“In the midst of the Isle of Mogreb are the deserts of the negroes, which separate the country of the negroes from that of the Berbers. In this isle is also the source of that great river which has not its equal upon the earth. It comes from the mountain of the moon which lies beyond the equator. Many sources come from this mountain and unite in a great lake. From this lake comes the Nile, the greatest and most beautiful of the rivers of all the earth. Many rivers derived from this great river water Nubia, and the country of the Djenawa. This river cuts horizontally the equator, traverses Abyssinia, the country of Kuku, comes to Syene, cuts Egypt throughout its whole length and throws itself into the sea between Tunis and Damietta.” Abdul Hassan Ali, ibu el Hasseyn, ibu Ali el Massoudé, born at Baghdad, and who came to Egypt 955 A.D., where he closed his accounts with the world, and brought his many travels to an end, writes:-- “I have seen in a geography a plan of the Nile flowing from the Mountains of the Moon--Jebel Kumr. “The waters burst forth from twelve springs and flow into two lakes like unto the ponds of Bussora. After leaving these lakes, the waters re-unite, and flow down through a sandy and mountainous country. “The course of the Nile is through that part of the Soudan near the country of the Zenj (Zanzibar).” As I finished the transcription of these interesting old legends, I said in my heart: “As it happened unto the ancient authors, so it will happen unto me. Why was I then more wise? I considered all travail, and every right work--that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. Therefore I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun is grievous unto me--for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” The following was kindly translated by His Excellency Count de Landburg, the Consul-General at Cairo for Sweden and Norway. [Illustration: MAP OF NILE BASIN TO-DAY, FROM MEDITERRANEAN TO S. LAT 4.] “Chams ed-din Abu Abd Allah Mohammed ed Dimachgê (born 1256 A.D., Dec. 1336 (31)), in his geography, _Mukhbat ed-dahr fê Ajaîb al-barr walbahr_, edited by Professor Mehren, St. Petersburg, 1866, says (p. 88), in the chapter dealing with the four rivers of Paradise:--