86 
TRAVELS IN ABYSSINIA, 
fiance. Fedaile having then, by fair promises, in- 
duced our traveller to pay him a visit at his own 
house, attempted to assassinate him ; but the in- 
trepidity and bodily vigour of Mr Bruce rescued 
him from this danger. Next day, a Moullah, or holy 
man, arriving from his friend the shekh of Beyla, 
Fedaile durst not make any farther attempts against 
him. Mr Bruce, therefore, set out, and passing 
through Beyla, crossed the Nile at Basboch, and 
arrived at Sennaar. The government of that king- 
dom was in a condition, to which such barbarous 
states are extremely liable. The hereditary mo- 
narch retained the pomp and shadow of sovereign* 
ty ; while the real power resided in the commander 
of the army, who was called Shekh Adelan. It 
was to the latter that our traveller was first intro- 
duced. He received him in a very blunt and sol- 
dier-like manner, bordering on roughness ; but 
finding that he replied in his own style, and that he 
understood horses, which were his own favourite 
passion, he soon became his friend, and engaged to 
protect him. Mr Bruce did not succeed so well 
with the king, and during his stay, several plots 
were formed against him, from which, however, he 
succeeded in extricating himself. His most critic 
cal situation was when he was sent to act as physic 
cian to the king's wives, whom he found, to the 
number of forty, assembled in one room. These 
ladies, in order that he might judge the more tho- 
5 
