THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. (Tj 



with great pleafure, during which he gave me feveral 

 Mints, as if he thought his pardon was not compleated ; 

 and at laft aficed me direiftly what were my fentiments, and 

 what I had heard ? I faid, I beUeved eveiy thing was fa- 

 vourable as to him and the hcheguc, but I did not know 

 how much farther the king's forgivenefs wovild extend. 

 I know, fays he, what you mean ; that Abba Salama, (curfe 

 upon him) he is the author of it all : What do I know of 

 thefe black people, who am a flranger, fo lately come into 

 the country ? and, indeed, he feemed to know very little ; 

 for, befides his native Arabic, which he fpoke like a pea- 

 fant, he had not learned one word of any of the various 

 languages ufcd in the country in which he was to live and' 

 die. Having finifhed coffee, I left him fpeaking to fome 

 of his own people ; about half an hour afterwards, he went > 

 away. 



Ras Michael had brought with him from Tigre about 

 20,000 men, the beft foldiers of the empire ; about 6000 of 

 thefe were mufqueteers, about 1 2,000 armed with lances and 

 fhields, and about 6000 men had joined them from Gon- 

 dar ; a large proportion of thefe were liorfemen, who were 

 fcouring the country in all dire<5lions, bringing with them- 

 fuch unhappy people as deferved to be, and were there- 

 fore deflined for public example. 



The iliort way from Tigre to Gondar was by Lamalmon, 

 (that is the mountain of Samen) and by Woggora. Ayto 

 Tesfos had'maintained himfelf in the government of Samen 

 fmce Joas's time, by whom he was appointed ; he had con- 

 tinued conftanrly in enmity with Ras Michael, and had now 

 taken poileiiion of the paiies near the Tacazze, fo as to cut off 

 3 all 



