THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 643 



and ill-ufagc of every fort. Wc know not what came of 

 Gcorgis Kipti ; but, as foon as the rainy feafon was over> 

 Thcodorus and Likianos came llraight to Mafuah. 



As foon as the Naybe got the whole convoy of priefts and 

 Mahometans into his hands, he demanded of them half of 

 the money the king had given them to defray the expences 

 of fetching the x\buna. He pretended alfo, that both Maho- 

 metans and Ghriftians (hould have pafTcd the rainy feafon 

 at Mafuah. He declared that this was his perquifite, and 

 that he had prepared great and exquifite provifions for them, 

 which, being fpoiled and become ufelefs, it was but reafon- 

 able they fhould pay as if they had confumed them : till 

 this was fettled, he declared that none of them fliould em- 

 bark or ftir one ftep from Mafuah, 



The news of this detention foon arrived at Gondar ; and 

 Yafous gave orders that Michael Suhul, governor of Tigre, 

 (afterwards Ras) and the Baharnagafli, Ihould with an army 

 blockade Mafuah,fo as to ftarve the Naybe into a more reafon- 

 able behaviour. But, before this could be executed, the Naybe 

 had called the priefts before him, and declared, if they did 

 not furrender the money that inilant, he would put them to 

 death ; and, in place of giving them time to refolve, he gave 

 them a very plain hint to obey, by ordering the executioner 

 to ftrike off the heads of two criminals condemned for o- 

 ther crimes, after having brought them into their prefence. 

 The poor wretches, Theodorus and Likianos, did not refem- 

 ble Portuguefe, who would have braved thefe threats in the 

 purfuit of martyrdom. The fight of blood was the moll 

 convincing of all arguments the Naybe could ufe. They 

 gave up tlie money, leaving the divifion of it to his own dii- 



4 M 2 cretion. 



