74 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



though he feemed under very great impatience, did not 

 often interrupt him, further than, Ton lie, and, // is a lie, which 

 he repeated at every new charge. His accufer had not faid 

 one word of the murder of Joas, but pafTed it over without 

 the fmallefl: alhiiion to it. 



In this, however, Abba Salama did not follow his exam- 

 ple : being defired to anfwer in his own defence, he enter- 

 ed upon it with great dignity, and an air of fuperiority, very 

 different from his behaviour in the king's tent the day be- 

 fore : he laughed, and made extremely light of the charges 

 on the article of women, which he neither confeffed nor 

 denied ; but faid thefe might be crimes among the Franks, 

 (looking at me) or other Chriftians, but not the Chriflians 

 of that country, who lived under a double difpenfation, the 

 law of Mofes and the law of Chrill : he faid the Abyffinians 

 were Betii Ifrad, as indeed they call themfelves, that is. Chil- 

 dren of Ifrael ; and that in every age the patriarchs had 

 a(?ted as he did, and were not lefs beloved of God. He went 

 roundly into the murder of Joas, and of his two brothers, 

 Adigo and Aylo, on the mountain of Wechne, and char- 

 ged Michael direcflly with it, as alfp with the poifoning the 

 late Hatze Hannes, father of the prefent king. 



The Ras feemed to avoid hearing, fometimes by fpeak- 

 ing to people flanding behind him, fometimes by reading 

 a paper ; in particular, he alked me, (landing dire(5tly be- 

 hind his chair, in a low voice, What is the punifliment in 

 your country for fuch a crime ? It was his cullom to fpeak 

 to me in his own language of Tigre, and one of his greateft* 

 paftimes to laugh at my faulty expreffion. He fpake this 

 to me in Amharic, fo I knew he wanted my anfwer fliould 



be 



