paring the camels. He anfwered, the camels were fifteen
days journey o£F, in the fandy defert, for fear o f the flies;
but that the want o f them ihould not detain us, i f he had
leave from Sennaar, for which he was to write that night.
He added, that they always w ere exceedingly tedious at Sennaar,
and both the town and road were, at prefent, in a
very unfettled ftate. I told him, I was furprifed at this, as
Hagi Belal had written to Yafine and myfelf alfo, in aletter
(then in my cuftody) that orders were gone both to him
and the Shekh o f Beyla, to receive me kindly, and forward
me fafely and fpeedily to Sennaar : that he h imfelf had con-
fefied this to Yafine in a letter written to him from- Teawa,
defiring that I would come fpeedily, as he had every th in g
ready, which letter I myfelf had read. Fidele feemed in
the utmoft furprife at this. [ He lifted up his hands and
eyes, as i f I had been telling the greateft o f lies. He faidr
“ he never wrote a letter about me to Yafine in his life ; or,
at leaft, not this y e a r ; that it was all a forgery o f Yafine,
knowing that I had a quantity o f gold with me, to get
me out into the defert, to rob and murder me there ; that B
might fee he never co#ld receive . fuch orders, or elfe it
would have been as much as his life was worth, not to
have prepared to difpatch me immediately; but fo fa r from
that, fays he, feek all over the town, and i f you find one
camel, or any other number, I will make you a prefent o f
them all, for this is entirely a forgery o f Yafine.”
S o l i m a n could bear this no longer. He told Fideie,
“ That it was he who was a forger and a liar, not Yafine.
Will you perfuade roe that I do not know o f your letter to
Yafine ? Have not your fervants Ibrahim and Nailer lived
with us at Ras el Feel for w eeks together as bearers o f thefe
letters.
letters, which I have feen in their hands before reading,
and alfo read them afterwards ? Was I not fpeaking to them
both this morning about the letters ? and are not they juft
now waiting without ? If you have a mind to call them in,
and queftion theffi, do it now before me. What do you
think Yafine w ill fay when he hears o f the fine charadter
you give himV* “ Soliman, replies the Shekh, in a very foft
tone o f voice, I may h a v e forgotten, in the many letters and
affairs that pafs through my hands in a d a y ; but Yafine is
my brother, and I w ill do every thing for him and you
that you could w ifh : flay only this week, and i fm y camels
do not arrive, I w ill fend and take them from the Arabs,
wherever they can be found. They are for the kin g s bufi-
hefs, and not mine.” He faid this with fuch an air o f candou
r and fincerity, that it was impoflible to doubt him.
■On the 26th, I went in the forenoon to fee the S h ekh ; I
fat a few minutes with him, then rofe to go away. He
then inquired i f I had any thing particular to aik ? I anfwered,
I had nothing but to pay m y compliments to him.
He made me a very civil bow, and I took my leave. Next
day, the 27th, I ftaid in thehoufe all day, it being the Shekh’s
feftival. In the evening, the old man, who was the Kaiya,
came to my houfe with compliments from the Shekh. He
told me Fidele was often ill with complaints in the ftomach,
and hinted that it was from e x c e f f m f drinking. He wifiied
that I w ould give him fome medicine to vomit him, and
reftore his appetite, Which he had perfeftly loft. The old
man added, that this was the way to make the Shekh do
what I wiftied, fdoner than all the prefents in the world.
I told him, that he might allure Fidele, that T both could,
and would do him that fervice, and for that purpofe would
wait upon him at 6 o’clock next evening.
Z z 2 , On