Ch. viii. different Parts of Africa. 157 



destroyed to their lowest foundations by Ras 

 Michael in his march to Gondar.* In the course 

 of the civil wars, while Bruce was in the country, 

 he says, " The rebels had begun to lay waste 

 " Dembea, and burnt all the villages in the plain 

 " from south to west, making it like a desert be- 

 " tween Michael and Fasil.**** The king often 

 " ascended to the top of the tower of his palace, 

 " and contemplated with the greatest displea- 

 " sure the burning of his rich villages in Dem- 

 " bea.'t In another place he says, " The whole 

 " country of Degwessa was totally destroyed ; 

 " men, women and children were entirely extir- 

 " pated without distinction of age or sex; the 

 " nouses razed to the ground, and the country 

 " about it left as desolate as after the deluge. 

 " The villages belonging to the king were as se- 

 " verely treated ; an universal cry was heard 

 " from all parts, but no one dared to suggest 

 " any means of help. "J In Maitsha, one of the 

 provinces of Abyssinia, he was told that, if ever 

 he met an old man, he might be sure that he was 

 a stranger, as all that were natives died by the 

 lance young.§ 



If the picture of the state of Abyssinia drawn 

 by Bruce, be in any degree near the truth, it 

 places in a strong point of view the force of that 

 principle of increase, which preserves a popula- 



* Bruce, vol. iii. c. vii. p. 192. 

 t Id. vol. iv. c. v. p. 112. 



* Id. vol. iv. p. 258. 

 % Id. c. i. p. 14. 



