THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 239 



Bek, a large ifland in the lake Tzana, belonging to the 

 queen, where he was kept for fome time, till he efeaped and 

 hid himfelf in the wild inacceflible mountains of Gojam, 

 which there form the banks of the Nile. They carried their 

 precautions ftill further; and fubfequent events after fhewed, 

 that thefe were well-grounded. They fent a party of men at 

 the fame time to furprife Socinios, but he, fufficiently upon his 

 guard, no fooner faw the fate of his coufin, Za Denghel, than 

 he withdrew himfelf, but in fuch a manner that fhewed plain- 

 ly he knew the value of his own pretentions, and was not to 

 be an unconcerned fpectator if a revolution was to hap- 

 pen* 



In order to underftand perfectly the claims of thofe 

 princes, who were by turns placed on the throne in the 

 bloody war that followed, it will be neceflary to know thai 

 the emperor David III. had three fons : The eldeft was 

 Claudius, who fucceeded him in the empire ; the hiflory of 

 whofe reign we have already given : The fecond was Jacob,, 

 who died a minor before his brother, but left two fons> 

 Tafcar and Facilidas : The third fon was Menas, called A- 

 damas Segued, who fucceeded Claudius his brother in the 

 empire ; whofe reign we have likewife given in its proper- 

 place. 



Menas had four fons ; Sertza Denghel', called Melee Se- 

 gued, who fucceeded his father in the empire, and whofe 

 hiflory we have juil now finifhed ; the fecond Aquieter ; 

 the third Abate; and the fourth, Lefana Chriftos ; whofe 

 fon was that Za Denghel of whom, we were lafl fpeaking,, 

 appointed to fucceed to the throne by his uncle Sertza 

 Denghel, when on his death-bed, 



