurt, or ranfom flrangcrs, was never one of them. Mahomet Abou Kalec, my brother, is however a much better man to ftrangers than I am; you will be lucky if you meet him here ; if not, I will do for you what I can when once the confufion of thefe Arabs is over.
I GAVE him the flierrifFe's letter, which he opened, looked at, and laid by without reading, faying only, " Aye, Metical is a good man, he fometimes takes care of our people going to Mecca ; for my part, I never was there, and proba- bly never fliall." I then prefented my letter from Ali Bey to him. He placed it upon his knee, and gave a flap upon it with his open hand. Ad. " What ! do you not know, have you not heard, Mahomet Abou Dahab, hisHafnadar, has rebelled againfl: him, banifhed him out of Cairo, and now fits in his place? But don't be difconcerted at that, I know you to be a man of honour and prudence ; if Maho- met, my brother, does not come, as foon as I can get leifurc I will difpatch you." The fcrvant that had conduded me to Sennaar, and was then with us, went forward clofe to him, and faid, in a kind of whifper, " Should he go often to the king ?" — " When he pleafes ; he may go to fee the town, and take a walk, but never alone, and alfo to the pa- lace, that, when he returns to his own country, he may report he faw a king at Sennaar, that neither knows how to govern, nor will fuiFer others to teach him ; who knows
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not how to make war, and yet will not fit in peace." I then took my leave of him, but there was a plentiful break- fall in the other room, to which he fent us, and which went far to comfort Hagi Ifmael for the misfortune of his patron Ali Bey. At going out, I took my leave by kiffing his hand, which he fubmitted to without reluctance. " Shekh, faid I, when I pafs thefe Arabs in the fquare, I hope it will not difoblige you if I converfe with fome of them out of curiofity ?" Ad. " By no means, as much as you pleafe ; but don't let them know where they can find you at Sennaar, or they will be in your houfe from morn- ing till night, will eat up all your victuals, and then, in return, will cut your throat if they can meet you upon your journey."
I RETURNED liomc to Scunaar, very well pleafed with my reception at Aira. I had not fecn, fmce 1 left Gondar, a man fo open and frank in his manners, and who fpoke without difguife what apparently he had in his heart ; but he was exceedingly engaged in bufmefs, and it was of fuch extent that it feemed to me impoilible to be brought to an end in a much longer time than I propofed flaying at Sennaar. l^ie dillance, too, between Aira and that town was a very great difcouragement to me. The whole way was covered with infolent, brutifh people, fo that every man we met between Sennaar and Aira produced fome al- tercation, fome demand of prefents, gold, cloth, tobacco, and a variety of other difagreeable circumflances, which liad always the appearance of ending in fomcthing fe- rious.
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I HAD a long converfation with the Arabs I met with at Aira, and from them I learned pretty nearly the lituation oir the difT^:rent clans or tribes in Atbara. Thefe were all in their way northward to the refpedive countries in the fands to the eaflward of Mendera and Barbar. Thefe fands, fo barren and defolate the reft of the year, were beginning now to be crowded with multitudes of cattle and inhabi- tants. The fly, in the flat and fertile mold which compofes all' the foil to the fouthward of Sennaar, had forced this number of people to migrate, which they very well knew was to coft them at 1-caft one half of their fubftance ; of fuch confequence is the weakeft inftrument in the hand of Provi- dence. The troops of Sennaar, few in number, but well provided with every thing, flood ready to cut thefe people off from their accefs to the fands, till every chief of a tribe had given in a well-verificd inventory of liis v/hole flock, and made a compofltion, at paffing, wdth Shekh Adelan.
All fubtcrfuge was in vain. The fly, in pofTefilon of the fertile country, inexorably purfued every Angle cam.el till he took refuge in the fands, and fhere he was to flay till the rains ceafed ; and if, in the interim, it was difcovered that any concealment of number or quality had been made, they were again to return in the beginning of September to their old paRures ; and in this fccond palTage, any fraud, whether Tcai or alkdgijd, was puniihed with great fevcrit)-. Refin- ance had been often tried, and as often found inelTe^lua], However great their numbers, encumbered with families and baggage as they were, they had always fallen a facri- fi-ce to thofe troops, well mounted and armed, that awaited th^m in their way within fight of their own homes. Ar-
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rived once in the fands, they were quiet during the rains,, having paid their paiTage northward, and fo they were after- wards, for the fame reafon,when they came again to thein own llation, fouthward, when thofe rains had ceafed..
It may be aiked reafonably, What does the governmenf of Sennaar do with thatirhmenfe number of camels which, they receive from all thofe tribes of Arabs in their pafTage by Sennaar ? To this I anfwer, That all this tribute is not paid in kind. The different tribes poffeffing fo many ca- mels, or fo many other cattle, have a quantum laid upon them at an average value. This is paid in gold, or in., flaves, the reft in kind ; fo many for the maintenance of the king and government ; for there is no flefh commonly ufed, at Sennaar in the markets but that of camels. The refidue is bought by the merchants o£ Dongola, and fent into. ^gypf> where they fupply that great confumption of. thefe animals made every year by the caravans going to- Mecca.
One thing had made a very ftrong impreffion on nic, which was the contemptuous manner in which Adelan ex- preffed himfelf as to his fovereign. I was fatisfied that with fomc addrefs, I could keep myfelf in favour with either- of them ; but in the terms they then were, or were very foon to be, I could not but fear I was likely to fall into trou- ble between the two.,
The next morning, after I came home from Aira, I was agreeably furprifed by a vifit from Hagi Belal, to whom I had been recommended by Metical Aga, and to vv'hom Ibra- kim SerafF, the Englilli broker at Jidda, had addreffedme for
any ​THESOURCE OF THE NILE. 445
any money I fl^.ould need at Sennaar. He welcomed me with great kindnefs, and repeated teftimonics of joy and wonder at my fafe arrival. He had been down in Atbara at Gerri, or Ibme villages near it, with merchandize, and had not yet feen the king fince he came home, but gave me the very worft defcription poiUble of the country, info- much that there feemed to be not a fpot, but the one I then Hood on, in which I was not in imminent danger of deftruc- tion, from a variety of independent caufes, which it feemed not pofllbly in my pow^er to avoid. He fent me in the even- ing fome refrefhments, which I had long been unaccuftom- ed to; fome tea, excellent coffee, fome honey and brown fugar, feveral bottles of rack, likewife nutmegs, cinnamon,, ginger, and fome very good dates of the dry kind which? he had brought from Atbara.
Hagi Belal was a native of Morocco. He had been at €airo, and alfo at Jidda and Mocha. He knew the Englifh well, and profeffed himfelf both obliged and attached to them. It was fome days before I ventured to fpeak to him upon money bufmefs, or upon any probability of finding, affiftance here at Sennaar. He gave me little hopes of the latter, repeating to me what I very well knew about the dif- agreement of the king and Adelan. He feemed to place all his expectations, and thofe were but faint ones, in the co- ming of Shekh Abou Kalec from Kordofan. He faid, no- thing could be expected from Shekh Adelan without going to Aira, for that he would never trull: himfelf in Sennaar,, in this king's lifetime, h\n that the miniller was abfolute the. moment he affembled his troops without the town.
©NE ​446 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER
One morning he came to me, after having been with the king, when I was myfelf preparing ro go to the palace. He faid, he had been fent for upon my account, and had been queflioned very narrowly what fort of a man I was. Having anfwered very favourably, both of me and my na- tion, he was afked for Mctical Aga's letters, or any other letters he had received concerning me from Jidda ; he faid, that he had only fliewn Merical's letter, wrote in the name of the flierrifFe, as alfo one from himfelf ; that there were fe- veral great ofllcers of government prefent ; and the Cadi (whom I had feen the firil time I had been with the king) had read the letters aloud to them all : That one of them had afl:ed. How it came that fuch a man as I ventured to pafs thefe defer ts, with four or five old fervants, and what it was I came to fee ; that he anfwered, he apprehended my chief objetfl at Sennaar was to be forwarded to my own country. It was alfo afked, AVhy I had not fomc Englifli- nien with me, as none of my fervants were of that nation, but poox beggarly Kopts, Arabs, and Turks, who were none of them of my religion ? Eelal anfwered. That travellers through thefe countries muft take up with fuch people as they can find going the fame way ; however, he believed fome Englifli fervants had died in Abylluiia, which coun- try I had left the fiifl opportunity that had oflered, being wearied by the perpetual war which prevailed. Upon which the king faid, " He has chofen well, when lie came in- to this ecuntry for peace. You know, Hagi 3elal, I can do nothing for him ; there is nothing in my hands. I could eafier get him back into Abyffinia than forward liini into Egypt, Who is it now that can pafs into Egypt r" The Cadi then faid, " Hagi Belal can get him to Suakein, and {o to
Jidda ​THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 447
Jidda to his countrymen." To which Belal replied, " The king will find feme way when he thinks farther of it."
A FEW days after this I had a melTage from the palace. I found the king fitting alone, apparently much chagrined, and in ill-humour. He afl^ed me, in a very peevilh man- ner, " If I was not yet gone ?" To which I anfwered, " Your Majefty knows that it is impolTible for me to go a ftep from Sennaar without alliftance from you." He again allced me, in the fame tone as before, " How I could think of coming that way ?" I faid, nobody imagined in Abyffinia but that he was able to give a ilranger fafe condu(5l through his own dominions." He made no reply, but nodded a fign for me to depart, which I immediately did, and fo finifhed this fhortr,. but difagreeable interview.
About four o'clock that fame afternoon I was again fent for to the palace, when the king told me that feveral of his wives were ill, and defired that I would give them my advice, which I promifed to do without difficulty, as all acquaintance with the fair fex had hitherto been much to my advantage. I muft confefs, however, that calling thefe the fair fex is not preferving a precifion in terms. I was admitted into a large fquare apartment very ill lighted, in which were about fifty women, all perfe^flly black, Avithouc any covering but a very narrow piece of cotton rag about their waifts. While I was mufing whether or not thefe all might be queens, or whether there was any queen among them, one of them took me by the hand and led me rudely enough into another apartment. This was much better lighted than the firft. Upon a large bench, or fvfa, covered I with ​44B TRAVELS TO DISCOVER
with blue Surat cloth, fat three perfons cloathcd from the neck to the feet with blue cotton ihirts.
One of thefe, who I found was the favourite, was a- bout fix feet high, and corpulent beyond all proportion. She feemed to me, next to the elephant and rhinoceros, to be the largeft living creature I had met with. Her fea- tures were perfecftly like thofe of a Negro ; a ring of gold pafled through her under lip, and weighed it down, till, like a flap, it covered her chin, and left her teeth bare, which were very fmall and fine. The infide of her lip fhe had made black with antimony. Her ears reached down to her fhoulders, and had the appearance of wings ; flie had in each of them a large ring of gold, fomewhat fmaller than a man's little finger, and about five inches diameter. The weight of thefe had drawn down the hole where her ear was pierced fo much that three fingers might eafily pafs above the ring. She had a gold necklace, like what we ufed to call Efclavage, of feveral rows, one below an- other, to which were hung rows of fequins pierced. She had on her ancles two manacles of gold, larger than any I had ever feen upon the feet of felons, with which I could not conceive it was pofilble for her to walk, but afterwards I foundthcy werehollow. The otherswere drefit'ed pretty much in the fame manner; only there was one that had chains which came from her ears to the outfide of each noftril, where they v/ere fafiened. There was alfo a ring put thro' the grifiile of her nofe, and which hung down to the open- ing of her mouth. I think flic muft have breathed with great difficulty. It had altogether fomething of the ap- pearance of a horfe's bridle. Upon my coming near them, the eldell put her hand to her mouth and kifitd it,
4 faying, ​THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 449
faying, at the fame time, in very vulgar Arabic, " Kifhalek howaja?" (how do you do, merchant). I never in my hfe was more pleafed with diftant fakitations than at this time. I anfwered, " Peace be among you ! I am a phyfician, and not a merchant."
I SHALL not entertain the reader with the muhitude of their complaints ; being a lady's phyfician, difcretion and filence are my firft duties, h is fufficient to fay, that there was not one part of their whole bodies, infide and outflde, in which fome of them had not ailments. The three queens infilled upon being blooded, which defire I complied with, as it was an operation that required fliort attendance ; but, upon producing the lancets, their hearts failed them. They then all cried out for the Tabange, v>rhich, in Arabic, means a piilol ; but what they meant by this word was, the cupping inflrument, which goes off with a fpring like the fnap of a piftol. I had two of thefe with me, but not at that time in my pocket. I fent my fervant home, however, to bring one, and, that fame evening, performed the ope- ration upon the three queens with great fuccefs. The room was overflowed with an effufion of royal blood, and the whole ended with their infifling upon my giving them the inflrument itfelf, which I was obliged to do, after cup- ping, two of their flaves before them, who had no com- plaints, merely to fliew them how the operation was to be performed.
Another night I was obliged to attend them, and gave
the queens, and two or three of the great ladies, vomits. I
will fpare my reader the recital of fo naufeous a fcene.
The ipecacuanha had great effeft, and warm water was
Vol. IV. 3 L drunk ​drunk very copiously. The patients were numerous, and the floor of the room received all the evacuations. It was most prodigiously hot, and the horrid, black figures, moaning and groaning with sickness all around me, gave me, I think, some slight idea of the punishment in the world below. My mortifications, however, did not stop here. I observed that, in coming into their presence, the queens were all covered with cotton shirts; but no sooner did their complaints make part of our conversation, than, to my utmost surprise, each of them, in her turn, stript herself entirely naked, laying her cotton shirt loosely on her lap as she sat cross-legged like a tailor. The custom of going naked in these warm countries abolishes all delicacy concerning it. I could not but observe that the breasts of each of them reached the length of their knees.
This exceeding confidence on their part, they thought merited some consideration on mine; and it was not without great astonishment that I heard the queen desire to see me in the like dishabille in which she had spontaneously put herself. The whole court of female attendants flocked to the spectacle. Refusal, or resistance, were in vain. I was surrounded with fifty or sixty women, all equal in stature and strength to myself. The whole of my cloathing was, like theirs, a long loose shirt of blue Surat cotton cloth, reaching from the neck down to the feet. The only terms I could possibly, and that with great difficulty, make for myself were, that they should be contented to strip me no farther than the shoulders and breast. Upon seeing the whiteness of my skin, they gave all a loud cry in token of dislike, and shuddered, seeming to consider it rather the effects of disease than natural. I think in my ​THE SOURCE OF THE NIL^. 4>.i
"life I never felt fo difagreeably. I have been in more than one battle, but furely I would joyfully have taken my chance again in any of thein to have been freed from that examination. I could not help likewife refledling, that, if the king had come in during this exhibition, the confe- quence would either have been impaling, or ilripping off that fkin whofe colour they were fo curious about ; tho' I can folemnly declare there was not an idea in my breail, fmce ever I had the honour of feeing thefe royal beauties, that could have given his majefty of Sennaar the fmalleft reafon for jealoufy ; and I believethe fame may be faid of the fentiments of the ladies in what regarded mc. Ours was a mu- tual paffion, but dangerous to no one concerned. I returned home with very different fenfations from thofe I had felt after an interview with the beautiful Aifcach of Teawa. Indeed, it was impoflible to be more chagrined at, or more difgufted with, my prefent fituation than I was, and the more fo, that my delivery from it appeared to be very dif- tant, and the circumflances were more and more unfavour- able every day.
An event happened which added to my diftrefs. Going one evening to wait upon the king, and being already with- in the palace, palling through a number of rooms that are now totally deferted, where the court o£ guard ufed to be kept, I met Mahomet, the king's fervant, who accompanied us from Teawa. Such people, though in reality often enough drunk, yet if they happen to be fobcr at the time of their committing a crime, counterfeit drunkennefs, in order to avail themfelves of it as an excufe. This fellow, feeing me alone, came ftaggering up to tue, faying, " Damn you, Ya- goube, I have met you now, pay me for the trouble of go-
3 L 2 ing ​ing for you to Teawa;" and with that he put his arm to lay hold of me by the breast. I said to him, "Off hands, you ruffian;" and, taking him by the arm, I gave him such a push that he had very near fallen backward; on which he cried out, in great fury, "Give me fifty patakas (about twelve guineas) or I'll ham-string you this instant." I had always pistols in my pocket for an extremity; but I could not consider this drunkard, though armed, to have reduced me to that situation; I therefore immediately closed upon him, and, catching him by the throat, gave him a violent wrench backward, which threw him upon the ground. I then took his sword out of his hand; and in the instant my black servant Soliman appeared, who had staid behind conversing with some acquaintance in the street. Several other black companions of this rascal likewise appeared; part seemed to defend, and part to intercede for him, but none to condemn him. Soliman, however, insisted upon carrying him before the king with his drawn sword in his hand. But how were we surprised, when the king's answer to our complaint was, "That the man was drunk, and that the people in that country were not used to see franks, like me, walking in the street." He then gave Soliman a sharp reproof for having the presumption, as he called it, to disarm one of his servants in his palace, and immediately ordered his sword to be restored him.
We were retiring full of thoughts what might be the occasion of this reception, when we were met by Kittou, Adelan's brother, who was left with the care of the town. I told the whole affair. He heard me very attentively, and with apparent concern. "It is all the king's fault; every
At this instant a message from the king called him in. I went away, better satisfied than before, because I now had learned there was a place in that town where I could remain in safety, and I was resolved there to await the arrival of Abou Kalec, to whom I looked up as to the means Providence was to use to free me from the designs the king was apparently meditating against me. I was more confirmed in the belief of these bad intentions, by a conversation he had with Hagi Belal, to whom he said, That he was very credibly informed I had along with me above 2000 ounces of gold, besides a quantity of silver, and rich embroideries from India, from which last place, and not from Cairo, I was come as a merchant, and not a physician. I resolved, therefore, to keep close at home, and to put into some form the observations that ​I had made upon this extraordinary government; a monarchy that had started up, as it were, in our days, and of which no traveller has as yet given the smallest account.