•51^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



culty he could be forced again to leave the fepulchrc. He 

 returned firft to Gondar, then he retired to an ifland in the 

 lake Tzana, there to mourn his loft miftrefs. 



But before this, Elias, ignorant of what had pafTed at 

 Sennaar, prefented M. de Maillet's letter to him, befeeching 

 his leave for M, du Roule to enter Abyffinia, and come into 

 his prefence. This he eafily procured : Yafous was fond of 

 ftrangers ; and not only granted the requeft, but fent a man 

 of his own to Sennaar with letters to the king to protect 

 and defray the expences of the ambaftador to Gondar. This 

 man, who had affairs of his own, loitered away a great 

 deal of time in the journey, fo that Elias, upon firft hear- 

 ing of the arrival of the ambaflador, fet out himfelf to meet 

 him at Sennaar. The king, in the mean time, having fi- 

 nifhed his mourning, difpatched Badjerund Ouftas to his 

 fon the Bctwudet, at Gondar, ordering him forthwith to 

 fend him a body of his houfehold troops to rendezvous on 

 the banks of the lake, oppofite to the ifland Tchekla Wunze, . 

 where he then had his refidence. 



It has been faid, contrary to all truth, by thofe who have 

 wrote travels into this country, that fons born in marriage 

 had the fame preference in fucceffion as they have in other 

 countries. But this, as I have faid, is entirely without 

 foundation : For, in the firft place, there is no fuch thing 

 "as a regular marriage in Abyftinia ; all confifts in mere con- 

 fent of parties. But, allowing this to be regular, not only 

 natural cliildren, that is, thofe born in concubinage where 

 no marriage was in contemplation; and adtilterous baftards, 

 that is, the fons of unmarried women by married men ; and 

 all manner of fons whatever, fucceed equally as well to the 



crown 



