SFO£T IN ABYSSINIA. 205 



more cival to me, and one of two men who had be- 

 haved very well at Azho, and who had come up with me, 

 sent off to a village close by and got me twelve eggs. 

 The Abyssinians, curiously enough, do not care for 

 eggs ; they sometimes make a sort of curry of them 

 with red pepper. After this man brought me the 

 eggs, which was early in the morning, he went on to 

 Adiaboo, where it was market-day. Zaroo came to 

 me this morning, and I talked with him over my 

 journey to the coast, as he knew the road very well. 

 He told me he was acquainted with a much nearer 

 way to Koudoofellassie than that I had come by, and I 

 asked him if he would come with me to show it : at 

 first he said he would, and then he asked me what 

 I would give him. I only had five dollars with me, 

 so it was of very little use offering him that. I said I 

 would give him a revolver ; but he told me this would 

 be of no use to him. What he really wanted was one 

 of my muzzle-loading pistols, of which I had a pair 

 of very good one.s, which I had bought of Rigby in 

 St. James's Street, and which I particularly did not 

 want to part with. After haggling with him a long 

 time I was quite disappointed, as he had at first assured 

 me he did not want anything for showing me the 

 way. I then told him I would trust to myself and 

 go back the same way I had come, and thanked 

 him for his former kindness. 



