Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 3.djvu/705

 THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 681

king was not to exact his tribute, becaufe it was underffood fuch a quantity only was produced as was fufficient for the maintenance of the landholder and labourer. This was re- ferred to the Nilometer, whofe divifion fhewed to what height the Nile had rifen. Men appointed by the fovereign were to fuperintend this Nilometer, and to publifh the height of the Nile, whilfl the reafon why the king was to have the direction of the Nilometer, and not his fubjects, was very obvious, though it has not yet been underftood, becaufe the king could not gain by fubftituting falfe meafures, where- as the people might.

The Nile, though in an average of years it brought down nearly the fame quantity of water, yet, in particular ones, it varied fometimes more and fometimes lefs. It is like- wife obferved, like moll other rivers, to run more on one fide of the valley for fome years than to the other. The confequence of this varying and deviation was, that though, upon the whole, the quantity indicated by the Nilometer was the fame, yet nobody knew his quota, or what proportion of the whole was drawn from the property of each individual; as for this they were obliged to apply to actual menfuration, Suppofing a man's property was a fection of the land of E- gvpt, of 1 2,000 feet from the brink of the river to the moun- tain, and of any given breadth, 4000 feet of this perhaps were overflowed, whilii the other 8000 remained dry, and above the level of the water. The tenant, after having mea- fured, did not till then know what his farm of 12,000 feet would give him for that year, only 4000 of which had been overflowed by the water, and was then fit for fowing ; for this he paid his landlord the higheft rent laid upon cultiva-

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