They Brought Us A He-Goat, Together With
Milk And Honey.
The latter we had revelled in for some months
past, as the countries through which we travelled abounded with
a supply in the rocks and hollow trees; but the milk was a
luxury, as our goats were nearly dry.
The he-goat was a regular
old patriarch of the flock, and, for those who are fond of
savoury food, it might have been a temptation, but as it exhaled
a perfume that rendered its presence unbearable, we were obliged
to hand it over as a present to our Tokrooris--even they turned
up their noses at the offer. A crowd of natives surrounded us,
and the account of our travels was related with the usual
excitement, amidst the ejaculations of the hearers, when they
heard that we had been in the country of the Base, and had
trusted ourselves in the power of Mek Nimmur.
On the following morning we were off before sunrise, and marched
rapidly over a good path through low forest, at the foot of a
range of hills; and after a journey of twenty miles, during which
we had passed several small villages, and many brooks that flowed
from the mountains, we arrived at our old friend, the Atbara
river, at the sharp angle as it issues from the mountains. At
this place it was in its infancy. The noble Atbara whose course
we had tracked for hundreds of weary miles, and whose tributaries
we had so carefully examined, was a second-class mountam torrent,
about equal to the Royan, and not to be named in comparison with
the Salaam or Angrab.
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