4 68 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



ployments intended than fuch a man as Poncet was, if 

 one half is true of that which the conful faid of him afters 

 wards, 



Maillet, having fo far fucceeded, prevailed upon one 

 Ibrahim Hanna, a Syrian, to write five letters, according to. 

 his own ideas, in the Arabic language, one of which was to 

 the king, the four others to the principal officers at the court 

 of Abyffinia: doubting, however, whether Ibrahim's expref. 

 fions were equal to the fublimity of his fentiments, he direct* 

 ed him to fubmit the letters to the confederation of one 

 Francis, a monk, capuchin,, or friar of the Holy Land. Ibra-. 

 him knew not this capuchin ; but he was intimate with 

 another Francis of the reformed Francifcan Order, and to* 

 him by miftake he carried the letters... 



These Francifcans were the very men from whom Mr dq. 

 Maillet would have wifhed to conceal the fending Poncet with 

 the Jefuit Brevedent ; but the fecret being now revealed, Ibra-> 

 himHanna was discharged the French fervice for this miftake ; 

 and Hagi Ali departing immediately after with Poncet and; 

 Brevedent, no time remained for the Francifcans to take the ; 

 Heps they afterwards did to bring about the tragedy in the 

 perfon of Poncet, which they completely effected in that o£ 

 Mr Noir du Roule. 



Mr Poncet, furnifhed with a cheft of medicines at the- 

 expence of the factory, accompanied by father Brevedent,. 

 who, in quality of his fervant, now took the name of Jofeph,, 

 joined Hagi Ali, and the caravan deftined in the firft place,, 

 to Sennaar the capital, of Nubia, 



Fqnqet; 



