450 
AT SEA. 
tunity always of expressing his attachment to the Ras, by the 
present which he makes his messenger in return. Debib*s success 
in these missions brought him into more distinguished notice, and, 
as a reward, the Ras made over to him his paternal district, which 
the young man v/isely placed under the care of his father, who had 
turned priest, he himself remaining attached to the Ras's house- 
hold, with the titles of Selafe, Chelika, and by courtesy, Balamaal. 
On many occasions he has been known to argue on affairs of 
great consequence with the Ras, when no one else had dared to 
interpose : his manner being peculiarly prepossessing, and having 
gained the especial favour of the old man, by his possessing a 
noble spirit of independence, which would not let him stoop to any 
thing below, what he himself conceived, the dignity of a chief In 
his character, he was extremely proud ; but his pride was of a na- 
ture to be admired, since it excluded even the thought of asking 
for presents. — No I have often heard him say, in the mixed 
dialect, which Mr. Pearce and a few of his friends exclusively un- 
derstood," ana mescJiine^^ subook,^ laliin ana mauJish,X beg.^ " I 
may be poor, it is well, but I will never beg.'' During my stay 
in the country I often ""observed his anxious wish to possess 
an English gun, yet, until the departure of Mr. Pearce, he never 
made his desire known, and then he expressed it through him in 
the most delicate way, intreating that it might appear to be a 
suggestion of his own. I have seldom felt myself more gratified, 
than in being able to present him, a few days before I departed, 
with the one which I had always used in the country ; and his 
joy on the occasion was expressed with an enthusiasm which no 
* Arabic. f Abyssinian. ^ | Arabic. § English. 
