78 
TRAVELS IN ABYSSlNIA. 
iiomical instruments. Mr Bruce does iiot agree, 
however, with those who represent the mountains 
of Tigr€ as loftier than the Alps or the Pyrenees. 
A mountaiuj near St Jean Pied de Port, appeared 
to him higher than Lamalmon, and the St Ber- 
nard than Taranta. The most striking circum- 
stance consists in their forms, some being flat, 
thin, and square, like a hearth-stone ; some re- 
sembling pyramids, and others obelisks or prisms ; 
some even, he asserts, being like pyramids pitch- 
ed on their points. The party then arrived at 
Dixan, a considerable town, forming the frontier 
between the Nay he's territory and that of Abys- 
sinia. A little beyond, he came up to the Ba- 
harnagash. The first sight of this prince im- 
pressed him with little reverence, as he and his 
seven followers had an appearance equally beg- 
garly. He proved, however, to be a person of 
greater consequence than might at first sight have 
been supposed. After spending two days with 
him, Mr Bruce went on and arrived at Adowa> 
the capital of Tigre. From thence he went to 
see the monastery of Fremona, which had always 
been the chief establishment of the Jesuits. It 
was about a mile in circumference, surrounded 
by walls flanked with towers, and pierced for 
musquetry. It appeared to him by much the 
most defensible place he saw in Abyssinia, and 
to have more the air of a castle than a convent. 
