bara. Never was furprife better counterfeited than by this
man. He held up his hands in the utmoft aftonifliment,
repeating, 200, fequ in s! over twenty times, and aiked me i f f
thought money grew upon trees at Sennaar, that it was
with the utmoft difficulty he could fpare me 20 dollars,
part o f which he muft borrow from a friend.
T his was a ftroke that feemed to infure our deftru&ion
no other refource being now left. We were already indebted
to Hagi Belal twenty dollars for provifion ; we had feven
mouths to feed d a ily ; and as we had neither meat, money,
nor credit, to continue at Sennaar was impoffible. We had
feen, a few nights before, that no houfe could pro tea us
there ; and to leave Sennaar was, in our lituation, as impof-
fible as to ftay there. We had neither camels to carry our
provifions and baggage, nor ikins for our water, nor, indeed,
any provifions to carry, nor money to fupply us with
any o f thefe, nor knew any perfon that could give us affift-
ance nearer than Cairo, from which we were then diftant a-
bout 17° o f the meridian, or above 1000 miles in aftraight line;
great part o f which was thro’the moft barren, unhofpitable de-
ferts in the world, deftitute o f all vegetation, andof every animal
that had the breath o f life. Hagi Belal was inflexible;
he began now to be weary o f us, to fee us but feldom, and
there was great appearance o f his foon withdrawing himfelf
entirely.
My fervants began to murmur; fome o f them had known
o f my gold chain from the beginning, and thefe, in the
common danger, imparted what they knew to the reft. In
Ihort, I refolved, though very unwillingly, not to facrifice
my own life and that o f m y fervants, and the finifhing my
3 travels
travels now fo far advanced, to childilh vanity. I determined
therefore to abandon my gold chain, the honourable re-
compence o f a day fu ll o f fatigue and danger. Whom to in-
truft it to was the next confideration; and, upon mature deliberation,
I found it could be to nobody but Hagi Belal, bad
as I had reafon to think he was. However, to put a check
upon him, I fent for the Sid el Coom, in w hofe prefence I
repeated my accufation againft B e la l; I read the Seraff’s let*
ter in my favour, and the feveral letters that Belal had written
me whilft I was at Gondar, declaring his acceptance o f
the order to furniffi me with money when I ffiould arrive at
Sennaar ; and I upbraided him in the ftrongeft terms withi
duplicity and breach o f faith.
But all that I could fay was very far Ihort o f the violent
expoftulation from the Gindi that immediately followed.
He gave Hagi Belal many not obfcure hints, “ that he looked
upon this injury as done to himfelf, and would repay him 7
that though he had done this to pleafe the king, the time
might not be far o ff when that favour would be o f very
little ufe to him ; on the contrary, might be a reafon for
ftripping him o f all he had in the world.” The force o f
thefe arguments feemed to ftrike Hagi Belal’s imagination
very powerfully. He even offered to advance 50 fequins;
and to fee i f he could raife any more among his friends.
The Gindi (a rare inftance in that country) offered to lend
him fifty. But the dye was now call, the chain had been
produced and feen, and it was become exceedingly dangerous
to carry fuch a quantity o f gold in any fihape along
with me. I therefore confented to fell it to Hagi Belal in
prefence o f the Gindi, and we immediately fet about the
purchafe o f neceffaries, with this provifo, that i f Adelan,
upon;