Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/32
i6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER
ed him to pafs there, or at Kerr. I kept him to the place ■where you pafTcd; you would have all periflied at Kerr. This, to be fure, was not a good ford, nor pafTable at all except in fummer, unlefs by fwimming ; but fo many men crolling had made it ftill worfe ; befides, do you remember what a llorm it was ? — what a night of rain ? O Lady Mariam, al- ways a virgin, faid I, while they ftruggled in the mud and clay. O holy Abba Guebra Menfus Kedus, who never ate or drank from his mother's womb till his death,willyou not open the earth, that all this accurfed multitude may defcend alive into hell, like Dathan and Abiram ?" — A kind and charitable prayer ! — " I thank you for it, Welled Amlac, faid I ; firft, for carrying us to that charitable ford, where, with one of the ftrongeft and ableft horfes in the world, I had nearly pe- riflied : — and, fecondly, for your pious wifli, to difpofe of us out of the regions of rain and cold into fo warm quarters in company with Dathan and Abiram !"
"I DID not know you was there, fays he ; I heard you had flaid at Gondar in order to bring up the black horfe. I law a white perfon* with the Ras, indeed, who had a good hanjar and gun, but his mule was weak, and he himfelf fecmed fick. As 1 returned I could have carried him off in the night, but I faid, perhaps it is the brother of Yagoube, my friend and phyfician ; he is white like him, and for your fake I left him. 1 was much with you white people in the time of Kafmati Eflite." — " And pray, faid I, what did you after we palled the Abay ?" — " After I faw that devil Ras Mi- chael over, faid Welled Amlac, I returned under pretence of
allifting
' This was Francifco, who was Cck.
