Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 3.djvu/448

 # m TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

there is a poor man making great hafte to be affaffinated among thofe wild people in Kabefh ; and fo we all thought. He concluded, Drink ! no force ! Englishman ! very good ! G--d damn, drink !" We had juft arrived, while my friend •was uttering thefe exclamations, at the place where theShum and the reft were Handing. The man continued repeating the fame words, crying as loud as he could, with an air of triumph, while I was reflecting how fhameful it was for us to make thefe profligate exprefiions by frequent re- petition, fo eafily acquired by ftrangers that knew nothing ■elfe of our language.

The Shum, and all about him, were in equal aftonifh- ment at feeing the man, to all appearance, in a paffion, bawl- ing out words they did not tinderftand ; but he, holding a horn in his hand, began louder than before, drink ! very good ! Englifhman ! making the horn in the Shum his ma- fter's face. Mahomet of Alata was a very grave, compofed man ; " I do declare, fays he, Ali is become mad : Does any- body know what he fays or means ?" — " That I do, faid I, and will tell you by-and-bye ; he is an old acquaintance of mine, and is fpeaking Englifh ; let us make a hafty meal, how- ever, v/ith any thing you have to give us."

Our horfes were immediately fed ; bread, honey, and butter fervcd : Ali had no occafion to cry, drink ; it went a- bout plentifully, and I would Hay no longer, but mounted my horfe, thinking every minute that I tarried might be better fpent at the cataract. The firft thing they carried us to was the bridge, which confifts of one arch of about twen- ty-five feet broad, the extremities of which were ftrongly let into, and relied on the folid rock on both fides ; but frag- 2 ments