108 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 
but charged the Ras with every fort of enormity, and upon 
his refufal fent him a defiance. : 
Tue fame evening came anexprefs from Shoa, which _ 
moft punctually brought the book I fo much wifhed for, — 
containing the lives of the firft kings that lived at Shoa ; 
a fair and fine copy, wrote upon parchment in a large quarto 
fize, in the pure ancient language of Geez. The author 
was nearly contemporary with the annals which he writes. 
I fhewed it to the king, who tili then had never feen- it, 
and who only faid, I fear, Yagoube, you are carrying home 
thefe books only to make your kings laugh at ours. The 
fatisfaction I received upon the acquifition of this book wal 
greatly dimimifhed by the lofs of the donor, Amha Yafous, 
who fet out the 20th of February, attended with about a 
hundred men, his own fervants, and followed by the regret 
and the good wifhes of all that had known him, mine in 
particular, having been, from the firft time I faw him, very 
much attached to him. e 
Brrore his departure he had two long conferences with 
the king upon the contents of the difpatches fent by his 
father from Shoa. The fubftance he frankly told me was, 
that he did not intend to meddle with the quarrels of Ras 
Michael, nor thofe of Fafil; that they fhould fertle thefe in ~ 
their own way; but if either attempted any thing againtt 
the king, fet up any ufurpers, as they had done in the perfon 
of Socinios, and continued fo far againft their allegiance to 
Tecla Haimanout as to withhold his whole revenue, and 
not to pay him wherewithal to fupport his ftate, that he 
would confider himfelf as protector of the royal family of 
Solomon, as the governors. of Shoa had always been.— 
It 
