THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 63: 
with great pleafure, during which. he gave me feveral 
hints, as if he thought his pardon was not compleated ; 
and at laft afked me directly what were my fentiments, and 
what I had heard? I faid, I believed every thing was fa- 
vourable as to him and the Itchegué, but I did not know 
how much farther the king’s forgivenefs would extend. 
I know, fays he, what you mean; that Abba Salama, (curfe 
upon him) he is the author of it all: What do I know of 
thefe black people, who am a ftranger, fo lately come into 
the country? and, indeed, he feemed to. know very little ; 
for, befides ‘his native Arabic, which he fpoke like a pea- 
fant, he had not learned one word of any of the various 
languages ufed in the country in which he was to live and’ 
die. Having finithed coffee, I left him fpeaking to fome 
of his own people ; about half an hour afterwards, he went. _ 
away. 
Ras Micuaet had brought with him from Tigré about: 
20,000 men, the beft foldiers of the empire ; about 6000 of | 
thefe were mufqueteers, about 12,000.armed with lances and 
fhields, and about 6000 men had’ joined 'them from Gon-- 
dar ; a large proportion of thefe were horfemen, who were 
feouring the country in all directions, bringing with them: 
fuch unhappy people as deferved to. be, nen were there-- 
fore deftined for public example. . 
Tue fhort way from Tigre to Gondar was by Lamalmon, , 
(that: is the mountain of Samen) and by Woggora.. Ayto: 
Tesfos had maintained himfelf in the government of Samen: 
ftnce Joas’s time, by whom he was appointed ; he had con- 
tinued ipneiig inenmity with Ras Michael, and had now 
taken pofleffion of the paffes near the Tacazzé, fo as to cutoff: 
2.: alli 
