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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