THE PORTUGUESE JESUITS. Ill 



country, and of the disposition of the various 

 people who inhabit Abyssinia. I can ill afford the 

 space, but to illustrate the manner in which 

 Tellez endeavours to mislead, as regards geogra- 

 phical matters, I will here introduce a most glaring 

 instance, which, I trust, may be received as my 

 apology and excuse for presuming, as I have done, 

 to question the integrity of the great authority of 

 recent Abyssinian travellers; for, without Tellez, 

 they have no authenticated evidence to oppose 

 against that, which I can bring forward to prove 

 that the Gibbee flows, not to the south, and to the 

 Indian ocean, but to the north, and into the Nile. 

 Even Bruce, much as I respect him, as the prince of 

 travellers, evidently follows Tellez in his account of 

 the Gibbee ; and it is curious to remark, that not 

 only as regards this river, but upon other subjects 

 where he has exaggerated so much as to be sup- 

 posed to be drawing upon his imagination, he is 

 actually using almost the very words of the Jesuit 

 historian. 



Speaking of the Embassy dispatched to Portugal 

 in the year 1613, by the Emperor Segued, which 

 consisted of some natives of rank, accompanied by 

 the father Antonio Fernandez, and ten other Por- 

 tuguese, Tellez informs us, " These men were 

 directed to take a route through Narea to Melinda, 

 upon the coast, the Emperor believing (and he, it 

 may be supposed, would be very likely to have the 

 best information) that the road was shorter and 



