THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 407
with our fervants ; and plundered them, as belonging to the king and the Ras.
I was, for fome minutes, in the utmoft aftoniihment at this torrent of bad news. Whether the others knew more than I, it is impoffible to fay ; diffimulation, in all ranks of thefe people, is as natural as breathing. Guebra Mehedin and Confu were the Iteghe's two nephews, fons of Bafha Eufebius her brother, a worthlefs man, and his fons no bet- ter. They were young men, however, whom I faw conti- nually at the queen's palace, and to whom I mould have gone immediately without fear, if I had known their houfes had been in my way, and they happened to be near Lebec at the hot wells ; notwithftanding their rank, they were of fuch diffipated manners, that they were of no account, but treated as caftaways in the houfe of the queen their aunt, and never, as far as I knew, had entered into the pre- fence of the king. I had often ate and drank with them, however, in the houfe of Ayto Engedan, their coufm- gennan, who was gone off with Welleta Ifrael his aunt, at the paffage of the Nile as before mentioned. They had beat Strates, who was their intimate acquaintance, violently ; as alfo two others of my fervants, to make them confefs in what package the gold was. They had taken from them alfo a large blunderbufs, given me by the Swedifli conful, Brander, at Algiers ; a pair of piitols, a double-barrelled gun, and a Turkifh fword mounted with iilver, which, as there was then no profpecT: of their being immediately needed, were fen t forward with the baggage.
Netcho and Adigo, and all prefent, agreed that the •whole was a nation, and that, fuppoling the account to be
true.
