THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 239 



Dek, a large ifland in the lake Tzana, belonging to the 

 queen, where he was kept for Ibme time, till he elcaped and 

 hid himfelf in the wild inaccefliblc mountains of Gojam, 

 which there form the banks of the Nile. They carried their 

 precautions ftill further; and fubfequcnt events after lliewcd, 

 that thefe were well-grounded. They fent a party of men at 

 the fame time to furprife Socinios, but he, fufficiently upon his 

 guard, no fooner faw the fate of his coufm, Za Denghel, than 

 he withdrew himfelf, but in fuch a manner that Ihc wed plain- 

 ly he knew the value of his own pretenfions, and was not la 

 be an unconcerned fpedtator if a revolution was to hap- 

 pen. 



In order to underftand perfectly the claims of thofe 

 princes, who were by turns placed on the throne in the 

 bloody war that followed, it will be necclTary to know that 

 the emperor David III. had three fons : The eldefl was 

 Claudius, who fuccceded him in the empire ; the hillory of 

 whofe reign we have already given : Tlie fecond was Jacob, 

 who died a minor before his brother, but left two fons, 

 Tafcar and Facilidas : The third fon was Mcnas, called A- 

 damas Segued, who fucceeded Claudius his brother in the 

 empire ; whofe reign we have likewife given in its proper 

 place. 



Menas had four fons ; Sertza Denghel, called Melee Se-> 

 gued, who fucceeded his father in the empire, and whofe 

 hiftory we have juft now fmillied ; the fecond Aquieter ; 

 the third Abate ; and the fourth, Lefana Chrillos ; whofe 

 fon was that Za Denghel of whom we were lad fpeaking,. 

 appointed to fucceed to the throne by his uncle Sertza^ 

 Denghel, when on his death-bed. 



Tascaei 



