THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 57 



From Delhoya he proceeded to Degwa, from thence to 

 Warga, which he treated in the fame manner as Delhoya, 

 and then entered the province of Dawaro, where he under- 

 llood that Hydar, governor of that province, with Saber- 

 eddin, and a very valuable convoy coming to him, under 

 their condudt, from Shoa, were intercepted by Hydar's peo- 

 ple, and their guard cut to pieces. Inftead, therefore, of 

 proceeding to ^hoa, as his intention was, he encamped at 

 Bahalla, and there kept the feaft of Chriftmas, laying the 

 whole province, by parties, vmdcr military execution ; and 

 hearing there that Jofeph, governor of Serca, was in un- 

 derftanding with thofe of Dawaro, he put him in prifon, 

 carrying off all his liorfes, alTes, mules, and a prodigious 

 quantity of other cattle, which he drove before him, and 

 ended his expedition by his entry into Shoa. 



This is the Abyflinian account of the reign of their prince 

 AmdaSion, a little abridged, and made more conformable to 

 the manner of writing Englifh hifloiy. The hiftorian, contra- 

 ry to the ufual practice, gives no account of himfelf ; but he 

 feems to have lived in the time of Zara Jacob, the third reign 

 after this. Though he wrote in Shoa, his book is in pure 

 Gcez, there being fcarcely an Amharic word in it. 



There are three things which I would now obfervc ; not 

 becaufc they are fmgle inftanccs, but, on the contrary, be- 

 caufc, though fail mentioned here, they arc uniformly con- 

 firmed throughout the whole AbyfTmian hiftory. 



The firft is, that the king of Abyflinia is, in all matters 



ecclefiaftical and civil, fupreme; that hepuniflies all olTences 



committed by the clergy in as abfolute and diredl a manner as 



Vol. JI. H if 



