heads, sipped their coffee, and took extra whiffs at
their long pipes, until at length the white-haired old
Halleem Effendi spoke. He gave good and parental
advice as f o l l ows “ Don’t go upon so absurd an
errand ; nobody knows anything about the Nile, neither
will any one discover its source. We do not even
know the source of the Atbara, how should we know
the source of the great Nile % A great portion of the
Atbara flows through the Pasha of Egypt’s dominions;
the firman in your possession with his signature, will
insure you respect, so long as you remain within his
territory, but if you cross his frontier you will be m
the hands of savages. The White Nile is the country"
of the negroes ; wild ferocious races, who have neither
knowledge of God nor respect for the Pasha, and you
must travel with a powerful armed force ; the climate
is deadly how could you penetrate such a region to
search for what is useless, even should you attain it ?
JBut how would it be possible for a lady, young and
delicate, to endure what would kill the strongest man 1
Travel along the Atbara river into the Taka country,
there is much to be seen that is unexplored , but give
up the mad scheme of the Nile source.
There was some sense in old Halleem Effendi s
advice, it was the cool and cautious wisdom of old
age, but as I was not so elderly I took it “ cum granO
salis.” He was a charming old gentleman, the perfect
beau ideal of the true old style of Turk, but few specimens
of which remain ; all that he had said was
spoken in sincerity, and I resolved to collect as much
information as possible from the grey-headed authorities
before I should commence the expedition. I was
deeply impressed with one fact, that until I could dispense
with an interpreter it would be impossible to
succeed, therefore I determined to learn Arabic as
speedily as possible.
A week’s rest in the garden of Halleem Effendi
prepared us for the journey. I resolved to explore
the Atbara river and the Abyssinian affluents,
prior to commencing the White Nile voyage. The
Governor promised me two Turkish soldiers as attendants,
and I arranged to send my heavy baggage by
boat to Khartoum, and secure the advantage of travelling
light; a comfort that no one can appreciate who
has not felt the daily delay in loading a long string of
camels. Both my wife and I had suffered from a short
attack of fever brought on by the prostrating effect of
the simoom, which at this season (June) was at its
height. The Nile was slowly rising, although it was
still low; occasionally it fell about eighteen inches in
one night, but again rose ; this proved that, although
the rains had commenced, they were not constant, as
the steady and rapid increase of the river had not
taken place. The authorities assured me that the
Blue Nile was now rising at Khartoum, which accounted
for the increase of the river at Berber.
The garden of Halleem Effendi was attended by a
number of fine powerful slaves from the White Nile,
whose stout frames and glossy skins were undeniable
witness o their master’s care. A charmingly pretty