Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/479

 THE SOURCE OF THE NIL^. 4>.i

"life I never felt fo difagreeably. I have been in more than one battle, but furely I would joyfully have taken my chance again in any of thein to have been freed from that examination. I could not help likewife refledling, that, if the king had come in during this exhibition, the confe- quence would either have been impaling, or ilripping off that fkin whofe colour they were fo curious about ; tho' I can folemnly declare there was not an idea in my breail, fmce ever I had the honour of feeing thefe royal beauties, that could have given his majefty of Sennaar the fmalleft reafon for jealoufy ; and I believethe fame may be faid of the fentiments of the ladies in what regarded mc. Ours was a mu- tual paffion, but dangerous to no one concerned. I returned home with very different fenfations from thofe I had felt after an interview with the beautiful Aifcach of Teawa. Indeed, it was impoflible to be more chagrined at, or more difgufted with, my prefent fituation than I was, and the more fo, that my delivery from it appeared to be very dif- tant, and the circumflances were more and more unfavour- able every day.

An event happened which added to my diftrefs. Going one evening to wait upon the king, and being already with- in the palace, palling through a number of rooms that are now totally deferted, where the court o£ guard ufed to be kept, I met Mahomet, the king's fervant, who accompanied us from Teawa. Such people, though in reality often enough drunk, yet if they happen to be fobcr at the time of their committing a crime, counterfeit drunkennefs, in order to avail themfelves of it as an excufe. This fellow, feeing me alone, came ftaggering up to tue, faying, " Damn you, Ya- goube, I have met you now, pay me for the trouble of go-

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