336 
MASSOWAH. 
honey, with a message that his daughter was going to be married 
who was also my daughter, as he and I were one. This was abroad 
hint for a present, which I could not evade ; I therefore sent the 
bride a piece of gold tissue, and some Lucknow chintz The native 
pilots have so positively assured us that the N. W. monsoon has 
set in, and our own experience gives such weight to their report , 
that we have been induced to abandon our intention of trying to 
reach Suez during the present season, and have adopted in its 
stead a determination to open a communication with the Court of 
Abyssinia, and if possible, to send some of our party up into the 
country. The Banian had frequently mentioned to me that the 
Ras Welleta Selasse was anxious to hear from me ; I therefore 
delivered him a message for that chief, expressive of my wishes, 
which I requested him to put on paper, and send up by a special 
messenger to Tigre, for which I agreed to pay him fourteen dollars^ 
he covenanting that the man should be back at Massowah with 
the answer in fifteen days. He now spoke less cautiously of the poli- 
tical situation of Massowah, and acknowledged that it lies at the 
mercy of the King of Abyssinia, and could offer no resistance were 
he to choose to attack it, as his most forcible instrument would be 
starvation, by cutting off the supplies from the upper country. In 
fact, Massowah is only of importance from being the port of Abys- 
sinia, and were the trade to be turned into any other channel, it 
would sink into insignificance. I found that my friend the Nayib 
had, after my departure, made Currumchund pay sixty dollars for 
the cattle and sheep, which he had sent me as presents during my 
stay : he, of course, was repaid the whole, as it was not dearer than 
they would have cost had they been supposed to be purchase^ 
1 
