THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 245 



prefsly a violation of the law of the land, which permits but 

 one Iteghe, and never allows the nomination of a new one 

 while the former is in life, hoy/ever diftanr a relation fhe 

 may be to the then reigning king. In confequence of this 

 new coronation, two large villages, Tfhemmera and Tocufla, 

 which belonged to the Iteghe as appendages of her royalty, 

 of courfe devolved upon the king's own mother, newly crown- 

 ed, who fending her people to take poflefTion, the inhabi- 

 tants not only refufed to admit her officers, but forcibly drove 

 them away, declaring they would acknowledge no other 

 miftrefs but their old ene» to whom they wei'e bound by the 

 laws of the land. 



If Gufho, in this manner, dealt hardly with the queen, 

 his behaviour to the king was neither more juft nor gene- 

 rous : he had not only failed to advance any gold for the 

 king's fubfiftence, but had intercepted that part of his re- 

 venue which he knew was ready to be paid him, and in the 

 hands of others of his fubjedls. A ftated daily allowance 

 was, indeed, delivered to the king in kind for the mainte- 

 nance of his houfehold, but even this was fmaller than had 

 been fettled by Ras Michael ; befides which, 120 jars of ho- 

 ney, being one day fent the king from Damot, and at the 

 fame time 1000 cotton coats from Walkayt, both thefe were 

 feized upon by Gufho, without any part being offered to 

 the king, who thereupon determined to break with him, as 

 did the Iteghe from the former provocation. 



Ayabdar, never reconciled to him before the battle of 



Serbraxos, had frefli reafon of difl'jrence v/ith him from an 



unequal diftribution of Ras Michael's effeds, while Enge- 



dan, who had been promifed the province of Kuara, and 



1 Avhom 



