THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 83 



mpon the other two, whofe cries were flill remaining in my 

 cars : that the hyxnas at night would fcarcely let me pafs 

 in the ftreets when I returned from the palace ; and the 

 dogs fled into my houfe to eat pieces of human carcafes at 



leifure. 



Although his intention was to look grave, I faw it was 

 all he could do to llifle a laugh at grievances he thought 

 very little of. " The men you faw with Za Mariam juil now, 

 fays he, are rebels, fent by Kefla Yafous for examples : he 

 has forced ajun(5tion with Tecla and Welleta Michael in 

 Samen, and a road is now open through Woggora, and 

 plenty eftablilhed in Gondar. The men you faw fuffer were 

 thofe that cut off the provifions from coming into the city; 

 they have occafioned the death of many poor people ; as for 

 the hyaena he never meddles with living people, he feeks 

 carrion, and will foon clear the llreets of thofe incumbran- 

 ces that fo much offend you ; people fay that they are the 

 JFalalha of the mountains, who take that fliape of the hyasna, 

 and come down into the town to eat ChriHian flefh in the 

 night." — " If they depend upon Chrillian flelh, and eat no 

 other, faid I, perhaps the hyxnas of Gondar will be the 

 'worfl fed of any in the world." — " True, fays he, burfting 

 out into a loud laughter, that may be, few of thofe that die 

 by the knife anywhere arc Chriftians, or have any religion 

 •at all ; why then fhould you mind what they fulFer r" — 

 "*' Sir, faid I, that is not my fentiment ; if you was to order a 

 ■dog to be tortured to death before me every morning, I 

 could not bear it. The carcafes of Abba Salama, Guebra 

 Denghel, and the refl, are flill hanging where they were up- 

 on the tree; you fmell the ftench of them at the palace-gate, 

 and will foon, I apprehend, in the palace itfelf. This cannot 



L 2 be 



