48o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



fence of his king, taken forcibly from the chancellor of 

 the nation *, and made a Mahometan before their eyes. 



The Abyflinian embafly then demanded from France, 

 and recommended to M. de Maillet, was a prefumptuous, 

 vain, impra(5licable chimera, which mufl have ended in dif» 

 appointment, and which never could have clofed more in= 

 nocently than it did. 



I SHALL pafs over all that happened during Poncet's ftay 

 at Gondar, as he did not underftand the language, and mull 

 therefore have been very liable to miftake. But as for 

 what he fays of armies of 300,000 men ; of the king's drefs 

 at his audience; of his mourning in purple; of the quantity 

 of jewels he had, and wore; of his having but one wife; and 

 of large ftone-crofles being ere(5led on the corners of the 

 palace at Gondar ; thefe, and feveral other things, feem to 

 me to have been fuperadded afterwards. Nor do I think 

 what is faid of the churches and Chrillians remaining in 

 the kingdom of Dongola, nor the monftrous lie about the 

 golden rod fufpended in the air in the convent of Bifan t» 

 is at all the narrative of Poncet, but of fome fanatic, lying 

 friar, into whofe pofleffion Poncet's manufcript might have 

 fallen. The journey itfelf, fuch as I have reftored it, is cer- 

 tainly genuine; and, as I believe it defcribes the bell and fa- 

 feil way into Abyffinia, I have redified fome of the few er- 

 rors it had, and now recommend it to all future travellers, 

 and to the public. 



This 



* By Chancellor of the Nation is niciint the officer immediately next the conful, who keeps 

 the records, and has a department abfoUitely independent of the Conful. 



f Vid. Poncet. 



