THE RETIRED SLAVE MERCHANTS. 101 



taken the opportunity of returning home. The 

 remainder came in parties for the two or three 

 succeeding days, and went away satisfied with me, 

 but with some feeling of resentment against my 

 worthy Has ul Kafuah, Ohmed Mahomed. 



The first decided recurrence of a fit of the intermit- 

 tent fever, the paroxysms returning every other day, 

 from which I had suffered so much in Bombay and 

 Aden, came on during the afternoon of the day I 

 returned from Ankobar. My illness, however, did 

 not completely lay me up ; for although on the day 

 when the ague fits occurred it was with the greatest 

 difficulty I could leave my bed, still, during the 

 intermediate ones I could always occupy myself in 

 obtaining information, either in the Amharic 

 language, or respecting the interesting circum- 

 stances of novel character wdiich surrounded me. 



Many instructive conversations have I had with 

 the numerous retired slave merchants who reside in 

 Aliu Amba. The knowledge these men possessed 

 of the country to the south of Shoa, the kingdoms 

 of Gurague, of Enarea, of Zingero and of Limmoo, 

 with others still more remote, was extensive and 

 valuable, and was the result of actual visits to these 

 places for the purpose of procuring slaves. Suc- 

 cessful slave merchants have this character in 

 common with horse dealers, that they are generally 

 intelligent and shrewd men, and when they have 

 no object to serve by concealing the truth, they 

 maybe relied upon to a considerable extent; for 



