6g4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



well known that this king never failed in his word, or any 

 way prevaricated in his promifes. Every one, therefore, 

 went home in as perfect peace as if war had never been a- 

 mong them ; and BacmTa's delicacy in this refpect was feen 

 a few days after ; for Hannes his brother having been 

 brought clandeftinely from Wechne by Kafmati Georgis, a 

 nobleman of great confequence, they were both taken by 

 the governor of Wechne and fent in chains to the king. 

 The ordinary procefs would have been to put them inftant- 

 ly to death, as being apprehended in the very higheft act of 

 treafon; nor would this have alarmed any perfon whatever, 

 or been thought an infraction of the king's late promife.. 

 BacufFa, however, was of another mind. He fent the crimi- 

 nal judges, who ordinarily fit upon capital crimes, to meet 

 the two prifoners in their way to Gondar, and carried them 

 back to the foot of the mountain of Wechne to have their 

 crimes proved, and to be tried there out of his prefence and 

 influence, where they were both condemned, Hannes to 

 have an arm cut off, Georgis to be fent to prifon to the go- 

 vernor of Walkayt, with private orders to put him to death;: 

 both which fentences were executed, though Hannes fo far 

 recovered that he was king of Abyilima in my time, not* 

 withftanding this mutilation; but it. was a direct violation t 

 of the laws of the land. 



It is faid that a difcovery, which happened in the king's 

 feigned illhefs, promoted this fudden revolution of manners. 

 In one of his fecret tours through Begemder, (after Tigre, 

 the moft powerful province in Abyflinia, and by much the 

 moft plentiful) being difguifed like a poor man, dirty and 

 fatigued with the length of the way and heat of the wea- 

 ther, he came to the houfe of a private perfon, not very rich^ 



indeed. 



