THESOURCE OF THENILE. 185 
Tur whole ftory was told diftin€tly to Kefla Yafous, who 
took it up- in the moft judicious manner. He faid he had 
been detained at his tent, but had come to the king’s pre- 
fence exprefsly to give Guebra Mafcal the juft praife he 
deferved for his behaviour that day: that he was very hap- 
py that I, who was near him all the action, and was a ftran- 
-_ger, and unprejudiced (as he might be thought not to be) had 
done it ‘fo juftly and fo handfomely. At the fame time he 
could not help faying, that the quarrel with Yagoube in the 
palace, the taunting fpeech made without provocation in 
the king’s prefence on the march, his apoftrophe in the field, 
and the abrupt manner in which he ignorantly broke in 
upon the converfation before the king, interrupting and 
contradicting his own cormmendations, fhewed a diftem- 
pered mind, and that he a¢ted from a bad motive, which, if 
inquired into, would inevitably ruin him, both with King 
and Ras ; and he had heard indeed it already had done ae 
the former. 
Guepra Mascat, now crying like.a child, condemned 
himfelf for a malicious madman in the two firft inftances: 
but fwore, that on the field he had no intention but to fave 
~ me, if occafion threw it in his way ; for which purpofe alone 
=~ 
it was he had cried out to me to ftand firm, for the troops 
of Begemder were coming upon us, but that I did not un- 
derftand his meaning. Guebra Mafcal advances nothing 
but truth, faid I, to Kefla Yafous ; I did not perfectly under- 
ftand him to-day in the field, as he fpoke in ‘his own lan- 
guage of Tigré, and ftammers greatly, nor did | diftinaly 
comprehend what he faid acrofs the pool, for the fame 
reafon, andthe confufion we were in: I fhall however moft 
_ readily confefs my obligation to him,.for the opportunity 
Vou. IV. Aa he 
