468 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



ployments intended than fuch a man as Poncet was, if 

 one half is true of that which the conful faid of him after* 

 wards. 



Maillet, having fo far fucceeded, prevailed upon one 

 Ibrahim Hanna, a Syrian, to write five letters, according to 

 his own ideas, in the Arabic language, one of which was to- 

 the king, the four others to the principal officers at the court 

 of Abyffinia: doubting, however, whether Ibrahim's expreA 

 lions were equal to the fubUmity of his fentiments, he dired:- 

 ed him to fubmit the letters to the confideration of one 

 Fraacis, a monk, capuchin, or friar of the Holy Land. Ibra- 

 him knew not this capuchin ; but he was intimate with 

 another Francis of the reformed Francifcan Order, and to . 

 him by miftake he carried the letters,. 



These Francifcans were the very men from whom Mrde 

 Maillet would have wifhcd to conceal the fending Poncet with 

 the Jefuit Brevedent ; but the fecret being now revealed, Ibra* 

 himHanna was difcharged the French ferviceforthis miftake j , 

 and Hagi Ali departing immediately after with Poncet and 

 Brevedent, no time remained for the Francifcans to take tha 

 (leps they afterwards did to bring about the tragedy in tha 

 perfon of Poncet, which they completely effected in that of / 

 Mr Noir du Roule, 



Mr PoisCET, furnifhed with a cheft of medicines at the 

 e.xpence of the fadory, accompanied by father Brevedentj, 

 who, in quality of his fervant, now took the name of Jofeph, , 

 joined Hagi Ali, and the caravan dcftined in the firft place, 

 so^Sennaar the cajjital of Nubia. 



EOKCETT 



