THE SOURCE OF THE NILE aa 
fituation they would themfelves have met with no better 
treatment. 
WuiLe every rank of people was intent upon this fpec- 
tacle, a body of. Galla, belonging to Maitfha, {tole privately 
into the town,. and plundered: feveral houfes: they came 
next into the king’s palace, and into the prefence-chamber, 
where he was fitting alone in an alcove, whilft, juft by his 
fide, but out of fight, and without the alcove, I-and-two of 
his fervants were fitting on the floor. This room, in the 
time of Yafous and the Iteghé, (the days of: luxury and 
_ {plendour of the Abyffinian court), had been magnificently 
hung with mirrors, brought at great.expence from Venice,. 
by. way of Arabia andthe Red Sea; ,thefe were very neatly fix- 
ed in copper-gilt frames by fome Greek filligrane-workers 
from Cairo; but the mirrors were. now moltly broken by 
various accidents, efpecially. when the palace was fet on fire, _ 
in Joas’s time, upon Michael’s coming from the campaign 
ef Begemder. Thefe favages, though they certainly faw 
the king at the other end of the room, attached themfelves 
to the glafs. neareft the door, which was a large oblong 
one, and after they had made many grimaces, anda variety 
of antics before it, one of them ftruck it-juft in the middle 
with the butt-end.of. his lance, and broke it to fhivers, 
which fell tinkling. on the floor.. Some of thefe pieces 
they took up, but in the end they were moftly. reduced to 
powder with the repeated. ftrokes. of their lances. There 
were three glaffes in the alcove where: the king fat, as al-. 
fo one in:the wings on each fide without the aleove; un- 
der the king’s right hand we three were fitting, and the 
Galla were engaged with a mirror near the door, at the.o- 
ther.end of the room, on the left fide, fo that there was; 
bur: 
