430 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 
whip acrofs the eyes, another behind took hold of your 
fword that was flung upon my fhoulders, and would have 
ftrangledme with the cord if I had notfallen backwards ; they 
all began then to ftripme. I was naked ina minute as I was 
the hour I was born, having only this night-cap; when one 
of them, a tall black fellow, drew a crooked knife, and propo- 
fed to pay me a compliment that has made me fhudder every 
time I have fince thought of it. I don’t know what would 
have been the end of it, if Confu had not faid, Poh! he is a 
white man, and not worth the farifying: Let us feek his mafter, 
faysGuebraMehedin, he will by this have paffed the Gomara; 
he has always plenty of gold both from the king and Iteghé, 
and is a real Frank, on which account it would be a fin to 
{pare him. On this away they went {kirmifhing about the 
plain. Horfemen came to join them from all parts, and 
every one that pafled me gave me a blow of fome kind or 
other. None of them hurt me very much, but, no matter; 
I may have my turn: we {hall fee what figure he will make 
before the Iteghé fome of thefe days, or, what is better, be- 
fore Ras Michael.” 
“ Tyat you fhall never fee, fays Negadé Ras Mahomet, 
who entered the room in the inftant, for there is a man 
now without who informs us that Guebra Mehedin is either 
dead or juft a-dying. A {hot fired at him, by one of you at 
the Gomara, cut off part of his cheek-bone; the next morn- 
ing he heard that Kafmati Ayabdar was going to the hot wa- 
ters at Lebec with fervants only, and the devil towhom he be- 
longed would not quit him; he would perfitt, ill as he was, to 
attack Ayabdar, who having, unknown to him, brought a 
number of ftout fellows along with him, without difficulty 
cut his fervants to pieces. In the fray, Tecla Georgis, a fer- 
vant 
