74 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 
though he feemed under very great impatience, did not 
often interrupt him, further than, You lie, and, It is a he, which 
he repeated at every new charge. His accufer had not faid 
one word of the murder of Joas, but paffed it over without 
the fmalleft allufion to it. 
In this, however, Abba Salama did not follow his exam- 
ple: being defired to anfwer in his own defence, he enter- 
ed upon it with great dignity, and an air of fuperiority, very 
different from his behaviour in the king’s tent the day be- 
fore: he laughed, and made extremely light of the charges 
on the article of women, which he neither confeffed nor 
denied; but faid thefe might be crimes among the Franks, 
(looking at me) or other ‘Chriftians, but not the Chriftians 
of that country, who lived under a double difpenfation, the 
law of Mofes and the law of Chrift: he faid the Abyflinians 
were Beni Jfracl, as indeed they callthemfelves, that is, Chil- . 
dren of Ifrael; and that in every age the patriarchs had 
acted as he did, and were not lefs beloved of God. . He went 
roundly into the murder of Joas, and of his two brothers, 
Adigo and Aylo, on the mountain of Wechné, and char- ~ 
ged Michael directly with it, as alfo with the poifoning ae 
late Hatzé Hannes, father of the prefent king. 
Tue Ras feemed to avoid hearing, fometimes by fpeak- 
ing to people ftanding behind him, fometimes by reading- 
a paper; in particular, he afked me, ftanding dire&tly be- 
hind his chair, in a low voice, What is the punifhment in 
your country for fuch a efime? It was his cuftom to fpeak 
to me in his own language of Tigré, and one of his greateft 
paftimes to laugh at my faulty expreffion. He fpake this 
to me in Amharic, fo I knew he wanted my anfwer fhould 
be 
