668 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



These two were heads of the only great families in Am- 

 hara, who took that government as it were by rotation: 

 Woodage, in one of the excurfions into Atbara, had made 

 an Arab's, or a Shepherd's daughter, prifoner, baptized her, 

 and lived with her as his miftrefs. Thepaflion Woodage 

 bore to this fair flave was not, however, reciprocal. She had 

 fixed her affections upon his eldeft fon, and their frequent 

 familiarities at laft brought about the difcovery. This very 

 much fhocked Woodage ; but, inftead of having recourfe to 

 public juflice, he called his brothers, and fome other heads 

 of his family before him, and examined into the fact with 

 them, defiring his fon to defend himfelf. The crime was 

 clearly proved in all its circumftances. Upon which Wood- 

 age, by his own authority, condemned his fon to death ; 

 and not only fo, but caufed his fentence to be put in execu- 

 tion, by hanging the young man over a beam in his own 

 houfe. As for the flave, he releafed her, as not being bound 

 to any return of affection to him, from whom Ihe had on- 

 ly received evil, and been deprived of her natural liberty. 



It feems this claim of patr'm potejlas was new in Abyf- 

 finia ; and Bacuffa took it fo ill, that he deprived Woodage 

 of his office, and banifhed him to Amhara, then governed 

 by Palambaras Dure. To this lofs of influence another cir- 

 cumftance contributed. He was a relation of Yafous's firft 

 wife, who, by the Iteghe's intrigues, had been fent with her 

 two fons to the mountain of Wechne, and Joas, a young fon 

 of Yafous, preferred in their places. 



It happened that Palambaras Dure died; and as the fuc- 

 cefhon fell regularly upon the unpopular Woodage, the 

 king's uncle, Lubo obtained a promife of the government 



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