3io TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



green, and fome a white lion. The black horfe have a yel- 

 low lion, and over it a white ftar upon a red flag, alluding 

 to two prophecies, the one, " Judah is a young lion," and 

 the other, " There fhall come a flar out of Judah." This 

 had been difcontinued for want of cloth till the war of Be- 

 gemder, when a large piece was found in Joas's wardrobe, 

 and was thought a certain omen of his victory, and of a 

 long and vigorous reign. This piece of cloth was faid to 

 have been brought from Cairo by Yafous II. for the cam- 

 paign of Sennaar, and, with the other ftandards and colours, 

 was furrendered to the rebels when the king was made 

 prifoner. 



The king's houfehold troops mould confift of about 8000 

 infantry, 2000 of which carry firelocks, and fupply the place 

 of archers ; bows have been laid afide for near a hundred 

 years, and are only now ufed by the Waito Shangalla, and 

 fome other barbarous inconfiderable nations. 



These troops are divided into four companies, each un- 

 der an officer called Shalaka, which anfwers to our colo- 

 nel. Every twenty men have an officer, every fifty a fecond, 

 and every hundred a third ; that is, every twenty have one offi- 

 cer who commands them, but is commanded likewife by an 

 officer who commands the fifty ; fo that there are three of- 

 ficers who command fifty men, fix command a hundred, 

 and thirty command five hundred, over whom is the Sha- 

 laka ; and this body they call Bet, which fignifies a bcufe, or 

 apartment, becaufe each of them goes by the name of one of 

 the king's apartments. For example, there is an apartment 

 called Anbafa Bet, or the lioiis boufe, and a regiment carrying 

 that name has the charge of it, and their duty is at that apart- 



4 ment 



