AXUM. 99 
by the obelisk on the right. Moreover, his account of the church, 
and his general remarks on the priests, give reason to suppose that 
he had no communication with them ; yet these were probably the 
only persons capable of giving him any information on the sub- 
ject. In this instance, his neglect of them was well repaid, by 
his being left in ignorance of the most valuable monument in the 
place. 
" The lower class of the inhabitants of Axum seemed to be more 
rude to strangers, and less under authority, than any we observed 
during our excursion, so that it was not easy to prevent the oc- 
currence of a serious dispute. Ibrahim, our boy, seized a much 
stronger fellow than himself, who was particularly troublesome, 
and having made fast his garment, brought him to the top of the 
church, at the time we were there, and delivered him over to our 
guides. After frightening the offender with the Ras's displeasure, 
we were induced to dismiss him unpunished, at the request of the 
High Priest. This custom of seizing the garment of an offender is 
very general ; when any person is injured, his first attempt is to 
get hold of his adversary's apparel, which, having fastened in a 
hand knot to his own, nothing can force him to quit till he gets 
into the presence of his superiors, to whose decision he means to 
appeal ; and it is singular, that those who may have stolen double 
the value of their garment, will not consent to part with it in order 
to escape, from the disgrace attached to such a proceeding. 
" We observed here rather a rough mode of keeping children 
in order ; one of Nebrida Aram s boys had large iron shackles on 
his legs, as a punishment for some truant tricks of which he had 
been guilty. 
VOL. III. o 
