THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. i 37 



Dawaro, Ifat, and Fatigar ; and, in one year, had driven a- 

 way, and flain, above nineteen thoufand Chnftians, fubjec"ts 

 to the king. A terror was now fpread over the whole king- 

 dom, and great blame laid both upon the emprefs and the 

 king, for fitting and looking timidly on, while the Turks 

 and Moors, year after year, ravaged whole provinces with- 

 out relillance. 



These murmurs at laft roufed David, who, for his own 

 part, had not fufFered them willingly fo long. He deter- 

 mined immediately to raife an army, and to command it 

 in perfon : In vain the emprefs admonifhed him of his 

 danger, and his abfolute want of experience in matters of 

 war ; in vain fhe advifed him to employ fome of the old 

 officers againft the veteran Moorifh troops. 



The king anfwered, That every officer of merit had been 

 tried already, and baffled from beginning to end, fo that the 

 army had no confidence in them ; that he was refolved to 

 take his trial as the others had done, and leave the event 

 where it ought to be left. Though the diviners all prophe- 

 fied ill from this refolution of the king, the generality of 

 the kingdom, and young nobility, flocked to his ftandard, 

 rejoicing in a leader fo near their own age. The middle- 

 aged had great hopes of the vigour of that youth ; and the 

 old were not more backward., fatisfied of the weight their 

 vears and experience mult give them in the councils of a 

 young king. 



Seldom a better army took the field; and the emprefs, from 

 her own treafures, furnifhed every thing, even to fuperfiu- 

 ity, engaging all the people of confequencc b) giving them 



Vol. II. S moft 



