72 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



Thefc people, upon all public occafions, run about the 

 ftreets, and on private ones, fuch as marriages, come to the 

 court-yards before the houfes, where they dance, and ling 

 fongs of their own compofing in honoiu- of the day, and per- 

 form all forts of antics : man)' a time, on his return from the 

 field with vidory, they had met Ras Michael, and received 

 his bounty for fmging his praifes, and welcoming him up- 

 on his return home. The day the Abuna excommunicated 

 the king, this fet of vagrants made part of the folemnity; 

 they abufed, ridiculed, and traduced Michael in lampoons 

 and fcurrilous rhymes, calling him crooked, lame, old, and 

 impotent, and feveral other opprobrious names, which did 

 not affed him near fo much as the ridicule of his pcrfon : 

 upon many occafions after, they repeated this, and parti- 

 cularly in a fong they ridiculed the horfe of Sire, who had 

 run away at the battle of Limjour, where Michael cried 

 out, Send thefe horfe to the mill. It happened that thefe 

 wretches, men and women, to the number of about thirty 

 and upwards, were then, with very different fongs, celebra- 

 ting Ras Michael's return to Gondar. The King and Ras, 

 after the proclamation, had juft turned to the right to Aylo 

 Meidan, below the palace, a large field where the troops exer- 

 cife. Confu and the king's houfehold troops were before, 

 and about 200 of the Sire horfe were behind ; on a fignal 

 made by the Ras, thefe horfe turned Ihort and fell upon the 

 fingers, and cut them all to pieces. In lefs than two minutes 

 the")' were all laid dead upon the field, excepting one young 

 man, who, mortally wounded, had jufl fl;:ength enough to 

 arrive within twenty yards of the king's horfe, and there 

 fell dead without fpcaking a word. 



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