THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 509 



the law of nations, he difdained to defend it by any other 

 means, remitting his revenge to the guardians of that law, 

 and he exhorted all his attendants to do the fame. But M. 

 Mace the Drugoman, young and brave, and a good horfe- 

 man, was not of the flieep kind, to go quietly to the 

 flaucrhter. With his piftols he fhot two of the affallins that 

 attacked him, one after the other, dead upon the fpot ; and 

 was continuing to defend himfelf with his fword, when a 

 horfcman, coming behind him, thruft him through the 

 back with a lance, and threw him dead upon the ground. 



Thus ended the fecond attempt of converting Abyffinia' 

 by an embafTy. A fcheme, if we believe M. de Maillet, which 

 had coll government a confiderable expence, for in a memo- 

 rial, of the lit of Odober 1706, concerning the death of M.. 

 du Roule, he makes the money and effects which he had 

 along with him, when murdered, to am.ount to 200 purfes,^ 

 or L. 25,000 Sterling. This, however, is not probable ; be- 

 caufe, in another place he fpeaks of M. du Roule's having, 

 demanded of him a fmall fupply of money while at Sen- 

 naar, which friar Jofeph, a capuchin, refufed to carry for 

 him. Such a fupply would not have been neceffary if the 

 ambaflador had with him fuch a fum as that already men- 

 tioned ; therefore I imagine it was exaggerated, with a 

 view to make the Turkilh balha of Suakem quarrel with 

 the king of Sennaar about the recovering it. 



The friars, who were in numbers at Sennaar, left it im- 

 mediately before the coming of M. du Roule. This they 

 might have done without any bad intention towards him ; 

 they returned, however, immediately after his murder. 

 This, I think, very clearly conlliiutes them the authors of 



it^. 



