THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 355 



the quality and errand of thefe mimonaries, than he confi- 

 ned them to clofe prifon, where, after great fuffering, they 

 were both put to death ; and, to aggravate this, a letter was 

 written to Socinios ftigmatizing him with the name of 

 apoftate from the religion of his forefathers, and applying 

 to him many opprobrious names. 



This letter, at another time, would not have failed to 

 have been followed by the chaftifement it deferved. But 

 Adel, formerly a nourifhing and commercial kingdom, was 

 now fallen, and reduced to a multitude of banditti. Trade 

 had left it. A garrifon of nominal janizaries, fmce the reign 

 of Sultan Selim, had kept the little ifland of Zeyla for the 

 pretended purpofe of a cuftomhoufe ; but, in fact, it was a 

 poft of robbers, who only maintained themfelves there for 

 the fake of plundering merchants who came by fea ; while 

 the Galla poured in numbers upon the prince from the con- 

 tinent, and of the ancient kingdom of Adel, had left him 

 nothing but AufTa the capital, a town fituated upon a rock, 

 on the banks of the river Hawafh, Azab, and Raheeta, and 

 a few other miferable villages upon the fea ; and even part 

 of thefe were daily falling into the hands of that enemy, 

 deftined very foon to over-run them all. This abject flate 

 to which they had been reduced, we may fuppofe, was the 

 only reafon that protected them from the vengeance of a 

 high-fpirited prince, fuch as Socinios certainly was. 



This violent conduct of Socinios in his abjuration was 

 followed by that of the patriarch Alphonfo Mendes, per- 

 fectly in the fame fpirit. The clergy were re-ordained, their 

 churches confecrated anew, grown men as well as children 

 again baptifed, the moveable feafts and feftivals reduced to 



Y y 2 the 



