The Acab Saat rose in a violent passion, he struggled to get loose

his hands, that he might be free to use the act of denouncing

excommunication, which is by lifting the right hand, and extending the

forefinger; finding that impossible, he cried out, Unloose my hands,

or you are all excommunicated. It was with difficulty he could be

prevailed upon to hear the king, who with great composure, or rather

indifference, said to him, You are the first ecclesiastical officer

in my household, you are the third in the whole kingdom; but I have

not yet learned you ever had power to curse your sovereign, or exhort

his subjects to murder him. You are to be tried for this crime by

the judges to-morrow, so prepare to shew in your defence, upon what

precepts of Christ, or his apostles, or upon what part of the general

councils, you found your title to do this.

Let my hands be unloosed, cries Salama violently; I am a priest, a

servant of God; and they have power, says David, to put kings in

chains, and nobles in irons. And did not Samuel hew king Agag to

pieces before the Lord? I excommunicate you, Tecla Haimanout. And he

was going on, when Tecla Mariam, son of the king's secretary, a young

man, struck the Acab Saat so violently on the face, that it made his

mouth gush out with blood, saying, at same time, What! suffer this in

the king's presence? Upon which both Chremation and the Acab Saat were

hurried out of the tent without being suffered to say more; indeed the

blow seemed to have so much disconcerted Abba Salama, that it deprived

him for a time of the power of speaking.

In Abyssinia it is death to strike, or lift the hand to strike,

before the king; but in this case the provocation was so great, so

sudden, and unexpected, and the youth's worth and the insolence of the

offender so apparent to every body, that a slight reproof was ordered

to be given to Tecla Mariam (by his father only) but he lost no favour

for what he had done, either with the King, Michael, or the people.

When the two prisoners were carried before the Ras, he refused to see

them, but loaded them with irons, and committed them to close custody.

That night a council was held in the king's tent, but it broke early

up; afterwards another before the Ras, which sat much later; the

reason was, that the first, where the king was, only arranged the

business of to-morrow, while that before the Ras considered all that

was to be done or likely to happen at any time.

On the 24th the drum beat, and the army was on their march by dawn of

day: they halted a little after passing the rough ground, and then

doubled their ranks, and formed into close order of battle, the king

leading the center; a few of his black horses were in two lines

immediately before him, their spears pointed upwards, his officers

and nobility on each side, and behind him the rest of the horse,

distributed in the wings, excepting prince George and Ayto Confu, who,

with two small bodies, not exceeding a hundred, scoured the country,

sometimes in the front, and sometimes in the flank. I do not remember

who commanded the rest of the army, my mind was otherwise engaged;

they marched close and in great order, and every one trembled for

the fate of Gondar. We passed the Mahometan town, and encamped upon

the river Kahha, in front of the market-place. As soon as we had

turned our faces to the town, our kettle-drums were brought to the

front, and, after beating some time, two proclamations were made.

The first was, That all those who had flour or barley in quantities,

should bring it that very day to a fair market, on pain of having

their houses plundered; and that all people, soldiers, or others, who

attempted by force to take any provisions without having first paid

for them in ready money, should be hanged upon the spot. A bench was

quickly brought, and set under a tree in the middle of the market; a

judge appointed to sit there; a strong guard, and several officers

placed round him; behind him an executioner, and a large coil of

ropes laid at his feet. The second proclamation was, That everybody

should remain at home in their houses, otherwise the person flying, or

deserting the town, should be reputed a rebel, his goods confiscated,

his house burnt, and his family chastised at the king's pleasure for

seven years; so far was well and politic.

There was at Gondar a sort of mummers, being a mixture of buffoons

and ballad-singers, and posture-masters. These people, upon all

public occasions, run about the streets, and on private ones, such

as marriages, come to the court-yards before the houses, where they

dance, and sing songs of their own composing in honour of the day,

and perform all sorts of antics: many a time, on his return from the

field with victory, they had met Ras Michael, and received his bounty

for singing his praises, and welcoming him upon his return home. The

day the Abuna excommunicated the king, this set of vagrants made part

of the solemnity; they abused, ridiculed, and traduced Michael in

lampoons and scurrilous rhymes, calling him crooked, lame, old, and

impotent, and several other opprobrious names, which did not affect

him near so much as the ridicule of his person: upon many occasions

after, they repeated this, and particularly in a song they ridiculed

the horse of Siré, who had run away at the battle of Limjour, where

Michael cried out, Send these horse to the mill. It happened that

these wretches, men and women, to the number of about thirty and

upwards, were then, with very different songs, celebrating Ras

Michael's return to Gondar. The King and Ras, after the proclamation,

had just turned to the right to Aylo Meidan, below the palace, a large

field where the troops exercise. Confu and the king's household troops

were before, and about 200 of the Siré horse were behind; on a signal

made by the Ras, these horse turned short and fell upon the singers,

and cut them all to pieces. In less than two minutes they were all

laid dead upon the field, excepting one young man, who, mortally

wounded, had just strength enough to arrive within twenty yards of the

king's horse, and there fell dead without speaking a word.

All the people present, most of them veteran soldiers, and

consequently inured to blood, appeared shocked and disgusted at this

wanton piece of cruelty. For my part, a kind of faintishness, or

feebleness, had taken possession of my heart, ever since the execution

of the two men on our march about the kantuffa; and this second act of

cruelty occasioned such a horror, joined with an absence of mind, that

I found myself unable to give an immediate answer, though the king had

spoken twice to me.

It was about nine o'clock in the morning when we entered Gondar;

every person we met on the street wore the countenance of a condemned

malefactor; the Ras went immediately to the palace with the king,

who retired, as usual, to a kind of cage or lattice-window,

where he always sits unseen when in council. We were then in the

council-chamber, and four of the judges seated; none of the governors

of provinces were present but Ras Michael, and Kasmati Tesfos of

Siré. Abba Salama was brought to the foot of the table without irons,

at perfect liberty. The accuser for the king (it is a post in this

country in no great estimation) began the charge against him with

great force and eloquence: he stated, one by one, the crimes committed

by him at different periods, the sum of which amounted to prove Salama

to be the greatest monster upon earth: among these were various kinds

of murder, especially by poison; incest, with every degree collateral

and descendant. He concluded this black, horrid list, with the charge

of high treason, or cursing the king, and absolving his subjects from

their allegiance, which he stated as the greatest crime human nature

was capable of, as involving in its consequences all sorts of other

crimes. Abba Salama, though he seemed under very great impatience,

did not often interrupt him, further than, _You lie_, and, _It is

a lie_, which he repeated at every new charge. His accuser had not

said one word of the murder of Joas, but passed it over without the

smallest allusion to it.

In this, however, Abba Salama did not follow his example: being

desired to answer in his own defence, he entered upon it with great

dignity, and an air of superiority, very different from his behaviour

in the king's tent the day before: he laughed, and made extremely

light of the charges on the article of women, which he neither

confessed nor denied; but said these might be crimes among the Franks,

(looking at me) or other Christians, but not the Christians of that

country, who lived under a double dispensation, the law of Moses and

the law of Christ: he said the Abyssinians were _Beni Israel_, as

indeed they call themselves, that is, Children of Israel; and that

in every age the patriarchs had acted as he did, and were not less

beloved of God. He went roundly into the murder of Joas, and of his

two brothers, Adigo and Aylo, on the mountain of Wechné, and charged

Michael directly with it, as also with the poisoning the late Hatzé

Hannes, father of the present king.

The Ras seemed to avoid hearing, sometimes by speaking to people

standing behind him, sometimes by reading a paper; in particular,

he asked me, standing directly behind his chair, in a low voice,

What is the punishment in your country for such a crime? It was his

custom to speak to me in his own language of Tigrè, and one of his

greatest pastimes to laugh at my faulty expression. He spake this to

me in Amharic, so I knew he wanted my answer should be understood:

I therefore said, in the same low tone of voice he had spoke to me,

High-treason is punished with death in all the countries I have ever

known.--This I owed to Abba Salama, and it was not long before I had

my return.

Abba Salama next went into the murder of Kasmati Eshté, which he

confessed he was the promoter of. He said the Iteghé, with her

brothers and Ayto Aylo, had all turned Franks, so had Gusho of Amhara;

and that, in order to make the country Catholic, they had sent for

priests, who lived with them in confidence, as that Frank did,

pointing to me: that it was against the law of the country, that I

should be suffered here; that I was accursed, and should be stoned as

an enemy to the Virgin Mary. There the Ras interrupted him, by saying,

Confine yourself to your own defence; clear yourself first, and then

accuse any one you please: it is the king's intention to put the law

in execution against all offenders, and it is only as believing you

the greatest that he has begun with you.

This calmness of the Ras seemed to disconcert the Acab Saat; he lost

all method; he warned the Ras that it was owing to his excommunicating

Kasmati Eshté that room was made for him to come to Gondar; without

that event this king would never have been upon the throne, so that

he had still done them as much good by his excommunications as he had

done them harm: he told the Ras, and the judges that they were all

doubly under a curse, if they offered either to pull out his eyes,

or cut out his tongue; and prayed them, bursting into tears, not so

much as to think of either, if it was only for old fellowship, or

friendship which had long subsisted between them.

There is an officer named Kal Hatzé who stands always upon steps at

the side of the lattice-window, where there is a hole covered in the

inside with a curtain of green taffeta; behind this curtain the king

sits, and through this hole he sends what he has to say to the Board,

who rise and receive the messenger standing: he had not interfered

till now, when the officer said, addressing himself to Abba Salama,

"The king requires of you to answer directly why you persuaded the

Abuna to excommunicate him? the Abuna is a slave of the Turks, and

has no king; you are born under a monarchy, why did you, who are his

inferior in office, take upon you to advise him at all? or why, after

having presumed to advise him, did you advise him wrong, and abuse his

ignorance in these matters?" This question, which was a home one, made

him lose all his temper; he cursed the Abuna, called him Mahometan,

Pagan, Frank, and Infidel; and was going on in this wild manner, when

Tecla Haimanout[5], the eldest of the judges, got up, and addressing

himself to the Ras, It is no part of my duty to hear all this railing,

he has not so much as offered one fact material to his exculpation.

The king's secretary sent up to the window the substance of his

defence, the criminal was carried at some distance to the other end of

the room, and the judges deliberated whilst the king was reading. Very

few words were said among the rest; the Ras was all the time speaking

to other people: after he had ended this, he called upon the youngest

judge to give his opinion, and he gave it, 'He is guilty, and should

die;' the same said all the officers, and after them the judges, and

the same said Kasmati Tesfos after them. When it came to Ras Michael

to give his vote, he affected moderation; he said that he was accused

for being his enemy and accomplice; in either case, it is not fair

that he should judge him. No superior officer being present, the last

voice remained with the king, who sent Kal Hatzé to the Board with

his sentence; 'He is guilty and _shall_ die _the death_.--The hangman

_shall_ hang him upon a tree _to-day_.' The unfortunate Acab Saat was

immediately hurried away by the guards to the place of execution,

which is a large tree before the king's gate; where uttering, to the

very last moment, curses against the king, the Ras, and the Abuna,

he suffered the death he very richly deserved, being hanged in the

very vestments in which he used to sit before the king, without one

ornament of his civil or sacerdotal pre-eminence having been taken

from him before the execution. In going to the tree he said he had 400

cows, which he bequeathed to some priests to say prayers for his soul;

but the Ras ordered them to be brought to Gondar, and distributed

among his soldiers.

I have entered into a longer detail of this trial, at the whole of

which I assisted, the rather that I might ask this question of those

that maintain the absolute independence of the Abyssinian priesthood,

Whether, if the many instances already mentioned have not had the

effect, this one does not fully convince them, that all ecclesiastical

persons are subject to the secular power in Abyssinia as much as they

are in Britain or any European Protestant state whatever?

Chremation, Socinios's brother, was next called, he seemed half dead

with fear; he only denied having any concern in his brother being

elected king. He said he had no post, and in this he spoke the

truth, but confessed that he had been sent by Abba Salama to bring

the Itcheguè and the Abuna to meet him the day of excommunication at

Dippabye. It was further unluckily proved against him, that he was

present with his brother at plundering the houses in the night-time

when the man was killed; and upon this he was sentenced to be

immediately hanged; the court then broke up and went to breakfast.

All this had passed in less than two hours; it was not quite eleven

o'clock when all was over, but Ras Michael had sworn he would not

taste bread till Abba Salama was hanged, and on such occasions he

never broke his word.

Immediately after this last execution the kettle-drums beat at the

palace-gate, and the crier made this proclamation, "That all lands and

villages, which are now, or have been given to the Abuna by the king,

shall revert to the king's own use, and be subject to the government,

or the Cantiba of Dembea, or such officers as the king shall after

appoint in the provinces where they are situated."

I went home, and my house being but a few yards from the palace, I

passed the two unfortunate people hanging upon the same branch; and,

full of the cruelty of the scene I had witnessed, which I knew was but

a preamble to much more, I determined firmly, at all events, to quit

this country.

The next morning came on the trial of the unfortunate Guebra Denghel,

Sebaat Laab, and Kefla Mariam; the Ras claimed his right of trying

these three at his own house, as they were all three subjects of

his government of Tigrè. Guebra Denghel bore his hard fortune with

great unconcern, declaring, that his only reason of taking up arms

against the king was, that he saw no other way of preventing Michael's

tyranny, and monstrous thirst of money and of power: that the Ras

was really king, had subverted the constitution, annihilated all

difference of rank and persons, and transferred the efficient parts

of government into the hands of his own creatures. He wished the king

might know this was his only motive for rebellion, and that unless it

had been to make this declaration, he would not have opened his mouth

before so partial and unjust a judge as he considered Michael to be.

But Welleta Selassé, his daughter, hearing the danger her father

was in, broke suddenly out of Ozoro Esther's apartment, which was

contiguous; and, coming into the council-room at the instant her

father was condemned to die, threw herself at the Ras's feet with

every mark and expression of the most extreme sorrow. I cannot,

indeed, repeat what her expressions were, as I was not present, and I

thank God that I was not; I believe they are ineffable by any mouth

but her own, but they were perfectly unsuccessful. The old tyrant

threatened her with immediate death, spurned her away with his foot,

and in her hearing ordered her father to be immediately hanged.

Welleta Selassé, in a fit, or faint, which resembled death, fell

speechless to the ground; the father, forgetful of his own situation,

flew to his daughter's assistance, and they were both dragged out

at separate doors, the one to death, the other to after sufferings,

greater than death itself.

Fortune seemed to have taken delight, from very early life, constantly

to traverse the greatness and happiness of this young lady. She

was first destined to be married to Joas, and the affair was near

concluded, when the fatal discovery, made at the battle of Azazo,

that the king had sent his household troops privately to fight for

Fasil against Michael, prevented her marriage, and occasioned his

death. She was then destined to old Hatzé Hannes, Tecla Haimanout's

father: Michael, who found him incapable of being a king, judged him

as incapable of being a husband to a woman of the youth and charms of

Welleta Selassé, and, therefore, deprived him at once of his life,

crown, and bride. She was now not seventeen, and it was designed

she should be married to the present king; Providence put a stop to

a union that was not agreeable to either party: she died some time

after this, before the battle of Serbraxos; being strongly pressed

to gratify the brutal inclinations of the Ras her grandfather, whom,

when she could not resist or avoid, she took poison; others said it

was given her by Ozoro Esther from jealousy, but this was certainly

without foundation. I saw her in her last moments, but too late to

give her any assistance; and she had told her women-servants and

slaves that she had taken arsenic, having no other way to avoid

committing so monstrous a crime as incest with the murderer of her

father.

The rage that the intercession of the daughter for her father Guebra

Denghel had put the Ras into, was seen in the severity of the sentence

he passed upon the other two criminals; Kefla Mariam's eyes were

pulled out, Sebaat Laab's eye-lids were cut off by the roots, and

both of them were exposed in the market-place to the burning sun,

without any covering whatever. Sebaat Laab died of a fever in a few

days; Kefla Mariam lived, if not to see, at least to hear, that he was

revenged, after the battle of Serbraxos, by the disgrace and captivity

of Michael.

I will spare myself the disagreeable task of shocking my readers with

any further account of these horrid cruelties; enough has been said

to give an idea of the character of these times and people. Blood

continued to be spilt as water, day after day, till the Epiphany;

priests, lay-men, young men and old, noble and vile, daily found their

end by the knife or the cord. Fifty-seven people died publicly by

the hand of the executioner in the course of a very few days; many

disappeared, and were either murdered privately, or sent to prisons,

no one knew where.

The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces and

scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and

almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting-dogs, twice let loose

by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the court-yard the

head and arms of slaughtered men, and which I could no way prevent but

by the destruction of the dogs themselves; the quantity of carrion,

and the stench of it, brought down the hyænas in hundreds from the

neighbouring mountains; and, as few people in Gondar go out after it

is dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready

to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants. Often

when I went home late from the palace, and it was this time the king

chose chiefly for conversation, though I had but to pass the corner

of the market-place before the palace, had lanthorns with me, and

was surrounded with armed men, I heard them grunting by two's and

three's so near me as to be afraid they would take some opportunity of

seizing me by the leg; a pistol would have frightened them, and made

them speedily run, and I constantly carried two loaded at my girdle,

but the discharging a pistol in the night would have alarmed every

one that heard it in the town, and it was not now the time to add any

thing to people's fears. I at last scarce ever went out, and nothing

occupied my thoughts but how to escape from this bloody country by way

of Sennaar, and how I could best exert my power and influence over

Yasine at Ras el Feel to pave my way, by assisting me to pass the

desert into Atbara.

The king missing me some days at the palace, and hearing I had not

been at Ras Michael's, began to inquire who had been with me. Ayto

Confu soon found Yasine, who informed him of the whole matter; upon

this I was sent for to the palace, where I found the king, without

any body but menial servants. He immediately remarked that I looked

very ill; which, indeed, I felt to be the case, as I had scarcely

ate or slept since I saw him last, or even for some days before. He

asked me, in a condoling tone, What ailed me? that, besides looking

sick, I seemed as if something had ruffled me, and put me out of

humour. I told him that what he observed was true: that, coming

across the market-place, I had seen Za Mariam, the Ras's doorkeeper,

with three men bound, one of whom he fell a-hacking to pieces in my

presence. Upon seeing me running across the place, stopping my nose,

he called me to stay till he should come and dispatch the other

two, for he wanted to speak to me, as if he had been engaged about

ordinary business: that the soldiers, in consideration of his haste,

immediately fell upon the other two, whose cries were still remaining

in my ears: that the hyænas at night would scarcely let me pass in the

streets when I returned from the palace; and the dogs fled into my

house to eat pieces of human carcases at leisure.

Although his intention was to look grave, I saw it was all he could

do to stifle a laugh at grievances he thought very little of. "The

men you saw with Za Mariam just now, says he, are rebels, sent by

Kefla Yasous for examples: he has forced a junction with Tecla and

Welleta Michael in Samen, and a road is now open through Woggora,

and plenty established in Gondar. The men you saw suffer were those

that cut off the provisions from coming into the city; they have

occasioned the death of many poor people; as for the hyæna he never

meddles with living people, he seeks carrion, and will soon clear

the streets of those incumbrances that so much offend you; people

say that they are the Falasha of the mountains, who take that shape

of the hyæna, and come down into the town to eat Christian flesh in

the night."--"If they depend upon Christian flesh, and eat no other,

said I, perhaps the hyænas of Gondar will be the worst fed of any in

the world."--"True, says he, bursting out into a loud laughter, that

may be, few of those that die by the knife anywhere are Christians,

or have any religion at all; why then should you mind what they

suffer?"--"Sir, said I, that is not my sentiment; if you was to order

a dog to be tortured to death before me every morning, I could not

bear it. The carcases of Abba Salama, Guebra Denghel, and the rest,

are still hanging where they were upon the tree; you smell the stench

of them at the palace-gate, and will soon, I apprehend, in the palace

itself. This cannot be pleasant, and I do assure you it must be very

pernicious to your health, if there was nothing else in it. At the

battle of Fagitta, though you had no intention to retreat, yet you

went half a day backward, to higher ground, and purer air, to avoid

the stench of the field, but here in the city you heap up carrion

about your houses, where is your continual residence."

"The Ras has given orders, says he gravely, to remove all the dead

bodies before the Epiphany, when we go down to keep that festival, and

wash away all this pollution in the clear-running water of the Kahha:

but tell me now, Yagoube, is it really possible that you can take such

things as these so much to heart? You are a brave man; we all know you

are, and have seen it: we have all blamed you, stranger as you are in

this country, for the little care you take of yourself; and yet about

these things you are as much affected as the most cowardly woman,

girl, or child could be."--"Sir, said I, I do not know if I am brave

or not; but if to see men tortured or murdered, or to live among dead

bodies without concern, be courage, I have it not, nor desire to have

it: war is the profession of noble minds; it is a glorious one; it is

the science and occupation of kings; and many wise and many humane men

have dedicated their whole life to the study of it in every country;

it softens men's manners, by obliging them to society, to assist,

befriend, and even save one another, though at their own risk and

danger. A barbarian of that profession should be pointed at. Observe

Ayto Engedan, (who came at that very instant into the room) there is

a young man, said I, who, with the bravery, has also the humanity and

gentleness of my countrymen that are soldiers."

Engedan fell on his face before the king, as is usual, while the king

went on seriously--"War you want; do you, Yagoube? war you shall have;

it is not far distant, and Engedan is come to tell us how near." They

then went into a considerable conversation about Gusho, Powussen, and

the preparations they were making, and where they were, with which I

shall not trouble the reader, as I shall have an occasion to speak

of the particulars afterwards as they arise. "I want Confu, says the

king; I want him to send his men of Ras el Feel to Sennaar, and to

the Baharnagash to get horses and some coats of mail. And what do

you think of sending Yagoube there? he knows their manners and their

language, and has friends there to whom he is intending to escape,

without so much as asking my leave."--"Pardon me, Sir, said I; if I

have ever entertained that thought, it is proof sufficient of the

extreme necessity I am under to go." "Sir, says Engedan, I have rode

in the Koccob horse; I will do so again, if Yagoube commands them, and

will stay with us till we try the horse of Begemder. I have eight or

ten coats of mail, which I will give your majesty: they belonged to

my father, Confu, and I took them lately from that thief Abou Barea,

with whom they were left at my father's death; but I will tell your

Majesty, I had rather fight naked without a coat of mail, than that

you should send Yagoube to Sennaar to purchase them from thence, for

he will never return."

Ras Michael was now announced, and we made haste to get away. I would

have Confu, Engedan, and you, come here to-morrow night, says the

king, as soon as it is dark; and do not you, Yagoube, for your life,

speak one word of Sennaar, till you know my will upon it. He said this

in the sternest manner, and with all the dignity and majesty of a

king.

We passed the Ras in the anti-chamber, attended by a great many

people. We endeavoured to slide by him in the crowd, but he noticed

us, and brought us before him. We both kissed his hands, and he

kept hold of one of mine, while he asked Engedan, "Is Fasil at

Ibaba?" to which he was answered, "Yes." "Who is with him? says the

Ras."--"Damot, Agow, and Maitsha," answered Engedan. "Was you there?

says the Ras." "No, answered Engedan, I am at Tshemera, with few men."

He then turned to me, and said, "My son is ill; Ozoro Esther has just

sent to me, and complains you visit her now no more. Go see the boy,

and don't neglect Ozoro Esther, she is one of your best friends." I

inquired if she was at Gondar, and was answered, No; she is at Koscam.

We parted; Engedan went to Koscam to Ozoro Esther's, and I went home

to plan my route to Sennaar, and to prepare letters for Hagi Belal, a

merchant there, to whom I was recommended from Arabia Felix.

CHAP. IV.

_The King promises Leave to the Author to depart--Receives

a Reinforcement from Shoa--Amiable Carriage of Amha

Yasous--Striking Contrast between him and a Prince of the

Galla--Bad State of the King's Affairs._

It was the 31st of December that we were at Koscam. A proclamation

had been made some days before of a general pardon to all that would

return to Gondar; but no one had ventured but Ayto Engedan, who was

with Fasil as the king's friend; nor were any of those who went with

Fasil the object of the proclamation, for it was not thought that the

retiring from Socinios with Fasil was doing any thing against their

allegiance.

That night the bodies of Guebra Denghel, Kefla Mariam, and Sebaat

Laab, were taken down from the tree and laid upon the ground; after

having been watched in the night by their friends to keep the beasts

from them, were at last suffered to be taken privately away, at the

intercession of the troops of Tigrè, whose countrymen they were.

Chremation and Abba Salama were abandoned to their fortune, and in

part putrefied; they were covered with heaps of stones thrown upon

them by such as were passing, and had no other burial.

The next night, the 1st of January 1771, according to order, I waited

upon the king with Confu and Engedan, and with them Yasine: measures

were then taken for buying their horses and coats of mail; the Ras had

advanced part of the money, the rest was to be made up by the meery,

or king's duty, due by the Mahometan provinces, which had not been

paid since he went to Tigrè; a Mahometan servant of the king was sent

for from the customhouse; with him was to go a man from Yasine, and

with them I sent my letters by the hand of Soliman, a black of Ras el

Feel, a man remarkable for his strength, courage, and size, and very

shrewd and discerning, under the appearance of an idiot: Yasine was

sent with them to get a safe conduct from his friend Fidele Shekh of

Atbara, who was to convoy them to Beyla, and thence to Sennaar.

It was not without great dispute and altercation the king would

allow me the permission to send letters; at last, seeing he could do

no better, it was agreed that, as an immediate engagement between

Powussen, Gusho, and Ras Michael, was inevitable, I should swear not

to attempt to leave him till that affair was settled some way or

other; but the king insisted I should also take an oath, that, should

he be victorious over, or reconciled to the rebels, if the engagement

I was under in my own country was not fulfilled, and I recovered my

health, I should bring as many of my brethren and family as possible,

with their horses, muskets, and bayonets; that, if I could not pass

by Sennaar, I should come by the way of the East Indies from Surat to

Masuah, which, by how much it was more tedious, was by so much more

secure, than that by Sennaar.

I cannot but hope, the impossibility of performing this oath

extinguished the sin of breaking it; at any rate, it was personal, and

the subsequent death of the king[6] must have freed me from it; be

that as it will, it had this good effect, that it greatly composed my

mind for the time, as I now no longer considered myself as involved

in that ancient and general rule of the country, Never to allow a

stranger to return to his home. We that night learned, that the king

had been in great straits ever since he came from Tigrè; that the Ras,

who was possessed of all the revenues of the provinces that were in

their allegiance, had never yet given the king an ounce of gold; and

that he furnished his daily subsistence from his own house, a cow for

his own and great officers table, and two loaves of bread for each of

his servants; as small an allowance as any private person gave. It

was believed that the Ras had left most of his money in Tigrè, and

had trusted to the contributions he was to levy upon the great men

whenever he should cross the Tacazzé; but in this he disappointed

himself by his cruelty, for no person came before him, on his arrival

at Gondar, from whom he could raise a farthing.

It was about the 20th of January, that a message arrived from

Powussen, to tell the Ras he had taken the usurper Socinios prisoner,

and held him in irons at the king's disposal. He upbraided Michael

with the cruelties of his executions, and declared his resolution of

calling him to an account for these personally at Gondar; he warned

him in time, to repass the Tacazzé, and retire while it was in his

power to his government of Tigrè, where nobody would molest him, and

leave the king at liberty to act for himself. Gusho likewise sent a

messenger, but what word he brought did not transpire; after seeing

the King and Ras Michael, both these messengers proceeded to Fasil.

Soon after this came a message from Fasil, desiring only that the King

and the Ras might renew to him the grant of his father's lands and

estates, which he formerly possessed: what was the meaning of this

message I could never learn; he was already in full possession of what

he asked, and more; no person had attempted to take any thing from

him, nor was it indeed in their power.

Proclamation was made accordingly in terms of the request, and all the

lands that he had possessed were given him: before he could have news

of this first grant, a second messenger came, desiring that he might

be confirmed in his government of Maitsha, Damot, and Agow. This too

was immediately granted him, but a condition was added, that he should

bring the troops of these provinces, and as many others as he could

raise, to join the king with all possible speed, and take the field

with Ras Michael against Powussen and Gusho; and this was but what

he had spontaneously promised when he made his peace at Dingleber. At

the same time Ayto Aylo, brother to Engedan, was proclaimed governor

of Begemder; and all people holding of the king or of Aylo's friends,

(for he had a very large estate in that province) were ordered to join

him; but a very few came, among whom was the famous Guigarr, chief of

the clan, Waag of Lasta, son to Aylo's sister.

Mean time the king used all the means in his power to induce the

Iteghé to return to Koscam, for her presence in Gojam kept alive the

spirit of a number of people that were attached to her, who bore very

impatiently to see her banished, as she then was, though resident with

her daughter Ozoro Welleta Israel, and surrounded by the forces of

Aylo her grandson, who was governor of Gojam, and to whom half of that

province belonged in property. But the queen was resolute never to

trust Ras Michael, though it was believed she sent the king a sum in

gold privately by Engedan.

It was in the end of January that another message arrived from Fasil,

excusing his coming to Gondar on account of the badness of his health;

he said, besides, he could not trust Michael unless he gave him

Welleta Selassé, his granddaughter, to wife, and sent her to him to

Buré. I have already mentioned that the Ras was fond of this young

lady himself, and nothing but that hindered him from giving her to

the king in marriage; and it was said, and I believe with truth, that

some delicacy[7] the king had expressed about this since his return

from Tigrè, was the reason of coldness between him and the Ras, and of

Michael's putting the king on so short allowance on his first coming

to Gondar: but all that was now removed by the necessities of the

times; gold came from Tigrè in plenty; even Powussen had sent some

of the revenue of Begemder, all the other provinces, a proportion,

with butter, cattle, and cotton cloths, for the maintenance of the

king's household and troops: for my part, though I enjoyed the name

of several posts, I had partaken since this last revolution of a very

small part of their revenues; I had been liberally supplied in the

king's absence by Ozoro Esther and the queen. I had few servants, and

lived cheaply in the Iteghé's palace at Koscam; but after my arrival,

the king, on purpose I believe to disconcert my journey, ran me

grievously into debt with the soldiers, and other expences that were,

as I was told, absolutely necessary; it is true, these were paid in

part at times but very irregularly. Ras Michael was not a man to be

craved, nor was my temper such as could be brought to crave him; from

this it arose that often I had been in great straits, and obliged to

live sparingly, which luckily was never a great hardship upon me,

in order to fulfill my promise to others. And now the campaign was

beginning, horses, and mules, and every thing necessary were to be

purchased, and I was in debt above one hundred pounds, nor would it

have been possible I ever should have cleared myself, for my daily

expences were enormous, if it had not been for the situation that a

certain Greek, named Petros, was in, from whom I borrowed about three

hundred pounds, as I shall after mention. With regard to Kasmati

Fasil, he sent me, twice, two large jars of honey from my lordship

of Geesh, at two different times: the first was taken by Coque Abou

Barea, the last tasted so bitter of lupines, that no use could be

made of it. I was a Sovereign, it is true, and my revenue was what

wise men have said is the best,--the love of the people. It went,

however, but little way towards supporting my dignity.

While the king was at Kahha, keeping the festival of the Epiphany,

he received a very extraordinary visit from Amha Yasous, son of the

governor of Shoa, offering his personal service and assistance to the

king, and brought with him, as a present, 500 ounces of gold, and

a thousand excellent horsemen ready equipt at all points. Upon his

being presented to the king, two young noblemen were instructed to be

ready to lay hold of him by the arms, and prevent his throwing himself

upon the ground if he intended so to do. The king was seated upon the

throne, very richly dressed in brocade, a very fine muslin web wrapt

loosely about him, so as to hang in plaits, and in some parts show,

and in some conceal, the flowers of the cloth of gold of which his

waistcoat was composed. His hair was loose, combed out at its full

length, and falling about his head in every direction, and a fork,

like a skewer, made of a rhinoceros horn, with a gold button or head

upon it, stuck thro' his hair near his temples; he was all perfumed

with rose water, and two people stood on the opposite sides of the

tent, each of them with a silver bottle full of it.

Amha Yasous with his thousand horse presented himself before the

door of the tent, and rode on till he was compleatly in it; he then

descended as in a great hurry or surprise, and ran forward, stooping,

to the foot of the throne, inclining his body lower and lower as he

approached; and, just before the act of prostration, he was seized by

Tecla Mariam and Guebra Menfus Kedus, and prevented from kissing the

ground; the king held his hand uncovered, but not extended, that is,

as if he did not intend or expect that he should kiss it. Amha Yasous,

after the struggle was over about the prostration, suddenly seized the

king's hand and kissed it, with some resistance on the part of the

king, who, when he had kissed the back of his hand, turned the palm

likewise; a great mark of familiarity and confidence in this country.

There was a small stool, about half a foot from the ground, covered

with a Persian carpet. Amha Yasous attempted to speak standing, but

was not suffered, but constrained by the two noblemen to sit down on

the little stool; they then deluged him so with rose-water, that I do

believe he never in his life was so wet with rain. After some general

questions the tent was cleared. All this ceremonial was premeditated

and studied; the etiquette could not have been more punctually and

uniformly observed in any court of Europe, and would have just

signified what it did here.

Amha Yasous was a man from twenty-six to twenty-eight years of age,

tall, and of a just degree of corpulence, with arms and legs finely

made; he had a very beautiful face, small features, and the most

affable manners. I have thought, when I have seen them together,

that the king, Engedan, and himself, were three of the handsomest

men I had ever beheld in any country; besides this, all three had

fine understandings, noble sentiments, and courage superior to the

greatest danger; charitable too, and humane inclinations, were it not

for that accursed indifference, or rather propensity, one of them had

to shed human blood; this the young king had imbibed in the school

of Michael, but for natural talents he certainly was the first of the

three.

Apartments in the palace, and a table, were assigned to Amha Yasous,

and he was served by the king's servants as well as his own; a guard

was appointed at his door, the officer of which attended to receive

his orders and take the word daily. This was the manner of receiving

illustrious strangers in my time at Gondar. Anthulé, a Greek, master

of the king's wardrobe, was ordered from time to time to bring him

clothes of the same kind with those the king wore. All the Ozoros, or

noble women at court, fell violently in love with Amha Yasous, as fame

reported, except Ozoro Esther. The young prince had not a grain of

coldness nor indifference in his nature; he carried himself, wherever

he went, with honourable, attentive, and decent gallantry. But his

chief attention was paid to Welleta Selassé; nor was Ras Michael

jealous, nor, as public report went, was Welleta Selassé unkind.

I was often in the evenings in his parties at her house; a fixed,

never-changing melancholy hung upon her face; deep, and involuntary

sighs escaped from her under visible constraint: it did not appear to

me possible this could have been her behaviour, if in actual enjoyment

of successful love; or that, after having gratified it, she could have

put in execution that desperate resolution which apparently she had

then formed in her mind.

Amha Yasous was son of a sister of Gusho; it was said afterwards that

he had a commission from his father, governor of Shoa, to detach

Gusho, if possible, from his alliance with Powussen, and bring him

back to his allegiance to the king. Whether this was true or not I

cannot say, but that this, or something similar, was the case, seemed

to be more than probable from the behaviour of Gusho afterwards,

during the whole campaign. Amha Yasous did not come to take part in

the war, he only brought, in imitation of old times, a tribute to

the king as a testimony of the loyalty of the faithful province of

Shoa; but he was so interested for the king, after being admitted

into intimacy with him, and so pleased with the society of the young

noblemen at court, that he determined to come back with the command of

the troops of his father, and in his way force Gusho to return to his

duty, if he was not already determined.

He had heard, while at Shoa, from some priests of Debra Libanos,

that there was a strange white man in favour with the king at

Gondar, who could do every thing but raise the dead; it was among

his first requests to the king, to make him acquainted with me. The

king therefore ordered me to wait upon him every morning, and I, on

my part, did not let slip that opportunity. Insensibly we came to

be inseparable companions. Our conversation fell one day to be upon

the Abyssinian kings who first lived at Shoa at the time when the

kingdom of Adel was a great mart for the East Indian trade, before the

discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. He said that a book containing

their history, he believed, was in some of the churches in Shoa, and

that he would immediately send for it. Although I could not help

testifying my desire of having a book which I had sought for in vain

through the rest of the provinces of Abyssinia, yet I thought it

unreasonable to desire a man to send 300 miles merely for the purpose

of getting it; I therefore did not press it, being satisfied with his

promise; but as my work would have been incomplete without it, I

asked my friend Tecla Mariam to mention it to him as from the king.

His answer was, "I have already promised to get it for Yagoube, the

messenger by this time is in Amhara; depend upon it, my father will

not fail to let me have it; for fear of mistake, I have dispatched

a very intelligent man, who knows and has seen the book at Debra

Libanos." The promise was punctually kept, the book came, and from it

I have drawn the history of the Adelan war, and the reign of those

kings who had not yet returned to Axum, but reigned in Shoa.

One evening I inquired of him concerning the story which the

Portuguese heard, at the discovery of Benin, that the blacks of

that country had intercourse with a Christian inland state they

acknowledged as sovereign, from which they procured the investiture of

their lands, as has been already mentioned in the beginning of this

work? whether any such commerce did exist with Shoa at present, or if

traces remained of it in older times? if there was any other Christian

or Jewish state in his neighbourhood to which this description could

apply[8]? He said they knew nothing of Benin at Shoa, nor had he ever

heard of the name, nor any custom of the kind that I had mentioned,

which either then did, or ever had prevailed in Shoa: he knew of no

Christian state farther to the southward, excepting Narea, a great

part of which was conquered by the Galla, who were Pagans. The blacks

that were next to Shoa, he said, were exceedingly fierce, warlike, and

cruel; worse than the Galla, and of the same kind with the Shangalla

in Abyssinia. The other nations were partly Mahometan, but chiefly

Galla, and some of these had turned Mahometan; but that they had no

knowledge of any commerce with the Western, or Atlantic Ocean, though

they knew the Eastern or Indian Ocean, which was nearer; were often

served with Indian goods from Mahometan merchants from thence; but

that the Galla had over-run most of the intermediate countries, and

made the ways dangerous.

After Amha Yasous's audience with the king, he waited on Ras Michael

also, to whom he brought a present in gold; politely excusing himself

for having brought it in that form, on account that any other would

have been troublesome, from the length of the way. He well knew,

however, that an apology was needless, and that Ras Michael never

saw any present in a more agreeable form than that of gold. I was

not at the audience, nor do I know what passed at it; only that, on

his introduction, the Ras was held up on his feet, and received him

standing; they then both sat down upon the same seat, after which they

dined heartily together at Ozoro Esther's apartment, who came from

Koscam on purpose to prepare their entertainment, and they drank and

conversed together till late at night.

The sight of gold, and a thousand horse at the juncture, made Ras

Michael as light and chearful as a young man of twenty-five. No

words concerning the government of Shoa passed, nor any proclamation

relative to the state of that province; and this silence was equal to

declare it independent, as it was intended, and indeed it had been

considered as such a long time before. As I saw Amha Yasous eat raw

beef like the Abyssinians, I asked him if it was the custom of other

nations to the southward? He said he believed so, if they were not

Mahometans; and inquired of me if it was not likewise the practice

among us. I imagine it prevails as far as the Cape of Good Hope.

Another interview, which happened at Kahha, was much more

extraordinary in itself, though of much less importance to the state.

Guangoul, chief of the Galla of Angot, that is, of the eastern Galla,

came to pay his respects to the king and Ras Michael; he had with him

about 500 foot and 40 horse: he brought with him a number of large

horns for carrying the king's wine, and some other such trifles.

He was a little, thin, cross-made man, of no apparent strength or

swiftness, as far as could be conjectured; his legs and thighs being

thin and small for his body, and his head large; he was of a yellow,

unwholesome colour, not black nor brown; he had long hair plaited

and interwoven with the bowels of oxen, and so knotted and twisted

together as to render it impossible to distinguish the hair from the

bowels, which hung down in long strings, part before his breast and

part behind his shoulder, the most extraordinary ringlets I had ever

seen. He had likewise, a wreath of guts hung about his neck, and

several rounds of the same about his middle, which served as a girdle,

below which was a short cotton cloth dipt in butter, and all his body

was wet, and running down with the same; he seemed to be about fifty

years of age, with a confident and insolent superiority painted in his

face. In his country it seems, when he appears in state, the beast

he rides upon is a cow. He was then in full dress and ceremony, and

mounted upon one, not of the largest sort, but which had monstrous

horns. He had no saddle on his cow. He had short drawers, that did

not reach the middle of his thighs; his knees, feet, legs, and all

his body were bare. He had a shield of a single hide, warped by the

heat in several directions, and much in the shape of a high-crowned,

large, straw-hat, with which the fashionable women in our own country

sometimes disguise themselves. He carried a short lance in his right

hand, with an ill-made iron head, and a shaft that seemed to be of

thorn-tree, but altogether without ornament, which is seldom the case

with the arms of barbarians. Whether it was necessary for the poizing

himself upon the sharp ridge of the beast's back, or whether it was

meant as graceful riding, I do not know, being quite unskilled in

cowmanship; but he leaned exceedingly backwards, pushing his belly

forwards, and holding his left arm and shield stretched out on one

side of him, and his right arm and lance in the same way on the other,

like wings.

The king was seated on his ivory chair, to receive him, almost in the

middle of his tent; the day was very hot, and an insufferable stench

of carrion soon made every one in the tent sensible of the approach

of this nasty sovereign, even before they saw him. The king, when

he perceived him coming, was so struck with the whole figure and

appearance, that he could not contain himself from an immoderate fit

of laughter, which finding it impossible to stifle, he rose from his

chair, and ran as hard as he could into another apartment behind the

throne.

The savage got off from his cow at the door of the tent with all his

tripes about him; and, while we were admiring him as a monster, seeing

the king's seat empty, he took it for his own, and down he sat upon

the crimson silk cushion, with the butter running from every part

of him. A general cry of astonishment was made by every person in

the tent: he started up I believe without divining the cause, and

before he had time to recollect himself, they fell all upon him, and

with pushes and blows drove this greasy chieftain to the door of

the tent, staring with wild amazement, not knowing what was next to

happen. It is high treason, and punishable by immediate death, to

sit down upon the king's chair. Poor Guangoul owed his life to his

ignorance. The king had beheld the whole scene through the curtain;

if he laughed heartily at the beginning, he laughed ten times more

at the catastrophe; he came out laughing, and unable to speak. The

cushion was lifted and thrown away, and a yellow Indian shawl spread

on the ivory stool; and ever after, when it was placed, and the king

not there, the stool was turned on its face upon the carpet to prevent

such like accidents.

Guangoul, disappointed of having an audience of the king, went to

the Ras, where he was better received, but what passed I know not.

His troops, armed like himself, with shields of no resistance, and

hedge-stakes burnt and sharpened at the end instead of lances, were

no acquisition to any party, especially in the present quarrel, where

all the veteran troops in Abyssinia were nearly equally divided on

opposite sides; besides, the Shoa horse had taken the eyes of people

so much, that they began to think little of any cavalry that was not

in some degree equipped like them.

After the king returned to the palace, great diversion was made at

Guangoul's appearance, in so much that Ozoro Esther, who hated the

very name of Galla, and of this race in particular, insisted upon

seeing a representation of it. Doho, accordingly, a dwarf belonging

to Ras Michael, very ugly, with a monstrous big head, but very sharp

and clever, and capable of acting his part, was brought to represent

the person of Guangoul: a burnt stick and a bad shield were provided;

but the great difficulty remained, how to persuade Doho the dwarf to

put on the raw guts about his neck and waist, and, above all, to plait

them in the hair, which he absolutely refused, both from religious

and cleanly motives; as for the butter, it was no objection, as all

the Abyssinians anoint themselves with it daily, after bathing.

Here we were very near at a stand, all the ladies having in vain

supplicated him to suffer for their sakes a temporary pollution,

with promises that oceans of rose and scented water should be poured

upon him afterwards, to restore his former sweetness. Doho was a man

who constantly spent his time in reading scripture, the acts of the

councils, the works of St John Chrysostom, and other such books as

they have among them. He remained inflexible: at last I suggested

that several hanks of cotton, dyed blue, red, and yellow, should be

got from the weavers in the Mahometan town, and these oiled, greased,

and knotted properly, and twisted among the hair, well-anointed with

butter, would give a pretty accurate resemblance of what we saw in the

king's tent. All hands were immediately set to work; the cotton was

provided; Ozoro Esther's servants and slaves decked Doho to the life.

I spotted his face with stibium, and others anointed him with butter:

an old milk-cow was found, contrary to my expectation, that suffered a

rider without much impatience, and in came Guangoul into a great hall

in Ozoro Esther's apartment.

Never was any thing better personated or better received; the whole

hall resounded with one cry of laughter; Doho, encouraged by this

and the perfect indifference and steadiness of his cow, began to

act his part with great humour and confidence: he was born in the

neighbourhood of these very Galla, knew their manners, and spoke their

language perfectly. Amha Yasous, Confu, Aylo brother to Engedan, some

servants of the king, acted the part that we did in the tent the day

of the audience, that is, stood on each side of the king's chair: the

cow was brought into the middle of the room, and Guangoul descended

with his lance and shield in great state; a cushion was not spared,

nor did Doho spare the cushion; the butter shewed very distinctly

where he had been sitting: we all fell upon him and belaboured him

heartily, and chaced him to the door. His speedy retreat was not

counterfeited. Ozoro Altash, Esther's sister, and a number of the

ladies of the court, were present. Ozoro Esther declared she would

send for the Ras, he had been in great good humour since the arrival

of Amha Yasous. I had not seen him since the recovery of his son, and

happened to be at the door next him; he took me by the hand, and said,

"Welleta Hawaryat (that is the name of his son) is well, you are very

kind."

Michael was esteemed the best orator in his country, and spoke his

own language, Tigran, with the utmost purity and elegance; yet in

common conversation he was very sententious, two or three words at a

time, but never obscure; this he had contracted by a long practice

of commanding armies, where he saw as instantly and clearly, as he

spoke shortly and distinctly. He bowed very civilly to the ladies, and

pointed to me to sit down on the seat by him. Amha Yasous was standing

before him, I hastened to sit down on the carpet at his feet, and he

seemed to recollect himself and placed Amha Yasous beside him: it was

easy to see his mind was otherwise occupied, and as easy to perceive

by his look, that he gave me credit for my behaviour. When they were

all seated, "Well, says he, in great good humour, what now, what is

the matter? what can I do for you, Yagoube? are the women in your

country as idle and foolish as these? has Ozoro Esther chosen a wife

for you? she shall give you your dinner: I will give her a portion;

and as you are a horseman, the king, with Amha Yasous's leave, said

he bowing, shall give you the command of the Shoa horse; I have seen

them; the men I think are almost as white as yourself." Amha Yasous

bowed in return, and said, "Sir, if the king bestows them so worthily,

I promise to bring another thousand as good as these to join them

after the rains, before next Epiphany."--"And I, says Ozoro Esther,

for my part, I have long had a wife for him, but this is not the

present business, we know your time is precious, Guangoul is without,

and desires an audience of you."--Poh! says the Ras, Guangoul is gone

to Gusho, at Minziro, and there is like to be a pretty story: here

are accounts come from Tigrè, that he has committed great barbarities

in his journey, laid waste some villages, killed the people, for not

furnishing him with provisions: here in Belessen he also burnt a

church and a village belonging to the Iteghé, and killed many poor

people; I do not know what he means; I hope they will keep him where

he is, and not send him home again through Tigrè.

A communication of this kind, very uncommon from the Ras, occasioned

a serious appearance in the whole company; but he had no sooner done

with speaking, than in comes Doho upon his cow: neither man nor woman

that had yet seen him, ever laughed so heartily as the old Ras; he

humoured the thing entirely; welcomed Doho in Galla language, and saw

the whole farce, finished by his flight to the door, with the utmost

good humour. Then taking Amha Yasous with him, and several great

officers who had come in the interim, he returned by a private passage

to his own apartments.

As I shall have no occasion for further mention of this chieftain, I

will here finish his story, though not in the order of time. Gusho and

Powussen had gained Guangoul, and persuaded him to make an irruption

with his Galla into the province of Tigrè, to create a diversion

against Michael, and, for that purpose, they had sent him home nearly

the way he had come through that province. From this encouragement he

had begun to conduct himself still worse than formerly. Ras Michael,

suspecting what would happen, privately dispatched Ayto Confu after

him with 600 horse. That young soldier, happy in a command that highly

gratified his mother, and guided by the cries of the people, followed

with the utmost diligence, and came up with him in the neighbourhood

of Lasta, and there, after little resistance, Guangoul and his troops

were cut to pieces, those that had escaped being all slain by the

exasperated peasants. Confu returned to Gondar the night of the fifth

day, together with the bloody trophies of his conquest over Guangoul

and his Galla.

I have before mentioned that this chief had brought with him a

quantity of large horns for the king's service. Some of this sort

having been seen in India filled with civet, have given occasion

to those travellers who saw them there to say, that the animal

producing these large horns was a carnivorous bull of a prodigious

size, inhabiting the interior parts of Africa. That no illustration

of this kind may be wanting, a copperplate of this curious bull is, I

think, in some of the first volumes of the Philosophical Transactions.

The origin of the tale is believed to be in Bernier or Thevenot. It

may, however, with great certainty, be relied upon, that no such

animal exists in Africa, nor probably in the whole creation. The

animal furnishing those monstrous horns is a cow or bull, which would

be reckoned of a middling size in England; its head and neck are

larger and thicker in proportion, but not very remarkably so. I have

been told this animal was first brought by the Galla from near the

Line, where it rains continually, and the sun is little seen. This

extraordinary size of its horns proceeds from a disease that the

cattle have in those countries, of which they die, and is probably

derived from their pasture and climate.

Whenever the animal shews symptoms of this disorder, he is set apart

in the very best and quietest grazing-place, and never driven nor

molested from that moment. His value lies then in his horns, for his

body becomes emaciated and lank in proportion as the horns grow large.

At the last period of his life the weight of his head is so great

that he is unable to lift it up, or at least for any space of time.

The joints of his neck become callous at last, so that it is not any

longer in his power to lift his head. In this situation he dies, with

scarcely flesh covering his bones, and it is then the horns are of

the greatest size and value. I have seen horns that would contain as

much as a common-sized iron-hooped water-pale, such as they make use

of in the houses in England; but the Galla, who have a ready market

for these of all sizes, generally kill the beast when his horns will

contain something less than six gallons. Two of these horns, filled

with wine or spirits, are carried very commodiously upon a woman's

back, flung over her shoulders. I had two of the largest size stole

from me that night Socinios, Confu, and Chremation plundered my house,

nor could I ever recover them. I have seen them at Gondar sold for

four ounces of gold, equal to ten pounds sterling, the pair.

On the 17th of February came messengers from Fasil, with the old

language of proposals of submission and peace, and a repetition of

his demand, that Welleta Selassé should be given him for a wife, and

sent to him, at least as far as Dingleber, where he would advance to

meet her; excusing himself from coming to Gondar, because the Ras

had already broken his promise to him; for the condition of peace

made with the Ras, when he was besieging the mountain, was, That if

Michael should bring the king to the Tacazzé, and surrender him there,

and then return and content himself with the government of Tigrè,

without proceeding to Gondar, that Fasil should receive the king and

conduct him to the capital, and be created Ras and governor in place

of Michael. Fasil had punctually performed his part, and of this

Michael had taken advantage, and had violated every article which he

had stipulated on the other side; and this was at least the alledged

reason why Fasil had refused to come to Gondar. The same evening

arrived also messengers from Gusho and Powussen, declaring to Ras

Michael, that, if he did not leave Gondar and return to Tigrè, they

would come and burn the town. They professed great duty to the king,

but charged the Ras with every sort of enormity, and upon his refusal

sent him a defiance.

The same evening came an express from Shoa, which most punctually

brought the book I so much wished for, containing the lives of the

first kings that lived at Shoa; a fair and fine copy, wrote upon

parchment in a large quarto size, in the pure ancient language of

Geez. The author was nearly contemporary with the annals which he

writes. I shewed it to the king, who till then had never seen it, and

who only said, I fear, Yagoube, you are carrying home these books only

to make your kings laugh at ours. The satisfaction I received upon the

acquisition of this book was greatly diminished by the loss of the

donor, Amha Yasous, who set out the 20th of February, attended with

about a hundred men, his own servants, and followed by the regret and

the good wishes of all that had known him, mine in particular, having

been, from the first time I saw him, very much attached to him.

Before his departure he had two long conferences with the king upon

the contents of the dispatches sent by his father from Shoa. The

substance he frankly told me was, that he did not intend to meddle

with the quarrels of Ras Michael, nor those of Fasil; that they

should settle these in their own way; but if either attempted any

thing against the king, set up any usurpers, as they had done in the

person of Socinios, and continued so far against their allegiance to

Tecla Haimanout as to withhold his whole revenue, and not to pay him

wherewithal to support his state, that he would consider himself as

protector of the royal family of Solomon, as the governors of Shoa

had always been.--It was believed very generally, by Amha Yasous

coming in person, that a treaty between some of the great men in both

sides, begun at his instance, would bring every man that could mount

a horse from as far south as Gingiro, to over-run both the provinces

of Begemder and Amhara, and either displace the two governors, or

at least force them to their duty; and it was owing to this, in all

probability, that Gusho acted with such moderation as he did in the

campaign that soon followed.

CHAP. V.

_Rebel Army approaches Gondar--King marches out of Gondar--Takes

Post at Serbraxos--The Author returns to Gondar with Confu

wounded._

Gentle showers of rain began now to fall, and to announce the approach

of winter; nay, some unusually severe and copious had already fallen.

Gusho and Powussen of Amhara and Begemder, Kasmati Ayabdar governor

of Foggora, Aylo son of Ozoro Welleta Israel the queen's daughter,

governor of Gojam, Woodage Asahel, with the troops of Maitsha, and

Coque Abou Barea from Kuara, were at the head of all the forces they

could raise about Emfras and Nabca, and the borders of the lake Tzana.

A brother-in-law of Powussen had brought a considerable body of troops

from Zaat and Dehannah, two clans of Lasta, enemies to Guigarr, who

had declared for Michael; and these were the best horse in the rebel

army, superior to any in Begemder.

This numerous army of Confederates were all ready, expecting the rain

would make the Tacazzé impassable, and cut off Michael's retreat to

Tigrè. Fasil alone kept them in suspense, who, with about 12,000 men,

remained at Ibaba, professing to be at peace with Michael, in the mean

time keeping all Maitsha quiet, and waiting for the coming of Welleta

Yasous, and 20,000 Galla, whom he had sent for from the other side

of the Nile, intending, as he said, to march on the arrival of this

reinforcement, and join the king at Gondar. Although it may well be

doubted if ever he intended all or any part of this, one thing was

very certain, that he was sincere in his hatred to Gusho and Powussen;

he never could forget their treachery in breaking their appointment

and promise at Court-Ohha, and exposing him either to fight Michael

singly, or have his whole country burnt and destroyed. Although

Michael had, for these last months, done every thing in his power to

bring back to the king such people of consideration that possessed

the lands and estates about Gondar, and were the most respectable of

their nobility for influence and riches, bred up about court, and who

did chiefly constitute it; yet the cruelty of his executions, his

insatiable greed of money and power, and the extreme facility with

which he broke his most sacred engagements, had terrified them from

putting themselves into his hand; though they did not raise men, or

join any side, but lived privately at a distance, yet their absence

from about the king had the very worst effect upon his affairs. A

great desertion had likewise happened since his coming among his old

troops of Tigrè, both of officers and soldiers. The execution of

Guebra Denghel, and other two noblemen, had greatly alienated the

minds of many of their countrymen and their connections; but, above

all, his breach of promise made before the mountain of Haramat, that

he was to levy no taxes upon that province for seven years, (but which

he was now doing with the greatest rigour before one had expired)

discontented them all.

The return of Welleta Michael and Kefla Yasous from Samen, with about

6000 men, had considerably strengthened his army; added to this,

2000 more, who came voluntarily, from their love to Kefla Yasous,

from Temben, where he was governor; these were picked men, partly

musqueteers; there was nothing equal to them in the army.

Gusho was advanced to Minziro. Powussen had his head-quarters at

Korreva, not above sixteen miles from Gondar. The whole plain to the

lake was covered with troops. The weather was unseasonably cold, and

considerable quantities of rain had fallen from the 23d of February

to the 29th of March. The rebels had begun to lay waste Dembea, and

burnt all the villages in the plain from south to west, making it like

a desert between Michael and Fasil, as far as they dared venture to

advance towards either. This they did to exasperate Michael, and draw

him out from Gondar; for they had most of them great property in the

town, and did not wish to be obliged to fight him there. He bore this

fight very impatiently, as well as the constant complaints of people

flying into the town from the depredations of the enemy, and stripped

of every thing.

The king often ascended to the top of the tower of his palace, the

only one to which there remains a stair, and there contemplated,

with the greatest displeasure, the burning of his rich villages in

Dembea. One day while he was here he shewed an instance of that quick

penetration for which he was remarkable, and which, as a proof of

this, I shall here mention.

There is a large waste space on each side of the palace where the

market is kept. It had rained, and it was in the evening almost

destitute of people; there were only two men at a considerable

distance, who seemed to be in close conversation together, one of

them apparently very much the worse of liquor, the other had hold

of the end of the sash, or girdle, which was round the body of the

drunk man; it is a narrow web of cotton cloth, which they wind eight

or ten times about their waist. The king said to me, Do you know,

Yagoube, what these two men are about? I answered, No. I saw the

drunkard untwine one turn of his sash, which the other was feeling

and looking curiously at, as if examining and doubting its goodness.

That man, says the king, is robbing the drunkard of his sash: go

down two or three of you who run best, and apprehend him, but hide

yourselves till he has committed the theft, and seize him as he

passes. The orders were quickly obeyed; the drunkard unwound his

sash, by turning himself round and round, while the other seemed

to be measuring it by the length of his arm, from his elbow to his

forefinger, and then gathering it up. This was done very deliberately

till it was all unwound, and the far end loose; upon which the fellow,

who was measuring, gathering it in his arms, ran off as fast as he

could, leaving the drunkard standing motionless, apparently in great

surprise and amazement. The thief was immediately seized and brought

up to the king, who ordered him to be thrown over the tower. At my

intercession, and that of those about him, he was pardoned, and the

drunkard's sash was returned to him.

Ever since the middle of February, Ras Michael had resolved to march

out, and give battle to the rebels encamped about Korreva, committing

every sort of violence, and burning all the villages, houses, and

barns in Dembea, with the corn they contained more than what served

for their present use; but the great superiority of the enemy in horse

had always made him delay his intention.

Yasine had, indeed, succeeded in his commission to Sennaar, as far as

it regarded the horses. He had found the Arabs encamped immediately

upon the frontier at Ras el Feel, and had received from them very

near 200 of one kind or other, of which 76 only answered the purpose

of mounting the king's black servants; the others were distributed

among the rest of the army that wanted them. But they had not been

equally successful in purchasing their coats of mail, fourteen only of

which had been brought with the horses. In order to buy the rest, the

messenger continued his journey to Sennaar, and with him my servant

Soliman with my letters, to which, of consequence, I had as yet no

return. But what appeared at that time most material to me, Fidele

Shekh of Atbara wrote to Yasine, "That, there was no fear but that

I should be well received at Sennaar, where Nasser, a young king,

had succeeded his father, whom he had deposed; but that the great

difficulty was to pass between Ras el Feel and Teawa, the place of his

residence, and from thence to the banks of the river Dendera, for that

the Ganjar horse of Kuara, and the Arabs their friends, were at war

with the Arabs of Atbara, and had burnt all their crops and villages:

that he sometimes did not think himself safe in Teawa, and that a

load of salt had not been suffered to pass for several months; which,

indeed, was the reason why the Arabs of Atbara were come so near Ras

el Feel, and that the king's horse were procured so readily at the

first coming." This traitor, however, added, "That if, by any means, I

could advance to him at Teawa, I need not take any thought about the

rest of the journey; and that it was better I should come quietly and

quickly, without writing to Sennaar before-hand: and he concluded with

great professions of respect and friendship for me."

It had been very cold, and more than usual rainy, since the beginning

of February; the 9th was a day of close rain; and this, being earlier

than common, very much discouraged the soldiers who were naked, and,

therefore, very sensible of cold, or rain, and, as I have before said,

never can be brought to engage willingly, unless under the influence

of a warm sun.

At last the cries of the people flying into Gondar, seeking protection

from the cruelties of the rebels, determined the Ras to march out, and

set his all upon the fortune of a battle. The risk was not thought

great, as he had been all his life in use to conquer; had a better

army at that time than ever he commanded; the Begemder troops, too,

in whom the rebels trusted most, were but those which he and his men

had beaten at Nefas Musa, although led by a very brave and valiant

officer, Mariam Barea. All this was true; but then, since that period,

these troops of Begemder had been constantly led by himself, had been

trained, and disciplined with the old troops of Tigrè, and taught to

conquer with them. Above all, they had been used to see the effect of

fire-arms, which they no longer feared as formerly, but boldly rushed

in upon the musqueteers, sometimes without giving them time to fire,

or at least before they had time to charge again.

At last, having previously called in all his out-posts, on the 13th

of May he marched out of Gondar, taking with him the King and Abuna,

as also Ozoro Esther, and Ozoro Altash her sister, and all the other

ladies about court, who were in possession of the great fiefs of the

crown, and whom he obliged to personal attendance, as well as to bring

the quota of troops they were bound to by their respective tenures.

The king's army halted upon the same ground they had done on their

return to Gondar. They were then supposed to be near 20,000 foot,

belonging to Tigrè and its dependencies, incomparably the best troops

of the empire, 6000 of which were armed with musquets, six times the

number that all the rest of Abyssinia could furnish, and, considering

they were all match-locks, very expert in the management of them. The

rest of the foot which joined them since he passed the Tacazzè were

about 10,000, besides 2000 of the king's household, 500 of which were

horsemen; of these, few short of 200 were his black servants, armed

with coats of mail, the horses with plates of brass on their cheeks

and faces, with a sharp iron spike of about five inches in length,

which stuck out in the middle of their forehead, a very troublesome,

useless piece of their armour; their bridles were iron chains; the

body of the horse covered with a kind of thin quilt stuffed with

cotton, with two openings made above the flaps of the saddle, into

which the horseman put his thighs and legs, and which covered him from

his hip (where his shirt of mail ended) down to a little above his

ancle: his feet were covered with slippers of thin leather, without

heels, and his stirrups were of the Turkish or Moorish form, into

which his whole foot entered, and, being hung very short, he could

raise himself, and stand as firmly as if he was upon plain ground. The

saddles were in the Moorish form likewise, high before and behind;

a strong lace made fast to the coat of mail by the one end, the

other passed through a small hole in the back of the saddle, kept it

close down, so that the back was never exposed by the coat of mail

rising over the hinder part of the saddle. Each had a small ax in the

surcingle of his saddle, and a pike about fourteen feet long, the

weapon with which he charged; it was made of very light wood, brought

from the banks of the Nile, with a small four-edged head, and the butt

end balanced by a long spike of iron; this entered a leather case

fastened by a thong to the saddle, and was rested sometimes below the

thigh, and sometimes above, and guided by the right hand at the height

the point was intended to strike at. The horseman's head was covered

with a helmet of copper, or block tin, much like those of our light

horse, with large crests of black horse tail.

The officers were distinguished from the soldiers by locks of hair

dyed yellow, interspersed with the black. Upon the front of each

helmet was a silver star, at least a white-metal one, and before the

face, down to the top of the nose, a flap of iron chain, made in the

same manner as the coat of mail, but only lighter, which served as a

vizier. This was the most troublesome part of the whole, it was hot

and heavy, and constantly fretted the cheek and nose, when either the

man or the horse were in motion; and therefore I always substituted a

black silk net, which concealed my colour better, and for the rest of

my face I committed it to the care of Providence.

This body of horse was able to make their way through all the cavalry

in Abyssinia, if they had been drawn up against them with equal

fronts; for every horseman sat immoveable upon his saddle, and acted

most powerfully by his weight alone, and was perfectly master of his

person also by the breadth and shortness of his stirrups; whereas the

Abyssinian horsemen were placed most disadvantageously, their head

and body naked, their saddle small, and of no support to them, their

stirrup-leathers long, and no stirrups to put their foot in; but being

constantly afraid of their horse falling upon them, the only hold

which they had was the outside of an iron ring, which they grasped

between their great and second toe, so that they had no strength from

their stirrups, whilst their foot was always swelled, and their toes

sore and galled.

Of the thousand Shoa horse about 60 had deserted; the rest were all

in good order, each armed with their lances about ten feet long, and

two light javelins, their shafts being of cane, which they threw at a

great distance; the lance they never loosed out of their hand; as for

their stirrups and saddle, they were of the same bad construction as

those of the Abyssinians in general, and this reduced them nearly to a

footing with them.

The horsemen of the king's army were about 7000, mostly very

indifferent troops; so that his whole muster was nearly 7000

musqueteers, 25,000 foot, armed with lances and shields, and about

7500 horsemen; in round numbers about 40,000 men. It is not possible,

I believe, to know, with greater precision, the number, such is

the confusion of barbarous armies on these occasions, and such the

inclination of their leaders to magnify and increase their quotas.

Besides these, Ayto Confu and Sanuda were left with about 600 men

each, to protect Gondar from flying, pillaging parties, and to keep

the communication open between the army and the capital, from whence

the provisions were to be supplied.

This army was furnished with a number of excellent officers, veterans

of noble families, who had spent their whole life in war, which we

may say, for these last 400 years, has never ceased to lay desolate

this unhappy country; the principal were Ras Michael, who, arrived at

the age of seventy-four, had passed the last 50 years of his life in

a course of continued victories, Atsham Georgis, and Guebra Christos,

uncles by the mother's side to the king; Kefla Yasous, in the full

vigour of life, who, though unhappily born in a country plunged in

ignorance, and where there is no education, possessed every quality

that became a man, whether a soldier, statesman, citizen, or friend;

Welleta Michael, master of the household to the king; Billetana Gueta

Tecla; Basha Hezekias, and Guebra Mascal, two principal officers of

his musquetry, and a great number of others of equal merit, known

better in the camp than at the court; Aylo, and Engedan, two sons

of Kasmati Eshté; Ayto Confu, son of Ozoro Esther, all young men,

employed generally in enterprises, and growing every day more and

more into reputation.

It is impossible so much as to guess at the number of the enemy, they

were always very numerous, but constantly changing. It was said, that

Begemder and Lasta had at one time 30,000 horsemen; I should believe

this number greatly exaggerated, from what I heard afterwards; and

that the whole cavalry in their army did not exceed what it was at

the battle of Serbraxos. I suppose indeed, that, together with their

foot, they did not much exceed that number, tho' they were at times

magnified to 50 and 60,000, most of them very bad troops, continually

deserting, excepting about 4000 men belonging to Gusho, from Amhara,

who likewise brought about 100 match-locks, and besides these there

were scarcely any in the rebel army. I must not, however, forget 200

horsemen, Edjow Galla, servants and relations of the late king Joas,

who behaved in the most gallant and undaunted manner, and upon all

occasions set a noble example to the rest of the army.

Ras Michael himself led the van; the king the center, with Guebra

Mascal, and a considerable body of musqueteers of Tigrè; he had

no horse but those of his own household. The rear was commanded

by Welleta Michael, and Tecla: how disposed, or of what troops

constituted I know not, for the front, center, and rear were

understood to march in order, but it was often impossible to discern

any such divisions; we were often all in confusion, sometimes we were

in the middle of the front, sometimes joined and mixed with the rear;

all our officers had left their command, and were crowding about.

Ras Michael and the king; women bearing provisions, horns of liquor,

and mills for grinding corn, upon their backs; idle women of all

sorts, half dead with fear, crying and roaring, mounted upon mules;

and men driving mules loaded with baggage, mingled with the troops,

and passing through in all directions, presented such a tumultuous

appearance that it surpassed all description. There were above 10,000

women accompanying the army: the Ras had about 50 loaded with bouza,

and the king I suppose near as many.

The sight threw me for a moment into low spirits. I know not if the

king saw it. I was perfectly silent, when he cried, Well, what do you

say to us now, Yagoube? I answered, Is this the order in which your

majesty means to engage? He laughed, and said, Aye; why not, you will

see. If that is so, I replied, I only hope it is the enemy's custom as

well as your majesty's to be in no better order. The king was going

to answer me, when Guebra Mascal, who was just beside him, cried out,

This is a business you know nothing about, Yagoube; go to your Felac

(quadrant) and your fortune-telling, if you are afraid; we have no

need of you, nor your advice to-day. Respect for the presence of the

king, which you seem to be void of, said I, hinders me from answering

you as I otherwise would have done; but be assured, in which ever army

they were to-day, they are not men like Guebra Mascal whom I should

be afraid of. The king looked at him much displeased, and, I believe,

said something favourable of me; what it was I did not distinctly hear.

It was now about 10 o'clock, when, marching close along the foot of

the hills, we arrived at Tedda. The burying-place of Hatzé Hannes

I. son of Facilidas, and father of Yasous the Great, was scarce a

quarter of a mile to the S. W. of us, and the church of St George

a little more on the east, when orders came from the Ras for us to

encamp on the side of the hill, which we accordingly did, and were

presently in better order than we were when marching. The Ras, who

had passed the river of Tedda, encamped on the south side of it. It

happened that our two bodies, the front and center, were at that time

treading upon one another's heels; but the rear, from some accident,

was considerably behind, and part of it had scarce passed the Mogetch.

Both the burying-place, and church near it, were planted thick round

with Cyprus and cedar trees. Just a little before the Ras ordered us

to encamp, a messenger arrived from Netcho, (the Fit-Auraris) that

he had that morning met the Fit-Auraris of Begemder on this side of

the river Mariam; that he had killed the Fit-Auraris himself, (a man

of Lasta) with 37 of his men, and driven them back: he added, that

he intended to fall back himself upon the Ras's army, unless stopt

by contrary orders; these the Ras did not send, being desirous that

he should join him, as he soon after did, without being pursued: he

brought word that the army of the rebels was near at hand, between

Korreva and the lake; that Powussen's head-quarters were at Korreva,

and that he had heard Gusho had pushed on advanced posts, as far as

the church of Mariam; but this he did not know for certain, being

only the information of a dying man. Ras Michael immediately detached

Guebra Mascal, and another officer, with 400 men to take possession of

the sepulchre and the church at Tedda, and conceal themselves among

the cedar-trees.

We had not encamped long, before the rear came in sight. Confu, son

of Ozoro Esther, whom the Ras had left to guard Gondar, hearing how

near the enemy was, and the probability of a battle that day, had left

his post, and joined Yasine, with the horse of Ras el Feel, that were

in the rear; soon after this junction, Asahel Woodage, with about

400 men, partly Edjow Galla, (the late king Joas's household) partly

Maitsha, came up from the Dembea side of the lake Tzana, and began to

harrass the rear, marching in great confusion. Confu, though something

superior in number, was thought to be inferior in the goodness of

troops by much more than the difference; but the event proved the

contrary, for he charged Woodage Asahel so forcibly, that he obliged

him to quit our rear, and retire across the plain at a pace, which if

not a flight, did very much resemble it. Ayto Confu pressed vigorously

upon him, till, being now clear of the rest of the army, and in the

fair open plain, Woodage wheeled shortly about, and shewed by his

countenance that it was not to avoid Ayto Confu, but Ras Michael's

musquetry, that he retreated to a greater distance; both sides stopt

to breathe their horses for some minutes; but it was plain afterwards,

Asahel Woodage, an old soldier, trusted much to the known valour of

his troops, and wished to strike a blow of consequence in presence of

his old enemy the Ras.

Ras Michael was at the door of his tent then playing at dams, or

drafts, as was his custom, and Ozoro Esther was trembling to see her

son on the point of being surrounded by merciless Galla, the nation

who most of all she detested, and who had every cause to hate her. All

the young men, (Confu's friends) with their lances in their hands, and

ready to mount on horseback, beseeched the Ras to allow them to go

down into the plain to the assistance of Confu; but the old general,

without leaving off his game, said, "I do strictly forbid one of you

to stir; Confu has broke my orders to-day, and brought himself into a

scrape by his own folly; let me see him get out of it by his courage

and conduct, and thereby set the army a better example than he yet has

done."--"Sir, said I, at least station some musquetry on the small

hill, at the edge of the plain, that, if Confu is beaten, I may not

have the mortification of seeing Yasine, and the new troops of Ras

el Feel, (who were in their proper post) and have all my baggage and

provisions, massacred before my eyes by these cowardly barbarians."

I spoke this in the utmost anguish, when the Ras lifted up his head

with, a ghastly kind of laugh, and said, "Right, well do so, Yagoube."

Though this was but an imperfect permission, I ran down to the station

with such haste that I fell twice in my way, and was considerably

hurt, for the ground was rocky, and the grass slippery.

Although I had only waved my cloak, and cried come on sirs, a large

number of match-locks of Ozoro Esther's, and the king's, hastened

immediately to the ground. Confu by this time had charged, and

after a stout resistance beat Woodage back into the plain; Woodage,

however, again faced about, and after some resistance, Confu in his

turn was driven back in evident disorder, and pushed almost in upon

the post, where our soldiers had made ready their musquets, to fire

if they came a step nearer. At this instant a body of about 30 or 40

horse (the commander we afterwards knew to be Ayto Engedan) came up

full gallop from the right, and stopt the Galla in their pursuit.

Confu's men rallied upon this assistance, and Asahel Woodage retired

in a direction passing close under the sepulchre, Engedan and Confu

keeping at a moderate pace on his left between them and the army, and

forcing them down, as it were, to the trap they knew was laid for

them. They were yet a long shot from the cedars that surrounded the

sepulchre, when a volley was discharged at them from among the trees,

where Michael had posted his 400 men, which, though it did little or

no execution, terrified Woodage Asahel's men so much, that Confu and

Engedan, charging in that instant as upon a signal, they all dispersed

through different parts of the field, and their leader after them:

Joas's Edjow, indeed, would not fall back a step upon the volley, but,

after an obstinate resistance, they were broken by superior numbers,

and forced to retreat before an enemy, so overcome with fatigue and

wounds, as to be unable to pursue them.

The whole of this engagement lasted near an hour by my watch. One

hundred and thirteen of Woodage Asahel's men were slain upon the spot,

and their bloody trophies brought and thrown before the king. On

Confu's side about 70 were killed and wounded; he himself received two

wounds, one a large flesh wound in the hip, the other more slight upon

the head, both of them at the very beginning of the engagement.

Notwithstanding the natural hardness of his heart, and that the

misfortune which had happened was in immediate disobedience of orders,

Ras Michael shewed great sensibility at hearing Confu was wounded; he

came immediately to see him, a visit not according to etiquette, and

gave him a slighter reproof than was expected for leaving his post in

the town, as well as for his fighting without his orders. Confu, with

great submission and address at the same time, excused his leaving his

post, from the repeated information he had received that a decisive

battle was to be fought that day, and knowing the Ras's want of horse,

he could not stay at Gondar, and keep his idle, when the fate of so

kind a father, (as the Ras had been) and that of a mother, to whom he

owed every thing, was depending. He said it would be more agreeable

to him to die by the hands of the executioner of the camp, as an

example for disobedience of orders, than survive with the reflection

that he had been voluntarily absent from such an occasion. As for

engaging with Asahel Woodage that day, he said he had no intention of

that kind; that he knew not who he was when he attacked him, and only

endeavoured to hinder him from harrassing the rear of the army, and

destroying the provisions: That when he charged him first, Woodage was

among the women, loaded with bouza, flour, and spirits, which were

coming to the Ras, and great part of which he had intercepted, as the

Ras would find. Michael could not help laughing at this last part of

the excuse, but went away, and, in his conversation that evening,

gave Confu the highest praises for his conduct and bravery, but said

nothing of his fault.

Engedan was next arraigned for fighting without orders. He, too,

answered with great humility, That when he saw the infantry run down

the hill, with their matches lighted, he thought it was the Ras's

intention to relieve Confu by the most effectual means possible; but

at any rate he could never, with arms in his hands, stand looking on,

while his cousin-german and companion was massacred by Galla. All

ended well. The truth is, Michael never would find fault with a man

that fought, however imprudently he fought the occasion: courage was

to him in place of charity; it covered a multitude of sins.

Ozoro Esther, in the deepest concern, had attended her son from the

moment of his arrival, and had seen his wound dressed and swathed up.

A large gaping flesh-wound (such as his was) frightens ignorant people

more than the small orifice made by a shot, which breaks bones and

endangers life. Such was Ozoro Esther's apprehension; and every minute

she inquired of me if I thought it was possible he could recover. I

had not quitted him since he had got off his horse. I advised him by

all means to go in a litter to Gondar, either carried by men or mules;

but no persuasion, nor consideration, would induce him to go otherwise

than on a mule, with his horse harnessed and led by him.

Every thing was accordingly prepared, when I received a message from

the Ras to wait upon him. I immediately went to his tent, and found

him with two dwarf boys only, who were fanning the flies from his

face. "Ozoro Esther wishes, says he, that you would see Confu safe to

Gondar, and bring us word to-morrow how he is; and you must stay with

him altogether, if he is in danger."--"If he has no fever, said I, he

is in no danger. If the king and you"--He then interrupted me,--"The

king, and I, and every one, wishes you to attend Confu." I bowed, and

went away without reply. When I was got to the door he cried after

me, "Don't be afraid, you will be in time enough to see every thing;

neither they nor I wish an engagement but at Serbraxos."

I did not understand the meaning of the speech, but went away without

reply straight to the king's tent; and I was just going to speak when

he stopt me, by crying, "Go, go, for God's sake! Ozoro Esther has been

here almost out of her senses." I went on this to her tent, where I

found her sitting by Confu and drowned in tears, which at times were

interrupted by fits of seeming distraction. He began to feel the loss

of blood, which would have made me wish not to move him; but there was

no staying here for sick people; and so violent a spirit had spread

through the army, upon Netcho's success and Confu's victory, that

one and all insisted upon fighting the next day; and several of my

friends, who knew where I was going, shook hands with me at my passing

them, saying, "Farewell, Yagoube; we are sorry to lose you, but all

will be over before you come back."

I now insisted more than ever upon Confu's going in a litter, and

setting out immediately, which was accordingly complied with. Ozoro

Esther had dinner, or rather supper, ready in a moment, and I had

great need of it, having scarcely tasted any thing for two days.

While I was eating, Ozoro Esther could not stop the effusions of her

gratitude for the care I had again taken of Confu. "I knew, says she,

you would have refused me, if I had endeavoured to persuade you to go

away from the camp, when there are such fair expectations, you may be

knocked on the head to-morrow; and therefore I applied to the Ras by

force to bend that rash, proud spirit of yours, which one day will be

the occasion of your death."--"Madam, said I, you do me injustice if

you will not believe that I had rather obey your commands than those

of any general upon earth: But, pray, what is the meaning of the Ras's

speech to me about both armies wishing to fight at Serbraxos[9]?

Where is this Serbraxos?"--"Why, says she, here, on a hill just by;

the Begemder people have a prophecy, that one of their governors is

to fight a king at Serbraxos, to defeat him, and slay him there: in

his place is to succeed another king, whose name is Theodorus, and in

whose reign all Abyssinia is to be free from war, or from any trouble,

sickness, or famine; that the Galla, Shangalla, and Mahometans are

all to be destroyed, and the empire of Abyssinia to be extended

as far as Jerusalem."--"All this destruction and conquest without

war! That will be curious indeed. I think I could wish to see this

Theodorus," said I, laughing. "See him you will, replied Ozoro Esther;

peace, happiness, and plenty will last all his reign, and a thousand

years afterwards. Enoch and Elias will rise again, and will fight

and destroy Gog and Magog, and all this without any war."--"On which

I again said, that must be cleverly managed. And now, why does Ras

Michael choose to fight at Serbraxos? I do not think he is desirous

to pay his court to the king Theodorus, or any king brought him by

Begemder."--"Why, says she, all the hermits and holy men on our side,

that can prophecy, have assured him he is to beat the rebels this

month at Serbraxos; and a very holy man, a hermit from Waldubba, came

to him at Gondar, and obliged him to march out against his will, by

telling him this prophecy, which he knows to be true, as the man is

not like common prophets, but one who never ate any thing but roots,

or drank other liquor than water, since the day of his nativity. Such

a man as this, you know, Yagoube, cannot lie." "And I, says Ayto

Confu, being a prophet that hath ate beef and drunk bouza ever since

my nativity, whenever I could not get wine or brandy, and who give my

share of water freely to the saints of Waldubba, as a proper reward

for the lies they tell, I do prophecy, that there are now two thousand

men eating their supper within sight of Serbraxos, who will never see

it nearer, but will all be slain in a battle fought at this place

to-morrow, at which time Yagoube shall be feasting with me at Gondar,

without caring a fig for king Theodorus and his plenty."--"A blessed

prophet you!" says Ozoro Esther.

At this instant the servants at the door informed us there was scarce

light to see the way down the hill, and we got our wounded prophet,

without much difficulty or complaint, into the litter. A number of men

supported him down the hill, and about 50 of his own horse attended. I

desired him to feel often the bandage if his wound bled; and, finding

it did not, I rode on horseback close by his side. For some time, not

hearing him stir or speak, I thought he was asleep, or had fainted;

on which I stopt the litter, felt his pulse, and asked him if he was

dosing? He said, No; he was thinking of all the lies his mother had

been telling me: but there is one thing she did not care to tell you,

Yagoube, she says you laugh at these stories; but there is a spirit

who always appears to Michael and assures him of victory. The devil,

said I, probably; for what good arises from all these victories? are

they not the ruin of innocent people, and of the country? No, replied

Confu, it is St Michael the archangel; he saw him just before he

surprised the mountain Haramat, but neither at Gondar, nor since he

passed the Tacazzé, and this makes him sorrowful. The spirit has

been afraid to catch cold, said I, by wetting his feet in that cold

river. I doubt so, answered Confu; but the liar of a monk, who my

mother supposes never eats nor drinks, told him he was to see him at

Serbraxos.

At this time we heard the noise of horses, and could discern (as we

thought) three men that passed the bridge of Mogetch briskly before

us. As they seemed to avoid us, six or eight of Confu's men pursued

them at full gallop, but lost them in the darkness. They, however,

were found to be soldiers of Kasmati Sanuda, who hearing Woodage

Asahel had been engaged with Ayto Confu, had come out with the

unworthy purpose of collecting some filthy trophies, by mangling the

dead or wounded, though these must have been their own companions, the

soldiers of Ayto Confu, who had been slain; for the whole of Woodage

Asahel's men had already undergone what Strates emphatically called

the _operation_, by the knives of Confu's soldiers. We now arrived

at Koscam without any adventure, and Confu was laid to repose, after

taking a little food: in obedience to the orders of Ozoro Esther, I

lay down by him in the same apartment.

Early next morning I was sent for by a servant of Ozoro Esther, to

attend Welleta Selassé, who I was told was at the point of death.

I repaired immediately to the house of Ras Michael, where she then

was, but found her without possibility of recovery, having already

lost her speech. She expired a few minutes afterwards, apparently in

violent agonies. The cause was never properly known; some attributed

it to the jealousy of Ozoro Esther, others alledged that she had taken

poison from apprehension of falling into the hands of Ras Michael:

whatever was the truth, her servants certainly told me, that she had

confessed she had taken poison, and not till the pain became violent,

and then she turned afraid, would she consent to have an express sent

to Ozoro Esther, to bring me from the camp. I had unluckily left it

before to attend Ayto Confu, neither is it probable I could have been

of any service, as the poison she had taken was arsenic. This accident

detained me that whole day, so that, instead of returning to the army,

I went to Ayto Confu at Koscam, where I found another messenger in

search of me.

The king's Mahometan was returned from Sennaar, and with him Soliman

my servant, who brought me answers to the letters I had written; they

had come by Beyla to Ras el Feel, by Sim Sim, and the western deserts,

the way to Teawa being much infested by gangs of Arabs, and Ganjar

horse, who murdered every body they found in their way. They brought

with them only twelve horses, eighteen coats of mail, and about thirty

libd[10]; these were mostly returns made by the principal members of

government to the presents the king had sent them, for every body at

Sennaar now set too great a value upon the armour, and horses, to part

easily with them, on account of the unsettled state of the times, the

history of which we shall give afterwards.

My letters informed me that the whole kingdom of Sennaar was in

arms, that Nasser (who had deposed his father by the help of two

great brothers, Mahomet Abou Calec, and Adelan) was upon the point

of trusting his life and kingdom to the event of a battle with these

two officers. I was, moreover, conjured, with all the earnestness, as

I thought, of a truly honest man, that I would by no means undertake

the journey I intended; that to come from Ras el Feel to Sennaar, was,

for a white man like me, next to an absolute impossibility, connecting

the danger of the way with the great hardships from the excessive

heat of the climate, and want of food and water; that even arrived at

Sennaar, I should be in the utmost danger from the soldiery, and the

king's slaves, under no subordination or government; and that, even

if I was happy enough to escape these, the worst still remained, and

no human power could convoy or protect me, in my remaining journey

to Egypt through the great desert. I was therefore begged to lay all

such intention aside as impossible, and either stay where I was, or

return by Tigrè, Masuah, and Arabia, the way by which I first entered

Abyssinia. This was the severest of all blows to me, and threw me

for some time into the lowest despondency, but it did not change my

resolution, which was already taken, not to turn to the right or the

left, but either compleat my journey to Syene, the frontier of Egypt,

by Sennaar, and Nubia, or perish in the attempt.

I now resolved to proceed immediately to the camp, taking twenty horse

from Sanuda, and twenty from Confu, to escort the coats of mail and

horses from Sennaar. I set out that evening with Mahomet the king's

servant, by the road of Sema Confu, and arrived about nine o'clock

in the camp, without any adventure, bringing the news of Welleta

Selassé's death, which seemed to cause neither surprise nor sorrow,

and was never after spoken of either by the Ras or Ozoro Esther; but

very great rejoicings were made at the good accounts of Ayto Confu,

with very kind expressions of me, both from the Ras and Ozoro Esther.

Before he went to bed, the king had examined Mahomet, and drawn from

him the true state of the kingdom of Sennaar; he then sent for me, and

ordered me to deliver him my letters, which I did, interpreting them

to him, word for word. He said, however, but little at this time, as

he thought that that door, being so effectually shut against me, less

could be urged against the safer, and more known road through Tigrè,

which, of course, it was presumed I should more eagerly embrace;

he kept my letters, and ordered me to choose two of the horses for

myself, which I did, one of them near seventeen hands high, I suppose

one of the most powerful horses in the world. The rest he distributed

among the black troops; the same he did with the coats of mail. I

found the army in great spirits, but still the story of fighting

only at Serbraxos seemed to be obstinately persisted in. I asked

Ozoro Esther if St Michael had yet appeared to the Ras; she answered,

"Hush! for God's sake, don't make a joke of this, one word of this

kind repeated to him would prevent your ever receiving a favour from

Michael."

It happened that, the day after I had attended Ayto Confu to Gondar,

Ras Michael sent some soldiers into Dembea to forage, these had been

intercepted by a party posted on purpose by Kasmati Ayabdar and Gusho,

consisting of Edjow Galla, with some horse from Foggora and Amhara.

An engagement happened pretty much in the same place and manner as

that with Woodage Asahel and Ayto Confu, in full view of the camp,

and assistance was sent on both sides to the respective parties. The

troops commanded by Aylo, brother of Engedan, and Guebra Mascal, were

beaten back almost close to the camp, by the horse led by the Edjow

Galla, though brave and veteran soldiers, while Ras Michael ordered

Yasine and his 200 from Ras el Feel, (all with their libds on) to

charge the Galla, now advanced very near. Each horse had a number of

brass bells at his neck, and they no sooner appeared than the whole

cavalry of the enemy, starting at the hideous figure and noise, fell

into confusion, and, being closely pressed with violent blows of their

great swords, no longer disputed the ground, but left the field on the

gallop. A beautiful grey horse of Gusho's, superbly ornamented with

gold and silver, and having a very rich broad-sword hanging at his

saddle, and a pole-ax on the other side under the surcingle, was taken

by some soldiers of Ras el Feel, who spread the report instantly that

Gusho was slain. Immediately on this, orders were given for the whole

army to descend into the plain, which they did with great alacrity,

forming in order of battle, though neither the king nor Ras Michael

left the camp, nor did any adversary appear; and the troops, content

with this bravado, returned again in great spirits to the camp.

This is the account I heard of that day's skirmish, for I was not

present there, being at Gondar with Ayto Confu. In the evening of that

very day arrived a messenger from Gusho, telling Ras Michael, that a

young boy, a nephew of his, had, without his knowledge, gone to see

the engagement, and had taken with him his favourite horse, who,

being frightened at the Arabs with their libds, had thrown him, after

which he had run off and left the horse among the enemy. He begged

to have his horse restored at any price, if the man that had taken

him was allowed to sell him. He at the same time sent a present of a

large quantity of fruit and fresh fish from the lake. The messenger

was a priest well known by Ras Michael, and warmly attached to the

king, and it was thought came with an errand of more consequence than

either about the horse or the fish. The Ras sent him for his answer

to the King, who told him, the horse being taken by the troops of Ras

el Feel, belonged to me, and with me he must make his bargain: that

I was at Gondar, and my return uncertain; but that the next day he

might have my answer. This was the better to conceal the priest's real

business, for the King and Ras knew how they were to dispose of the

horse; at least they certainly knew I was not to return him without

their orders.

The morning after my arrival this same priest came to me with a

message from Gusho, desiring I would send him his horse, as a proof

of the friendship which he said had always subsisted between us, at

the same time offering me any sum of money that I might have promised

to content the soldiers who took him. As I had before obtained leave

from Ras Michael to restore the horse, so I did it with the very best

grace possible, sending Yasine himself, chief of the troops of Ras el

Feel, with the message to Gusho, that I reckoned myself exceedingly

happy in having that opportunity of obliging him, and of shewing the

value I had ever set upon his friendship; that he very well knew the

little regard I had for money, and that the soldier who took the

horse was my servant, and had already been abundantly satisfied. I

desired Yasine to add, that I hoped, in order to a continuation of

that friendship, he would avoid, in his own particular command, or

in that of his relations, attacking where the king was in person,

because it was my indispensible duty to be there, and that his nephew

might not escape with the loss of a horse, if he again happened to be

engaged with the Moorish troops, who, though under my command, were

Mahometans, strangers to the language, and to whom it was impossible

for me to convey any distinction of persons. Gusho was exceedingly

sensible of this civil return of the horse; he cloathed Yasine

magnificently, made him a present of another horse, and sent a very

flattering message by him to me.

CHAP. VI.

_Michael attempts to enter Begemder--First Battle of

Serbraxos--The Rebels offer Battle to the King in the

Plain--Armies separated by a violent Storm._