THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 469
fengers from Guflio and PowufTen, with various excufcs why they had not joined. They were very ill received by the Ras, and refufed an audience of the king. Their prefent, which is always new clothes to fome value, was a (mall piece of dark-blue Surat cloth, value about half-a-crown, intended as an affront; they were not fuffered to fleep in the camp, but forwarded to Fafil where they were going.
The 3d of June the army encamped'on the river Kahha, under Gondar. From the time we left Dingleber, fome one or other of the Ras's confidential friends had arrived every day. Several of the great officers of (late reached us at the Kemona, many others met us at Abba Samuel. I did not per- ceive the news they brought increafed the fpirits either of the King or the Ras ; the foldiers, however, were all con- tented, becaufe they were at home ; but the officers, who faw farther, wore very different countenances, efpecially thofe that were of Amhara.
I, in particular, had very little reafon to be pieafed; for, after having undergone a conftant feries of fatigues, dangers, and expences, I was returned to Gondar difappoint- ed of my views in arriving at the fource of the Nile, with- out any other acquifition than a violent ague. The place where that, river rifes remained itill as great a fecret as k. had been ever fince the cataftrophe of Phaeton:—
Nilus in extremum fugit pert err it us orhem t
Oiculuitque caput, quod adhuc latet.
Ovid. Metam. lib. iiij
CHAR.
