5 o6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



This intelligence, which came all at once upon us, made 

 us lay afide the thoughts of fleeping that night ; we defcended 

 the hill of Mefcala Chriftos in great hafte, and with much 

 difficulty, and came to the river Kemon below it, clear and 

 limpid, but having little water, running over a bed of very 

 large flones. This river, too, comes from the north- weft, and 

 falls into the lake a little below ; we refted on its banks half 

 an hour, the weather being very fultry; from this place we 

 had a diftincr. view of the Nile, where, after crofting the lake, , 

 it iftlies out near Dara, the fcene of our former misfor- 

 tunes ; we fet it carefully by the compafs, and it bore nearly 

 S. W. 



We began our journey again at three quarters after two^ . 

 and at half after three we pafted a river, very clear, with little 

 water, the name of which I have forgot ; by the largenefs 

 of its bed it feemed to be a very confiderable ftream in win- 

 ter ; at prefent it had very little water, but a fine gravelly 

 bottom; here we met multitudes of peafants flying before 

 the army of Fafil, many of whom, feeing us, turned out of 

 the way ; one of thefe was a fervant of Guebra Ehud, brother 

 to Ayto Aylo, my mod intimate friend : he told us it was 

 very pofiible that Fafil would pafs us that night, advifed us 

 not to linger in the front of fuch an* army, but fall in as 

 ibon as poflible with his Fit-Auraris, rather than any other of 

 his advanced ports; he was carrying a meftage to his mailer's 

 brother at Gondar. I told him I had rather linger in the 

 front of fuch an army than in the rear of it, and fhonld 

 be very forry to be detained long, even in the middle of it ; 

 that I only wifhed to falute Fafil, and procure a pafs and re-r 

 commendations from him to Agow Midre. 



Ayto 



