o f your?. As for the fmell, you w ill fee that cured pre-
fently.”
A f t e r having rubbed him abundantly with greafe, they
brought a pretty large horn, and in it fomething ¡cent-,
ed, ahout as liquid as honey. It was plain that civet was;
a great part o f the compofition. The k in g went out
at the door, I fuppofe into another room, and there two
men deluged him over with pitchers o f cold water, whilit,'
as I imagine, he was ftark-naked. He then, returned, and a
Have anointed him with this fweet ointment; after which he
fat down, as completely drefled, being juft goin g to. his
women’s apartment where he was to fup. I told, him I wondered
w hy he did not life rofe-water as in Abyflinia, Arabia,
and Cairo. He faid, he had it often from Cairo, when the
merchants arrived ; but as it was now long fince any came
his people could not make m ore, for the rofe wouldhot grow
in his country, though the women made fomething like it
o f lemon-flower.
His toilet being finiflied, Ithemproducedmy prefentwhich
I told him ,the k in g o f Abyflinia had fent to him, hoping
that, according to the faith and cuftom o f nations, he would
not only proteft me while here, but fend, me fafely and
fpeedily out o f 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 was. He then ordered fome
perfumed forbet to be brought for me to drink in his prefence,
which is a pledge that your perfon is in fafety. I thereupon
withdrew* and he went to his ladies,.
It was not till the eighth o f May I had my- audience o f
Shekh Adelan at Aira, which is three miles and a h a lf from
Sennaar; we walked out early in the morning, for the
greateft part o f the way along the fide o f the Nile, which
had no beauty, being totally divefted o f trees, the bottom
foul and muddy, and the edges; o f the water white with
fmall concretions o f calcarious earth, which, with the b right
fun upon them, dazzled and afietfted our eyes very much.
W e then ftrucE acrofs a large fandy plain without trees
or buihes, and came to Adelan’s habitation ; two or three,
very coniiderable houfes o f one ftorey occupied the middle
o f a large fquare, each o f whofe fides was at leaft h a lf o f an
Englifih mile, lnftead o f a wall to inclofe this fquare* was
a high fence or impalement o f ftrong reeds, canes, or ftalks
o f dora, (I do hot know which) in fafcines ftrongly joined
together by flakes and cords. On the outfide o f the;
gate, on each hand, were fix houfes o f a flighter eonftruclion.
than the reft; clofe upon the fence wereiheds where the fol-
diers lay, the horfes picqueted before them with their
heads turned towards the fheds, and their food laid before
them oh the g ro u n d ; above each foldjer’s fleeping-place, covered
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 fh u tou t.
at night.-
W i t h i n the gate was a number o f horfes,. with the fol-
diers barracks behind th em ; they were all picqueted in
ranks, their faces to their mailers barracks. It was one o f
the.,fineft fights 1. ever, faw o f the kind. They were all above
fix teen.