upon my going to Shaddly, did furnifh me with camels and
neceffaries, fo much o f the chain ihould .be returned.
It was the 5th o f September that we were all prepared to
leave this capital o f Nubia, an inhofpitable country from
the beginning, and which, every day we continued in it,
had engaged us in greater difficulties and dangers. We
flattered ourfelves, that, once .difengaged from this bad ftep,
the greateft part o f our fufferings was over ; for we apprehended
nothing but from men, and, with very great reafon,
thought we had ieen the worft o f them.
In the evening I received a meflage from the k in g to
come direftly to the palace. I accordingly obeyed, taking
two fervants along with me, and found him fitting in a
little, low chamber, very neatly fitted up with chintz, or
printed callico curtains, o f a very gay and glaring pattern.
He was fmoaking with a very long Perfian pipe through
water, was alone, and feemed rather grave than in ill-hu-
mour. He gave me his hand to kifs as ufual, and, after
paufing a moment without fpeaking, {during which I was
{landing before him) a Have brought me a little flo,o{ and
fet it down juft oppofite to h im u p o n which he faid, in a
low voice, fo that I could fcarcely hear him,, “ Fudda, fit
down,” pointing to the ftool. I fat down accordingly.
“ You are going, I hear, fays he, to Adelan,” I anfwered,
“ Yes.” “ Did he fend for y o u i” I faid, “ No; but, as I
wanted to return to Egypt, I expected letters from him in
anfwer to thofe I brought from Cairo.” He told me, Ali
b e y that wrote thefe letters was dead ; and afked me i f I
knew Mahomet Abou Dahab ? Yagoub.e. “ Perfectly; I was well
acquainted with him and the other members o f govern-
1 ment,
ment, all of whom treated me well, and refpefled my nation.”
King. “ You are not fo gay as when you firft arrived
here.” Ya. “ I have had no very great reafon.” Our
converfation was now taking a very laconic and fefióus
turn, but he did not feem to underfland the meaning o f
what I faid laft. K. “ Adelan has fent for you by my delire ;
Wed Abroff and all the Jehaina Arabs have rebelled, and
w ill pay no tributé. They fay you have a quantity o f powerfu
l fire-arms with you that will k ill twenty or thirty men
a ta fh o t .” Ya. “ Say fifty or fixty, i f it hits them.” K. “ He
is therefore to employ you with your guns to puniih thofe
Arabs, and fpoil them o f their camels, part o f w hich he w ill
give to you.” I prefently underilood what he meant, and
o n ly anfwered, “ I am a ftranger here, and defire to hurt
no man. My arms are for my own defence againft robbery
and violence.” At this inflant the Turk, H agi Ifmael, cried
from without the door, in broken Arabic, “ Why did not
you tell thofe black Kaffs, you fent to rob and murder us
the other night, to flay, a little longer, and you would have
been better able to judg e what our fire-arms can do, without
fending for us either to Abroff or Adelan. By the head
o f the prophet! let them come in the day-time, and I will
fight ten o f the feeff you have in Sennaat.”
K. “ T he man is mad, but he brings me to fpe a k o fw h a t
was in my head when I defired to fee you. Adelan has
been informed that Mahomet, my ferVant, who brought
y o u from Teawa, has been gu ilty o f a drUnken frolic at
the door o f his houfe, and has fent foldiers to take him today,
with two or three others o f his companions.” Ya. “ I
know nothing about Mahomet, nor do I drink with him,
Vol. IV- 3 R or