TH-E SOURCE OF THE NILE. 551 



{arify muft be. Fafil then, with above 3000 horfe, and a 

 large body of foot, was ready to inclofe botli Ras Michael 

 and the King, and to have taken them prifoners ; nothing 

 could fall out more exactly, as it was planned, than this did; 

 the king's black horfe, and the other horfe of his houfehold, 

 had taken poffeffion of the ford, till the King, the Ras, and 

 the greateft part of the Tigre mufqueteers, under Guebra 

 Mafcal, had paffed. 



On the other hand, Kefla Yafous, who had the charge of " 

 the rear, and the pafling the mules, tents, and baggage, find- - 

 ing fo many itraggler s conftantly coming in, had determin- 

 ed to wait on that fide till day-light : this was the moment 

 that would have decided the fate of our army ; all was fa- 

 tigue and defpondency; but Welleta Yafous having lin- 

 gered with the army of execution, and in the mean time 

 the priefts having been examined, and the fpies detected, 

 the moment Kefla Yafous begauhis march to Delakus, the 

 favourable inilant was loft to Fafil, and all that followed 

 was extremely dangerous -to him ; for, before Welleta Ya- 

 fous arrived, Kefla Yafous had paffed the Nile, and was 

 ftrongly polled with his mufquetry, fo that Welleta Yafous 

 duril not approach him, and this gave Kefla Yafous an op- 

 portunity of detaching the beil or frefheft of his troops to- 

 reinforce Michael, whom Fafil found already an overmatch 

 for him at Limjour, when he was. forced to retreat before 

 the king, who very willingly offered him battle : add to thisj 

 that Welleta Yafou? was not acquainted how near this junc- 

 tion of Kefla Yafous witli Ras Michael might be, nor where 

 Fafil was, or whether or not he had been beaten. Woldo 

 pretended to know nothing of the fpy whom we had left 

 hanging on the tree at the ford when Kefla Yafous march- 

 ed 3 " 



