xxviir A CHANGE OF MANNER 319 



a change which I put down partly to a lecture from 

 Dedjatch Cubudda, and partly to plentiful libations of 

 tej. Under his immediate supervision, and with much 

 mystery, two of his men brought into my tent a large 

 heavy jar, which, when uncovered, proved to be full of 

 honey. He said that the people of Gondar would not 

 obey his orders to bring me provisions, and begged me 

 to accept this from his own house. 



Next morning I was up before dawn, sorting out 

 the loads which were to go with me, and giving directions 

 to the men who were to remain in charge of the skins 

 and stores, mules and donkeys which I did not require 

 for the trip. The Canterbi came to see me off and 

 brought a guide, who seemed by no means willing 

 to come. A fourteen -mile march over hilly country 

 in a W.N.W. direction brought us to Gundo, where 

 my cook discovered that he had left behind a fowl 

 intended for my dinner and a basket of eggs. A 

 search among the neighbouring villages produced no 

 meat, and an afternoon stroll with the rifle was not 

 more successful. In the evening, a very old Shum, 

 mounted on his mule, and conducted by his sons, came 

 to visit me ; he found my brandy too strong for his 

 palate, and after the first mouthful literally gasped for 

 breath ; but his sons, far from being inconvenienced in 

 a similar manner, took to the liquor kindly, and would 

 have gone on emptying egg-cups as often as I had them 

 replenished. 



For the last thirty-six hours we had hardly a shower 

 — a pleasant change from a deluge recurring every eight 

 hours. Next day we made a long march to Chilgar, 



