THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN "of it, and afterwards returning with a great number of Franks, "conquer and exterminate us all.' But I will take care of that; " you must quit the barque without delay."

To leave the boat was impossible, and Captain Norden determined to continue to occupy it at all costs, and when the authorities saw that his mind was made up to fight if necessary, they changed their tactics, and by promising to let him leave Derr succeeded in obtaining many valuable presents from him. Promise after promise was broken, and at length the governor declared he would murder the whole party. At this juncture the Effendi, or clerk to the governor, came and revealed the plot which had been hatched against Captain Norden before he arrived at Derr. He said, " You have to do with devils and not men. I have the " unhappiness to be obliged to live with them. I maintain myseli "in my post because I can write, which they cannot do them-" selves ; but I abhor the manner in which they treat strangers, " whence no barque comes here." He then went on to tell Captain Norden that his death was debated upon before his arrival, that it was intended to take him into the desert under the pretence of leading him to the Second Cataract, that the story ot the proposed war was a lie from beginning to end, that the governor was the greatest villain on earth, that he had killed nine men with his own hands, some of them being the most powerful men in the country, that he was raving drunk every night, and that he was addicted to the incest of Lot—in short, that he was the vilest wretch he knew. Further negotiations were undertaken between the governor and Captain Norden, and little by little the former obtained nearly everything of any value on the boat. He was never tired of asking for something more, and when he saw nothing more to ask for, he begged on behalf of the bullies whom he had brought with him. In fact he was the ancestor of the Berberi camel-man to whom a modern traveller foolishly gave cnree days' pay more than was his due ; the Berberi then asked for a compass to use in finding the direction in which to pray, and when this was given, he asked for baksMsh for his camel, and then for something for himself I Finally, seeing that there was nothing more to be had, the governor left the boat, and Captain Norden thought he had seen i6