Abyssinia.

Abyssinia, Abassia, or Upper Ethiopia, in Geography, an empire of Africa within the torrid zone, which is comprehended between the 7th and 16th degrees N. Lat. and the 30th and 40th degrees of E. Long. By some writers of antiquity the title of Ethiopians was given to all nations whose complexion was black; hence we find the Arabians, as well as many other Asiatics, sometimes falling under this denomination; besides a number of Africans whose country lay at a distance from Ethiopia properly so called. Thus the Africans in general were divided into the western or Hesperian Ethiopians, and those above Egypt situated to the east; the latter being much more generally known than the former, by reason of the commerce they carried on with the Egyptians.

From this account we may easily understand why there should be such a seeming disagreement among ancient authors concerning the situation of the empire of Ethiopia, and likewise why it should pass under such a variety of names. Sometimes, for example, it was named India, and the inhabitants Indians; an appellation likewise applied to many other distant nations. It was also denominated Atlantis and Ethria, and in the most remote periods of antiquity Cephenia; but more usually Abasene, a word somewhat resembling Abassia or Abyssinia, its modern names. On the other hand, we find Persia, Chaldea, Assyria, &c. styled Ethiopia by some writers: and all the countries extending along the coasts of the Red sea were promiscuously denominated India and Ethiopia. By the Jews the empire of Ethiopia was styled Cush and Ludim.

Notwithstanding this diversity of appellations, and vast diffusion of territory ascribed to the Ethiopians, there was one country to which the title was thought more properly to belong than to any of the rest; and which was therefore called Ethiopia Propria. This was bounded on the north by Egypt, extending all the way to the lesser cataract of the Nile, and an island named Elephantine; on the west it had Libya Interior; on the east the Red sea, and on the south unknown parts of Africa; though these boundaries cannot be fixed with any kind of precision.

In this country the ancients distinguished a great variety of different nations, to whom they gave names either from some personal circumstance, or from their manner of living. The principal of these were, 1. The Abyssinias. Blemmyes, seated near the borders of Egypt; and who, probably from the shortness of their necks, were said to have no heads, but eyes, mouths, &c. in their breasts. Their form must have been very extraordinary, if we believe Vopiscus, who gives an account of some of the captives of this nation brought to Rome. 2. The Nobate, inhabiting the banks of the Nile near the island Elephantine already mentioned, said to have been removed thither by Oasis to repress the incursions of the Blemmyes. 3. The Troglydites, by some writers said to belong to Egypt, and described as little superior to brutes. 4. The Nubians, of whom little more is known than their name. 5. The Pigmies, by some supposed to be a tribe of Troglydites; but by others placed on the African coast of the Red sea. 6. The Aualite or Abalite, of whom we know nothing more than that they were situated near the Abalitic gulf. 7. The Struthiophagi, so called from their feeding upon ostriches, were situated to the south of the Memnones. 8. The Accidophagi; 9. Chelomophagi; 10. Ichthyophagi; 11. Cynamolgi; 12. Elephantophagi; 13. Rhizophagi; 14. Spermatophagi; 15. Hylophagi; and, 16. Ophiophagi: all of whom had their names from the food they made use of, viz. locusts, tortoises, fish, bitches milk, elephants, roots, fruits or seeds, and serpents. 17. The Hylogones, neighbours to the Elephantophagi, and who were so savage that they had no houses, nor any other places to sleep in but the tops of trees. 18. The Pamphagi, who used almost every thing indiscriminately for food. 19. The Agriophagi, who lived on the flesh of wild beasts. 20. The Anthropophagi, or man-eaters, are now supposed to have been the Cafres, and not any inhabitants of Proper Ethiopia. 21. The Hippophagi, or horse-eaters, who lay to the northward of Libya Incognita. 22. The Macrobii, a powerful nation, remarkable for their longevity; some of them attaining the age of 120 years. 23. The Sambri, situated near the city of Tenopus in Nubia upon the Nile; of whom it is reported that all the quadrupeds they had, not excepting even the elephants, were destitute of ears. 24. The Asache, a people inhabiting the mountainous parts, and continually employed in hunting elephants. Besides these, there were a number of other nations or tribes, of Abyssinia, whom we scarce know any thing but the names; as the Gapachi, Ptoemphanes, Catadupi, Pechini, Cata-dre, &c.

First settlement.

In a country inhabited by such a variety of nations, all in a state of extreme barbarism, it is rather to be wondered that we have any history at all, than that it is not more distinct. It has already been observed, that the Jews, from the authority of the sacred writers no doubt, bestowed the name of Cush upon the empire of Ethiopia; and it is generally agreed that Cush was the great progenitor of the inhabitants. In some passages of Scripture, however, it would seem that Cush was an appellation bestowed upon the whole peninsula of Arabia, or at least the greater part of it. In others, the word seems to denominate the country watered by the Araxes, the seat of the ancient Scythians or Cushites; and sometimes the country adjacent to Egypt on the coast of the Red sea.

A number of authors are of opinion, that Ethiopia received its first inhabitants from the country lying to the east of the Red sea. According to them, the descendants of Cush, having settled in Arabia, gradually migrated to the south-eastern extremity of that country; whence, by an easy passage across the straits of Babelmandel, they transported themselves to the African side, and entered the country properly called Ethiopia: a migration which, according to Eusebius, took place during the residence of the Israelites in Egypt; but, in the opinion of Syncellus, after they had taken possession of Canaan, and were governed by judges.

Mr Bruce makes mention of a tradition among the Abyssinians, which, they say, has existed among them from time immemorial, that very soon after the flood, Cush the grandson of Noah, with his family, passed through Atbara, then without inhabitants, till they came to the ridge of mountains which separates that country from the high lands of Abyssinia. Here, still terrified with the thoughts of the deluge, and apprehensive of a return of the same calamity, they chose to dwell in caves made in the sides of those mountains, rather than trust themselves in the plains of Atbara; and our author is of opinion, that the tropical rains, which they could not fail to meet with in their journey southward, and which would appear like the return of the deluge, might induce them to take up their habitations in these high places. Be this as it will, he informs us that it is an undoubted fact, "that here the Cushites, with unparalleled industry, and with instruments utterly unknown to us, formed to themselves commodious, yet wonderful habitations in the heart of mountains of granite and marble, which remain entire in great numbers to this day, and promise to do so till the consummation of all things."

The Cushites having once established themselves among these mountains, continued to form habitations of the like kind in all the neighbouring ones; and thus following the different chains (for they never chose to descend into the low country), spread the arts and sciences, which they cultivated, quite across the African continent from the eastern to the western ocean. According to the tradition above mentioned, they built the city of Axum early in the days of Abraham. This, though now an inconsiderable village, was anciently noted for its superb structures, of which some remains are still visible. Among these are some belonging to a magnificent temple, originally 110 feet Abyssinie. in length, and having two wings on each side; a double porch; and an ascent of 12 steps. Behind this stand several obelisks of different sizes, with the remains of several others which have been destroyed by the Turks. There is also a great square stone with an inscription, but so much effaced that nothing can be discovered excepting some Greek and Latin letters, and the word Basilus. Mr Bruce mentions some "prodigious fragments of colossal statues of the dog-star" still to be seen at this place; and "Seir (addhe), which, in the language of the Troglodytes, and in that of the low country of Meroe, exactly corresponding to it, signifies a dog, instructs us in the reason why this province was called Sirè, and the large river which bounds it Siris."

Soon after building the city of Axum, the Cushites founded that of Meroe, the capital of a large island or peninsula formed by the Nile, much mentioned by ancient historians, and where, according to Herodotus, they pursued the study of astronomy in very early ages with great success. Mr Bruce gives two reasons for Meroe why their building this city in the low country, after having founded built Axum in the mountainous part of Abyssinia. 1. They had discovered some inconveniences in their caves both in Sirè and the country below it, arising from the tropical rains in which they were now involved, and which prevented them from making the celestial observations to which they were so much addicted. 2. It is probable that they built this city farther from the mountains than they could have wished, in order to avoid the fly with which the southern parts were infested. This animal, according to Mr Bruce, who has given a figure of it, is the most troublesome to quadrupeds Description that can be imagined. He informs us, that it infests those places within the tropical rains where the soil is black and loamy, and no other place whatever. It is named zimb (by whom we are not informed), and has not been described by any other naturalist. It is of a size somewhat larger than a bee, thicker in proportion, and having broader wings, placed separate like those of a fly, and quite colourless, or without any spots. The head is large, with a sharp upper jaw; at the end of which is a strong pointed hair about a quarter of an inch long; and the lower jaw has two of these hairs: all of which together make a resistance to the finger equal to that of a strong hog's bristle. One or all of these hairs are used as weapons of offence to the cattle; but what purpose they answer to the animal itself, our author does not say. So intolerable, however, are its attacks to the cattle, that they no sooner hear its buzzing, than they forsake their food, and run about till they fall down with fright, fatigue, and hunger. Even the camel, though defended by a thick and strong skin with long hair, cannot resist the punctures of this insect; which seem to be poisonous, as they produce large putrid swellings on the body, head, and legs, which at last terminate in death. To avoid this dreadful enemy, the cattle must all be removed as quick as possible to the sandy parts of Atbara, where they stay as long as the rains last, and where this dreadful enemy never ventures to follow them. The elephant and rhinoceros, who, on account of the quantity of food they require, cannot remove to these barren places, roll themselves in the mud, which when dry, coats them over so hard, Abyssinia.

that they are enabled to resist the punctures of the insect; though even on these some tubercles are generally to be met with, which our author attributes to this cause. Mr Bruce is of opinion, that this is the fly mentioned by Isaiah, chap. vii. 18, 19. "And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord shall kiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt; and they shall come and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes." 'That is (says Mr Bruce), they shall cut off from the cattle their usual retreat to the desert, by taking possession of these places, and meeting them there, where ordinarily they never come, and which therefore are the refuge of the cattle.'

Meroe, which lay in N. Lat. 16°, the exact limit of the tropical rains, was without the bounds assigned by nature to these destructive insects; and consequently a place of refuge for the cattle. Mr Bruce, on his return through the desert, saw at Gerri, in this latitude, ruins, supposed to be those of Meroe, and caves in the mountains immediately above them; for he is of opinion, that they did not abandon their caverns immediately after they began to build cities. As a proof of this, he mentions that Thebes, in Upper Egypt, was built by a colony of Ethiopians; and that near the ruins of that city, a vast number of caves are to be seen even up to the top of a mountain in the neighbourhood: all of which are inhabited at this day. By degrees, however, they began to exchange these subterraneous habitations for the cities they built above ground; and thus became farmers, artificers, &c. though originally their sole employment had been commerce.

On this subject Mr Bruce has given a very curious dissertation; though how far the application of it to the Ethiopians may be just, we cannot pretend to determine. He begins with observing, that the magnificence of the Indians and Egyptians has been celebrated from the most remote antiquity, without any account of the sources from whence all this wealth was derived: and indeed it must be owned, that in all histories of these people, there is a strange deficiency in this respect. The kings, we are to suppose, derived their splendour and magnificence from their subjects; but we are quite at a loss to know whence their subjects had it: and this seems the more strange, that in no period of their history are they ever represented in a poor or mean situation. Nor is this difficulty confined to these nations alone. Palestine, a country producing neither silver nor gold, is represented by the sacred writers as abounding in the early ages with both those metals in a much greater proportion than the most powerful European states can boast of, notwithstanding the vast supplies derived from the lately discovered continent of America. The Assyrian empire, in the time of Semiramis, was so noted for its wealth, that M. Montesquieu supposes it to have been obtained by the conquest of some more ancient and richer nation; the spoils of which enriched the Assyrians, as those of the latter afterwards did the Medes. This, however, Mr Bruce very justly observes, will not remove the difficulty, because we are equally at a loss to know whence the wealth was derived to that former nation; and it is very unusual to find an empire or kingdom of any extent enriched by conquest. The kingdom of Macedon, for instance, though Alexander the Great overran and plundered in a very short time the richest empire in the world, could never vie with the wealth of Tyre and Sidon. These last were commercial cities; and our author justly considers commerce as the only source from whence the wealth of a large kingdom ever was or could be derived. The riches of Semiramis, therefore, were accumulated by the East India trade centering for some time in her capital. While this was suffered to remain undisturbed, the empire flourished: but by an absurd expedition against India itself, in order to become mistress at once of all the wealth it contained, she lost that which she really possessed; and her empire was soon after entirely ruined. To the same source he attributes the riches of the ancient Egyptians; and is of opinion, that Sesostris opened up to Egypt the commerce with India by sea; though other authors speak of that monarch in very different terms. As the luxuries of India have somehow or other become the objects of desire to every nation in the world, this easily accounts for the wealth for which Egypt has in all ages been so much celebrated, as well as for that with which other countries abounded; while they served as a medium for transmitting those luxuries to other nations, and especially for the riches of those which naturally produced the Indian commodities so much sought after. This was the case particularly with Arabia, some of the productions of which were very much coveted by the western nations; and being, besides, the medium of communication between the East Indies and western nations, it is easy to see why the Arabian merchants soon became possessed of immense wealth.

Besides the territories already mentioned, the Cushites had extended themselves along the mountains which run parallel to the Red sea on the African side; which country, according to Mr Bruce, has "in all times been called Sabo, or Azabo, both which signify South; an epithet given from its lying to the southward of the Arabian gulf, and which in ancient times was one of the richest and most important countries in the world. "By that acquisition (says our author), they enjoyed all the perfumes and aromatics in the east; myrrh, and frankincense, and cassia; all which grow spontaneously in that stripe of ground from the bay of Bilur west of Azab to Cape Gardafui, and then southward up in the Indian ocean, to near the coast of Melinda, where there is cinnamon, but of an inferior kind." As the Cushites or Troglodytes advanced still farther south, they met not only with mountains, in which they might excavate proper habitations, but likewise with great quantities of gold and silver furnished by the mines of Sofala, which, our author says, furnished "large quantities of both metals in their pure and unmixed state, lying in globules without any alloy or any necessity of preparation or separation." In other parts of his work, he labours to prove Sofala to have been the Ophir mentioned in Scripture.

Thus the Ethiopians, for some time after their settlement, according to Mr Bruce, must have been a nation of the first importance in the world. The first a civilized and northern colonies from Meroe to Thebes built cities, learned and made improvements in architecture; cultivated commerce, agriculture, and the arts; not forgetting Abyssinia, the science of astronomy, for which they had an excellent opportunity by reason of the clearness of the sky in the Thebaid. Their brethren farther to the south, or those who inhabited Ethiopia properly so called, were confined for six months to their caves by reason of the tropical rains, whence they were naturally led to pursuits of another kind. "Letters," at least one kind of them, and arithmetical characters (we are told), were invented by this middle part of the Cushites; while trade and astronomy, the natural history of the winds and seasons, were what necessarily employed that part of the colony established at Sofala most to the southward."

While the Cushites were thus employed at home in collecting gold, gathering and preparing spices, &c. these commodities were sent abroad into other countries by another set of people, named Shepherds, who acted as carriers to them, and who afterwards proved so formidable to the Egyptians. These differed in their appearance from the Ethiopians, having long hair, and the features of Europeans; and were of a very dark complexion, though not at all like the black-moors or negroes. They lived in the plain country in huts or moveable habitations, attending their cattle, and wandering up and down as various circumstances required. By acting as carriers to the Cushites, they became a great and powerful people, possessing vast numbers of cattle, as well as a very considerable extent of territory. They possessed a stripe of land along the Indian ocean; and to the northward of that another along the Red sea: but their principal habitation was the flat part of Africa between the northern tropic and the mountains of Abyssinia, which country is now called Beja. This reaches from Masuah along the sea-coast to Suakem; then turns westward, and continues in that direction, having the Nile on the south, the tropic of Cancer on the north, with the deserts of Selima and Libya on the west. The next district belonging to these people was Meroe, now called Atbara, lying between the rivers Nile and Astaboras. A third district, now called Derkin, is a small plain lying between the river Mareb on the east, and Atbara on the west. But the most noble and warlike of all the Shepherds were those who possessed the mountains of Habab, reaching from the neighbourhood of Masuah to Suakem: which district is still inhabited by them.

These Shepherds, according to our author, were distinguished by several different appellations, which may be supposed to denote different degrees of rank among them. Those called simply Shepherds, our author supposes to have been the common sort who attended the flocks. Another set were called Hyesos or Agsos, signifying "armed shepherds," who are supposed to have been the soldiers. A third were named Agag, supposed to be the chiefs or nobles of these armed shepherds; whence the title of king of kings, according to Mr Bruce, is derived; and he supposes Agag killed by Samuel to have been an Arabian shepherd.

The building of Carthage augmented the power of the Shepherds to a considerable degree, by reason of the vast quantity of carriage naturally belonging to a place of such extensive commerce, and which fell into the hands of the Lehabim, Lubim, or Libyan peasants. An immense multitude of camels, in the early ages, answered the purpose of navigation: and thus Abyssinian we find that commerce was carried on by the Ishmaelites as early as the days of Joseph, from the southern extremity of the Arabian peninsula. These Shep-Reason of herds, however, though generally the friends and allies the enmity of the Egyptians, who were also Cushites, sometimes between proved very bitter enemies to them, as is related in the history of that country. The reason of this may be deduced from the great opposition betwixt their manners and customs. The Egyptians worshipped black cattle, which the Shepherds killed and used as food; the latter worshipped the heavenly bodies, while the Egyptians were the grossest idolaters, and worshipped idols of all kinds that can be imagined. Hence a mere difference in religion might occasion many bloody quarrels; though, if the above account can be depended upon as authentic, it is natural to imagine that the mutual connection of interests should have cemented their friendship, whatever difference there might happen to be in opinions of any kind.

Besides the Cushites and Shepherds, however, we must now seek for the origin of those different nations the difference which have already been mentioned. Mr Bruce allows that there are various nations inhabiting this country, who are fairer than either the Cushites or the Shepherds, and which, though they have each a particular name, are all known by the general title of Habesk; which may be translated by the Latin word convenae, signifying a number of distinct people meeting accidentally in one place; and which our author maintains against Scaliger, Ludolf, and a number of others, to be a very just translation, and quite consonant to the history of the country.

The most authentic ancient history of this country, First settled according to Mr Bruce, is the chronicle of Axum; ment of the character of which, among the modern Abyssinians, stands next to the sacred writings themselves; and consequently must be esteemed the highest Abyssinian authority we have on the subject. According to this history, book, there was an interval of 5500 years between the creation of the world and the birth of Christ; 1808 years before which last event the empire of Abyssinia or Ethiopia received its first inhabitants. Two hundred years after its settlement, it was so destroyed by a flood that it received the name of Curétry laid Midra, or a country laid waste; "or (says our author) waste by as it is called in Scripture, a land which the waters or floods had spoiled." (Isaiah xviii. 2.). The peopling of the country was finished about 1400 years before Christ, by the settlement of a great number of people, speaking different languages, who sat down peaceably, in the high lands of Tigré, in the neighbourhood of the Shepherds, with whom they were in friendship. These people, according to tradition, came from Palestine; and our author is inclined to believe the whole of the relation to be true, as the time coincides with the expulsion of the Canaanitish nations by Joshua, which happened about 1490 B. C. ten years before which there had been, according to Pausanias, a flood in Ethiopia which occasioned prodigious devastation. Ethiopia, he thinks, would afford the most ready asylum for the fugitive Canaanites, as they must have long had a commercial intercourse with that country; and he supports the opinion likewise from what Proco- pius mentions of two pillars extant in his time, on the coast Abyssinia, coast of Mauritania, with the following inscription in the Phoenician language: "We are Canaanites, flying from the face of Joshua the son of Nun, the robber." The authenticity of these inscriptions, however, is much disputed, and therefore it cannot go a great way in establishing any historical point. The first and most considerable of the colonies above mentioned settled in the province of Amhara; the second in Damot, one of the southern provinces; the third in another province called Lasta, or Tcheratz-Agow, from Tchera their principal habitation; and a fourth in the territory of Galat.

Our author goes on to prove, that the Ethiopians in ancient times were not only the most learned people in the world, but that they spoke the original language, and were the inventors of writing. In what manner they came to degenerate from this character, and into their present state of barbarity, cannot be known; this being a phenomenon equally unaccountable with the degeneracy of the Egyptians. According to some authors, the Ethiopians were conquered by Moses; of which transaction we have the following account. Before the time of that legislator, the Ethiopians possessed the country of Thebes in Egypt: but, not content with this, they made an irruption into Lower Egypt, and penetrated as far as Memphis; where, having defeated the Egyptians, they threatened the kingdom with total destruction. The Egyptians, by the advice of their oracles, put Moses at the head of their forces; who immediately prepared for invading the enemy's country. The Ethiopians imagined that he would march along the banks of the Nile; but Moses chose rather to pass through some of the interior countries, though greatly infested with serpents, and where consequently his march must be attended with much danger. To preserve his men, he constructed a number of chests or panniers of the Egyptian reed papyrus, which he filled with the birds named Ibis, celebrated for their antipathy to serpents. As soon as he approached the tract abounding with these reptiles, a sufficient number of the birds were let out, who presently cleared the way for the army by destroying the serpents. Thus the Ethiopians were surprised in their own country, where they had dreaded no invasion; their forces, being defeated in the field, were at last shut up in the capital Meroe, a city almost impregnable, by being surrounded with three rivers, the Nile, Astapus, and Astaboras. The daughter of the Ethiopian monarch, however, having an opportunity of seeing Moses from the walls, fell in love with him, and offered to deliver up the city, provided he would swear to marry her. With this requisition the Jewish legislator complied; but treated the inhabitants with great severity, plundering the city, and putting many of the inhabitants to death. After this he ravaged the whole country, dismantling all the places of strength; and having thus rendered the Ethiopians incapable of attempting any thing against other nations for a considerable time, he returned in triumph to Egypt, after an absence of ten years.

From the time of Moses to that of Solomon, there is a chasm in the Ethiopic history. After this, however, we are furnished with some kind of regular accounts. The history commences with the queen of Sheba, who came to visit the Jewish monarch, and whom the Abyssinians suppose to have been sovereign of Ethiopia Propria; but Mr Bruce is of opinion that she was only sovereign of that territory on the eastern coast of Africa named Saba, which he says ought to be her title instead of Sheba. In favour of this opinion, he likewise urges that it was customary for the Sabaeans, or inhabitants of the African district named Saba, to be governed by women; whereas those who inhabited the opposite side of the Arabian gulf, and who were named Sabean Arabs or Homerites, were not only governed by kings, but would not allow their sovereigns to go abroad anywhere under pain of being stoned to death. The Abyssinians, as has been already hinted, claimed her for their sovereign; and he informs us, that having received an account from Tamerin an Ethiopian merchant, of the surprising wisdom and wealth of Solomon, she undertook the journey mentioned in Scripture, to ascertain the truth of the report. In this she was attended by a great many of her nobility, carrying along with her also magnificent presents for the monarch she intended to visit. According to the Abyssinian historians, she was a Pagan at the time this journey was undertaken; but being struck with admiration at the sight of Solomon's grandeur, and the wisdom he displayed, she became a convert to the true religion. Another part of her history, by no means inconsistent with the character of Solomon, is, that she returned in a state of pregnancy; and within a year was delivered of a son, named David by Solomon; but by his mother Menilek, Menelich, or Menelcheck; that is, another self. When he grew up he was sent to be educated at the court of his father Solomon; where having staid some time, he was accompanied home by many doctors of the law, and other Israelites of distinction, particularly Azariah the son of Zadoc the high-priest. By these the Jewish religion was established in Abyssinia, where it continued till the introduction of Christianity. The princess we speak of is named Makeda, Balkes, or Bulkis, by the Abyssinians. By our Saviour, and in the Ethiopic version of the Scripture, she is styled The Queen of the South, and is said to have come from the uttermost parts of the earth, or of the habitable world. Hence the compilers of the Universal History have inferred, that the princess styled The Queen of Sheba in Scripture was really sovereign of Ethiopia. "Ethiopia (say they) is more to the south of Judea than the territory or kingdom of Saba in Arabia Felix; consequently has a better claim than that country for the dominions of the princess whom our Saviour calls The Queen of the South. Ethiopia is styled the remotest part of the habitable world by Herodotus and Strabo; and therefore better agrees with what our Saviour has said of the queen of Sheba, that she came from 'the uttermost parts of the earth,' than Arabia. Nor can it be deemed a sufficient reply to this argument, that Arabia Felix was the uttermost part of the earth in respect to Judea, since it was bounded by the Red sea: for that not only Egypt, but even Ethiopia, regions beyond that sea, were known to and had a communication with the Jews, both before and in our Saviour's time, is indisputably clear. Lastly, From what has been suggested, it appears no improbable conjecture, that Judaism was not only known, at least in a part of Abyssinia. Ethiopia, but nearly related to the established religion there, at the beginning of the apostolic age, if not much earlier. After all, these two opinions, so contrary in appearance, may be made consistent without great difficulty; since it is agreed, that Arabia and Ethiopia have anciently borne the same name, been included during certain intervals in one empire, and governed by one prince. Part of the Arabs and Ethiopians had the same origin, and very considerable numbers of the Abaseni transported themselves from Arabia Felix into Ethiopia; a circumstance which sufficiently proves the intercourse that formerly subsisted between the Cushites or Ethiopians of Asia and Africa.

The Abyssinian historians farther inform us, that the young prince Menilek was anointed and crowned king in the temple of Jerusalem, before he returned to his own country; that Azariah was constituted high-priest; that he brought with him a Hebrew transcript of the law; and though this book is now lost, having been burnt along with the church of Axum, the office is still continued in the line of Azariah, whose successors are styled Nebrits, high priests, or keepers of the church in that city; both church and state being modelled exactly after that of Jerusalem. Makeda continued to enjoy the sovereignty for 40 years; and the last act of her reign was to settle the succession to the throne. By this act the crown was declared hereditary in the family of Solomon for ever; it was also determined, that after her no woman should be entitled to wear the crown or act as sovereign of the country; but that the sovereignty should descend to the most distant heirs male, rather than to the females, however near; which two articles were to be considered as fundamental laws of the empire, not to be abolished. Lastly, That the male heirs of the royal family should always be sent prisoners to a high mountain, where they were to be confined till they should be called to the throne, or as long as they lived. This custom, according to Mr. Bruce, was peculiar to Abyssinia; the neighbouring Shepherds being accustomed to have women for their sovereigns, which prevailed in the last century, and perhaps does so at present.

Makeda having established these laws in such a manner as not to be revocable, died in the year 986 B. C. The transactions of her son Menilek after his accession are not pointed out, farther than that he removed his capital to Tigré. His reign can by no means be accounted prosperous; since in his time the empire was invaded by Shishak or Sesak the king of Egypt, who plundered the temple of Jerusalem under Rehoboam. The like fate attended a rich temple which had been built at Saba the capital of the Ethiopian empire, and which might very probably occasion the removal of the imperial seat to Tigré, as already mentioned. It is indeed pretty plain from Scripture, that Ethiopia, or great part of it, was subject to this monarch; as the Ethiopians or Cushites, mentioned in his army which invaded Judea, are joined with the Lubim or Libyans, and must therefore be accounted inhabitants of Ethiopia Proper. This is indeed no small confirmation of the opinion of Sir Isaac Newton, who agrees with Josephus in supposing Shishak to have been the celebrated Sesostris of profane historians. Thus far we are certain, that in the passage of Scripture just now alluded to, the sacred historian indirectly ascribes Abyssinia, the sovereignty of Ethiopia to Shishak; and we do not find it anywhere hinted that another Egyptian monarch was possessed of this sovereignty. Herodotus also plainly tells us, that Sesostris was master of Ethiopia, and that no other Egyptian but himself ever possessed that empire.

During the reign of Shishak, we know no particulars concerning the Ethiopians; but after his death, Sir Isaac Newton is of opinion, that they defended Egypt against the Libyans, who had taken an opportunity of invading the country during the civil war which took place on the death of that great conqueror. In about ten years afterwards, however, according to the same author, they became aggressors; drowned the successor of Shishak in the Nile, and seized on the whole kingdom; at which time Libya also fell into their hands. In the time of Asa king of Judah, we find the combined host of the Ethiopians and Lubim or Libyans, making an attack on the territories of that prince, to the number of more than a million. This defeat may be reckoned a considerable confirmation of the Zerah by piece of history just mentioned; as it is not easy to conceive how the two should combine in such a manner, unless Zerah was master of both. The total overthrow which the allied army received from Asa, gave the inhabitants of Lower Egypt an opportunity of revolting; who being sustained by an army of 20,000 auxiliaries from Phenicia and Palestine, obliged Memnon, supposed to be the same with Amenophis, to retire to Memphis. Soon after this he was forced to leave Egypt altogether, and to retire into Ethiopia; but in about 13 years he returned with his son Ramasses at the head of a powerful army, and obliged the Canaanitish forces to retire out of Lower Egypt; a transaction denominated by the Egyptian writers the second expulsion of the Shepherds.

Sir Isaac Newton is of opinion, that the Egyptian princes Menes, Memnon, and Amenophis, were the same person; and that by him Memphis was either originally built or first fortified, in order to prevent the Egyptians from entering Ethiopia. He is also supposed to have been the son of Zerah, and to have died at a very advanced age about 90 years after the decease of Solomon. Thus, according to Sir Isaac Newton's chronology, the most remarkable transactions of antiquity will be brought lower by ages than by the usually received computations. According to this, the Argonautic expedition happened in the time of Amenophis; though some Greek writers inform us, that the same prince assisted Priam king of Troy with a body of forces. He was succeeded by Ramasses, already mentioned, who built the northern portico of the temple of Vulcan at Memphis. The next was Moeris; who adorned Memphis, and made it the capital of his empire, about two generations after the Trojan war. Cheops, Caphrenus, and Mycerinus, succeeded in order to Moeris; the last being succeeded by his sister Nitocris. In the reign of Asychis her successor, both Ethiopia and Assyria revolted from Egypt; which, being now divided into several small kingdoms, was quickly subdued by Sabacon or So, the emperor of Ethiopia. This monarch, soon after his accession to the throne of Egypt, allied himself with Hoshea king of Israel; by which means the latter was induced to Abyssinia, revolt from the Assyrians; and in consequence of this, an end was put to the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, in the 24th year of the era of Nabonassar, and 720th before the commencement of the Christian era. According to Herodotus, this monarch voluntarily resigned the crown of Egypt after he had enjoyed it 50 years; but Africanus relates, that after a reign of eight years, he died in Egypt, in the ninth year of Hezekiah king of Judah. His successor Sethon, supposed to be the Sevcchus of Manetho, advanced to Pelusium with a powerful army against Sennacherib king of Assyria; when the bowstrings of the Assyrians were gnawed in pieces by a great number of rats and mice, and thus they were easily defeated with great slaughter by the Egyptians. Hence Herodotus informs us, that the statue of Sethon which he saw in Egypt had a mouse in its hand. Sir Isaac Newton, however, explains the whole in an allegorical manner. As the mouse among the Egyptians was a symbol of destruction, he conjectures, that the Assyrians were on this occasion overthrown with great slaughter; and that Sethon, in conjunction with Terhakah, either king of the Arabian Cushites, or a relation of Sethon, and his viceroy in Ethiopia Proper, surprised and defeated Sennacherib betwixt Libnah and Pelusium, making as great slaughter among his troops as if their shield- straps and bowstrings had been destroyed by mice.

In the 87th year of the era of Nabonassar, the empire of Ethiopia was subdued by Esarhaddon king of Assyria; who held it three years, committing enormous cruelties both in that country and in Egypt. After his death the Ethiopians shook off the yoke, and maintained their independency till the time of Cyrus the Great, the first king of Persia; who, according to the Greek historian Xenophon, seems to have also been sovereign of Ethiopia. After his death they revolted, and his son Cambyses unsuccessfully attempted to reduce them. Herodotus informs us, that before he undertook this expedition, he sent some of the Ichthyophagi ambassadors to the king of the Macrobii or long-lived Ethiopians, under pretence of soliciting his friendship, but in reality to observe the strength of the country. Of this the Ethiopian prince was aware, and told the ambassadors that he knew their design, reproached Cambyses with his injustice and ambition, and gave them his bow; telling them at the same time, that the Persians might think of invading Ethiopia when they could easily bend it; and in the mean time, that their master ought to thank the gods who had never inspired the Ethiopians with a desire of extending their territories by conquest. Cambyses had sent by the ambassadors a rich purple robe, gold bracelets, a box of precious ointment, a vessel full of palm wine, and other things, which he imagined would be acceptable to the Ethiopian monarch. But all these, excepting the wine, were despised. This, he owned, was superior to any liquor produced in Ethiopia; and he did not scruple to intimate, that the Persians, short-lived as they were, owed most of their days to the use of this excellent liquor. Being informed by the ambassadors that a considerable part of the food made use of by the Persians was bread, he said that it was no wonder to find people who lived on deng unable to attain the longevity of the Macrobian Ethiopians. In short, the whole of his answer was so contemptuous and disgusting, that Cambyses was filled with the greatest indignation; in consequence of which, he instantly began his march without taking time to make the necessary preparations, or even to procure provisions of any kind for his army. Thus a famine ensued among them; which at last became so grievous, that the soldiers were obliged to eat one another: and Cambyses himself, finding his life in great danger, was obliged to give orders for marching back again; which was not accomplished without the loss of a great number of men. Another army which he sent on an expedition against Ammonia, in order to destroy the celebrated oracle of Jupiter Ammon, perished entirely in the deserts, being overwhelmed with the vast clouds of sand frequently raised there by the wind.

At this time, it is doubtful whether Cambyses would Ethiopia at have accomplished his purpose even if he had found it this time a practicable to march into the heart of Ethiopia. This powerful empire had but a short time before received a very considerable accession of strength by the desertion of 240,000 Egyptians who had been posted by Psammetichus in different places on the frontiers. These not having been relieved for three years, had gone over at once to the emperor of Ethiopia, who placed them in a country disaffected to him; ordering them to expel the inhabitants, and take possession of their lands. Notwithstanding this, however, Sir Isaac Newton hints, supposed by that Cambyses conquered Ethiopia, about the 223d or 224th year of the era of Nabonassar; but his opinion has been in this respect does not appear to be well founded. We are told, indeed, that the Persian monarch, notwithstanding the misfortunes he met with in the expedition above mentioned, did really make himself master of some of the Ethiopic provinces which bordered on Egypt; and that these, together with the Troglo- dytes, sent him an annual present of two choenixes of unrefined gold, 200 bundles of ebony, five Ethiopian boys, and 20 elephants teeth of the largest size: but it appears improbable to the last degree, that even though Cambyses had employed the whole of his reign in the attempt, he could have conquered the vast regions of Ethiopia Proper, Sennaar, and Abassia, which were all included in the Ethiopia of the ancients.

When Xerxes invaded Greece, we find his army, according to Herodotus, was partly composed of Ethiopians, of whom Herodotus mentions two distinct races of people. One of these inhabited the Asiatic coast, and differed from the Indians only in their hair and language. Their arms were the same with those of India; they wore helmets made of the skins of horses, the ears and manes of which served them for tufts and plumes of feathers; their shields being made of the skins of cranes. The hair of the Asiatic Ethiopians was long, but that of the western tribes was frizzled. The latter were also differently armed, having darts lighted at one end and covered with leather. We are not informed particularly from what nations these troops were brought, nor whether they were natural subjects of the king of Persia, or only auxiliaries: of consequence we can conclude nothing certain concerning the dominion of the Persian monarchs at this time over Ethiopia, further than that they might possess some of the provinces next to Egypt; while the main body body of the empire being in a state of independence, and unconnected with other parts of the world, is not taken notice of by the historians of those times.

Though Alexander the Great had a desire to know the sources of the Nile, he did not suffer himself to be diverted by this curiosity from pursuing his grand expedition into Persia. Ptolemy Euergetes, however, appears to have carried this curiosity to such an extremity as to invade Ethiopia for no other purpose. It is surprising that the particulars of this expedition are not recorded by any historian, as it appears by an inscription that he penetrated to the farthest parts of the empire, and conquered the most powerful nations in it. Of this we have the following account, which is looked upon by the best historians to be authentic. It was copied on the spot (being the western entrance to Adule, one of the cities of Ethiopia) by Cosmas Egyptianus, or, as some call him, Cosmas Indicopleustes, in the time of the emperor Justin I. by order of Elesbaan king of the Axumites, and of which the following account is given by the person who copied it. "Here (says he), facing the road to Axuma, stood a chair of white marble, consisting of a square base, a small thin column at each angle of this base, with a larger wreathed one in the middle, a seat or throne upon these, a back and two sides. Behind this chair there was a large stone three cubits high, which had sustained considerable injury from time. This stone and chair contained an inscription to the following purpose: 'Ptolemy Euergetes penetrated to the farthest parts of Ethiopia. He subdued Gaza, Agame, Signe, Ava, Tiamo or Tziamo, Gambela, Zingabene, Angabe, Tzama, Athagaos, Calaa, Semene, Lasine, Zaa, Gabala, Atalino, Begu, the Tangaitæ, Anine, Metine, Sesea, Rauso, Solate, the territory of Rauso, and several other kingdoms. Among the nations he reduced, were some inhabiting mountains always covered with a deep snow; and others seated upon the ridges of hills, from whence issued boiling steams, and craggy precipices, which therefore seemed inaccessible. Having finally, after all these conquests, assembled his whole army at Adule, he sacrificed to Mars, Neptune, and Jupiter; for his great success, he dedicated this chair or throne to Mars.'"

From the time of this conqueror to that of the emperor Augustus, we meet with nothing of any consequence relating to Ethiopia Proper. The Roman forces having about this time been drawn out of Egypt, in order to invade Arabia, Candace queen of Ethiopia, or perhaps rather of the island or peninsula of Meroe, took the opportunity of their absence to make an irruption, with a numerous army, into the province of Thebais. At there was at that time no force to oppose her, she met for some time with great success; but hearing at last that Petronius, governor of Egypt, was in full march to attack her, she retired into her own dominions. Petronius pursued her as far as Pselcha, where with 10,000 men he gained an easy victory over 30,000 undisciplined Ethiopian savages, armed only with poles, batchets, and other clumsy or insignificant weapons of a similar nature. This victory was soon followed by the reduction of several fortresses; however, as the Roman soldiers were excessively incommoded by the heat of the climate, Petronius, notwithstanding his success, was obliged at last to retire. Soon after, Candace sent ambassadors Abyssinia. to Augustus himself with such magnificent presents, that the emperor is said to have been thereby induced to grant her a peace on her own terms. From this time the Romans accounted themselves masters of Ethiopia. Augustus was complimented on the great glory he had acquired; and that he had, by reducing a country till that time unknown even to the Romans, finished the conquest of Africa. No material alteration, however, took place in the affairs of Meroe, in consequence of this conquest, whether real or pretended. Pliny informs us that it had been governed by queens, who bore the title of Candace, for several generations before that time; and so it continued to be afterwards, as we learn from Scripture, where we are informed that, in the reign of Tiberius, the sovereign of Ethiopia was still named Candace. Some indeed are of opinion that the Candace mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles was the same with her who had been conquered by Augustus; but this seems by no means probable, as the interval of time is by far too long to be allowed for the reig of a single princess.

From an anecdote of the debauched emperor Helio-gabalus who was accustomed to confine his favourites, by way of diversion, with old Ethiopian women, we may learn that some intercourse took place between the two empires, and probably that the Ethiopians owned some kind of subjection to the Romans. The Blemmyes, a gang of monstrous banditti, who inhabited the frontiers of Thebais, were vanquished by the emperor Probus: but, towards the close of the third century, we find them again become so powerful, that in conjunction with another nation called Nobatæ, who inhabited the banks of the Nile near Upper Egypt, they committed such depredations in the Roman territories, that Dioclesian was obliged to assign lands to the latter, and to pay both of them a considerable sum annually, to desist from their former practices. These expedients did not answer the purpose; the savages continued their depredations till the time of the emperor Justinian, who treated them with more severity, and obliged them to remain at peace. We are told by Procopius, that before the time of Dioclesian, the Roman territories extended so far into Ethiopia, that their boundaries were not 23 days journey from the capital, so that probably the whole empire had been in a state of dependence on them.

From the time of this emperor to that of their conversion to Christianity, we find nothing remarkable in the history of the Ethiopians. Three hundred and twenty seven years are counted from the time of our Saviour to that of Abreha and Atzbeha, or from Abra and Asba, who enjoyed the kingdom when the gospel was preached in Ethiopia by Frumentius. This Ethiopian man was a kinsman and companion of a philosopher converted named Meropius, a native of Tyre; who having travelled all over India, died on an island of the Red sea. After his death Frumentius, with another named Aetius, who had also been his companion, were brought before the king of Ethiopia, to whom that island was subject. He took them into his service; making the one his treasurer and the other his butler. On the death of this prince, the queen conceived such a favour for them, that she refused to allow them to depart out of the kingdom; but committed the management of Abyssinia, her affairs entirely to Frumentius, who made use of his influence to diffuse the Christian religion throughout the country, and at last was appointed bishop of Axum. It is said, however, that the court and principal people, if not the nation in general, relapsed into idolatry, which continued to prevail till the year 521, when they were again converted by their king Adad or Aidog.

The two princes Abra and Asba, who reigned jointly in Ethiopia in the time of Frumentius, lived in such harmony together, that their friendship became almost proverbial. After being converted to Christianity, they adhered strictly to the orthodox doctrine, refusing to admit an Arian bishop into their country. In the time of the emperor Constantius, however, this heresy was introduced, and greatly favoured by that monarch; and an attempt was made to depose Frumentius on account of his refusal to embrace it.

The reign of these princes is remarkable for an expedition into Arabia Felix, called by the Mohammedan writers the war of the elephant, and which was undertaken on the following occasion: The temple of Mecca, situated nearly in the middle of the Arabian peninsula, had been held in the greatest veneration for near 1400 years; probably from the notion entertained by the people in the neighbourhood, that Adam pitched his tent on that spot. Here also was a black stone supposed to possess extraordinary sanctity, as being that on which Jacob laid his head when he had the vision of angels. The most probable account of the real origin of this temple, according to Mr Bruce, is, that it was built by Sesostris, and that he himself was worshipped there under the name of Osiris.

On account of the veneration in which this tower and idol were held by the Arabians, Mr Bruce supposes that the thought was first suggested of making it the emporium of the trade between India and Africa; but Abra, in order to divert it into another channel, built a very large temple near the Indian ocean in the country of the Homeries; and, to encourage the resort of people to this new temple, he bestowed upon it all the privileges of the former which stood in the city of Mecca. The tribe of Arabians named Korish, in whose country Mecca stood, being exceedingly alarmed at the thoughts of having their temple deserted, entered the new one in the night, burned all that could be consumed, and besmeared the remains with human excrements. Abra, provoked at this sacrilege, assembled a considerable army, with which he invested Mecca, himself appearing on a white elephant, from whence the war took its name already mentioned. The termination of the war, according to the Arabian historians, was miraculous. A vast number of birds named Ababil came from the sea, having faces like lions; each carrying in its claws a small stone about the size of a pea, which they let fall upon the Ethiopian army in such numbers, that every one of them was destroyed. At this time it is said that the smallpox first made its appearance; and the more probable account of the destruction of the Ethiopian army is, that they perished by this distemper.

The war of the elephant is supposed to have terminated in the manner above mentioned about the year 360; from which time to that of Elesbaan, named also Caleb, and probably the same with the Adad or A-

dag already mentioned, we meet with nothing remarkable in the Ethiopic history. He engaged in a war with the Homerites or Sabaeans in Arabia Felix, whom he overthrew in battle, and put an end to their kingdom; after which he embraced the Christian religion in token of gratitude for the success he had met with. In the time of this prince a violent persecution of the Christians took place in Arabia. The Jewish persecuted religion had now spread itself far into that peninsula; and in many places the professors of it were become absolute masters of the country, insomuch that several Jewish principalities had been erected, the sovereigns of which commenced a severe persecution against the Christians. Among the rest, one Phineas distinguished himself by his cruelty, having prepared a great number of furnaces or pits filled with fire, into which he threw those who refused to renounce Christianity. The Christians applied for relief to the emperor Justin; but he being at that time engaged in a war with the Persians, could not interfere; however, in the year 522, he sent an embassy to Elesbaan, who was now also a member of the Greek church, entreating him to exert himself for the relief of the Christians of Arabia. On this the emperor commanded his general Abreha, governor of the Arabian province Yemen, to march to the assistance of Aretas, son to a prince of the same name whom Phineas had burnt; while he himself prepared to follow with a more considerable force. But before the arrival of the Ethiopian monarch, young Aretas had marched against Phineas, and entirely defeated him. In a short time afterwards the emperor himself arrived, and gave Phineas a second defeat; but notwithstanding these misfortunes, it does not appear that either the principality of Phineas or any of the other Jewish ones, was at this time overturned, though it seems to be certain, that at the time we speak of, the Ethiopians possessed part of the Arabian peninsula. According to the Arabian historians, the war of the elephant, with the miraculous destruction of the Ethiopian army, already mentioned, took place in the reign of Elesbaan.

Some historians mention, that the Ethiopian monarchs embraced the doctrines of Mahomet soon after the impostor made his appearance; but this seems not to be well-founded; though it is certain that the Najashi or Ethiopian governor of Yemen embraced Mahometanism, and that he was related to the royal family. On this occasion, however, the Ethiopians lost all the footing they once had in Arabia; the governors being expelled by Mahomet and his successors. They fled to the African side of the Red sea with numbers of their subjects, where they erected several small kingdoms, as Adel, Wypo, Hadea, Mara, and others, of Arabia, which still continue.

During the conquests of the caliphs, the Jews were for some time everywhere driven out of their dominions, or oppressed to such a degree that they voluntarily left them. Ethiopia offered them an asylum: Number of and in this country they became so powerful, that a Jews in revolution in favour of Judaism seemed ready to take Ethiopia in place. One family had always preserved an independent sovereignty on a mountain called Samen, the royal residence being on the top of a high rock; and several other high and rugged mountains were used by that people as natural fortresses. Becoming by de- Abyssinia.

Abyssinia greees more and more powerful, Judith the daughter of one of their kings formed a design of overturning the Ethiopian government, and setting aside the family of Solomon, who had hitherto continued to enjoy the sovereignty. This design was facilitated by several circumstances. The empire had been weakened by an unsuccessful war, famine, and plague; the throne was possessed by an infant; and the absurd custom of confining the whole royal family on a rock named Dama, gave her an opportunity of cutting them all off at once by surprising that place. Fortunately, however, the king himself escaped the general catastrophe, and was conveyed by some of the nobility of Amhara to the province of Xoa or Shoa; by which means the line of Solomon was preserved, and afterwards restored, though not till after a very considerable interval.

Judith having by this massacre established her own power, assumed the imperial dignity, though in direct opposition to an established and fundamental law of the empire already mentioned, that no woman should enjoy the sovereign authority. The people, however, seem to have submitted quietly to her government, as she sat on the throne for 40 years, and afterwards transmitted the sovereignty to her posterity; five of whom reigned successively in this country. We are not furnished with any particulars concerning their reigns; farther than that, during them, the people were greatly oppressed. By some means, of which historians have not given any account, another revolution took place; and a new set of usurpers, related to the family of Judith, but not their direct lineal descendants, succeeded to the throne. These were Christians, and governed with much greater lenity than the Jewish sovereigns had done; but still, being usurpers, none of their transactions are recorded in the Abyssinian annals, excepting those of Lalibala, who was accounted a saint. He lived in the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century, and proved a great prince. At that time the Christians in Egypt were grievously persecuted by the Saracens, who had a particular abhorrence at masons, builders, and stone cutters; looking upon them as the chief promoters of idolatry by the ornaments they put upon their works. These were joyfully received by Lalibala; who, by affording them an asylum in his dominions, soon collected a great number. They were employed by him in hewing churches out of the solid rock, after the example of the ancient Trogloodyte habitations; and many works of this kind remain in the country to this day. He undertook, however, a still more difficult and arduous task; no less than that of lessening the stream of the Nile, and thus starving the whole kingdom of Egypt, now in the hands of his enemies, and who persecuted those of his religion. From the account given by Mr Bruce of this project, it appears that there really is a possibility in nature of accomplishing it; not indeed by turning the course of the Nile itself, but by diverting that of many of its branches, which are the means of conveying into it the water supplied by the tropical rains, and by which it overflows its banks annually. We are likewise assured by the same author, that Lalibala succeeded in his enterprise so far as to divert the course of two large rivers from the Nile, and that they have ever since flowed into the Indian ocean. He next proceeded to carry a level towards a lake named Zacvia, into which many rivers, whose streams contribute to increase that of the Nile, empty themselves; and had this been accomplished, there is no doubt that the loss of so much water would have been very sensibly felt by the Egyptians. According to most historians, this enterprising monarch was prevented by death from putting his design in execution; though Mr Bruce informs us of a written account at Shoa, in which it was asserted, that he was dissuaded from it by certain monks, who told him, that by sending down such a quantity of water to the eastern and dry parts of Africa, these countries would soon become so fertile and populous that they would rival the empire of Ethiopia, or at least withdraw their allegiance from it entirely. The remains of these works were seen by the Portuguese ambassador in 1522.

All this time the princes of the line of Solomon Restoration had been obliged to content themselves with the sovereignty of the province of Xoa or Shoa, without making any attempt to regain their former dignity; but they were unexpectedly restored without bloodshed or disturbance by Naacueto Laeb the grandson of Lalibala. This prince, who was of a gentle and pacific disposition, was persuaded by a monk named Teela Haimanout, much celebrated for his sanctity, to resign the crown, to which, though he received it from his father, he could not pretend any absolute right. In consequence of the mediation of this monk, therefore, it was agreed that Naacueto should give up the empire to Icon Amlac the lineal descendant of Solomon, who then possessed the sovereignty of Shoa. In consequence of this a portion of lands should be irrevocably and irredeemably assigned to him and his heirs; and he should likewise be allowed some marks of sovereignty as a testimony of his former grandeur. In this treaty, however, the good monk did not forget his own interest. He had founded a famous monastery in Shoa, and was primate of the whole empire under the title of Abuna. He now insisted that one third of the kingdom should be absolutely ceded to himself for the maintenance of his own dignity, and the support of the clergy, convents, &c. throughout the country; he also insisted that no native Abyssinian should ever enjoy the same dignity with himself, even though he should have been chosen and ordained at Cairo, as was the custom with the Abyssinian prelates.

These extraordinary terms were complied with, and Icon Amlac raised to the throne of Ethiopia. He did not, however, remove the seat of government from the province of Shoa; but continued at Tegulat the capital of that province during the whole of his lifetime, which continued 15 years after his accession to the throne. We are ignorant of the transactions of his reign, as well as that of several of his successors; five of whom ascended the throne in as many years. From this quick succession Mr Bruce is of opinion, that a civil war had taken place among the candidates for the throne: but the Abyssinian annals make no mention of this; neither have we any particular account of the transactions of the empire till the time of Amda Sion, who began to reign in 1312. He was the son of We-Reign of dem Araad, the youngest brother of Icon Amlac, Amda Sion and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father. He professed the Christian religion; but his practice seems seems to have been very opposite to its precepts. He began his reign with living publicly with a concubine of his father's; and quickly after committed incest with his two sisters. On this he was first exhorted to repentance, and then excommunicated, by Honorius, a monk greatly celebrated for his sanctity, and who has since been canonized. The prince, enraged at this indignity, caused the saint to be severely whipped through every street of his capital. That night the town was by some unknown means set on fire and reduced to ashes: the clergy persuaded the people, that the blood of Honorius had turned to fire as it dropped on the ground, and thus occasioned the catastrophe; but the king suspecting that the monks themselves had been the incendiaries, banished or imprisoned them all, so that their hopes of exciting an insurrection were disappointed; and being dispersed into those provinces where the inhabitants were mostly Jews or Pagans, they were now obliged to apply to what was certainly more incumbent upon them, viz. the diffusion of the knowledge of the gospel.

While the king was busied with the monks, one of the factors, who had been entrusted with some of his commercial interests, was assassinated by the Moors in the province of Ifat; on which, without making the least complaint or expostulation, he assembled his troops, and with seven horsemen (A) fell upon the nearest Mahometan settlements, massacring all he met without exception. Putting himself then at the head of his army, he proceeded in the most rapid career of desolation, laying waste the whole country with fire and sword, and carrying off an immense booty.

For some time the Moors were so surprised, that they did not think of making opposition; but at last they took up arms, and attempted to surprise the Abyssinian monarch in his camp, hearing that he had sent out most of his army in detachments. With this view they approached the camp in the night time, expecting to have found the king and his few soldiers immersed in sleep. Unexpectedly, however, he had been joined by a considerable part of his army, whom he drew up in battle array to receive his enemies. An engagement ensued, in which the king behaved with great valour, killed the Moorish general with his own hand, and gained a complete victory. He then commanded such of his soldiers as could not find houses ready built, to build huts for themselves, and a large tract of land to be plowed and sown, as if he meant to stay in the country of the enemy during the rainy season. The Mahometans now perceiving that they were in danger of being totally exterminated, willingly submitted to the terms he pleased to impose upon them; while the monarch conciliated the affections of his people by dividing among them the vast plunder he had acquired in this expedition.

The Moors no sooner found themselves freed from any apprehensions of immediate danger, than they prepared for a new revolt. The king having intelligence of their designs, secretly prepared to subdue them before they could have time to bring their matters to a sufficient bearing. The Moors, however, being better prepared than he expected, began hostilities by surprising and plundering some villages belonging to the Christians, and destroying their churches. A most formidable combination had taken place; and as the consequence of allowing the confederate rebels to join their forces might have been very dangerous, the king used his utmost endeavours to prevent it. This design was in some measure facilitated by the superstition of Amano king of Hadea, one of the principal rebels. This man, by the advice of a conjurer in whom he put great confidence, instead of marching his troops to the assistance of his allies, remained at home with feasted them, where he was defeated and taken prisoner by a detachment of the king's army. The governor of Amhara was next despatched against Saber-eddin the revolted governor of Fatigar, with orders to lay waste the country, and use every method to force him to a battle, if he should be disinclined to venture it himself. These orders were punctually executed; Saber-eddin was compelled to stand an engagement, in which he was defeated; the victors plundered his house, and took his wife and children prisoners. But in the mean time intelligence was received of a new revolt among the Falasha, who had assembled a great army, and threatened to become very formidable; their chief keeping a close correspondence with Saber-eddin, as well as with the king of Adel. These, however, shared the same fate with the rest, being entirely defeated by The Falsa-Tzaga Christos another Abyssinian general, who soon after joined the king with his whole army. This proved fatal to the rebel cause: Saber-eddin, no longer able to support himself against the royal forces, was obliged to surrender at discretion, and all the rest were quickly reduced; so that the king was at leisure to march against the kings of Adel and Mara, who having now united their forces, resolved to give him battle. At this the Abyssinian monarch was so exasperated, that he determined to take the most ample vengeance on his enemies. In the presence of his whole army, therefore, and a monk of uncommon sanctity dressed in the same habit in which he usually performed divine service, the king made a long speech against the Mahometans. He recounted the many violences which they had committed; and of which the kings of Adel and Mara had been principal promoters. He enumerated many examples of murder, sacrilege, &c. of which they had been guilty; setting forth also that they had carried off great numbers of Christians into slavery, and that the view of making slaves was now a great motive with them for making war. He disclaimed every idea of commencing hostilities from any avaricious motive; as a proof of which, he denied that he would accept of any part of the plunder for his own use; concluding with a declaration, that he was now about to swear on the holy eucharist, that, "though

(A) On this Mr Bruce remarks, that "it has been imagined the number should be increased to 70; but there would be little difference in the rashness of the action." The word in the Abyssinian annals which he translates is seven; but if we increase the number at all, it ought more probably to be seven hundred than seventy. Abyssinia, but 20 of his army should join him, he would not turn his back upon Adel or Mara, till he had either forced them to tribute and submission, or entirely extirpated them and annihilated their religion." After this speech, he took the oath in the presence of the whole army; who not only applauded him with loud shouts, but protested that they looked upon themselves to be all bound by the oath he had taken. As he had mentioned in his speech that the plunder had been purchased by the lives of their Christian brethren, they determined to show their abhorrence at keeping any of it on these terms. Taking lighted torches in their hands, therefore, they set fire to the whole plunder that had been amassed since the beginning of the war; and having thus reduced themselves to a state of poverty, they prepared to show their Christianity by thirsting, not after the wealth, but the blood of their enemies.

Notwithstanding the enthusiasm of the whole army on this occasion, the expedition was attended with great difficulties. These arose principally from superstition; and as, on the one hand, the Abyssinians were by this principle laid under considerable disadvantages, their adversaries on the other enjoyed equal advantages from no better cause. The Abyssinians, according to Mr Bruce, are very credulous with respect to genii or spirits which go about doing mischief in the dark. Hence they are afraid of travelling, but especially of fighting, in the night-time; because they imagine that the world is then entirely given up to these beings, who are put out of humour by the motions of men, or of any other terrestrial creature. In the night-time therefore an Abyssinian dares not even throw a little water out of a bason, lest it should fall upon some spirit and provoke it to vengeance. The Moors, on the other hand, though equally fearful, secure themselves against these invisible enemies by means no less ridiculous than the fears themselves. A verse of the Koran, sewed up in leather, and worn round their neck or arm, is sufficient to defy the power of the most mischievous spirit. Under such powerful protection, therefore, they laugh at the terrors of the Abyssinians, and are on all occasions ready to attack them in the night-time, and even prefer that season rather than any other for coming to an engagement. Sensible of this advantage, and encouraged by the little loss which attended even a defeat in these nocturnal encounters, they determined on the present occasion to avoid any pitched battles, and to content themselves with harassing the king's army with continual skirmishes of this kind. Thus, though the Abyssinian monarch had always the advantage, his troops soon began to complain; and, on the commencement of the rainy season, insisted on being allowed to return. This was by no means agreeable to a prince of such a martial disposition as Amda Sion. He therefore told them, that, if they were afraid of rains, he would conduct them to a country where there were none; meaning Adel, which, though likewise within the limits of the tropical rains, has them at another season than that in which they fall in Abyssinia. Thus he persuaded his army again to set forward: but was so grievously harassed by the nocturnal attacks of the Moors, that he was once more in danger of being deserted; and when by his eloquence he had found means to dissipate the apprehensions of the soldiers, he was seized with a violent fever which threatened his life. The soldiers now expected that they were soon to return; but while they indulged themselves in carelessness which usually attends an expectation of this kind, they accidentally received intelligence that the Moors, having assembled an army of 40,000 men, were in full march to attack them, and at a very small distance. The king was now free from fever, but so weak that he fainted on attempting to put himself in readiness for going out to battle. Still, however, his resolution continued firm and unalterable; having recovered from his faint, washed and refreshed himself, he made a speech to his soldiers, filled with the most enthusiastic expressions of confidence in the justice and goodness of the cause in which he was engaged, and in the continuance of the divine favour and protection. "As it never was my opinion (said he), that it was my own strength and valour, or their want of it, which has so often been the cause of preserving me from their hands; so I do not fear at present that my accidental weakness will give them any advantage over me, as long as I trust in God's power as much as I have ever done." By this speech the drooping spirits of the Abyssinians were revived; and they only begged that their monarch would now trust to the valour of his troops, and not expose his person to such danger as he had usually done. He promised to comply with their request; but matters were soon thrown into confusion by a report that the Moors had poisoned the wells and enchanted all the running water in the front of the army. The poisoned wells, however, were easily avoided; and a priest of vast sanctity was dispatched a day's journey before the army to disenchant the waters by his blessings; which, having the advantage of the good qualities of the element itself on their side, were doubtless more powerful than the spells of the infidels. Not content with this, the king caused a river to be consecrated by the name of Jordan; but while his men were employed in bathing themselves in this holy water, the Fils-Auraris, an officer who had been dispatched with a party of men who always go before the Abyssinian armies, was attacked and driven back on the main body by a detachment of the enemy, who had along with them a number of women provided with drugs to poison and spells to enchant the waters. A dreadful panic now seized the whole army. Unmindful of the promises made to their king, they not only refused to advance, but for the most part resolved to leave the camp, and return homewards without delay. The king, sensible that all was lost if this pernicious scheme should be adopted, did his utmost to encourage and persuade them to return to their duty; but perceiving that nothing was to be gained by reasoning with men so much terrified, he only requested that such as could not be induced to fight, would not leave their places, but stand quiet spectators of the battle. Even this had very little effect: so that, finding the enemy now ready to make an attack, he ordered his master of the horse with only five others, to attack the left wing of the enemy; while he, with a small party of his servants, made an attack on the right. This desperate action was attended with success. The king, notwithstanding the weakness he yet laboured under, killed with his own hand two of the commanding officers of the enemy's right wing; while his son dispatched another Abyssinia. ther of considerable rank belonging to the left. This had such an effect upon the whole Moorish army, that they began evidently to lose courage; while the Abyssinians, ashamed of their conduct, now rushed furiously on to rescue their prince from danger. The battle continued for some time with great obstinacy; but at last the centre and left wing of the Moors were entirely defeated. The right wing, composed principally of Arabians, retired in a body; but not knowing the country, they entered a deep valley surrounded by perpendicular rocks entirely covered with wood. The Abyssinians, imagining they had nothing more to do, began to strip and mangle the bodies of the killed and wounded; but the king, perceiving that the Arabians had brought themselves into a situation from whence they never could be extricated, obliged his soldiers to desist from this barbarous employment, and even killed two of them who disobeyed his orders. The army was then divided into two parts, one of which surrounded the devoted Arabians, while the other was sent a day's journey after the remainder of the Moors. Both parties proved equally successful. The king, with part of his division, attacked the Arabians in front, while the rest rolled great stones down from the tops of the rocks upon them. By this they were thrown into such confusion, that being neither able to fly nor resist, they were all killed to a man. The fate of the Moors was little better. The other division of the Abyssinian army found them lying round a large pool of water, which they lapped like as many dogs. In this helpless situation there was nothing requisite but to order them to be slaughtered; and this cruel order was punctually executed. The soldiers imagining they should now discharge their vow to heaven, wearied themselves with slaughter; till at last, being almost satiated with blood, they made a few prisoners, among whom was Saleh king of Mara, with his queen; the former of whom was hanged by order of Amda Sion, and the latter cut in pieces, and her body given to the dogs by the soldiers.

This signal victory was gained in the end of July 1316; but as the rains at that season set in with violence, most of the army now again insisted on their returning home without delay. The king and principal officers, however, were of opinion, that the advantages so dearly purchased ought by all means to be pursued till they had either reduced the Mahometans to submission, or at least deprived them of all power to make attacks on the empire with any prospect of success. This opinion being adopted, the king sent back the baggage, women, and others who could be of no use to the army; retaining only the veteran soldiers, who were able to encounter more than six times the number of such enemies as he could expect to meet with.

Advancing farther into the Mahometan territories, he took up his residence in a large town called Zeyla; from whence he, that very night, sent out a detachment to surprise a large village in the neighbourhood named Taruca. This was executed with success; the men were massacred, and the women kept to supply the places of those who had been sent away. Continuing still to advance, he detached parties to lay waste the countries all round; and in this expedition he had the good fortune to cut off two of the principal authors of the conspiracy against him. He then proceeded to invade Talab and Abalge in the territories of the King of Adel. That monarch, now rendered desperate by the view of approaching ruin, had assembled all the Adel troops he could raise, in order to make one last effort against the enemy; but conducted himself with much less prudence than he ought to have done when contending with such an experienced and vigilant adversary. Amda Sion, confident of success, took no less care how to prevent the enemy from escaping than how to gain the victory. For this purpose he dispatched parties of horse to lie in wait in all those avenues by which he supposed that the Moors might attempt to make their escape; after which, falling furiously on the Adelians himself, and being well supported by his troops, he gained a complete victory; the king of Adel, with great numbers of his men, being killed on the field, and almost all the rest by the parties of horse intercepted them.

As the loss of this battle rendered the affairs of the Adelians quite desperate, the three young princes, sons of the late king, with their uncle, waited upon Amda Sion with rich presents, which they laid at his feet in the most humble manner, putting their foreheads in the dust, and entreating his pardon; professing their subjection and readiness to obey his commands, provided that he would spare the remainder of their country and property. To this the king made a very unfavourable reply, reproaching them with indignities done to himself; but especially with the sacrilege they had committed in burning churches and murdering priests, destroying also defenceless people in villages, merely because they imagined that he could not protect them. To punish these and other crimes, he said, he was now in the heart of their country; and he was determined never to turn his back upon Adel while he had ten men capable of drawing their swords; for which reason he commanded them to return and expect the approach of his army.

By this fierce speech the brother and two eldest children of the king of Adel were so disheartened, that they could not speak; but the youngest son made a very spirited speech, in which he attempted to soften the king by complimenting his valour, and showing that it was unworthy of his character to push the war against a people who were already conquered and defenceless. All the answer he could obtain, however, was, that unless the queen with the rest of the royal family, and the principal people of the nation, would come by to-morrow evening and surrender themselves as the princes had done, he would lay waste the territory of Adel, from the place where he sat to the Indian ocean. On this the princes earnestly requested their mother to submit without reserve to the clemency of the Abyssinian monarch, and to wait upon him next morning; but she was prevented from this by some of the nobility who had formerly advised the war, and who continues justly suspected danger to themselves if they should be obliged to submit unconditionally to the conqueror. They resolved, therefore, once more to venture a battle; and the better to ensure success, they bound themselves by an oath to stand by each other to the last extremity. At the same time they dispatched messengers to the princes, requesting them to make their escape with all manner of expedition, and to head the army themselves; Abyssinia, all of whom were determined to conquer or die as soon as the royal family should be out of the enemy's hands. By this conduct the Abyssinian monarch was so much irritated, that he divided his army into three parts; two of which he commanded to enter the territory of the enemy by different routes, and to exterminate both man and beast wherever they came; while he himself, with the third, took the straight road to the place where the new Adelian army was encamped. Here he found a number of infantry drawn up and ready to engage him; but, besides these, there was a multitude of old men, women, and even children, all armed with such weapons as they could procure. Surprised at this sight, he ordered a party of horse to disperse them; but this was found impossible; so that he was obliged to call in the detachments he had sent out, with orders to fall upon the enemy by the nearest way they could advance. The engagement was for a long time very doubtful; and in opposition to Amda Sion appeared the young king of Wypo, who everywhere encouraged his troops, and made the most obstinate resistance. The Abyssinian monarch having observed him, sheathed his sword, and arming himself with a bow, chose the broadest arrow he could find, and took so just an aim, that he shot the young prince through the side of the neck, and his head inclining to one shoulder he soon fell down dead. On this the spirit of the Adelians entirely forsook them, and they betook themselves to flight; but unluckily falling in with two Abyssinian detachments coming to the king's relief, they were so completely destroyed, that only three of them are said to have made their escape. On the side of the Abyssinians, however, the victory was dearly purchased; many of the principal officers being killed, and scarcely one of the cavalry escaping without a wound.

The remainder of this expedition consisted only in the destruction and burning of towns and villages, and massacres of helpless people, on pretence of retaliating the injuries committed by the Mahometans against the Christians. At last, weary of conquest and of carnage, this victorious monarch, who never suffered a defeat in any battle, returned in triumph to his capital, where he ended his days after a reign of 30 years. In his time we find that the royal family were not confined, as had been the usual practice from the time of the queen of Sheba to the massacre by Judith; for Saif Araad, the son and successor of Amda Sion, distinguished himself in one of the battles in which his father was engaged.

Though the new prince, as appears from what has been just now observed, was by no means destitute of military talents, the Abyssinian empire enjoyed a profound peace during his reign. The only remarkable transaction was the relief given by him to the Coptic patriarch, whom the sultan of Egypt had thrown into prison. At this time a great trade was carried on through the desert by caravans between Cairo and Abyssinia, as well as from Cairo to Suakem on the Red sea; but the Ethiopic monarch having seized the merchants from Cairo, and sent parties of horse to interrupt the caravans in their passage, the sultan was soon content to release the patriarch, whom he had imprisoned only with a view to extort money.

In the reign of Theodore, who held the crown of Ethiopia from the year 1409 to 1412, we find an infringement made on the treaty between Icon Amlae and the Abuna Tecla-Haimanout formerly mentioned. By that treaty the Abuna was to have a full third of the whole empire for the support of his own dignity and that of the church; but Theodore, justly considering this as an unreasonable acquisition, reduced it very considerably, though he still allowed a very ample revenue out of every province of the empire; and even this has been considered by several of his successors as far too large, and consequently has been frequently abridged by them. The annals of this prince's reign are very defective, and Mr Bruce supposes that they have been mutilated by the ecclesiastics; which, considering what we have just now related of his reducing their revenues, is by no means improbable. By his subjects he was celebrated as such a saint, that to this day the people believe he is to rise again and to reign a thousand years in Abyssinia; during which period war is to cease, and happiness to be universally diffused.

From the time of Theodore to that of Zara Jacob, who began his reign in 1434, the Abyssinian annals furnish us with little or nothing of any consequence. The character of this prince is represented as by no means inferior to that of Theodore, or indeed of any monarch that ever sat on the throne of Ethiopia, or any other kingdom in the world. He is, in short, set forth as another Solomon, and a model of what sovereigns ought to be; though, from some particulars of his reign, his character should seem to be rather exaggerated. The first remarkable transaction of this great monarch was his sending an embassy to the council of Florence. The ambassadors were certain priests from Jerusalem, who in that assembly adhered to the opinions of the Greek church; and the embassy itself was judged to be of such consequence as to be the subject of a picture in the Vatican. This prince obtained also a convent at Rome from the pope for the use of the Abyssinians; which is still preserved, though very seldom visited by those for whom it was designed. He seems to have been very desirous of keeping up a correspondence with the Europeans as well as the Asiatics; and in his time we first read of a dispute in Abyssinia with the Frangi or Franks on the subject of religion. This was carried on in presence of the king between one Abba George and a Venetian painter, Francisco de Branco Lone, in which of Rome, the former confuted and even convinced his antagonist; but from this time we find a party formed for the church of Rome, and which probably took its rise from the embassy to the council of Florence.

The prince of whom we now treat was the first who introduced persecution on a religious account into his dominions; and for this reason, most probably, he is so highly commended by the ecclesiastics. The state of religion in Abyssinia was now indeed very corrupt. The Greek profession had been originally established from the church of Alexandria; but in the low provinces bordering on the coast of Adel, the Mahometan superstition prevailed. Many of that persuasion had also dispersed themselves through the towns and villages in the internal parts of the empire, while in not a few places the grossest idolatry still took place; such as the worship of the heavenly bodies, the wind, trees, cows, serpents, &c. All this had hitherto passed unnoticed; but in the reign of Zara Jacob, some families Abyssinia lies being accused of worshipping the cow and serpent, were brought before the king, who pronounced sentence of death upon them. Their execution was followed by a royal proclamation, that whoever did not carry on his right hand an amulet with these words upon it, "I renounce the devil for Christ our Lord," should not only forfeit his personal estate, but be liable to corporal punishment. The spirit of persecution thus begun, quickly diffused itself, and an inquisitor was appointed to search for criminals. This was one Amda Sion, the king's chief confidant, who pretended to all that absurd and austere devotion common to religious hypocrites. In this he was flattered with uncommon parade and attendance, the usual rewards of people of that stamp; as he never appeared abroad but with a great number of soldiers, trumpets, drums, and other ensigns of military dignity waiting upon him. He kept also a number of spies, who brought him intelligence of those who were secretly guilty of any idolatrous or treasonable practices; after which, proceeding with his attendants to the house of the delinquent, he caused the family first supply himself and his party with refreshments, and then ordered the unhappy wretches to be all put to death in his presence. Among those who suffered in this barbarous manner were the two sons-in-law of the king himself, who had been accused by their wives, the one of adultery, and the other of incest; on which slight ground they were both put to death in their own houses, in such a manner as deservedly threw an odium on the king. His conduct was afterwards so severely condemned by a certain clergyman from Jerusalem, that a reformation seems to have been produced; and no mention is afterwards made of the inquisitor or persecution during this reign.

The attention of the king was now called off from religion to the state of his affairs in the different provinces of the kingdom. As the Moorish provinces were very rich, by reason of the extensive trade they carried on, and frequently employed their wealth in exciting rebellion, it became necessary that the sovereign himself should examine into the circumstances and dispositions of the several governors; which was likewise proper on another account, that he might assign to each the sum to be paid. On this occasion he divided the empire more distinctly, and increased the number of governments considerably; which being done, he set about repairing the churches throughout the country, which had fallen into decay, or been destroyed in the war with the Mahometans. So zealous was he in this respect, that having heard of the destruction of the church of the Virgin in Alexandria by fire, he instantly built another in Ethiopia, to repair the loss which Christianity might have suffered.

The last public transaction of this prince's reign was the quashing of a rebellion which some of his governors had entered into; but whatever glory he might acquire from this or any other exploit, his behaviour with regard to his domestic affairs must certainly place him in a very disadvantageous light. In the decline of the king's life, the mother of the heir-apparent conceived such an extreme desire to behold her son in possession of the throne, that she began to form schemes for obliging his father to take him into partnership with him in the government. These being discovered, her husband cruelly caused her to be whipped to death: and finding that his son afterwards performed certain solemnities at her grave in token of regard for her, he caused him to be loaded with irons and banished to the top of a mountain; where he would probably have been put to death, had not the monks interfered. These having invented prophecies, dreams, and revelations, that none but the young prince Bada Mariam was to possess the throne, the old king submitted to the decrees of Heaven, and relaxed in his severity.

On the accession of the new king in 1468, the old law for imprisoning all the royal family was revived, and a mountain named Geshen chosen for the purpose again confined. Having thus secured himself from any danger of a rival in case he should undertake a foreign expedition, he proclaimed a pardon to all those who had been banished during the former reign, and thus ingratiated himself with his people: after which he began to prepare for war. At this the neighbouring princes, particularly the king of Adel, being alarmed, sent ambassadors requesting the continuance of peace. The Abyssinian monarch told them, that his design was to destroy the Dobas; a race of shepherds very wealthy but extremely barbarous, professing the Pagan religion, and greatly resembling the Gallas. The reason of his commencing hostilities against them was, that they made continual inroads into his country, and committed the greatest cruelties; on which account he determined not to make war as with a common enemy, but to exterminate and destroy them as a nuisance. The king of Adel was no sooner possessed of this piece of intelligence, than he communicated it to the Dobas; desiring them to send their women and children, with their most valuable effects, into his country, till the invasion should be over. This proposal was readily embraced; but Bada having got notice of it, seized an avenue through which they must necessarily pass, and massacred every one of the company. After this, entering their country, he committed such devastations, that they were glad to submit, and even to renounce their religion in order to free themselves from such a dreadful enemy. The king then turned his arms against Adel, where he was attended with his usual success; a most complete victory being gained over the Moors by the Abyssinian general: but while the king himself was advancing towards that country, with a full resolution to reduce it to the most abject state of misery, he was seized with a pain in his bowels, which occasioned his death.

The discovery of the kingdom of Ethiopia or Abyssinia by the Europeans took place about this time. It has already been observed, that some intercourse by means of individuals had been carried on betwixt this country and Italy; but the knowledge conveyed to Europeans in this manner was very imperfect and obscure. Even the situation of the country had been forgotten; and though some confused notions were entertained of a distant Christian prince who was likewise a priest, Marco Paulo, the famous Venetian traveller, affirms that he had met with him in Tartary; and it Of Prester was universally agreed, that his name was Joannes John. Presbyter, Prete Janni, or Prester John. When the Portuguese began to extend their discoveries along the coast of Africa, more certain intelligence concerning this prince was obtained. Bemoy, one of the kings of Abyssinia.

the Jalosses, a nation on the western coast of Africa, had assured the Portuguese navigators of the existence of such a prince so strongly, that the king determined to send ambassadors to him; and the discovery was of the greater consequence, that a passage to the East Indies was now attempted both by land and sea. The ambassadors were named Peter Covillan and Alphonso de Paiva. These were sent to Alexandria in Egypt, from whence they were to set out on their journey; the intent of which was, to explore the sources of the Indian trade, the principal markets for the spice, &c. but above all, to discover whether it was possible to arrive at the East Indies by sailing round the continent of Africa.

In the prosecution of this scheme our two travellers went from Alexandria to Cairo; from thence to Suez at the bottom of the Red sea; from Suez they took their route to Aden, a wealthy and commercial city beyond the straits of Babel Mandel. Covillan now set sail for India, and De Paiva for Suakem. The latter lost his life without making any discovery; but Covillan passed over to Calicut and Goa. From thence he returned to the continent of Africa, visiting the gold mines of Sofala, and passing from thence to Aden and Cairo; at which place he was informed of the death of his companion. In this city he was met by two Jews with letters from the king of Abyssinia. One of these Jews was sent back with letters to the Abyssinian monarch: but with the other he proceeded to the island of Ormus in the Persian gulf. Here they separated; the Jew returning home, and Covillan repassing the straits of Babel Mandel, whence he proceeded to Aden, and afterwards entered the Abyssinian dominions.

The reigning prince at this time was named Alexander; and when Covillan arrived, he was employed in levying contributions upon his rebellious subjects. He met with a kind reception; and was conveyed to the capital, where he was promoted to the highest posts of honour, but never allowed to return to Europe again. The intelligence, however, which he transmitted to the court of Portugal proved of much importance. He not only described all the ports of India he had seen, with the situation and wealth of Sofala, but advised the king to prosecute the discovery of the passage round Africa with the utmost diligence; affirming, that the cape at the southern extremity of the continent was well known in India; and accompanying the whole with a chart which he had obtained from a Moor, and which showed exactly the situation of the cape and neighbouring countries.

Covillan arrived in Ethiopia about the year 1490; and the prince to whom he addressed himself was Alexander the son of Beada Mariam, a prince endowed with many good qualities, and no less versed in military affairs than any of his predecessors. His reign was disturbed by plots and rebellions, which at last proved fatal to him. From his early years he manifested a great desire to make war on the king of Adel, who seems to have been the natural rival of the Ethiopic princes. But the Adelian monarch, having now become sensible that he was not able to cope with such powerful adversaries, took the most effectual way of securing himself; viz. by gaining over a party at the court of Abyssinia. In this he had now succeeded so well, that when Alexander was about to invade Adel, Za Saluce the prime minister, with many of the principal nobility, were in the interest of his adversary. Not being apprized of this treachery, however, Alexander intrusted this minister with the command of a great part of his forces; and with these the latter abandoned him in the heat of an engagement. Alexander and the few troops who remained with him, however, were so far from being disheartened by this treachery, that they seemed to be inspired with fresh courage. The king having killed the standard-bearer of the enemy, and thus become master of the green ensign of Mahomet, the enemy began to give way; and on his killing the king of Adel's son, immediately after, they quitted the field altogether. The victory was not by any means complete; neither was Alexander in a situation to pursue the advantage he had gained. Having therefore challenged the Moors to a second engagement, which they declined, he returned with a design to punish his perfidious minister Za Saluce, who had endeavoured to excite the governors of all the provinces to revolt as he went along. The traitor, however, had laid his plots too well; so that his sovereign was murdered in two days after his arrival in the capital. Za Saluce did not enjoy the rewards he expected from his treachery: for having attempted to excite a revolt in the province of Amhara, he was attacked by the nobility there; and his troops deserting him, he was taken prisoner without any resistance, his eyes were put out, and himself exposed on an ass, to the curses and derision of the people.

Alexander was succeeded by an infant son, who reigned only seven months; after which his younger brother Naod was chosen king by the unanimous voice of the people. He proved a wise and virtuous prince; but the late misfortunes, together with the corruption introduced at court by the Mahometans, had so unhinged the government, that it became very difficult to know how to manage matters. Judging very properly, however, that one of the most effectual methods of quieting the minds of the people would be an offer of a general pardon; he not only proclaimed this, but likewise, "That any person who should upbraid another with being a party in the misfortunes of past times, or say that he had been privy to this or that conspiracy, had received bribes from the Moors, &c. should be put to death without delay." On his entering upon government, he found it necessary to prepare ravages against an enemy whom we have not heretofore mentioned, viz. Maftudi, prince of a district named Arar, which lay in the neighbourhood of Adel. This chiefain being a man of a very enterprising and martial disposition, and a most violent enthusiast in the Mahometan cause, had made a vow to spend 40 days annually in some part of the Abyssinian dominions during the time of Lent. For this purpose he kept a small body of veteran troops, with whom he fell sometimes on one part, and sometimes on another of the frontiers, putting to death without mercy such as made resistance, and carrying off for slaves those who made none. For 30 years he continued this practice; beginning exactly on the first day of Lent, and proceeding gradually up the country as the term advanced. His progress was greatly facilitated by the superstition of the people themselves, who kept that fast with such rigour as almost most entirely to exhaust their strength; so that Massudi having never met with any opposition, was always sure of success, and thus came to be reckoned invincible. On the present occasion, however, he experienced a prodigious reverse of fortune. Naod having enjoined his soldiers to live in the same full and free manner during the fast as at any other time, and having set the example himself, marched out against his enemy; who, being ignorant of the precaution he had taken, advanced with his usual confidence of success. The Abyssinian monarch, still pretending fear, as if on account of the weakness of his men, pitched his camp in very strong ground, but left some passages open to it, that the enemy might make an attack. This was done contrary to the advice of their leader; and the consequence was, that almost every one of them was cut off. On this the king of Adel sent ambassadors to solicit a continuance of the peace with himself; which was granted, upon condition that he restored all the slaves whom Massudi had carried off in his last year's expedition; with which the Mahometan chief thought proper to comply rather than engage in such a dangerous war.

Naod having thus freed his country from the danger of any foreign invasion, applied himself to the cultivation of the arts of peace, and reforming the manners of his subjects, in which he spent the remainder of his days. He died in 1558, after a reign of 13 years; and was succeeded by his son David III. a child of 11 years of age. Though the affairs of the empire were at present in such a state as required a very prudent and active administration, the empress Helena, widow of Bæda Marian, had interest enough to get the crown settled on the infant just mentioned. This proceeded partly from her desire of engrossing all the power into her own hands, and partly from a wish to keep peace with Adel her native country. These ends could not be accomplished but by keeping a minor on the throne of Abyssinia; which was therefore her constant object as long as she lived. But though this might not have been attended with any very bad consequence had the two nations been left to decide the quarrel by themselves, the face of affairs was now quite changed by the interference of the Turks. That people having now conquered almost the whole of Arabia to the Indian ocean, being likewise on the point of reducing Egypt, and having a great advantage over their adversaries in using fire-arms, now projected the conquest of India also. In this indeed they were always disappointed by the superior valour of the Portuguese: but as this conquest remained a favourite object with them, they did not abandon their attempts. In the countries which they had conquered, they exacted such enormous contributions from the merchants, that vast numbers of them fled to the African side of the Red sea, and settled on the coast of Adel. The Turks surprised at the increase of trade in this country, which they themselves had occasioned, resolved to share in the profits. For this purpose they took possession of Zeyla, a small island in the Red sea, directly opposite to the coast of Adel; and erected a custom-house in it, where they oppressed and ruined the trade as in other places. Thus both Adel and Abyssinia were threatened with a most formidable enemy, which it would have been utterly out of their power to have resisted, had not the desire of possessing India constantly prevented the Turks from directing their strength against these countries.

Helena was sensible enough of the dangerous situation of the empire, but preferred the gratification of her ambition to the good of her country; however, that she might preserve herself from the attacks of such a formidable enemy, it was now thought proper to enter into an alliance with the Portuguese. The ambassador from Portugal, Peter Covillan, was denied the liberty of returning to his own country, as has been already related; and as, for some time past, it had not been obvious how he could be of much use, he had begun to fall into oblivion. The present emergency, however, recovered his importance. The empress was sensible of the necessity she lay under of having some person who understood both the Abyssinian and Portuguese languages before she could open any correspondence with that nation, and who might likewise inform her of the names of the persons to whom her letters ought to be addressed. By him she was now instructed in every thing necessary to the success of her embassy. The message was committed to one Matthew an Armenian merchant, with whom a young Abyssinian was joined; but the latter died by the way. The letters they carried are by Mr Bruce supposed to have been partly the work of Covillan and partly of the less experienced Abyssinian confidants of the empress. They began with telling the king, that Matthew would give him information of her whole purpose, and that he might depend on the truth of what he said: but in the latter part the whole secret of the embassy was disclosed, and a force sufficient to destroy the Turkish power was expressly solicited. Among the other particulars of this embassy also it is said, that a third part of Abyssinia was offered in case her requisitions were complied with; but this, as well as the embassy itself was always denied by David when he came of age.

Matthew, though raised from the rank of merchant to that of an ambassador, could not, it seems, act according to his new dignity in such a manner as to screen himself from the most mortifying and dangerous imputations. Having arrived at Dabul in the East Indies, he was seized as a spy, but relieved by Albuquerque the viceroy of Goa; and that not out of any regard to his character as ambassador, but because he himself had a design upon Abyssinia. This viceroy used his utmost endeavours to induce Matthew to deliver his commission to him; but the ambassador constantly refused to show any letter he had, except to the king of Portugal in person, and in his own kingdom. This put him out of favour with the viceroy; while his attendants, displeased at the mean appearance of the man, insisted sometimes that he was a spy from the sultan, at others that he was a cook, an impostor, or a menial servant. Matthew, however, perceiving that he was now out of danger, maintained that his person was sacred, and insisted on being treated as the representative of a sovereign. He let the viceroy, bishop, and clergy know, that he had with him a piece of the wood of the true cross, sent as a present to the king of Portugal: and he required them, under pain of sacrilege, to pay respect to the bearer of such a precious relic, and to celebrate its arrival as a festival. This was instantly complied with, and a solemn procession instituted; but very little re- Abyssinia. gard appears to have been paid to this ambassador either in his temporal or spiritual character, as he could not obtain leave to depart for Portugal till 1513, which was three years after he arrived in India. In his passage he was extremely ill-treated by the shipmasters with whom he sailed; but of this they soon had cause to repent; as on their arrival at Lisbon they were all put in irons, and would probably have died in confinement, had not Matthew made intercession for them with the king.

Maffudi renews his depredations. In the mean time, Maffudi having recovered from the defeat given him by Naed, and formed alliances with the Turks in Arabia, had renewed his depredations on the Abyssinian territories with more success than ever. Such a number of slaves had been, by his assiduity, sent to Mecca, that he was honoured with a green silk standard (an emblem of the true Mahometan faith), with a tent of black velvet embroidered with gold, and he was likewise made Sheykh of Zeyla; so that, as this island was properly the key to the Abyssinian empire, he could neither be rewarded with greater honour nor profit. This happened when David had attained the age of 16; and in consequence of such surprising success the king of Adel, never a hearty friend to Abyssinia, determined to break the peace with that empire and make an alliance with Maffudi. Having taken this resolution, the two princes invaded Abyssinia with their joint forces, and in one year carried off 19,000 Christian slaves, so that a general terror was spread over the whole empire. David, already impatient of the injuries his people had sustained, determined to raise an army, and to head it in person as his ancestors had done, contrary to the advice of the empress, who considering only his youth and inexperience in military affairs, wished him to have employed some of his veteran officers. A very powerful army was raised, and ample supplies of all kinds were procured. With one part of his forces the emperor took the road to Aussa the capital of Adel; sending the other under the command of an officer named the Betwudet, to meet the Moorish army, which was then ravaging part of Abyssinia. It was natural to be imagined, that the Moors, on hearing that an army was marching to destroy the capital of their country, would abandon the thoughts of conquest or plunder to preserve it. In doing this, David knew that they had certain defiles to pass before they could reach Adel. He ordered the Betwudet therefore to allow them to enter these defiles; and before they could get through, he himself, with the main body of the army, marched to attack them at the other end. Thus the Moors were completely hemmed in by a superior army: but besides this unfavourable situation, they were farther dispirited by Maffudi. That hero came, on the morning of the engagement, to the king of Adel, informing him that his own time was now come; that he had been certainly told by a prophet, long ago, that if this year (1516) he should fight the king of Abyssinia in person, he should lose his life. He was assured that the Abyssinian monarch was then present, having seen the scarlet tent which was used only by the sovereigns of that country; and therefore advised the king of Adel to make the best of his way over the least steep part of the mountain before the engagement began. The Adelian monarch, who had at any rate no great inclination to fight, was not inspired with courage by this speech: he therefore followed the advice given him; and, with a few of his friends, passed the mountain, leaving his troops to their fate. The Moors, in the mean time, being abandoned by one leader, and having another devoted to destruction, showed an uncommon backwardness to engage, which was taken notice of by their enemies. Maffudi, however, as soon as he supposed the king of Adel to be out of danger, sent a trumpet to the Abyssinian camp, with a challenge to any man of quality in the army to fight him; on condition that the party of the victorious champion should be accounted conquerors, and that the armies should immediately separate without further bloodshed. The challenge was instantly accepted by a monk named Gabriel Andreas; who, in the reign of Beza Mariam, had been condemned to lose the tip of his tongue for speaking slightly of the king's proclamation of amnesty. Maffudi showed no reluctance to present himself; but received such a deadly stroke from his antagonist with a two-handed sword as almost cut his body in two, and he immediately fell down dead. Andreas cut off his head; and throwing it at the king's feet, cried out, "There is the Goliath of the infidels." This became the signal for a general engagement, notwithstanding the terms stipulated by Maffudi before the combat. The Moors were quickly repulsed by the king's troops, and driven backward through the defile. At the other end they were met by the Betwudet (B), who drove them back to the mountains, they were all slaughtered by the peasants, or perished with hunger and thirst.

David marches against him. The same day that this victory was gained over the Moors by David, being in the month of July 1516, ken by the island of Zeyla in the Red sea was taken and the Portuguese town burnt by the Portuguese fleet under Lopez Snazre de Alberguiera. The Abyssinian ambassador, Matthew, in the mean time, had been received with the greatest marks of esteem in Portugal. The utmost attention was paid to his embassy; he was lodged in the most splendid manner; and his maintenance was suitable to his lodging. The king prepared an embassy on his part, and sent home Matthew on board from the Indian fleet commanded by Lopez. The ambassador ordered for Abyssinia was one Edward Galvan, a Portugal man who had filled many state departments with the utmost applause; but who by reason of his age, being now 86, was certainly very unfit for such a distant and perilous voyage. He died accordingly on the island of Camaran in the Red sea, where Suarez had imprudently landed, and passed the winter in the utmost distress for want of provisions of every kind. This admiral was succeeded by Lopez de Seguyera; who sailed first to the island of Goa in the East Indies, where he fitted out a strong fleet; after which he returned to the Red sea, and landed on the island of Masuah, hav-

Maffudi prophesies his own death.

(b) This is the title of one of the officers in Abyssinia, not the proper name of a man. Abyssinia. ing along with him Matthew, about the authenticity of whose mission there had been such disputes. At his first approach the inhabitants fled; but at last he was accosted by a Christian and a Moor from the continent, who informed him that the coast opposite to Masnab was part of the kingdom of Abyssinia, and that it was governed by an officer named the babarnagash; that all the inhabitants of the island were Christians; that the reason of their flying at the sight of the Portuguese fleet was that they took them for Turks, who frequently made descents, and ravaged the island, &c. The admiral dismissed them with presents; and soon after had a visit from the governor of Arkceko, a town on the continent; who informed him, that about 24 miles up the country there was a monastery, seven of the members of which were now deputed to wait upon him. These instantly knew Matthew, and congratulated him in the warmest manner upon his return from such a long voyage. An interview soon took place between the babarnagash himself and Lopez. The Abyssinian informed him, that the coming of the Portuguese had been long expected, in consequence of certain ancient prophecies; and that he himself and all the officers of the emperor were ready to serve him. They parted with mutual presents; and all doubt about Matthew being now removed, he prepared to set out for the emperor's court; while Roderigo de Lima was nominated ambassador in place of Galvan who died. Along with them were 15 Portuguese; all men of the most determined courage, and who would hesitate at nothing which they thought might contribute to the glory of their king, their own honour, or the advantage of their country. Their present journey indeed was much more perilous than their voyage from Portugal to Abyssinia. The emperor was at this time in the southern part of his dominions, but the Portuguese had landed on the northern part; so that they had almost the whole breadth of the empire to pass before they could meet with him. The very first journey they attempted was through a wood so thick that it could scarce afford a passage either to man or beast, while the interstices of the trees were so interwoven with briers and thorns of various kinds, that their passage was rendered almost impracticable. This was rendered still more terrible by the vast numbers of wild beasts they saw, and which seemed only to be prevented from devouring them by the appearance of so many men together. The rainy season was also now begun; so that they were exposed to incessant deluges of water descending from the clouds, besides frequent and violent storms of wind, thunder, and lightning, &c. To add to their misfortunes, an epidemic fever broke out among them, which carried off Matthew and one of the servants of Don Roderigo. At last, after a most tedious and toilsome journey, from the 16th of April to the 18th of October 1520, the Portuguese ambassador, with his retinue, came within sight of the Abyssinian camp at the distance of about three miles. His reception was by no means favourable; for instead of being immediately admitted to the presence of the emperor, he was waited on by one of the officers of state, styled, in token of humility, Hadug Ras, or commander of asses; who caused him pitch his tent three miles farther off from the camp: and it was not till five years afterwards that he was enabled to finish the business of his embassy, and obtained leave to depart for Portugal.

During all this time, not a single word had passed relating to the affairs of the two nations; so that it is difficult to imagine what might have been the design of the Abyssinian emperor. At last, having resolved to send an embassy to Portugal, he allowed Roderigo to depart, but detained two of his people; appointing Zaga Zaab, an Abyssinian monk, his ambassador to Portugal.

This long intercourse betwixt two such distant nations, however, could not but greatly alarm the Mahometan powers, who were natural enemies to both. Selim, the Turkish sultan, having been constantly defeated by the Portuguese in the east, and alarmed at the thoughts of having a fleet of that nation in the Red sea, where they might greatly annoy his settlements on the coast of Arabia, determined to carry his arms to the African side; while the king of Adel, having strengthened himself by alliances with the Turkish officers in Arabia, was now become a much more formidable enemy than before. This was soon experienced in a battle with the Adelians; in which the Abyssinian monarch was overthrown with the loss of almost all his great officers and principal nobility, besides a vast number of private men. The victory was principally owing to the assistance given by the Turks; for the army was commanded by Mahomet surnamed Gragné, i.e. left-handed, governor of Zeyla, which had now received a Turkish garrison. This man, having the conquest of Abyssinia greatly at heart, resolved, as soon as possible, to effect something decisive; and therefore having sent to Mecca all the prisoners taken in his late expedition, he obtained in return a considerable number of janizaries, with a train of portable artillery. Thus the fortune of the war was entirely decided in favour of the Adelians and Turks; the emperor was defeated in every battle, and frequently hunted ed by the Moors to place like a wild beast. The Moors, Turk., finding at last no necessity for keeping up an army, defeat the overran the whole empire in small parties, everywhere plundering and burning the towns and villages, and carrying off the people for slaves.

This destructive war continued till the year 1537; when Gragné sent a message to the emperor, exhorting him not to fight any longer against God, but to make peace while it was in his power, and give him his daughter in marriage: on which condition he would withdraw his army; but otherwise he would reduce his empire to such a state that it should be capable of producing nothing but grass. David, however, still refused to submit; replying, that he put his confidence in God, who at present only chastised him and his people for their sins; but that Gragné himself, being an infidel, and enemy to the true religion, could not fail of coming in a short time to a miserable end. This unsuccessful negotiation was followed by several encounters, in which the emperor was constantly defeated; in one of them his eldest son was killed, and in another his youngest was taken prisoner; so that he now seemed entirely destitute, being obliged to wander on foot, and all alone, hiding himself throughout the day among the bushes on the mountains.

The invincible constancy with which this forlorn monarch bore his misfortunes, proved a matter of sur- Abyssinia. prise both to friends and enemies. Many of his veteran soldiers, compassionating the distresses of their sovereign, sought him out in his hiding places; so that he once more found himself at the head of a small army, with which he gained some advantages that served to keep up his own spirits and those of his adherents. His greatest enemy was Ammer, one of Gragné's officers, who headed the rebellious Abyssinians, and who had formed a scheme of assassinating the king; but, instead of accomplishing his purpose, he himself was assassinated in 1538 by a common soldier, on what account we are not informed.

By the death of Ammer and the small successes which David himself had obtained, the affairs of Abyssinia seemed to revive; but still there was no probability of their being ever brought to a fortunate issue. An embassy to Portugal was therefore thought of in good earnest, as the mischievous effects of slighting the proffered friendship of that power were now sufficiently apparent. One of the attendants of Roderigo, named John Bermudes, who had been detained in Abyssinia, was chosen for this purpose; and to his temporal character of ambassador was added that of Abuna, primate or patriarch. John, who was not a clergyman originally, had received all the inferior ecclesiastical orders at once, that the supreme one might be thus conferred upon him; but happening to be a great bigot to the popish religion, he would not accept of his new dignity but with a proviso, that his ordination should be approved by the pope. This was indirectly submitting the church of Abyssinia to that of Rome; to which David would never have agreed, had it not been for the desperate situation of his affairs at that time. John was therefore allowed to do as he thought proper: when passing through Arabia and Egypt to Italy, he bad his ordination confirmed by the pope; after which he set out on the business of his embassy. On his arrival at Lisbon, he was acknowledged by the king as patriarch of Alexandria, Abyssinia, and of the sea; for this last title had also been conferred upon him by his Holiness. Entering then upon the purpose of his embassy, he began by putting Zaga Zaab in irons for having wasted so much time, and done nothing effectual since he had left Abyssinia. Then he represented to the king the distresses of the Abyssinians in such a strong light, and insisted so violently for relief to them, that an order was very soon procured for 400 musketeers to be sent by Don Garcia de Norenha to their relief. To accelerate the progress of the intended succours, John himself proposed to sail in the same fleet with Don Garcia; but his voyage was delayed for a whole year by sickness, occasioned, as he supposed, by poison given him by Zaga Zaab, the monk whom he had imprisoned, and who had been set at liberty by the king. After his recovery, however, he set sail for India, where he arrived in safety. The death of Don Garcia, which happened in the mean time, occasioned another delay; but at last it was resolved, that Don Stephen de Gama, who had succeeded to Don Garcia, should undertake an expedition to the Red sea, in order to burn some Turkish galleys which then lay at Suez. But intelligence having in the mean time been received of the intended voyage, these vessels had withdrawn themselves. Anchoring then in the port of Masuah, Don Stephen sent over to Arkeeko on the continent to procure fresh water and other provisions; but the Turks and Moors being now entirely masters of that coast, the goods he had sent in the exchange were seized without anything being given in return. A message was brought back, importing the town of that the king of Adel was now master of all Ethiopia, Arkeeko, and consequently, that no trade could be carried on without his leave; but if Don Stephen would make peace with him, the goods should be restored, a plentiful supply of water and all kinds of provisions granted, and amends likewise made for 60 Portuguese who had been killed at Zeyla. These had run away from the fleet on its first arrival in the Red sea, and landed on the coast of Adel, where they could procure no water; of which the barbarians took advantage to decoy them up the country; where, having persuaded them to lay down their arms, they murdered them all. To this Don Stephen returned a smooth answer, sent more goods, obtained provisions, and promised to come ashore as soon as a Mahometan festival, which the savages were then celebrating, should be over. This treaty was carried on with equal bad faith on both sides; but Don Stephen had now the advantage by obtaining the provisions he stood in need of. These were no sooner brought on board, than he strictly forbade all intercourse with the land; and choosing out 600 men, he attacked the town of Arkeeko, killed the governor, and sent his head to the Abyssinian court; massacring at the same time all the people in the town he met with.

During this long interval, a considerable change of affairs had taken place in the Abyssinian affairs. We have already seen that David had been reduced to great distress; but afterwards met with some little successes, which seemed to indicate an approaching change of fortune. In these, however, he was soon disappointed. A Mahometan chief called Vizir Mugdid made an attack upon the rock Geshen, where the royal family were kept; and finding it entirely unguarded, ascended without opposition, and put every person to the sword. This last disaster seems to have been too great a blow for the resolution even of this heroic prince, as he died David, and the same year, 1540. He was succeeded by his son Claudius, who, though then but about 18 years of age, was endowed with all the great qualities necessary for managing the affairs of the empire in such a dreadful crisis, and had made considerable progress before the arrival of the Portuguese.

On his accession, the Moors, despising his youth, instantly formed a league among themselves to crush him at once; but, like almost all others too confident of victory, they neglected to take the proper precautions against a surprise. This was not unobserved by Claudius; who falling upon one party which lay next to him, gave them a total defeat. The king pursued them the whole day of the engagement, the ensuing night, and part of the following day; putting to death without mercy every one who fell into his hands. This excessive ardour very much damped the spirits of his enemies, and at the same time inspired his own party with the most sanguine hopes of success; whence he soon appeared at the head of such an army as convinced his enemies that he was by no means to be despised. They now found it necessary to desist from the practice they had so long continued, of plundering and ravaging ravaging the country; to call in their scattered parties, unite their troops, and spend the rainy season in such parts of Abyssinia as they had conquered, without returning into Adel, as had hitherto been usual with them. They now came to a resolution to force the king to a general engagement, in which they hoped to prove victorious by dint of numbers. For this purpose all the rebel chiefs in Abyssinia were called in, and a formidable army collected. They waited only for one very experienced chief named Jonathan; after whose junction they determined to attack the royal army without delay. But Claudius took his posts at all times with such judgment, that any attempt upon his camp would have been almost desperate: and getting intelligence where Jonathan lay with his forces, he marched out in the night time, came upon him quite unprepared, defeated and killed him, sending his head to the rest of the confederacy by a prisoner, the only one he had spared out of all those who were taken. By the same messenger a defiance was sent to the Moors, and many opprobrious epithets were bestowed upon them; but though the armies approached one another, and continued for several days under arms, the Moors were so much intimidated that they would by no means venture an engagement.

By this victory the spirits of the Abyssinians were so much elevated, that they flocked in from all parts to join their prince; and even many of the Mahometans, having experienced the lenity of the Christian government, chose rather to submit to Claudius than to the Turks and Adelians. The king, however, was in danger of being assassinated by one Ammer, a treacherous governor; who knowing that he had retired to some distance from his army to celebrate the festival of Easter, attempted to surprise him when almost destitute of attendants; but Claudius having timely notice of his designs, laid an ambush for him with a considerable part of his army which he headed in prison. The rebel, not being equally well informed, fell into the snare, was defeated, and almost his whole army cut off on the 24th of April 1541.

Such was the situation of affairs when the Portuguese arrived. The head of the governor of Arkeeko had been received by the queen, who regarded it as a happy instance of the valour of her allies, and as a presage of future victories. The Portuguese admiral, Don Stephen de Gama, lost no time in employing the men allowed by the king to assist the Abyssinians. These were in number 450; but as the officers who commanded them were all noblemen of the first rank, the army was considerably increased by the number of their servants. The supreme command was given to Don Christopher de Gama the admiral's youngest brother. Almost every man on board, however, was ambitious to share in the glory of this enterprise; whence great complaints were made by those who were not allowed to go: and hence, Mr Bruce informs us, the bay in the island of Masuah, where the admiral's galley rode, had the name of Bahia dos Agravados; the bay of the injured, not of the sick, as has been erroneously supposed.

This gallant army instantly set forward by the most easy road through the Abyssinian territories, in order to join the emperor. Still, however, the way was so rugged, that the carriages of their artillery gave way, and they were therefore obliged to construct new ones as they went along, splitting the barrels of old muskets to furnish them with iron, which was extremely scarce in Abyssinia. In this journey the general was met by the empress, attended with her two sisters and a great many others of both sexes, whom he saluted with drums beating and colours flying, accompanied by a general discharge of the fire-arms, to their great confusion and terror. Her majesty, whose person was entirely covered, indulged the Portuguese general with a view of her face; and after a mutual exchange of civilities, the queen returned with 100 musketeers appointed by him as her guard. After eight days march, through a very rugged country, Don Christopher received a defiance in very insulting terms from Gragné the Mahometan general, which was returned in the same style. An engagement took place on the 25th of March 1542; in which little was done by either party besides wounding both the commanders: however, the Portuguese, though greatly superior in horse, had already felt so much of the Portuguese valour, that he did not choose to venture a second battle.

As the season was now far advanced, the Portuguese put themselves into winter-quarters; while Gragné remained in their neighbourhood, in hopes of forcing them to a battle before they could be joined by the king, who advanced for the purpose as fast as possible. This being the case, it was to the last degree imprudent in Don Christopher to think of venturing an engagement without previously forming a junction with his royal ally; especially as Gragné had now doubled the number of his horse, increased his train of artillery, and otherwise received considerable reinforcements. Unfortunately, however, the Portuguese general suffered himself to be hurried away by the impetuosity of his own temper; and paying regard to the defiances and reproaches of a barbarian whom he ought to have despised, was induced, contrary to all advice that could be given, to venture an engagement at a vast disadvantage. Yet when the armies encountered each other, the superiority of the Portuguese was so great, that victory seemed likely to be decided in their favour. On this Gragné ordered some artillery to be pointed against the Abyssinian allies. These, entirely unaccustomed to fire-arms, fled almost at the first discharge. Gragné, well knowing that it was his interest to destroy the Portuguese, who were only 400 in number, ordered no pursuit against the Abyssinians, but fell with his whole force upon the Europeans. Even yet his success was doubtful, till Don Christopher, exposing himself too much, was singled out and shot through the arm. This produced such confusion, that Is wounded a total defeat, with the loss of the camp, ensued; when and defeat the barbarians, according to custom, put to death all the wounded, and began to abuse the women, who had all retired into the tent of the general. This being observed by a noble Abyssinian lady married to one of the Portuguese, she set fire to some barrels of gunpowder which happened to be in the tent, and thus perished along with her ravishers.

Don Christopher, who by his rashness had occasioned this disaster, obstinately refused to fly, till he was put into a litter by force, and set off along with the queen and patriarch, who happened to be present. The two latter had set off before the battle; but Don Christo- Abyssinia.

Abyssinia sent some horsemen in pursuit of them, by whom they were brought back, and reproached by the general for the bad example they had shown to the army. Arriving at the approach of night in a wood where there was a cave, Don Christopher entered it to have his wound dressed, but obstinately refused to proceed farther. Next day he was taken; betrayed, as is most probable, by a woman whom he loved; who is said to have pointed out this cave to him, and promised to send some friends to convey him into a place of safety. Instead of this, a party of the enemy entered the cave; and on his readily informing them of his name, they instantly carried him in triumph to Gragné. Here, after several insults had passed on both sides, the barbarian, in a fit of passion, cut off his head; which was sent to Constantinople, and his body cut in pieces and dispersed through Abyssinia.

This cruelty of Gragné proved more detrimental to his cause than a complete victory gained by the other party could have been. On the one hand, the Portuguese were so exasperated by the loss of their leader, that they were ready to embark in the most desperate undertakings, in order to revenge his death; on the other, the Turks, on whom he principally depended, were irritated to the last degree at the disappointment of sharing his ransom, which they imagined would have been an immense sum; and therefore abandoned their leader to return to their own country. Gragné, thus left to decide the quarrel with his Africans, was quickly defeated by Claudius; and in another engagement which took place on the 10th of February 1543, his troops were defeated and himself killed. This last misfortune was owing to his boldness in advancing before his army which was giving way, so that he became known to the Portuguese. On this he was singled out by a Portuguese named Peter Lyon, who had been valet de chambre to Don Christopher. This man, to make his aim more sure, crept for a considerable way along the bank of a river towards the place where Gragné was; and when come sufficiently near, shot him quite through the body. Finding himself mortally wounded, he quitted the field of battle; and was followed by Lyon, who in a short time saw him fall from his horse. He then came up to him, and cut off one of his ears, which he put in his pocket and returned to the battle to do what further service he could. The next day Gragné's body was found by an Abyssinian officer, who cut off his head and claimed the merit of killing him; but Lyon having pulled out the ear which he carried in his pocket, vindicated his own right to the reward which was to be given to the other. On this occasion the Moorish army was almost entirely destroyed; Gragné's wife and son were taken prisoners, with Nur the son of Muggid, who destroyed the royal family; and it had been happy for Claudius, as we shall afterwards see, that he had put these prisoners to death. Very soon after this engagement, the emperor had intelligence that Joram, a rebel chief who had once reduced his father David to great distress, was advancing rapidly in hopes of being still able to be present at the battle. This was the last of his father's enemies on whom Claudius had to revenge himself; and this was effectually done by a detachment of his army, who posted themselves in his way, fell upon him unexpectedly, and cut him in pieces with all his men.

Claudius being now freed from all apprehension of foreign enemies, began to turn his thoughts towards the reparation of the damages occasioned by such a long war, and the settlement of religious affairs. We have already mentioned, that John Bermudes was appointed by the Pope, as he said, patriarch of Alexandria, Abyssinia, and of the sea. This, however, is said by others to have been a falsehood; that John was originally ordained by the old patriarch of Abyssinia; and that the Pope did no more than give his sanction to this ordination, without adding any new one of his own. But whether this was so or not, certain it is, that John, who was very insolent in his behaviour, and of a turbulent disposition, now began to insist that Claudius should not only embrace the doctrines of the church of Rome, but establish that religion throughout the empire, which he said his father David had engaged to do; and which, considering the extreme distress in which he was involved, it is very probable that he did. Claudius, however, was of a different opinion, and refused to alter the religion of the country; upon which a contention began, which was not ended but by the total expulsion of the Catholics, and the cutting off all communication with Europeans. At that time the Bermudes, Portuguese and Abyssinians intermarried, and attended religious worship promiscuously in each others churches; so that the two nations might have continued to live in harmony, had it not been for the misbehaviour of Bermudes. Claudius, perceiving the violence and overbearing disposition of the man, took every opportunity of showing his attachment to the Alexandrian or Greek church; denying that he had made any promise of submitting to the see of Rome. On this Bermudes told him that he was accursed and excommunicated; the king in return called him a Nestorian heretic; to which Bermudes replied by calling him a liar, and threatened to return to India, and carry all the Portuguese along with him. To this insolent speech Claudius answered, that he wished indeed that Bermudes would return to India; but that he would not allow the Portuguese, nor any person, to leave his territories without permission.

Thus matters seemed likely to come to an open rupture; and there can be no doubt that the worst extremities would have followed, had not the emperor been restrained by the fear of the Portuguese valour on the one hand if he should attempt any thing against them, and the hopes of further advantages should he retain them in his service. For these reasons he bore with patience the insults of the patriarch; attempting to gain the rest of the Portuguese over to his side. He succeeded perfectly with their commander Arius Dias, The Portuguese who privately renounced the church of Rome, and was baptized into that of Abyssinia by the name of Marcus or Marco; in consequence of which, the emperor, looking upon him as a naturalized subject, sent him a stand-religion and with the Abyssinian arms to be used instead of those of Portugal. This, however, was not delivered; for a Portuguese named James Brito, meeting the page who carried it, took it from him and killed him with his sword. The apostasy of Arius is said to have been owing to the great honours which had been conferred Abyssinia.

Abyssinia, upon him by the Abyssinian monarch: for having, in an expedition against Adel, defeated and killed the king, and taken the queen prisoner, he bestowed her in marriage on Arius; and that the match might be with equal, he raised him also to the royal dignity, by giving him the kingdoms of Doar and Belwa.

The altercation on the subject of religion becoming every day more violent, Bermudes was prohibited by the emperor from sending any farther orders to the Portuguese, they being now under the command of Marco the Abyssinian captain-general; meaning Arius Dias, to whom the name of Marco had been lately given. To this the patriarch replied, that being subjects of the king of Portugal, they were under no obligation to obey a traitor to his king and religion; and that since his majesty still persisted in refusing to submit to the pope, he was resolved to leave the empire with his forces. The emperor, however, still insisted that he was absolute in his own dominions; and he expected the Portuguese to pay obedience to his general, and none else. The Portuguese, enraged at this declaration, resolved to die sword in hand rather than submit to such terms; and therefore began to fortify their camp in case of any attack. The emperor on this, thinking a defiance was given him in his own territories, ordered the camp to be instantly attacked. The attempt was accordingly made, but with very little success; the Portuguese having strewed the ground with gunpowder, set fire to it as the Abyssinians marched along, which destroyed great numbers, and intimidated the rest to such a degree that they instantly fled. Finding it in vain to think of reducing them by force, the emperor is then said to have been advised by Marco to consult his own safety, and break the power of the Portuguese by artifice. With this view he sent for the patriarch, pretended to be very sorry for his frequent breach of promise, and desirous to make what amends for it he could. Instead of complying with the patriarch's demands, however, he first ordered his subjects to supply them with no provisions: then he stopped the mouths of the Portuguese by a considerable quantity of gold, giving the patriarch himself a very valuable present; adding to all this a large supply of provisions; but at the same time taking proper methods to disperse their leaders into different parts of the empire, so that they should find it impossible ever to reunite in a body.

Such is the account given of this transaction by the Portuguese historians; but that of Mr Bruce, who says that he translated this from the Abyssinian annals, is somewhat different. He only informs us, that the quarrel betwixt the Portuguese and Abyssinians was inflamed by the "incendiary spirit of the brutish Bermudes: from reproaches they came to blows; and this proceeded so far, that one night the Portuguese assaulted the king's tent, where they slew some and grievously wounded others." The event, however, was, that no absolute quarrel ever took place betwixt this emperor and any of the Portuguese, excepting this patriarch, whom he was on the point of banishing to one of the rocks used as prisons in Abyssinia. This was dispensed with on the interposition of Gaspar de Suza the new Portuguese commander (who had succeeded Arius Dias), and another named Kasmuti Robel, both of whom were in great favour with the emperor; and Bermudes persuaded to withdraw to India. According Abyssinia, to Mr Bruce he repaired to Dobarwa, where he remained two years quite neglected and forlorn, saying mass to no more than ten Portuguese who had settled there after the defeat of Don Christopher. He then went to Masuah; and the wind soon becoming favourable, he embarked in a Portuguese vessel, carrying with him the ten persons to whom he had officiated as priest. From Goa he returned to Portugal, and continued there till his death. On the other hand, the Portuguese writers inform us, that he was narrowly watched by order of the emperor; and that Gaspar de Suza, the Portuguese commander, had orders to put him to death if he should attempt to make his escape. Bermudes, however, being determined at all events, to make his escape, pretended to be ill of the gout, and that a change of air was necessary for his recovery; for which reason he went to the town above mentioned, where there was a monastery. On this pretence he was allowed to cross the kingdom of Tigré, accompanied by eight faithful servants, with whom he reached Dobarwa unsuspected. Here he remained concealed in a monastery for two years before he could find an opportunity of getting to the island of Masuah, from whence he proceeded to Goa.

The emperor was scarce freed from this troublesome priest, when he was in danger of being involved in new difficulties by the intrusion of others into his dominions, from the Ignatius Loyola, founder of the order of the Jesuits, Pope, was at that time at Rome; and so much attached to the cause of the pope, that he proposed to go in person to Abyssinia, in order to make a thorough conversion of both prince and people. His holiness, however, who, from what he had already seen of Ignatius, conceived that he might be of greater use to him by staying in Europe, sent in his stead Nugnez Baretto, one of the society of Jesuits, whom he invested with the dignity of patriarch, and honoured with a letter to Claudius. With these commissions, and a number of priests, Baretto sailed for Goa in the East Indies; by which, however distant, the only passage to Abyssinia was at that time. On his arrival at that place he was informed that the Abyssinian monarch had such a steady aversion to the church of Rome, that there was no probability of his meeting with a favourable reception. For this reason it was judged more proper to send some clergymen of inferior dignity, with proper credentials, as ambassadors to the emperor from the governor of India, without running the risk of having any affront put upon the patriarch. These were Oviedo bishop of Hierapolis, Carneyro bishop of Nice, and several others, who arrived safely at Masuah in the year 1558. Claudius, on hearing of their arrival, was greatly pleased, as supposing that a new supply of Portuguese soldiers was arrived. Finding, however, that they were only priests, he was very much mortified, but still resolved to give them a civil reception. But a more important consideration, and which concerned the welfare of the empire in the highest degree, now claimed his attention. This was the appointment of a successor to the throne, Claudius himself having no son. A project Prince Me- was therefore set on foot for ransoming Prince Menas, nas re- the emperor's youngest brother, who had been taken prisoner by the Moors in the time of David, and hi- therto detained in captivity on a high mountain in Adel. This Abyssinia. This was not likely to be accomplished; for the Moors would not willingly part with one who they knew was their mortal enemy, that he might be raised to the sovereignty of a great empire. By detaining him prisoner also, they might reasonably hope for disputes concerning the succession to the Abyssinian throne; which would enable them to attack the empire with advantage. In these circumstances, it is probable that Claudius would have found great difficulty in procuring his brother's liberty, had it not been that the son of the famous Gragné had been taken in that battle in which his father was killed, and in like manner confined on a mountain in Abyssinia. A proposal was then made to his mother, who had escaped into Atbara, that her son should have his liberty, provided the king's brother should be restored. This was accepted; and by means of the bashaw of Masuah, an exchange was made. Four thousand ounces of gold were given for the ransom of Menas, which were divided between the Moors and the bashaw of Masuah; while on his part Claudius set at liberty Ali Gerad the son of Gragné without any farther demand.

According to Bermudes's account of these times, the widow of Gragné was taken prisoner at the battle in which her husband was killed, and was afterwards married to Arius Dias. In this case we must suppose her to have been the same with the queen of Adel, mentioned as his consort by other historians: but Mr Bruce treats this account as a mere fable; and informs us, that by means of Nur the son of Mugdid, murderer of the royal family as already related, she made her escape into Atbara. On that occasion Nur fell in love with her; but she refused to marry any man unless he brought her the head of Claudius, who had killed her former husband. To attain his wishes, therefore, Nur, now governor of Zeyla, undertook the task; and when Claudius marched towards Adel, sent him a challenge to fight; telling him that there was yet a particular instrument for shedding the blood of the Abyssinian princes, and desiring him to be prepared, as he was very soon to set out to attack him. The emperor did not decline the combat, but is said to have been advised against this expedition by all his friends. This advice seems to have proceeded from a number of prophecies, probably trumped up by the clergy, that he should be unfortunate, and lose his life in the campaign. These prophecies ought no doubt to have had weight with him, as they most certainly indicated a spirit of disaffection among his troops; and the event accordingly evinced that it was so. The Abyssinians fled almost on the first fire, leaving the king in the midst of his enemies, attended only by 18 Portuguese and 20 horsemen of Abyssinia, who continued faithful to the last. All these were killed after the most desperate resistance; the king himself receiving upwards of 20 wounds before he fell. His head was cut off, and brought by Nur to his mistress, who hung it up on a tree before her door. Here it remained for three years, when it was at last bought by an Armenian merchant, who buried it at Antioch in the sepulchre of a saint of the same name. Nur gained on this occasion a very complete victory; the king and most of the principal nobility being killed, a great number made prisoners, and the camp taken with an immense booty. On his return to Adel, he refused to accept of any congratulations, or to allow rejoicings to be made for his victory, but passed along in the habit of a common soldier, mounted on an ass; saying, that he owed the victory to the mercy of God alone, who had immediately interposed for the destruction of the Christian army.

This fatal engagement took place on the 22d of March 1559; and as the succession had been already settled, Menas ascended the throne without any opposition. On his accession he found his affairs in great Reign of confusion, and he had still to contend with foreign and domestic enemies. The first of these was Raadact the king of the Jews, who had a territory in the empire of Abyssinia, the capital of which was on a rock named Samen. The cause of this quarrel is not known, but the event was unfortunate; the king being obliged to abandon the enterprise, after having bestowed a considerable time upon it. This was followed by an attempt to assassinate him, which had very near taken place; and this again by a conspiracy among his principal nobles headed by Isaac the Baharnagash. He had been a very faithful servant of the late emperor Claudius; but ill used by Menas, who was of a very haughty and morose disposition. In attempting to suppress this rebellion, the first attempts of the emperor were likewise ineffectual, his forces being attacked by surprise and entirely defeated. Soon after this, Isaac proclaimed Tascar, the nephew of Menas, who was then at liberty, king of Abyssinia; hoping thereby to strengthen his cause, and enable him to cope with the emperor, who was assembling a powerful army against him. This expedient did not answer the purpose. His army was entirely defeated by Menas; Tascar taken prisoner, feasted, and thrown headlong from the top of a precipice; and Isaac himself escaped with great difficulty to the confines of his own government in the neighbourhood of Masuah. Here he entered into an alliance with the Turkish bashaw of Masuah; whose friendship he gained by putting him in possession of the town of Dobarwa, Allies with the flat country adjacent, which abounds with the Turks provisions wanted at Masuah, and is looked upon as the key to the province of Tigre and the high lands of Abyssinia. Besides this, Isaac strengthened himself also by an alliance with the Portuguese; which, had their number been at all considerable, must have been very formidable. Their inclination to desert their former protector and ally the emperor, proceeded entirely from the shameful behaviour of their priests, who never would be satisfied without enslaving the emperor as well as his subjects to the tyranny of Rome. We have Reason of already seen that Bermudes had proceeded so far on their quarrel with this subject, that he narrowly escaped with his life. His successor Oviedo (for the patriarch Nugnez died by the way) fared still worse. On his introduction to the emperor Claudius, he informed him, that the pope and king of Portugal now expected no less than an immediate fulfilment of his engagements of submission to the see of Rome. This requisition was made with such an air of insolence, that the prince could scarce conceal his resentment; but restraining his passion, he promised to consider of it, and to call meetings of the learned in these matters to debate the point. This was a very fruitless task; and therefore Oviedo thought proper to quit the court towards the end of December 1558; leaving behind him an insolent letter addressed to the Portuguese. Portuguese and such converts as they had made; in which he exhorted them not to converse with schismatics, and the Abyssinians to forsake their errors. Being now debarred from access to the emperor, he began to entertain the people with scatious discourses; which practice he continued during the remaining part of the reign of Claudius and the beginning of that of Menas. The latter, perceiving the pernicious tendency of his discourses, positively commanded him to desist; which the patriarch refusing, the emperor fell upon him with his own hands, beat him severely, tore his clothes and beard, and took his chalice from him that he might thus be disabled from saying mass: after which he banished him, with Francis Lopez another of his associates, to a barren mountain, where they remained seven months in great misery. Not content with this, he issued many severe edicts against the Portuguese; prohibited them from intermarrying with the Abyssinians; and such of the Abyssinian women as were already married to Portuguese husbands, he commanded not to accompany them to their churches. His next step was to call Oviedo again into his presence, and command him, under pain of death, instantly to leave his dominions. The insolent and foolish priest refused obedience to this express command; he declared that he would obey God rather than man; and presenting his bare neck to the emperor, desired him to strike and put an end to his life at once. Menas drew his sword, but was prevented by the queen and officers who stood near him from giving the fatal stroke. A second beating and banishment to the mountain succeeded; and in the latter part of the sentence all the Portuguese priests as well as others were included. The Portuguese, however, determined not to submit to such an indignity; and therefore, to a man, joined Isaac; who, in expectation of more auxiliaries from India, professed a great desire of embracing the Romish religion. The king was very apprehensive, and not without reason, of the arrival of more Portuguese; but it appears that Oviedo had not sufficient interest to procure the supply he promised. An engagement, therefore, took place without them, in which Menas was again victorious; though the battle was not so decisive as to put an end to the rebellion.

The emperor died a short time after his victory, and was succeeded in 1563 by his son Sertza Denghel, then only 12 years of age. The beginning of his reign was disturbed by new rebellions; which, however, were happily suppressed. Isaac, with his allies the bashaw and the Portuguese, seems to have remained for some time unmolested; and in the year 1569, a kind of accommodation took place. It is by no means easy to say how the Portuguese were again received into favour after such flagrant treachery and rebellion. Mr Bruce only simply tells us that "Oviedo and the Portuguese did not appear at court." This indeed is not to be wondered at, as they had been so lately at open war with the emperor. Other accounts say, that after the last battle with Isaac, "their name became so odious to all the Abyssinians, especially to their monarchs, that they would never suffer any of them to be in their army from that time." Some of these accounts say also, that Menas was defeated and killed in another battle; others, that he was driven to some high mountains, where he wandered about till death put an end to his misery. Accounts of this kind, however, are by Mr Bruce treated as mere falsehoods, and expressly contradictory to the annals of those times. All we can say upon the subject therefore is, that after the defeat of Isaac, the Portuguese, not excepting Oviedo himself, remained in Abyssinia, where they were more favourably dealt with by the new emperor than they had been by his father; though he was no friend to their religion, as supposing it to be destructive of monarchy and all civil government. It is probable also, that the various disturbances which happened, together with his own tender age during the beginning of his reign, would prevent him from paying that attention to them which he would otherwise have done. The Galla, a very barbarous nation, and who have at last greatly reduced the power of the Ethiopian monarchs, made frequent inroads during this reign; and in the year 1576, a league was formed by Mahomet king of Adel, with Isaac and the Turkish bashaw, who had either continued their hostilities or renewed them about this time. The emperor, however, marched with such expedition, that he did not allow them time to join their forces; and attacking them separately, gained a complete victory over them all. Almost the whole Moorish army was destroyed; but while the emperor entered Adel with a design to make a full end of his enemies on the east, he received information that the Galla had invaded his dominions on the west. Traversing the whole breadth of the empire therefore with the utmost expedition, he came up with these enemies, who were afraid to encounter him. On this he turned his arms against the Falasha, obliging them to deliver up their king, whom he banished to a mountain. Then invading the country of the Galla and Falasha, he ravaged it for four years successively, protecting at the same time the kingdom of Narea from the inroads of these barbarians.

While Sertza Denghel employed himself in repressing the incursions of the Galla, one Cadward Basha, a Turkish officer of great valour and experience, who had been invested with the office of bashaw of Masuah, began to make inroads into the province of Tigre, The emperor hastened to oppose him; but in his passage committed great devastations in the country of the Falasha; in order to provoke them to descend from their mountains and come to an engagement. These Falasha profess the Jewish religion, and were then governed by a king named Geshea. This monarch, provoked at the ravages and destruction he beheld, descended with vast numbers of his subjects, in order to revenge it; but was killed and his army utterly defeated by the Abyssinians, on the 19th of January 1594. The victorious Sertza then hastened to encounter the bashaw; who, confident of the superiority of his own troops, not only waited for him patiently, but gave him every advantage he could desire. A very desperate battle ensued; the event of which was doubtful, till Robel, commander of part of the king's household troops, who were armed with pikes, attacked that part of the Turkish horse where he saw the bashaw, and killed the officer who carried the standard. In doing this he broke his pike; but though then destitute of any other weapon than a short crooked knife which the Abyssinians always carry in their girdles, he instantly pushed up to the bashaw, and with it wounded him mortally. tally in the throat. This unexpected event instantly decided the victory; the Turkish horse betook themselves to flight, and the rest of the army soon followed their example. A dreadful slaughter ensued among the Moors, who were pursued to the island Masuah; and many were driven into the deserts, where they perished with thirst. After this, marching back to the western part of his territories, the emperor proceeded to Narea, destroying the Galla as he went along. His last expedition was towards Damot to chastise some rebels there. Before he set out, a priest of great sanctity and talent for divination, is said to have warned him not to undertake the war; but his advice was rejected with contempt: on which he requested him only not to eat the fish taken out of a certain river; but this advice was also neglected, and the fish being really of a poisonous nature, the king died in consequence of eating them.

On the death of Sertza Denghel a dispute ensued about the succession. In the beginning of his sickness the late king had named for his successor his son Jacob, a boy of only seven years of age; but finding death approaching, he named his nephew Za Denghel, as being come to the years of manhood, and more fit for the government of such a numerous and turbulent people. This last resolution proved highly disagreeable to the queen and some of the principal nobility, who wished Jacob raised to the throne, for a minority, during which they might engross the power into their own hands. In conjunction with her two sons-in-law, Kesa Wahad and Ras Athanasius, therefore, the empress determined to raise Jacob to the throne, notwithstanding the final determination of the late king above mentioned. This was put in execution immediately after the death of Sertza Denghel; Jacob was raised to the throne, and Za Denghel confined in an island of the lake Dembea or Tzana. An attempt was likewise made to seize Socinios, natural son to Facilidas grandson of the unfortunate David, who had likewise a claim to the throne; for his not being born of a lawful marriage was no objection in Abyssinia. Socinios, however, no sooner saw the fate of his cousin Za Denghel, than he withdrew himself from the power of his enemies; and Za Denghel himself, after being a short time confined in the island above mentioned, found means to escape, and took refuge among the inaccessible mountains of Gojam.

Thus disappointed in their attempts on the princes, the empress, with her two sons-in-law, were obliged to pretend loyalty to Jacob, whom they governed till he was 17 years of age. The young king then, perceiving that his tutors were taking some steps to prolong their dominion over him, took the government into his own hands, and banished one Za Selasse, whom they had employed in the execution of their projects, to the kingdom of Narea. The conspirators, alarmed at this bold exertion of royal prerogative, determined instantly to depose Jacob, and raise Za Denghel, whom they had banished, to the throne. This, however, was now a matter of some difficulty, as he had concealed himself so effectually among the mountains of Gojam, that he could scarce be found out. His retreat being at last discovered, Ras Athanasius took an opportunity of insulting Jacob, even while sitting on the throne; called him an obstinate, stubborn, and foolish boy; declared him degraded from the imperial dignity, and that Za Denghel was coming to supplant him. Jacob Abyssinia, perceiving, by the insolence of this speech, that he was entirely in the power of his enemies, left his palace in the night, in order to fly to the mountains of Samen, where his mother's relations were, from whom he expected protection. He got to the borders of that country, but was there discovered, seized, and brought back to his rival, who was now seated on the throne. Za Denghel, however, with a clemency not very usual in Abyssinia, did not either put him to death, or mutilate him in such a manner as to render him incapable of afterwards enjoying the kingdom; but contented himself with banishing him for life to Narea.

Za Denghel was no sooner settled on the throne, than he unluckily behaved in such a manner as to alienate the affections of his people from him entirely. Decline of This was occasioned by his attachment to the church of the Romish Rome. Ever since the time that the Portuguese had joined Isaac the Baharnagash, the entrance into Abyssinia had been shut up by the Turks, so that no new missionaries could have access; and all those who came with Oviedo being dead, the Romish religion had languished for want of preachers to support it. The last of these died in 1596; and all the rest having been dead some time before, little could be expected from the labours of a single person. Next year Melchior Sylvanus, a vicar of the church at Goa, was sent on a mission to Abyssinia; being supposed to be a proper person for this work, on account of his language and complexion which might baffle the vigilance of the Turks. He entered without being suspected; but the great defeat given the Turks by Sertza Denghel, already mentioned, had reduced their power so much, that less danger now attended this expedition than formerly, and other missionaries quickly followed.

The most learned, as well as best qualified for the undertaking in every respect, was Peter Paez, who restores it. came to this country in the year 1600; and on his taking upon him the whole charge of the mission, Sylvanus returned to India. The new missionary did not at first affect to intrude himself on the emperor; but taking up his residence at the convent of Fremona in the province of Tigré, he first applied to the study of the learned language of the Abyssinians called Geez, and in which their books are usually written. In this he made such progress as quickly to surpass the natives themselves; after which he set up a school, where the children of the Portuguese and Abyssinians were taught promiscuously. The progress made by his scholars was so great, that he was spoken of at court, and recommended in the warmest terms to the emperor Jacob before his deposition. On this he was sent for, and appeared before the court in 1604; where, to the great dissatisfaction of the Abyssinian monks, he received such honours as are usually bestowed on men of the first quality. Next day, in a dispute before the king, two of his scholars, whom he had brought along with him, fairly vanquished the best theologians that could be found to oppose them. Mass was then said in the Romish manner; and this was followed by a sermon, which in the purity and elegance of its diction (whatever the substance might be) excelled any thing that had ever been composed in the Abyssinian language.

Though Paez had been called to court by Jacob, yet Za Denghel was on the throne before he arrived, and it was he who witnessed the dispute and heard the sermon. He was so much charmed with the latter, that he instantly resolved to embrace the religion of the church of Rome; which resolution he soon after communicated to several of his friends, and even to Paez himself; but under an oath of secrecy. The emperor's own zeal, however, rendered this oath of no use; for in a little time he issued proclamations forbidding the observation of the Jewish Sabbath, and wrote letters to Pope Clement VIII. and Philip III. of Spain, desiring a supply of mechanics to instruct his people in the useful arts, and Jesuits to teach them religion.

This precipitate conduct had the effect which might have been expected. The Abyssinians were generally disaffected to the church of Rome, and no pains had been taken to gain them over: they were also turbulent, savage, and rebellious: ever ready to revolt; and now had a favourable opportunity of excusing their treasons upon pretence of zeal for religion. This opportunity was quickly made use of by Za Selasse, whom, as we have already mentioned, Jacob had banished; but who, on the advancement of Za Denghel, had probably been set at liberty. This traitor having first held many seditious meetings in private, prevailed on the Abuna, or Abyssinian patriarch, to excommunicate the king, and absolve his subjects from their allegiance. He then set out for the territory of Gojam, where the people had always been remarkable for their aversion to the church of Rome. In this place, therefore, he found no difficulty in raising an army to fight against his sovereign. Za Denghel, who was an expert warrior, did not fail to go in quest of him with what forces he could raise; but soon found, by the great desertion among his troops as he passed along, how much the excommunication pronounced by the Abuna had availed. This was so alarming, that John Gabriel, an experienced Portuguese officer, advised him to decline an engagement for the present, and take shelter in some fortress until his subjects should return to a sense of their duty. This salutary advice was rejected, from the absurd notion that it was a dishonour not to fight a rebel who had defied his sovereign. In the beginning of the engagement, victory seemed to favour the royal cause. The Portuguese carried every thing before them, and routed that wing of the enemy which opposed them. In the other wing, however, the cowardly and treacherous Abyssinians deserted their king, who was quickly surrounded by his enemies, and left in a desperate situation. A body of nobility, with his own officers and domestics, attended him, and fought desperately in his defence. Za Denghel himself, being an excellent horseman, and admirably skilled in the use of arms, performed astonishing feats of valor. At last he was thrown to the ground, grievously wounded in the breast by a lance. Notwithstanding this, he instantly recovered himself, drew his sword, and resisted his assailants so violently, that they were fain to keep at a distance and annoy him with missile weapons. In this situation he stood till almost fainting with fatigue and loss of blood; when the traitor Za Selasse, pushing up his horse violently against him, threw him to the ground by a blow on the forehead, and a multitude then rushing upon him he was dispatched with many wounds.

The news of Za Denghel's death were received with such general indignation throughout the Abyssinian empire, that the rebels durst not name any successor. His death As it seemed natural to think, however, that Jacob would now be re-elected, messengers were dispatched to acquaint him of his good fortune; but during this interval Socinios appeared, not as a candidate, but as already in possession of the empire, and ready to support his rights by force of arms. His first step was to let Ras Athanasius know his pretensions to the throne, and desire his assistance with his army, promising to reward him as soon as it should be in his power. Without waiting for any answer, he advanced so rapidly, that Athanasius had scarce time to consider what he should reply, when a second message was sent, importing that Socinios was in the neighbourhood, and ordering preparations to be made for receiving him as his sovereign. This expeditious mode of action so much confounded Athanasius, that he complied with the requisitions, saluting him king, and joining his troops to his. Thus successful in his first attempt, Socinios made a similar one on Za Selasse. In this, however, he was disappointed. Za Selasse having first sent an equivocal answer, marched against him with his whole army; while Socinios, happening to fall sick, and putting little confidence in Athanasius, withdrew to the mountains of Amhara. Athanasius likewise, not knowing to whom he should attach himself, withdrew his forces, and stood neuter.

Za Selasse had refused to join Socinios, in expectation that Jacob would make his appearance, whom he rather wished to enjoy the crown than Socinios; as under the former he might hope to engross all the power to himself. For a long time, however, no answer was returned to his messages; his troops became impatient; so that fearing lest a mutiny or general desertion should take place, he dispatched a messenger to Socinios, acknowledging him for emperor. But scarce was this done, when a messenger arrived from Jacob, informing him that he was then in Dembea, and promising Za Selasse great honours if he would acknowledge him for his sovereign. With these terms the traitor instantly complied, and his example was followed by Athanasius; while Socinios, not as yet able to resist all his enemies, retired again to Amhara. This, however, he was not long of accomplishing. Jacob was by no means possessed of equal military skill; and though Za Selasse was an experienced officer, yet his extreme perfidy, pride, and obstinacy, rendered it very dangerous to have any concern with him. This appeared remarkably in the present case. His pride in the first place would not allow him to join his forces and to those of Jacob, lest the latter, who was inferior in defeat of military skill, should have a share in the victory he was to gain. Then, intoxicated with his opinion of himself, he neglected to behave with the caution necessary in the neighbourhood of such an experienced general as Socinios, which gave the latter an opportunity of cutting off almost his whole army. Being now obliged to fly with a few attendants to Jacob's camp, he met with an indifferent reception on account of his defeat; for which reason he made proposals to join Socinios. The latter accepted his offer, though he could put no confidence in one who had been guilty of such complicated treachery; only he thought it would be an advantage Abyssinia.

Jacob defeated and killed.

advantage to put it out of his power to join his antagonist. Jacob, on the other hand, confident in his numbers, which are said to have been almost 30 to 1, advanced boldly to give his antagonist battle. Socinios declined the engagement till he had drawn him into a situation where his forces could not act with advantage. A dreadful carnage ensued, Jacob himself perished among the multitude, and his body was never afterwards found. In this battle also was killed the wicked priest Abuna Petros, who was the occasion of Za Denghel's death, as we have already related. Ras Athanasius escaped by the swiftness of his horse, and took refuge in a neighbouring monastery. He was afterwards pardoned at the intercession of Peter Paez; but his goods and estate being confiscated on various occasions, he fell into universal contempt, was abandoned by his wife, and died at last of want. According to the Abyssinian accounts, Socinios ordered the pursuit to be stopped as soon as he saw the head of Abuna Petros; but the Portuguese writers inform us, that he kept it up with the utmost vigour throughout the whole day and part of the night. They particularly mention, that a number of Portuguese, who had joined the army of Jacob, lost their lives on this occasion, by falling over a precipice which they could not avoid in the dark. One of these, named Manuel Gonsalvez, had the good fortune to light on a tree, where he sat till morning in great terror, but at last was relieved and made his escape.

By this victory Socinios was fully established on the throne, though his situation might still be accounted precarious by reason of the rebellions disposition of many of the provinces. He began with making a general proclamation of pardon, excepting only the murderers of Za Denghel, with whom he had been in terms of intimate friendship. Being informed therefore, that one Mahardin, a Moor, had given him the first wound in that battle in which he was killed, he ordered his head to be instantly struck off with an axe before the gate of the palace.

Socinios favours the Portuguese.

The Portuguese were much favoured by this prince; and they were become very numerous by continual intermarriages with the Abyssinians; the male children were always trained to the use of fire arms by their parents, and incorporated as soldiers with them; and they were now all united in one body under an experienced officer named John Gabriel, whom we have already had occasion to mention. As their numbers and valour made them objects of consideration, Socinios determined to attach them to himself as much as possible; and the best means to do this he knew was by favouring their priests. Peter Paez was therefore sent for to court; where a dispute concerning the supremacy of the pope and the two natures of Christ (the great subjects of debate in Abyssinia), took place, and a sermon was preached with as great success as that in Za Denghel's time. The king first enlarged the territory possessed by the Jesuits at Fremona; after which he declared to Paez his resolution of embracing the Catholic religion; giving him at the same time two letters, one to the King of Portugal, the other to the pope, the purport of which was to request a number of more Portuguese to deliver Abyssinia from the incursions of the Galla, as they had formerly done from the yoke of the Moors.

Before any thing of importance could be done in Abyssinia, matters of religion, the king was called forth to suppress a rebellion which had already taken place. An impostor had appeared, who called himself Jacob the pretended king, and pretended to have escaped from the late battle; but so much wounded in the face that he kept emperor one side of it constantly covered to conceal the deformity. He made his appearance among the mountains bears of Habab near Masuah; and being joined by great numbers of people, Sela Christos, brother to the king, and governor of Tigré, marched against him. The Is defeated, impostor's troops, though numerous, fled at the first onset; but he escaped to the mountains, where it was very difficult to follow him. This, however, was attempted; and a great many of the posts he had taken were stormed like as many forts; but still the impostor himself, though driven from place to place, found means to make good his retreat to the country lying between the mountains of Habab and the territory of the Baharnagash. Thither he was pursued by Sela Christos; but that general, finding the rebellion likely to spread through the whole province of Tigré, thought proper now to acquaint his brother Socinios with the state of affairs, and to desire his assistance. The king, though at that time he had sent away most of his troops in an expedition against the Shangalla and Gongas, who dwelt on the north-west of Abyssinia, set out immediately with such troops as he could collect. These were but few in number; his cavalry, particularly, amounting to no more than 530, besides a small reinforcement brought by his brother Emana Christos, governor of Amhara. As he proceeded, he was informed that a party of Galla were lodged on a hill at no great distance from him. Determining to cut them off, he surrounded the hill where they were posted; but having caused his cavalry to advance before, and pass a deep ravine, they were almost entirely destroyed, while the rest of the army were seized with such a panic that they refused to stir. In this extreme danger, the Galla passed the ravine to attack them; but the king having advanced singly, and killed the first of them, his troops, ashamed of their cowardice, rushed forward on the enemy, and gained a complete victory, The Galla which obliged the savages to leave the province they defeated infested at that time.

The misfortune of the cavalry on this occasion quickly occasioned a report that the king had been defeated; of which the impostor Jacob did not fail to take advantage; and descending from his mountains, committed great devastations in the low country. But The imposter attended by a great multitude, who likewise storr Jacob fought with more obstinacy than formerly, he was still again defeated by Sela Christos with a force greatly inferior. But before any thing effectual could be done for his reduction, the Galla made a dreadful irruption into the southern provinces, murdering all who fell into their hands, and burning and destroying towns, churches, and villages, in the most dreadful manner. The king bore those excesses for some time with patience, till at last he drew them into such a disadvantageous situation, that being surrounded by his forces, and inferior in number as well as in valour, they were all cut off An army of to a man, with the loss of only 400 on the part of Galla out the Abyssinians. Soon after this victory the king un- off derwent the ceremony of coronation. He then march ed ed against the impostor Jacob; but the latter was too sensible of the superiority of his rival to face him in the field. He therefore retired again to his mountains, while the king left the suppression of the rebellion to an experienced officer named Amsala Christos; who employed two young men, who had been outlawed for murder, to assassinate the impostor. This being done, it was found that the pretended Jacob was no other than a herdsman among those mountains to which he so constantly fled for refuge; and that he had neither wound nor scar on his face, but had kept one half of it covered to conceal the little resemblance he bore to Jacob whom he personated.

The king being now freed from this rebellion, began again to turn his thoughts towards religion. His first step was to make a handsome present to the Jesuits; but he soon showed his inexperience in religious matters, by attempting to reconcile the two contending parties in his empire. Before he could see the folly of this attempt, however, his attention was called by a most dangerous rebellion, which was begun by one Melchizedec, a servant of the late Sertza Donghel, but a man of great experience in war. He was first opposed by Sanuda, a brave officer; but being totally destitute of troops, he was obliged to apply to the attendants of the king of Sennaar, who had been deposed by his subjects, and was at that time in Abyssinia. These Defeats one of the king's readily joined him; and a bloody battle ensued, in which Sanuda was so totally defeated, that he alone had the good fortune to escape, and that grievously wounded, his men being all killed on the spot. On this misfortune Socinios sent his brother Emana Christos with a considerable force to reduce the rebels. Melchizedec finding himself opposed by such an able general, exerted himself to the utmost, in order to raise a force sufficient to resist him; and in this he succeeded so well, that his army soon struck terror into all the neighbouring country, notwithstanding the presence and known valour of the king's brother. A prince of the blood-royal, named Arzo, was likewise found out and proclaimed king, in order to give some sanction to the rebels; soon after which they boldly marched to meet the royal army. The engagement took place on the 9th of March 1611, and was fought with great obstinacy on both sides; the advantage even appeared for some time on that of the rebels; till Emana Christos, perceiving that all was at stake, pushed desperately forward to the place where Melchizedec himself was. The latter seeing no probability of avoiding a single combat, which he did not choose to try, instantly turned his horse and fled; and the rest of the army soon followed his example. Melchizedec, however, did not much avail himself of this cowardice; for he was closely pursued by the peasants, taken prisoner, and executed as a traitor, together with several of his principal officers. The fate of Prince Arzo, whom, to support their cause, the rebels had proclaimed king, is not known.

This victory, so far from extinguishing the spirit of rebellion, seemed to have inflamed it beyond all bounds: for news were now received that the whole country round the head of the Nile to the province of Tigré had revolted; so that there was a necessity for the immediate presence of the emperor himself; and even this was insufficient, as the rebels were dispersed over such a large tract of territory. His two brothers, Emana and Sela Christos, were therefore both employed against different rebel chiefs, while the king marched against those who were most formidable. The cruel principle on which this war was carried on seems to have been very cruel, viz. that of killing all the men, and carrying off the women and children for slaves. This was rigidly executed, first upon the inhabitants of a mountainous district named Gusman on the Nile; though, at the intercession of the missionary Peter Paez, the women and children, instead of being sold for slaves, were given to the Jesuits to be educated in the Catholic religion. The Gongas and Agows were next attacked with equal success, and still greater cruelty; one of their tribes named Zalabassa, being almost entirely exterminated: but this, instead of having any good effect, seemed to multiply the rebels still more. The Agows and Galla invaded the provinces in the neighbourhood; and another impostor, whose true name was Amdo, but who pretended to be the unfortunate emperor Jacob, appeared as a competitor for the crown. This last rebel proved much more formidable than any of the rest. He was indeed surprised before he had time to collect any forces; but Gideon, king of the Jews of Samen, having killed the guards who watched him, set the impostor at liberty, and supported his cause. Thus he soon collected a very formidable army, with which he defeated and killed an officer named Abram, who opposed him with a considerable force. This brought Socinios himself against him, who instantly attacked the Jewish monarch Gideon, as being the principal support of his cause. As War with the country of the Jews was naturally strong, and very full of fortified places, the reduction of it was evidently a very difficult task. The first place attacked was a fortress named Massiraba; which, though very strongly fortified and garrisoned, was soon taken by storm, and every one in it put to the sword without distinction. Hotchi and Amba Za Hancasse, two other strong fortresses, shared the same fate. A fourth, named Senganat, no less strong than any of the former, was also taken; Gideon himself narrowly escaping with his life in the attack. Discouraged therefore by so many misfortunes, and apprehending the total ruin of his country, this prince at last was content to sue for peace; which was granted on condition that Amdo should be delivered up. This traitor was condemned to a punishment very unusual among Christians, viz. that of being crucified; but in nailing him to the cross, his cries and groans so much affected the king, that he ordered him to be taken down and beheaded.

The war was now resumed against the Gongas and Guba; whom the king annually invaded for the purpose of making slaves. In this expedition his officers not only executed their commission against these savage vages, but likewise carried off a great number of cattle from the Agows, who were then at peace with the emperor. This conduct was highly resented by Soci- nios, who obliged them to make restitution of what they had taken away; and the doing them justice in this particular, had more effect in reducing the rest of these people to obedience, than all the cruelties which had been committed since the beginning of the war.

In 1616, the emperor set out on an expedition against the Galla: but this was laid aside on the death Abyssinia, of his eldest son, for whom he entertained a great affection. It was succeeded by a very cruel order against the Jews, whom Socinios now determined to exterminate without any apparent occasion. His commands, however, were executed with the utmost punctuality, so that very few escaped; and among the rest perished their prince Gideon lately mentioned. He was supposed to be immensely rich, and to have concealed his riches, which have been sought for in vain by the Abyssinians from that time to the present. The children of the murdered Jews were sold for slaves; and such of the profession as were scattered through the empire, had orders to renounce their religion and be baptized, under pain of death. Thus almost the whole Jewish religion was extinguished at once, as most of them chose rather to embrace Christianity than suffer death. In token of the sincerity of their conversion, they were all ordered to plough and harrow on the Sabbath day.

After this massacre, the expedition against the Galla was resumed, and carried on with the usual cruelty: while the Galla never once appeared to prevent the desolation of their country. Next year, however, a new association was made among these savages, and the empire invaded by them in two different parts at once. One of their armies was cut off to a man before they had time to begin their ravages; while the other fled on the first approach of the royal army, leaving their wives, children, and baggage, to the mercy of the enemy. Thus the king was left for a short time at rest from rebellions or foreign invasions; and this interval he determined to make use of in making war on his neighbour the king of Sennaar, from whom he had formerly received an affront. In this expedition he was assisted by one Wed Ageeb, a prince of the Arabs, who lived on the frontiers of Abyssinia. The allies proceeded with their usual cruelty, killing all the men, and selling the women and children for slaves. Vast numbers of cattle were carried off; and the victorious armies returned with an immense booty. The next expedition was against Fatima queen of the Shepherds, otherwise called queen of the Greeks, who resided on the north-east of Atbara. In this also the king proved successful, though less blood was shed than usual: but it was not long before this extraordinary success met with a severe check by the entire loss of an Abyssinian army; the favourite son of the emperor himself being killed in the engagement, with some of the best officers in the empire.

All this time Peter Paez had applied himself with the utmost assiduity to the conversion of the Abyssinians to the Catholic faith; and in this undertaking he had been attended with wonderful success. He was indeed singularly qualified for an undertaking of this kind among a rude and barbarous people: for besides an uncommon share of learning, he possessed an eminent degree of skill in the mechanical arts; by which he was enabled to teach the Abyssinians how to build houses of stone and lime, which they had never known before. In these he was at first mason, carpenter, smith, and architect himself; and thus, to the astonishment of the whole empire, he built some churches and a palace for the king. His universal genius prepared the people for the reception of his opinions; while the barbarous ignorance and savage manners of his antagonists tended to prejudice every one Abyssinia, against their tenets, though ever so, just in themselves. Sela Christos, the king's brother, is said to have been converted by only reading the Abyssinian books with attention; in which, it seems, the ignorance of the priests had been displayed in an extraordinary manner. We have already seen how well the emperor himself was disposed towards the Romish church; and his example was followed by many of the principal people of the kingdom. At last the Abyssinian patriarch, named Simon, made a complaint that irregularities in religion had been committed, and disputes held on matters of faith, without calling him, or permission granted him, to support the clergy in these controversies. As Socinios had no high opinion of this priest's learning or eloquence, he did not imagine that any harm could ensue to the cause from granting what he wanted. A public dispute was accordingly appointed; in which Simon's inferiority was so apparent, that Socinios now publicly declared his belief in the two natures of Christ.

While the conversion was in this prosperous way, Letters arrived from the pope and king of Spain, from the but without any promise of the temporal assistance which had been solicited; though they assured him of an ally far superior, the Holy Spirit himself, provided the emperor continued firm in his resolutions of embracing the Catholic faith. Socinios would probably have been as well satisfied with an account of a reinforcement of soldiers; but as matters stood, he was obliged to be content, and resolved to submit in form to the pope, renouncing for ever his connexion with the Greek church. As it was improper, however, to send letters on a subject of such importance by a common messenger, proper persons were to be appointed who might occasionally assume the character of ambassadors, and act accordingly. This being resolved on, the next thing was to determine the way by which the ambassadors were to reach Europe. The usual track by Masuah was now shut up on account of the rebellion which existed in the neighbouring provinces; so that the more eligible way seemed to be through Narea and the provinces to the southward, by which they might reach Melinda, and from thence embark for Goa.

The ambassadors were chosen by lot; which falling Ambassa- first on Antonio Fernandez, he named Fecur Egzie dors set out as his companion; and, all things being settled, these for Europe. two set out for Gojam in the beginning of March 1613. It seems surprising that the Abyssinian monarch should have sent ambassadors on such a dangerous expedition through barbarous countries, without being accompanied by a proper guard. This, however, seems undoubtedly to have been the case; as we hear of no other attendants than ten Portuguese, whom Fecur Egzie took with him, six of whom were to go no farther than Narea, but the other four were to proceed to India: forty men armed with shields and javelins were also granted, but this force was much too small to answer any useful purpose. Sela Christos indeed furnished them with guides from the barbarous nations in the neighbourhood of Narea, taking hostages for the security of the travellers; but the insufficiency of these precautions soon appeared. Our Account of travellers had proceeded but two days journey into their jour- Abyssinia, country of the Congas, when they were treated in such a hostile manner, that one of the Portuguese was obliged to return with Fernandez to complain of the treatment of the savages. On this information Eela Christos instantly dispatched three officers, with a proper number of troops, to chastise them; by which means the ambassadors got safe to Mine, the name of some miserable villages on a ford of the Nile. Here they crossed the river on skins blown up, and next day entered the country of the Pagan Galla; and soon after, though not without great difficulty, they reached the kingdom of Narea, the most southerly province of the Abyssinian empire, but quite surrounded by the Galla. Here they were received with great kindness by the commanding officer of the first fortified place they came to; but on being introduced to the king himself, they met with a very different reception. This was owing to the insinuations of an Abyssinian monk, that they were to bring Portuguese soldiers that way into Abyssinia; which would be destructive to his kingdom. On calling a council, it was resolved to send them into the kingdom of Bali; so that they would be obliged to pass through a much more difficult and dangerous road than what was first intended. Having thus, as he supposed, provided against the danger which threatened his kingdom, he made them a present of 30 pieces of gold, recommending them at the same time to the ambassador from the sovereign of Gingiro, through which they were next to pass.

On leaving Narea, they received a convoy of 80 soldiers to conduct them safely to their next stage; after which they passed four days through countries totally laid waste by the Galla, and where they were obliged to hide themselves for fear of meeting with these savages. Proceeding still through woods and vast chains of mountains, they came to the river Zebee, or more properly Kibbee, from its white colour resembling melted butter, as the word imports. Fernandez describes this river as larger than the Nile, and vastly more rapid. They passed it by a kind of bridge, but certainly a most tremendous one. The channel of the river is full of rocks; and betwixt every two of these a single tree was laid, so elastic that it would bend with the weight of one person; while the vast height of the precipice, and the sight of the roaring current below, was sufficient to strike the boldest with terror. At a small distance from this bridge was a ford, through which it was necessary that their mules should pass; which being accomplished without any accident, though with difficulty and danger, they entered the territory of Gingiro. Here they were hospitably received by the sovereign, and after a mutual exchange of presents proceeded to Sangara, the capital of another small kingdom named Cambat, which was at this time governed by a Moor named Amelmal. During the time of their residence here, one Manguer, a schismatic Abyssinian, arrived, who insinuated to the king that the recommendations they had brought along with them were false. This reduced them to the necessity of staying there till messengers could be sent to Socinios to know whether it was so or not; which occasioned a delay of three months. At last orders were brought to send them off immediately. This favourable answer procured the dismissal of the ambassadors with presents; while the malicious Manguer was detained prisoner. He escaped, however, and overtook them in the next kingdom, named Alaba, Abyssinia; which was governed by a Moor named Atiko. Here he accused them of a design to overturn the Mahometan religion altogether: which so exasperated the barbarian, that he threatened them all with death; and actually put them in prison, where some of the Portuguese died. At last, after holding a council, in which The ambass- sadors are was resolved that they should be sent back to Amelmal; which was accordingly done, and from his dominions they returned to Abyssinia. Thus ended this memorable embassy, by which the pope was deprived of any authentic documents which might show that any Abyssinian emperor had ever voluntarily submitted to him; and there can be no doubt that this miscarriage, more than any thing else, prevented the establishment of Popery in this country.

Socinios had now gone so far in favour of the Catholic party, that he began to share in some measure of rebel- fates of Za Denghel; numberless conspiracies being formed against him, which it was undoubtedly owing only to the altered situation of affairs by the preaching and assiduity of Peter Paez, that he was able to with- stand. The conspirators were at this time supported, not only by the Abuna, but by Emana Christos himself, the king's brother, whom we have frequently had occasion to mention. Their first step was the very same which had been so successfully taken by Za Selasse in the time of Za Denghel, viz. to pronounce sentence of excommunication on the emperor. He was at that time absent on an expedition against the Agows; but returned immediately on hearing what was transacted in his absence; informing the Abuna, that if he did not recall the excommunication without delay, his head should pay the forfeit. This spirited declaration had such an effect, that the anathema was annulled, and the sentence, conspiracy dissolved for that time. It was next resol- Attempt ed between Emana Christos the king's brother, Ju- to assassi- lius his son-in-law, and Kella Wahad master of the household, to assassinate the king in his palace. To accomplish this purpose it was concerted that they should desire an audience; that Julius should enter first, and present a petition of such a nature as would probably be refused: on this he was to begin an alter- cation; and during the continuance of it the other two assassins were to come up, and stab their sovereign before he had time to put himself in a posture of defence. Happily for Socinios, however, he was informed of his danger by a page just before Julius made his appear- ance: on which, instead of refusing the petition, he granted it immediately; so that there was no room for dispute. He then got up to walk; which was scarce done Emana Christos also came; on which Socinios invited them all to the terrace to walk with him. This prevented their falling upon him at that moment; and as they supposed they would have still a better opportunity on the terrace, they readily consent- ed. But Socinios having opened a private door, at which he entered first, drew it quickly after him; and as this door had a spring-lock made by Peter Paez, which shut it in the inside, but could not be opened from without, the conspirators were disappointed. Be- ing also sensible that their design had been discovered, they were obliged for some time to keep at a distance, but did not for that reason abandon their wicked pro- Abyssinia. jects. Their next scheme was to be put in execution when the king was absent on an expedition against the people of Sennaar, who had made a violent irruption into the Abyssinian territories. The object now was not the assassination of the emperor, but of his brother Sela Christos; because the emperor had taken the government of Gojam from Emana Christos, who was a schismatic, to give it to Sela Christos, who was a violent Catholic. The enterprise was begun by Julius; who issued a proclamation, that all those who believed two natures in Christ should leave the province of Tigré, where he was governor; and that such as were true friends to the Alexandrian faith should repair to his standard to fight for it. He then ordered the goods of all the Catholics in Tigré to be confiscated; and marched without delay into Gojam, in hopes to surprise Sela Christos. But here the whole scheme was baffled by the vigilance and activity of the emperor; for he having received information of what was going forward, returned into that province before the conspirators had received certain intelligence of his having left it. This so much damped the ardour of Emana Christos and Kefla Wahad, that they stood aloof without attempting any thing till Julius should try his fortune. That rebel was at first very much disconcerted; but soon recovering his courage, advanced to the place where the Nile issues out of the lake of Dembea, where he met with the Abuna. Being confirmed by that priest in his wicked designs, he resolved, by his advice, to fall upon the king before he could be joined by Sela Christos, Simon himself (the Abuna) offering to share his fortune: and to confirm all, a new and solemn excommunication was pronounced against the king and all his adherents. Socinios, alarmed at these proceedings, sent a message to Sela Christos, desiring him to come to his assistance as fast as possible. In the mean time he himself advanced to meet Julius; but chose his posts so judiciously, that he could not be forced to an engagement without great disadvantage on the part of the enemy. Notwithstanding this, Julius pitched his camp close to that of the king, with a design to force him to a battle at all events. This rash action was followed by one still worse. Simon had persuaded him, that as soon as the royal army should see him, they would abandon the standard of the emperor to join his. On this, without farther consideration, he rushed into the camp of Socinios with a very few attendants, and reached the emperor's tent. Here he was known by the guards, and instantly dispatched with all his followers; the whole army betook themselves to flight after his death, and were pursued with great slaughter by the royalists. The plunder of the camp was immense, Julius having brought all his riches, which he had amassed by a long course of extortion, into the field along with him; and all of these were distributed among the soldiers. A vast number of cattle were likewise taken, which Socinios distributed among the priests, judges, and lay-officers. By this complete victory the whole scheme of the conspirators was overthrown. Emana Christos having no forces capable of coping with his brother, and unwilling, as we have said, to assist Julius openly, had retired to a high mountain named Melea Amba, in the territory of Gojam. Here he was invested by Af Christos, an experienced general, whom Sela Christos had left govern-

The rebellious spirit of the conspirators continues.

Julius the emperor's son-in-law first appears in arms.

Is deserted by his associates.

Socinios excommunicated a second time.

Rashness and death of Julius.

Emana Christos taken, but pardoned.

nor when he joined the emperor. Emana, who was likewise an expert commander, would have made a vigorous defence; but unfortunately the mountain was so destitute of water, that in three days he was delivered up by his own men, to save themselves from perishing with thirst. On being brought to the king, he was tried in a full assembly of judges, and condemned to death; but the king pardoned and sent him to Amhara.

This terrible conspiracy had been occasioned by the dispute concerning the two natures of our Saviour: another quickly followed on account of the dispute concerning the Sabbath-day; the Abyssinian church insisting on the observance of the seventh day of the week as a Sabbath, and the Roman church on the observance of the first day. The author of this Another rebellion was one Jonael, who had been concerned in bellion by the expedition formerly mentioned, in which the A. Jonael's gows cattle were driven away, and afterwards restored by the king. It is more than probable that his resentment on this account contributed much to increase his zeal on the present occasion; but whatever was the real cause, religion was the sole pretence. He began with a most insolent but anonymous letter to the king; in which the arguments of the Alexandrians for the observance of the Jewish Sabbath were stated, and the contrary doctrine condemned with the utmost virulence of expression. The king himself was reviled in the most opprobrious manner, compared to another Dioclesian, the Jesuits said to be relations of Pontius Pilate, and all of them devoted to hell without redemption. By this stupid performance the king was so much offended, that he added a clause to the former proclamation, commanding that "all out-door work, such as plowing and sowing, should be publicly followed by the husbandmen on the Saturday, under penalty of paying a web of cotton cloth for the first omission, the value of the cloth to be 5s.; the second offence to be punished by a confiscation of moveables, and the offence not to be pardoned for seven years." To this Socinios added a speech from the throne in vindication of himself, concerning the part he had taken in religious matters; and to show that he was in earnest, caused the tongue of a monk to be cut out for denying the two natures of Christ, and one of his generals to be whipt for observing the Jewish Sabbath.

In the mean time Jonael having collected what forces he could, openly declared against his sovereign; but not daring to meet him in the field, he retired into the country of the Galla, on hearing that Socinios was approaching him with an army. On this the king entered their territories, and laid them waste; which created a dissension among the savages themselves; one party being for affording him protection, the other for delivering him up. This being made known to the king, he sent a few presents to the faithless barbarians of Jonael's party; who returned his kindness by sending him the head of the rebel, though but a short time before they had fought with their brethren for his rescue.

A more formidable enemy than Jonael, however, still remained. The province of Damot was one of the most disaffected to Socinios in the whole empire; and to this place the greatest part of the religious fa- Abyssinia. natics in other provinces had retired. They now mustered up an army of more than 12,000 men, among whom were 400 monks, all of them armed with shields, lances, and swords; inspired, besides, with such a degree of religious enthusiasm, that they expected to be rendered invulnerable by all terrestrial weapons, and that armies of angels would fight in their cause. Against these Sela Christos was dispatched with about 7000 excellent soldiers; and as the general himself was a zealous Roman Catholic, as well as most of his men, we need not doubt that both parties imagined themselves sure of the protection of heaven, and consequently that the encounter would be very violent. The two armies met on the 16th of October 1620; but Sela Christos was unwilling to destroy the infatuated people, who he knew would be unable to resist his veteran troops. He therefore first showed them his superiority in some skirmishes; and then sent a pathetic message, offering a general pardon if they would lay down their arms. The messengers, however, were not allowed to approach, so that an engagement became unavoidable. The numbers of the rebels, as Sela Christos had foreseen, availed very little against the discipline of the veterans he commanded. The 400 monks made a most obstinate resistance; and did not yield till after 180 of them had been killed on the spot.

Socinios, having once more vanquished his enemies, now determined to show his attachment to the church of Rome more openly. Having therefore sent for Peter Paez, he told him his final resolution to embrace the Catholic religion in its full extent; after which he renounced the Alexandrian church in the most explicit manner. His renunciation was followed by a proclamation vindicating his conduct; in which, besides the arguments used for the pope's supremacy, &c. he insisted much on the bad lives of the clergy of the opposite party, and for which it appeared that there was in reality too much foundation. This was the last work of the excellent missionary Peter Paez, who died of a fever immediately after his leaving the king. The example of the sovereign, however, had very little effect upon his subjects. The proclamation was followed by a new rebellion in Amhara. Unluckily the enemies of his brother Sela Christos had persuaded Socinios to deprive him of his government: and there was no other in the kingdom who could be intrusted with such an important commission; so that the king soon found himself under a necessity of replacing and committing to him the charge of the war against the rebels. In this he was attended with his usual success: for the rebel chief, finding himself unable to contend with his enemy, repaired for assistance to the Galla; who no sooner had him in their power, than they killed him on the first offer of the imperial general, mangling his body in such a manner that scarce a bit of it remained to be sent to his antagonist.

In the mean time news of the revolution in religious matters which had taken place in Abyssinia, arrived in Europe. Though the embassy to the pope and king of Spain could not pass, as has already been related, yet frequent accounts had been otherwise transmitted; which produced such an effect, that a new set of missionaries, with a patriarch (Alphonso Mendes) at their head, were sent to Abyssinia. They arrived at Gorgora, the seat of royal residence, in the beginning of the year 1626; and at the very first audience of the emperor, it was agreed that he should take an oath of submission to the pope. The ceremony was performed with all the splendour that could be contrived: the patriarch then preached a sermon on the pope's supremacy in the Portuguese language, intermixed with Latin quotations; which is reported to have greatly confirmed the faith of the emperor and his brother, though neither of them understood a word of the languages in which it was preached. An answer to this unintelligible discourse was made in the Amharic language, which was equally unintelligible to the patriarch and his attendants; and to this the patriarch added a few words of a reply equally ill understood. At the conclusion of the dispute, an oath of the pope's supremacy was taken by the emperor himself on his knees, then by the princes, and afterwards by all present, according to their different stations. Sela Christos, not contented with taking the oath, drew his sword, and, on words not easily understood, denounced vengeance on "those who fell from their duty:" and he likewise added to the oath of supremacy another to the emperor and Facilidas the prince royal; but if the latter should fail in the defence of the Catholic faith, he swore to be his greatest enemy: nor would he be satisfied without imposing this clause upon all the officers, whether civil or military, then present.

This violent conduct of Sela Christos procured him and of a number of enemies, and at last was the occasion of his destruction; but that of the king and patriarch set the whole empire in a flame. An excommunication was first pronounced upon all who did not keep the oath: a proclamation was next issued, that all priests should previously embrace the Catholic religion under pain of death; and that every one, under the same penalty, should observe Lent and Easter, according to the rules of the Romish church. The patriarch proceeded in the same style; reordering the clergy, consecrating the churches over again, rehabilitating the people, even such as were full grown, abrogating circumcision, polygamy, and divorce (for these had been allowed by the Alexandrian church), and reducing the moveable feasts entirely to the rules of the church of Rome.

Though polygamy and divorce are no doubt inconsistent with the pure doctrines of the gospel, yet it was very improper to meddle with these practices at once in such a violent manner. Besides the confusion that this would naturally occasion in private families, these practices gave occasion to many questions in law, which it belonged to the civil judges to decide; but now these were all subjected to the authority of the patriarch: and from some other steps taken by this prelate, it appeared that he intended to encroach much farther upon the civil authority. One of these related to the church lands; which in Ethiopia are granted by the king, and resumed at his pleasure; others being granted in their place, so that neither priests nor monks have any property in them. On the present occasion, an Abyssinian nobleman had possessed some lands belonging to a Catholic monk; for which he was called before the patriarch. On his refusing to submit to this new tribunal, he was instantly condemned to restore the lands; but refusing this also, the patri- Abyssinia.

Arch took an opportunity, as he was attending the emperor at church, to pronounce sentence of excommunication against him, giving him over at once, soul and body to the devil.—On hearing this terrible sentence pronounced, the nobleman fainted away, and was with difficulty recovered. On the intercession of the emperor, however, the curse was taken off; but the incident produced a very disagreeable effect on the minds of the people, who from that day began to entertain a greater aversion than ever to the Roman Catholics and their priests. This aversion was greatly increased by the absurd conduct of the patriarch, in ordering the body of an Abyssinian saint to be taken up, and thrown out of the grave in an ignominious manner, because it had been buried under the altar of a church, which he imagined was thus defiled. In all other respects, the patriarch behaved in such an insolent and overbearing manner, that the effects of his oppression soon began to be universally felt, and the Catholic religion began very quickly to decline.—The first stroke given to it was the alteration of the liturgy; which was done at the desire of the emperor. Ever since the establishment of the Catholic religion, the Latin mass book, &c. had been made use of according to the practice of the church of Rome; but as it seemed very unreasonable to impose this at once upon the Ethiopians, Socinios ordered the patriarch to make such alterations in the old Abyssinian liturgies as he thought proper, that the people might thus have an opportunity of paying their devotions in a language they understood. The patriarch, not being able to assign any solid reason to the contrary, was obliged to comply; but no sooner was this done than the people made use of their old liturgies entirely, without the least regard to the innovations of the patriarch. In the midst of the confusion which daily took place from these causes, the Galla made a dreadful invasion, and cut off one of the emperor's generals with his whole army: nor were all the abilities of Sela Christos, who had so often distinguished himself, sufficient to retrieve matters; so that the savages, after having ravaged the country for some time at pleasure, returned home loaded with booty. This misfortune was followed by the revolt of Tecla Georgis the king's son-in-law; who not only made religion the pretence for taking up arms, but insulted the Catholics in the most outrageous manner; collecting their images and other religious trinkets into a heap, and then publicly setting fire to them. After this he called before him his own chaplain, named Abba Jacob, who was a Catholic, stripped him of his pontificals, and killed him with his own hand. A reconciliation with Socinios was now impossible; so that he had no resource but in arms. In this however, he was equally unsuccessful with the other rebels in this reign; being defeated, taken prisoner, and put to death, along with his sister Abderra, notwithstanding the intercession of a Catholic missionary for him, and that of the queen and ladies of the court for his sister.

As the reasons given by the king for refusing such powerful intercession were purely religious, the people became more and more averse to a profession so extremely oppressive and sanguinary as that of Rome seemed to be. A revolt of the Agows quickly followed; not that religion had really any share in their determinations, but that they were exasperated by the Abyssinian slavery and oppression to which they saw themselves subjected. They now therefore set up Melcha Christos, a prince of the royal blood, as a pretender to the crown; and soon put on such a formidable appearance, that the king himself thought proper to march against them with an army of 30,000 fighting men, which with the servants and other attendants amounted to more than 80,000. Melcha Christos retired with his troops to the craggy mountains of the country; and being imprudently followed by the emperor, rolled down such quantities of stones from the precipices, that Socinios was obliged to retreat with great precipitation, after having lost almost one half of his army.

On this defeat the emperor found himself obliged to apply to Sela Christos, whom he had again disgraced defeated by and deprived of his government. He succeeded in giving the rebels a dreadful overthrow, which for some time entirely broke their power; but this success was immediately followed by the revolt of Lecca Mariam, a volt and near relation of the king. He also was defeated, and obliged to retire to a mountain so steep, that though he ascended it in safety, he was dashed in pieces with many of his followers in attempting to descend; the rest, who escaped this danger, being killed by their pursuers. Still, however, the rebel Melcha Christos was unsubdued; against whom Prince Facilidas, the misfortune heir-apparent to the throne, was sent, having under belf the him a nobleman of most distinguished character named emperer, Keba Christos. The latter was defeated and killed, without its being in the power of Facilidas to do anything towards the suppression of the rebellion. This misfortune was followed by the death of Fecur Egzie, formerly ambassador with Antonio Fernandes to the pope, but now lieutenant-general to Sela Christos. He was cut off with a small body of troops by the Galla; and from many misfortunes befalling the imperial troops, the power of Melcha Christos was augmented to such a degree, that he now began to act as a king, and appointed a deputy-governor to one of the provinces. His opinion of his own importance, however, had almost proved his ruin; for the general new governor having appointed a great festival on a likely Saturday, in opposition to the royal edict, he was attacked by a party of the king's troops, and entirely routed with the loss of 4000 of his men. This defeat was revenged by an overthrow given to Prince Facilidas himself; the blame of which was laid upon Sela Christos. The latter, as we have often had occasion to observe, was not only a most valiant commander, but a rigid Catholic; and these two qualities might naturally have been thought to secure him in favour with the emperor. His violent conduct in regard to the Catholic religion, however, had raised him so many universal enemies, that accusations were perpetually brought against him; and one disgrace constantly followed another, notwithstanding all his services. The present accusation was brought by one Lesana Christos, whom Sela Christos had formerly condemned to death. For this offence he had received a pardon from Socinios; and he now revenged himself upon his former judge by accusing him to his sovereign. Sela Christos was not unmindful of his conduct; and therefore, as soon as he had him in his power, put him to death without regarding the pardon he had received. The emperor on this deprived him of the government of Gojam, which he gave to Serca Christos, who has supposed to be a dependent on Prince Facilidas, and was besides cousin to the emperor himself. The new governor, on his entering upon office, promised solemnly to support the Catholic religion; but no sooner did he arrive in Gojam than he solicited Prince Facilidas to rebel against his father, and re-establish the Alexandrian faith. This was not the only instance in which he showed his disobedience. He had received the charge of a caravan which came annually from Narea; but instead of acting properly in this respect, he employed himself in driving off the cattle of the Agows and Damots, who expected no harm, and were consequently quite unprepared. Such numbers of them were carried off on this occasion, that 100,000 are said to have been sent to the Abyssinian market. Socinios, when informed of such an atrocious robbery, ordered him to restore the cattle, and to surrender himself prisoner; but instead of complying with this order, he again solicited Facilidas to revolt against his father. For this he was sharply reproved; but now determined to make the world believe that the prince had entered into his schemes, he sent a public message to him in which he was desired to come and take possession of the kingdom. Facilidas imprisoned the person who brought this treasonable message, and soon after sent him to Socinios; but Serca Christos still persisted in his mad attempts. He now proposed to abolish the Romish religion throughout the kingdom; and with that view attacked a convent which Sela Christos had built in Gojam: but the fathers having been furnished with some fire-arms, made so good a defence, that he was obliged to give over the enterprise. He then took the last step to complete his folly, by openly revolting against the emperor, and setting up a prince of the royal-blood in opposition to him, whom he had found living in obscurity among his mother's relations. To cut off all possibility of reconciliation with the emperor, he renewed the sacrilegious practices of Georgis, and put to death a priest for refusing to deny the two natures of Christ. Thus he procured a multitude of enthusiasts to join him; but when the affair came to a decision, and Prince Facilidas with a well-disciplined army was sent against him, it then became evident how little the fanaticism of a tumultuous rabble availed against the skill of a regular army. The rebels fought, however, with great obstinacy till most of them were killed, their commander being obliged to take refuge on a mountain; from whence, being unable to make his escape, he at last came down and surrendered at discretion. We need not doubt of his fate; but notwithstanding the execution of this rebel, another still remained. This was Melcha Christos, against whom the emperor next prepared to march. He now found, however, the bad consequences of having acted so violently in favour of the Catholic religion. His army was so disaffected, that he could scarcely put any confidence in them. For this reason he issued a proclamation, that such as chose to observe the Wednesday as a fast instead of Saturday, had liberty to do so. This and some other indulgences being reported to the patriarch, the latter sharply reproved him as committing an encroachment on the priesthood; and put him in mind of the punishment of leprosy inflicted upon Uzziah for assuming the priest's office. Thus an altercation commenced; and it was evident, from the behaviour of Socinios, that his extreme favour for the Romish religion began to decline. After this he set out for the country of Lasta, where Melcha Christos was, and the entrance to which was guarded by very high and rugged mountains. Among these the rebels had strongly fortified themselves: but were driven from four posts by the king's troops, so that the latter imagined a complete victory had been gained. Assembling themselves, however, on the top of another high mountain, the rebels watched their opportunity; and descending suddenly upon them, cut off great numbers, and obliged the rest to make a precipitate retreat. Another campaign was therefore necessary; but now the army lost all patience. They were become weary of making war on their countrymen, and after slaughtering them in the field, seeing the intervals between the campaigns filled up with numerous executions of those who had escaped the sword. A deputation was therefore sent from the soldiers by Prince Facilidas, who, though he had never declared his sentiments openly, was strongly suspected of being no friend to the Catholics. The purport of the deputation was, that they did not mean to say that the Romish profession was a bad one, but it was such as they could not understand; and consequently there could be no merit on their part in professing it. They were ready, however, to lay down their lives for the public good, provided their ancient religion was restored; but this was a point they would not give up, and without which they would neither concern themselves in the quarrel, nor even wish success to the emperor's arms. With regard to the Romish religion, they added this declaration, perhaps the strongest possible mark of aversion, that they did not wish to know any thing about it. Socinios, therefore, according to the Abyssinian accounts, promised to restore the Alexandrian faith, on condition that he returned victorious from Lasta. The army then readily agreed to follow him wherever he pleased; while the rebels, having left their fortresses in Lasta, probably from a confidence in their own strength, boldly marched towards the royal army. In the engagement, however, they did not show their usual alacrity, and were soon defeated with the loss of 8000 men. Many of their best officers were killed on the spot, and Mel-christos de-christos himself escaped only by the swiftness of his horse.

By this victory the power of the rebels was broken; but it was not attended with the same satisfaction to the people with which other victories were wont to be accompanied. On viewing the field of battle along with Facilidas next day, the prince is said to have made a pathetic speech to his father; in which he told him, speech of that the bodies of the men he saw dead on the field of battle were neither those of Pagans nor Mahometans, but of his own Christian subjects; and that victories of this kind were like driving a sword into his own en-the-war trails. "How many men (says he) have you slaughtered? how many more have you yet to kill? We are become a proverb even to the Pagans and Moors for carrying on this war; and for apostatizing, as they say, from the faith of our ancestors?" The king did not make any reply at that time; but the effects of the prince's words were soon apparent. The patriarch took the first opportunity of upbraiding him with his ingratitude to the Catholics, and deserting the religion whose professors had by their prayers obtained such a signal victory. To this Socinos replied in general, that he had done every thing in his power to establish the Catholic religion; for which he had shed the blood of thousands, and had still as much more to shed: but that he should consider of the matter, and acquaint him with his final resolution. This was by no means favourable; for next day, in a message to the patriarch, he recounted the many rebellions which had been excited on account of religion; and concluded with telling him, that though the faith of Rome was not a bad one, yet the people of Abyssinia did not understand it. For this reason he was determined to grant a toleration, by allowing such as professed the Catholic faith to do so in peace, and such as rather chose that of Alexandria to do the same. The patriarch replied, that he had no objection to grant this indulgence to such as had not yet embraced the Catholic faith; but those who had done so could not be permitted to renounce it without a grievous sin. Thus a new system of persecution would have commenced: but the emperor, understanding well the purport of his discourse, replied, that if this was the case he was no longer master of his own kingdom; and immediately afterwards issued a proclamation, wherein he declared the Alexandrian faith restored, with the altars for the sacrament, liturgy, and every other thing belonging to it; at the same time, that being now old and infirm, he himself resigned the crown and empire to Facilidas.

This remarkable proclamation was made on the 14th of June 1632; after which Socinos took no farther care of public affairs; nor did he long survive this transaction. He died on the 7th of September this year, and with him fell all the hopes of the Jesuits. Facilidas, as has been rightly conjectured, was an inveterate enemy to the Catholic faith. As soon therefore as he had obtained the government, even before he took upon himself the title of the king, the Catholics were everywhere displaced from offices of trust and honour; but as soon as he found himself established on the throne, a letter was sent to the patriarch, informing him, that as the Alexandrian faith was now restored, it was become indispensably necessary for him to leave the kingdom, especially as the new Abuna was on the way, and only deferred his journey till the Romish priests should be out of the country. For this reason he commanded the patriarch, with all his brethren, to leave their convents throughout the empire, and retire to Fremona in the kingdom of Tigré, there to wait his further pleasure. The patriarch attempted to soften him by many concessions, but in vain; on the 9th of March 1633 he was ordered with the rest of the fathers, to proceed immediately for Fremona. This they were obliged to comply with; but the emperor, understanding that they were about to establish themselves, and to solicit succours from Spain to accomplish their purposes by force, he sent orders to the patriarch, instantly to deliver up all the gunpowder they had at that place, and to prepare, without delay, to set out for Masuah. Still the infatuated and obstinate priest determined not to comply with the emperor's orders. At last he thought proper to deliver up the gunpowder; but resolved to leave his companions behind him, and Abyssinia, to disperse them as much as possible through the empire, in case he himself should be obliged to embark at Masuah; which, however, he did not by any means intend. For this purpose he applied to the Baharna-He applies gash, named John Akay, then in rebellion against the for protection-emperor; who carried them all off from Fremona in the night time, under a guard of soldiers, and lodged them safely in a strong fortress named Adicotta. Here in rebellion, the patriarch imagined that he might remain in safety till he should be able to procure succours from India. In this, however, he was deceived. John conveyed them from place to place, through many unwholesome situations, till their strength as well as their patience was exhausted. At last, on receiving a present of gold, he allowed them to return to their old habitation Adicotta. Facilidas, then, being determined at all events to get rid of such troublesome guests, endeavoured to prevail upon John by bribes to deliver them into his hands. John was too delicate to comply with this request, which he supposed would be a violation of hospitality; but he consented, on receiving a proper compensation, to sell them to the Turks. Two were left arch and in Abyssinia, in hopes of soon sharing the crown of other martyrdom; and this indeed Facilidas did not delay to put them in possession of, being both ordered for Turks' execution as soon as he got them into his power.

Not content with this, and being perpetually apprehensive of fresh invasions from Europe, he entered into a treaty with the Turkish bashaws to keep the ports of Masuah and Suakem shut against them; by which their entrance into Abyssinia would be effectually prevented.

During these transactions, the emperor took the most effectual methods otherwise to eradicate the Romish religion, by cutting off the principal persons who professed it, or obliging them to renounce their profession. The principal of these was his uncle Sela Christos put to death. Sela Christos, who had deserved so well of the late emperor So-cinios, and of the whole empire in general. His excessive bigotry in religious matters proved the cause of his destruction, as has formerly been hinted. When it was proposed to him to renounce his faith, he absolutely refused to do so, either to avoid the greatest punishment the king could inflict, or to obtain the greatest gift he had in his power to bestow. On this he was banished to an unhealthy district among the mountains of Samen; but as even here he kept up a correspondence with the Jesuits, and wished to facilitate the introduction of more Portuguese from India, he was sentenced to be hanged on a cedar tree.

The expulsion of the present race of missionaries did not entirely discourage the Europeans from attempting to introduce a fresh mission into Abyssinia. The obstinate, haughty, and rebellious spirit of the Jesuits was universally condemned, and regarded as the cause of the extreme aversion showed by the emperor and the whole empire against the doctrines they professed. It was therefore hoped, and not without some appearance of reason, that the point might still be gained, provided the mission were undertaken by others less violent and insidious in their behaviour. After the execution of those who remained in Abyssinia, six Capuchins, the taken by the reformed order of St Francis, were sent with protections from the Grand Signior to facilitate their passage into Abyssinia, into Abyssinia, where they hoped to revive the drooping, or rather lost, cause of the Catholic religion. The event of this undertaking was truly unfortunate. The Galla murdered two who attempted to enter Abyssinia by the way of Magadoxa. Two who arrived safely in the country were stoned to death; while the remaining two, hearing at Masuah of the fate of their companions, returned home with the melancholy account of it. This bad success did not deter three others from making the same attempt a short time afterwards; but they having imprudently informed Facilidas of their intention, were murdered by the bashaw of Masuah, who had received orders from him to this purpose. So particular was the emperor with regard to the execution of this order, that he caused the bashaw to send him the skin of their faces and heads; that he might know by their faces that they were Europeans, and by their shaved heads that they were priests.

The Catholic faith was now totally suppressed, but the spirit of rebellion still prevailed; and Melcha Christos continued as much in opposition to his sovereign as when he first took up arms on pretence of religion. At first he met with extraordinary success; totally defeated the royal army, though commanded by Facilidas in person; after which, pursuing his good fortune, he made himself master of the capital, entered the palace, and was formally crowned king. This, however, was the last of his good fortune. Facilidas having quickly recruited his army, sent three able generals to attack his rival, who was now acting the sovereign in his palace. The rebels were attacked and surrounded before they expected an enemy, were almost entirely cut off, and Melcha Christos himself was killed in the engagement.

The victory over Melcha Christos was followed by several successful expeditions against the Agows and Galla; but in the 6th year of the reign of this emperor, the rebels of Lasta, who seemed determined not to yield while there remained a possibility of resistance, chose the son of Melcha Christos for their king, and again began their depredations on the neighbouring provinces. Facilidas marched against them with his usual activity; but had the misfortune to lose the greatest part of his army by cold among the mountains of Lasta, though it was then the time of the equinox, and consequently the sun was only 12° from being vertical, the latitude of Lasta being no more than 12°, and the sun 12 hours in the day above the horizon.—Before this rebellion could be suppressed, another was begun, at the head of which was Claudius the king's brother. He had not the same good fortune with the rebels of Lasta; but was quickly defeated, taken prisoner, and banished to a mountain called Wechne; which served from that time for the imprisonment of the princes of the blood-royal. The suppression of one rebellion, however, seemed to have no other effect than that of giving rise to another. A new expedition was to be undertaken against the Agows and Shangalla; but they had posted themselves so advantageously, that the royal army was entirely defeated without being able to make any impression on their enemies. Facilidas, however, knowing that this defeat could be attended with no other bad consequence than the loss of the men, which had already happened, marched direct-

ly against the rebels of Lasta without attempting to revenge the defeat he had sustained. The rebel general, weary of a contention, in which he probably saw that he would be finally unsuccessful, chose to submit unconditionally to the emperor; who, though he at first affected to treat him with severity, soon after released him from prison, bestowing upon him large possessions in Begemder, with his daughter Theodea in marriage.

Facilidas died in the month of October 1665, and was succeeded by his son Hannes. This prince was such an enthusiast for Christianity, that in the very beginning of his reign he issued a proclamation, forbidding the Mahometans to eat any flesh but what was killed by Christians; but so far was he from any inclination to favour the Catholics, that he ordered all their books which could be found in the empire to be collected and burnt. Much of his time was spent in regulations of church matters, and in contentions and trifling disputes with the clergy; which conduct so disgusted his son Yasous, that he fled twice from the capital, but was pursued and brought back. The last time was in the year 1680, when he found his father ill of the distemper of which he died. Hannes expired on the 19th of July that year, having lived at peace during the whole of his reign, excepting some trifling expeditions against the Shangalla and rebels of Lasta.

Yasous, who succeeded to the throne with the approbation of the whole kingdom, was of a very different disposition from his father. Generous, active, and brave, he was less bigotted, and differed from him considerably in religious principles. Having settled church matters as he thought proper, his next step, and the most glorious action of his whole reign, was to pay a visit to those of the royal family who were confined on the mountain of Wechne. He found them in the most miserable condition; all in tatters, and many almost naked; their revenue having been ill paid by his father, who was of a sordid disposition, and the little they received having been embezzled by their keepers. Yasous was greatly moved at this spectacle, ordered a large sum of money to be divided among them for present relief, clothed them according to their rank, and settled matters so that no part of their revenue could ever afterwards be improperly applied. To the governor of the mountain he assigned a large tract of territory, to make amends for the profit he had been accustomed to derive from the revenue of the princes; and finally he left all the prisoners at the foot of the mountain, at perfect liberty either to take up their residence again on it or anywhere else. By these extraordinary instances of royal munificence, the emperor so effectually gained the affection of his relations, that they unanimously determined to return to their former state of confinement; and during the whole time of his reign not one of them ever appeared as a competitor for the crown.

Though Yasous is said to have possessed all the qualities which constitute a great and good monarch, the natural turbulence of his subjects, and the restless disposition of the monks, soon began to show themselves by new seditions. These were preceded by a violent irruption of the Galla, who were overthrown, as usual, with great slaughter; but soon after, being solicited by some monks who had drawn over a party of the Agows, Abyssinia. Agows to their side, the disturbances were renewed. A grandson of Socinios, who had fled to the Galla when Facilidas first banished the princes to Wechne, was proclaimed king. A multitude of savages immediately flocked to his standard, so that he was soon at the head of a very formidable army, while the Agows and other malecontents were ready to join him as soon as he should repass the Nile. The king, however, entirely disconcerted the scheme by his activity; for, advancing with the utmost celerity, he reached the banks of the Nile before the Galla on the other side were ready to join their allies on this side of it. The Agows were so confounded at his presence, that they allowed him to pass the river unmolested. The Galla were equally surprised at seeing the war transferred into their own country; and, with their usual fickleness, deserted the prince whose cause they had pretended to espouse. A few remained faithful, but were utterly defeated by the forces of Yasous; the unhappy prince himself, whose name was Isaac, being taken prisoner, and put to death in the presence of his rival.

After this, many great exploits were performed against the rebellious Agows, Galla, and other savages; but which, as they produced no other consequence than that of establishing the emperor's character for personal valour and military skill, we shall here pass over; only remarking, that, in the opinion of his subjects, one of his campaigns was the most glorious ever recorded in the annals of Abyssinia. The most memorable events in the present reign regarded religion, and a renewal of the correspondence betwixt Europe and Abyssinia; of which we have a particular account from Mr Bruce to the following purpose. About the end of the 17th century, a number of Franciscans from Italy settled at Cairo in Egypt, and were maintained at the expence of the fathers in Palestine, though pretending to be independent of their superior the guardian of Jerusalem. The latter, displeased at this method of proceeding, offered to supply the mission to Egypt entirely at the expence of Palestine, and likewise to furnish from thence missionaries capable of instructing the people in the Christian religion. This proposal meeting with a favourable reception at Rome, a new set of missionaries from Jerusalem, called by our author Capuchins, appeared at Cairo; from whence the Franciscans were banished, only two of them being allowed to remain in that city. The others returned to Rome; where, finding that they could not re-establish themselves by fair means, they had recourse to artifice and fiction. It was now pretended, that, on the expulsion of the Jesuits from Abyssinia, a great number of Catholic Christians had fled into the neighbouring countries of Nubia and Sennaar, where they found themselves so grievously oppressed by the Mahometans, that, without some spiritual assistance, they would be under the necessity of renouncing their religion. This story being confirmed by the two Franciscans who remained at Cairo, the cause of these supposed Christians was eagerly espoused by the religious in Italy, and a new mission set on foot at the expence of the pope for their relief, which continues to this day under the title of the Ethiopic mission. The missionaries had it also in charge to penetrate if possible into Abyssinia; and to keep up, as far as was in their power, the Catholic faith, until a better opportunity should offer of making an attempt to convert the whole empire. For this purpose a convent was procured for them at Achmin in Upper Egypt; and permission was granted, notwithstanding their former banishment, to settle two of their order at Cairo independent of the fathers of Palestine.

While these transactions passed in Italy and Egypt, Louis XIV. of France was in the height of his glory. He had attempted to rival the ancient Greeks and Romans in the magnificence of his works; but his conduct with regard to religion, his persecution of the Protestants, and revocation of the edict of Nantz, had stigmatized him throughout the greatest part of Europe as a bloody and merciless tyrant. To wipe off this stain, the Jesuits, his great spiritual directors, formed a scheme of inducing the emperor of Abyssinia to send an embassy to France; after which they hoped that they might get themselves replaced in the Ethiopic mission, to the exclusion of the Franciscans. The king, whose pride was very much flattered by the proposal, readily embraced it; but the pope's consent was still necessary. His holiness was by no means pleased with this intrusion of a temporal prince into spiritual affairs: nevertheless he did not choose to enter into any contest; but that he might undo with one hand what he did with the other, he appointed six Jesuits, of whom Verseau, the ambassador of Louis to himself was one, to be missionaries to Abyssinia, but the superior of the Franciscans to be his legate à latere at that court; providing him with suitable presents for the emperor and principal nobility.

The Jesuits now finding themselves in danger of being supplanted by the Franciscans, applied to the pope to know which of the two orders should make the first attempt to enter Abyssinia; but received no other answer than that those who were most expert should do so. Verseau, probably displeased at this conduct of the pope, went to a convent in Syria, of which he was superior, without making any attempt to enter Ethiopia: therefore the mission remained in the hands of two persons of opposite professions, a Jesuit and a Franciscan; the name of the latter being Paschal, an Italian; and of the former Brevedent, a Frenchman. The latter was accounted a man of learning and probity, zealous in the cause of his religion, but by no means imprudent or rash in his attempts to promote it.

In the mean time an unforeseen accident procured Yasous fair admittance to the missionaries into Abyssinia more sick, and readily than could have been expected in the present situation of affairs. Yasous and his son had both been attacked by a scorbutic disorder which threatened to turn to a leprosy; on which one Hagi Ali, a Mahometan factor at Cairo, received orders to bring with him an European physician on his return to Abyssinia. It happened that this man had formerly been acquainted with Friar Paschal, who had administered some medicines to him. He now proposed that Paschal should accompany him to Abyssinia in the character of a chal and another physician; and that Friar Anthony, another of his own order, should go with him as his companion. But this scheme was frustrated by Mallet the French consul, who had the charge of the whole from Louis XIV. and wished that the Jesuits alone should have the conduct of the mission. For this purpose he represented to Hagi Ali, that Friar Paschal understood nothing of medicine; but he promised to furnish him with another, whose skill he extolled above all those of ancient or modern times. Hagi Ali, who knew nothing of the matter, readily agreed to Maillet's proposal; and Charles Poncet, a Frenchman, who had been bred a chemist and apothecary, was appointed to the office of physician, with Father Brevedent to attend him as his servant. Thus the scheme of the Franciscans was for the present overthrown: but unluckily Maillet employed one Ibrahim Hanna, a Syrian, to write letters to the Abyssinian monarch and some of his principal nobility, which he desired him to submit to the inspection of one Francis, a Capuchin or monk of the Holy Land, and consequently an enemy to the Franciscans. Ibrahim, not being acquainted with the monk he mentioned, and thinking any other would answer as well, carried the letters to one of the same name, but of the Franciscan order. Thus the whole secret was divulged at once; and the Franciscans, with the malevolence essential to such religious miscreants, resolved on the destruction of Poncet and his attendants. At present, however, their sanguinary intentions were defeated; Poncet set out immediately after he had received his commission, and arrived safe at Gondar the capital of Abyssinia, with his attendant Father Brevedent, on the 21st of July 1699. Brevedent died on the 9th of August; but Poncet lived to execute his commission, by making a full cure of his royal patient. On the 2d of May 1700, he set out on his return for Europe, and arrived at Masuah without any bad accident.

It has been already observed that the main end of this undertaking was to procure an embassy from Abyssinia to the French monarch; and this end also was gained. An ambassador was procured, but unluckily not such a one as M. Maillet, the chief manager of the whole project desired. This man, intoxicated with absurd notions of nobility and distinctions of rank, could not make allowance for the difference between the appearance of an ambassador from a barbarous monarch, however powerful, and one from the sovereign of a civilized and polite nation. The ambassador sent by Yasous, therefore, having been originally no other than a cook, could not be agreeable to a man of such a disposition. The presents sent by the Abyssinian monarch, indeed, had they arrived, would have probably conciliated matters. These were, an elephant, some Abyssinian young women, &c. but unluckily the elephant died, and the ambassador was robbed of all the rest by a Turkish bashaw. Maillet, therefore naturally proud, imperious, and covetous, thought proper to call in question the authenticity of Morat the ambassador's mission, to call Poncet himself a liar, and not to allow the former to proceed to France. The transactions on this occasion are set forth at length by Mr Bruce greatly to the disgrace of Maillet; but as details of this kind would swell the present article beyond due bounds, we must refer the curious reader to the work just mentioned.

Thus the scheme of procuring an embassy from Abyssinia having proved abortive, the next project of the Jesuits was to get an embassy sent from France, whose object was to be the cementing a perpetual peace between the two nations, and to establish a lasting and commercial intercourse; though, whatever friendship Abyssinia, or good-will might take place, it was evident that there was not a single article that could be exchanged between them, nor was there any ready communication between the two countries either by sea or land. The person pitched upon as ambassador M. de Roule sent was M. de Roule, vice-consul at Damietta. He is characterised by Mr Bruce as "a young man of some merit, who had a considerable degree of ambition, and a moderate skill in the common languages spoken in the east: but absolutely ignorant of that of the country to which he was going, and, what was worse, of the customs and prejudices of the nations through which he was to pass. Like most of his countrymen he had a violent predilection for the dress, carriage, and manners of France, and a hearty contempt for those of all other nations: this he had not address enough to disguise; and this endangered his life." Besides these disadvantages, he had the misfortune to be under the displeasure of all those of his own nation who resided at Cairo; so that the merchants were very much averse to his embassy; and, as the Franciscans and Capuchins were his mortal enemies, he had not a single friend in the world except Maillet and the Jesuits. Unluckily the consul misled him in one of the most material articles, and which was undoubtedly of the utmost consequence to him in the accomplishment of his purpose, viz. the presents necessary to be taken with him for the barbarous people through whose country he was to pass. Brocades, satins, and trinkets of various kinds, according to Mr Bruce, were the proper wares; but, instead of this, he had taken along with him mirrors of various kinds, with the pictures of the king and queen of France, wearing crowns upon their heads. The former of these subjected him to the imputation of being a magician; while the latter, if shewn to a Mahometan, would bring upon him the charge of idolatry. The worst misfortune of all was the malice and treachery of the Franciscans, who had already prejudiced against him the people of the caravan with whom he was to go, the governors of the provinces through which his road lay, and the brutal and barbarous inhabitants of Sennaar who lie in the way betwixt Egypt and Abyssinia. The consequence of all this was, that he was murdered at the last-mentioned place with all his retinue. The Franciscan friars, who had preceded him to Sennaar, left it before his arrival, and returned immediately after. There cannot therefore be the least doubt that they were the authors of his murder; though the bigotted disposition of Louis XIV. prevented all inquiry into the matter; so that the particular steps they took to accomplish their designs were never published to the world.

The assassination of De Roule was preceded by that Yasous of Yasous emperor of Abyssinia, who fell by a conspiracy of his wife and son, occasioned by a fit of jealousy in the former. He was succeeded by his son Tecla Haimoutou who had conspired against him. Before his death, he had dispatched a message to the king of Sennaar, requiring him to afford M. de Roule protection at his court, and a safe conduct from it; but when the messenger was within three days journey of the capital of that kingdom, he received news of the assassination of Yasous. On this he returned Abyssinia.

turned in great haste to Gondar, in order to have the letters of protection renewed by Tecla Haimanout the reigning prince. This was readily done; but before the messenger could reach Sennaar, he was informed that De Roule was already assassinated; on which he returned with still greater haste than before. The Abyssinian monarch, provoked at such a scandalous violation of the law of nations, declared his intention of commencing hostilities against the king of Sennaar; and for this purpose assembled his army. But this was scarcely done, before he was informed that a rival, named Amda Sion, had been set up against him by the friends of his father Yasous, and had been for some time privately collecting troops to surprise him before he could be ready to make any opposition. It was therefore necessary to employ the army destined against Sennaar to reduce this rebel to obedience; and scarcely was this done, when the emperor himself was assassinated; so that all thoughts of revenging the death of M. de Roule were laid aside.

Tecla Haimanout perished in 1706, and was succeeded by his uncle Tiffilis, or Theophilus; whose first care was to apprehend all those suspected to have been concerned in the death of his predecessor. Thus the murderers of Yasous, whom Tecla Haimanout had instigated, imagined themselves secure, and came to court without any fear of danger: but no sooner did Theophilus get them into his power, than he caused them all to be put to death without exception; the queen herself being publicly hanged on a tree. Not satisfied with avenging the death of Yasous by the execution of his murderers, he did the same with those of Tecla Haimanout; putting to death all who were immediately in his own power, and commanding the governors of the provinces to do the same with those whom they could find within their jurisdiction. One of these, named Tigi, who had formerly been Betwudet, having escaped into the country of the Galla, raised a very considerable army, with which he invaded Abyssinia, where he committed the most dreadful cruelties. Theophilus engaged him on the 28th of March 1709; when, with a force greatly inferior, he gained a complete victory. A number of the Galla fled to a church, hoping to be protected by the sanctity of the place; but the emperor telling his soldiers that it was defiled by those who were in it, commanded it to be set on fire, so that every one perished. Tigi, with his two sons, were taken prisoners, and put to death. The king himself did not long survive his victory; falling sick of a fever, of which he died in September 1709.

After the death of Theophilus, the line of Solomon by the queen of Sheba was superseded a second time, and a stranger of the name of Oustas seated on the Abyssinian throne. The extreme severity of Theophilus in punishing the murderers of both Yasous and Tecla Haimanout gave occasion to this; for as both princes had been assassinated in consequence of conspiracies formed by the principal people of the nation, the number of conspirators was so great, that the parties concerned had interest sufficient to influence the election of the new monarch, even in this most capital respect, of his not being a descendant of Solomon. Excepting this single defect, he was in every respect worthy of the kingdom, and was already the highest subject in it. Scarce was he seated on the throne, however, when a dangerous conspiracy was formed against him by the very persons by whom he had been placed upon it. Oustas baffled their designs, by seizing the principal conspirators before they had time to bring their schemes to a bearing: and several people of the first rank were condemned to lose their noses, or to be put to death. After this the emperor undertook an expedition against the Shangalla, according to the barbarous custom of the Abyssinian monarchs, who hunt these poor people merely for the sake of making slaves; slaughtering the men without mercy, as well as many of the women, and carrying off only the boys and girls into captivity. In this he met with perfect success; and was about to attempt the conquest of the whole country, when he was called back by the news that his prime minister Tata Christos was dead. While the emperor remained in his capital at Gondar, he was taken suddenly ill; which he imputed at first to witchcraft, and therefore used some antidotes; among which the smoking of the palace with gunpowder was one. But this was done so carelessly by the servants, that the whole building was consumed; an accident looked upon by the people in general as a very bad omen, especially as the king's complaint increased every day. At last the principal officers came to pay him a visit of condolence, as they pretended; but in reality to observe the nature of his distemper, and to consult whether or not it was likely to continue till they could fall upon means to deprive him of the government. Oustas understood their intentions, and therefore summoned all his strength to assume for a moment the appearance of health; so that the officers found him as usual engaged in business. Being thus disconcerted, it became necessary to make some apology for a visit so extraordinary and formal; for which they were at first somewhat at a loss; on recollection, however, they told him, that hearing he had been sick, which they happily found was not the case, they had come to make a proposal concerning the succession; professing a desire that he would quiet the minds of his own family, and of the people in general, by appointing his son Fasil successor to the throne after his decease. Oustas gave them an equivocal answer; but the discourse concerning Fasil happening to be overheard by the soldiers, a violent mutiny ensued, and all the officers who had come to visit Oustas were killed. Part of the town was set on fire in the confusion; and at last a proclamation was made, that David son of Yasous was king of Abyssinia. The prince was then sent from the mountain, and arriving at Gondar, was crowned on the 30th of January 1714. The distemper of Oustas, in the mean time continuing to increase, he died on the 10th of February the same year.

The new emperor was a rigid Alexandrian in principle; but Oustas had been so far favourable to the David Catholics as to entertain some of their priests, though in a private manner. As it was the custom, however, to call a convocation of the clergy on the accession of every new emperor, the monks and others insisted upon one being called on the present occasion; the more especially that a new Abuna was come from Egypt, and the lenity shewn to the Catholics by Oustas had excited the jealousy of the Abyssinian clergy in the highest highest degree. This assembly proved fatal to three Romish priests, whom Oustas had protected and supported for some time. They were brought before the king and Abyssinian clergy; who shortly asked them, whether they believed that the council of Chalcedon was to be accepted as a rule of faith, and that Pope Leo lawfully presided in it? To both these questions they answered in the affirmative: on which, without farther trial, they were condemned to be stoned; and the sentence was instantly put in execution by the furious and ignorant multitude, only one person in the whole assembly exclaiming against it as unjust. The priests being thus gratified in one instance, insisted that Abba Gregorius, who had acted as interpreter to the three just mentioned, should also be put to death; but this was prevented by David, who found, upon inquiry, that he had only done so in obedience to the express commands of Oustas his sovereign.

Here we must take notice, that though the faith of Abyssinia is always said to be the same with that of Alexandria, it is not for that reason to be imagined that the clergy are all of the same mind. On the contrary, many different parties exist among them, who hate one another no less than all of them do the church of Rome. The principal of these in the time we speak of were the monks of Debra Libanos and those of St Eustathius, to which last the emperor himself belonged. On the arrival of a new abuna, it is customary to interrogate him before the emperor and assembly of the clergy, which of the two opinions he adheres to. The emperor at present, not thinking his presence necessary, sent the betwudet, with the principal persons of both parties, to hear the profession of the new abuna, which was afterwards to be proclaimed to the people. The latter, probably not willing to contend with either party, gave an equivocal answer. But with this the king himself was dissatisfied; and therefore, without consulting the abuna farther, he caused it to be proclaimed, that the new abuna's profession was the same with that of the monks of St Eustathius. This was highly resented by the monks of Debra Libanos, who instantly ran to the abuna, and from him received a profession directly contrary to what had been proclaimed by the king's order. Not satisfied with this, they continued their tumult, disregarding the imminent danger they were in of falling under the king's displeasure. One of their number was so infatuated as to cry out, that he saw a cherub with a flaming sword guarding the door of the house where they were. Unluckily, however, they continued their assembly so long, and behaved in such a seditious manner, that the emperor sent against them a body of Pagan Galla; who fell upon them sword in hand, killing upwards of 100 of the ringleaders, and then sallying out into the street, destroyed indiscriminately every one they met.

The massacre continued till the next day at noon, when a stop was put to it by the king's proclamation. The vast quantity of bloody so wantonly shed, however, could not but occasion great discontent throughout the capital, and the bad effects of it soon appeared. The king was universally hated, and numberless conspiracies were talked of; but before any pretender to the crown appeared, David himself fell sick, the cause of which was found to be poison. The perpetrators of this crime being known, were instantly put to death; but nothing could save the life of the emperor, who died the 9th of March 1719, in great agony.

David was succeeded by his brother Bacuffa; who in the beginning of his reign proved very severe and cruel, cutting off almost all the nobility who could be supposed to have had any share in the conspiracies and seditions of former reigns. In the latter part of it he became much more mild, and was beloved by his subjects. He was succeeded in 1729 by his son Ya-Of Yasous II. who continued long under the regency of his mother; and as soon as he took the management of affairs upon himself, was disturbed with continual seditions and rebellions. In one of these the city of Gondar was made a field of battle, and was so frequently set on fire, as to be almost entirely reduced to ruins. Having at last succeeded in reducing all his enemies to obedience, he encouraged and promoted the arts of peace, repairing and ornamenting his palaces, in which he employed some Greek artists. For this he renounced the diversion of hunting, and the barbarous expeditions against the Shangalla: but this way of life is lampooned so disagreeable to his turbulent subjects, that a ed by his severe satire was published against him, under the title of "The expeditions of Yasous the Little." Indig-ant at this reproach, he determined on an expedition against the kingdom of Sennaar; and having made the necessary preparations, invaded it with a formidable army, without the least pretence of provocation, or making any declaration of war. As he proceeded into the country of the enemy, he allowed his soldiers everywhere to exercise the greatest cruelties, to destroy every living creature with the sword, and every thing combustible with fire. Some of the Arabs joined him as he went along; many more fled from his presence; and a body of them tried to oppose him. These last were utterly defeated; and Yasous without delay prepared to march to Sennaar the capital of the kingdom. As he still went on, the king Baady, being assisted by A division Hamis prince of a territory named Dar Foor, surprised of his army one division of his army so effectually, that they were cut off all cut off to the number of 18,000. Yasous, however, still continued his destructive progress; though he gave over all thoughts of reducing the capital, or subduing the kingdom. He returned triumphant to Gondar, making a great show of the plunder he had acquired; though the dejected countenances of many of his army showed that they were by no means pleased with expeditions of this kind. The king himself was supposed to behold the distress of his subjects on this occasion with a malicious pleasure, on account of their impatience and turbulence in times of peace, and their forcing him into a war when he had no inclination for it. In a short time, however, the people were perfectly comforted for the loss of their brethren. In Religious the late unfortunate action they had lost all those holy utensils, which it is usual in Abyssinia to carry into the deceased at field of battle in order to ensure victory. Among these was a picture of the crown of thorns which was put upon our Saviour's head; some pieces of the true cross upon which he suffered; a crucifix which had spoken on many occasions; with many other sacred relics of equal value. Soon after the battle all these were redeemed by the priests at an extravagant rate; no less than 8000 ounces of gold having been given for the speaking crucifix; and for the rest, we are to suppose a proportional price had been paid. On the arrival of this trumpet at Gondar, the greatest rejoicings were made, and Yasous was astonished at the people having so soon forgot the loss of their countrymen and relations.

Soon after these transactions the abuna died; but though it was customary for the Abyssinian monarchs to advance the money necessary to bring a new one from Alexandria, Yasous found himself obliged to lay a tax upon the churches for defraying it at this time, having spent all his ready money in repairing and ornamenting his palaces. Three priests, consigned to the care of as many Mahometan factors, were sent to Egypt for the new patriarch; but they were detained for some time by the naybe or prince of Masuah, who extorted from them one half of the money given by the emperor for bringing the abuna from Cairo. Yasous so sooner heard that they were detained at Masuah, than he sent orders to Suhul Michael governor of Ti- gré to refuse provisions to the inhabitants of Masuah, which would soon reduce the naybe to obedience: but as Michael intended soon to quarrel with the king himself, he was not in any haste to obey the orders he received. The travellers were therefore detained so long, that on their arrival at Jidda, they found they had lost the monsoon; and, what was worse, the sheriff of Mecca would not allow them to pass without a fresh extortion. Their money was now exhausted; but the rapacious sheriff put one of their number in prison; where he continued for a twelvemonth till the money arrived: and from this time these extortions were changed into a stated tribute; 75 ounces of gold (about 186l. sterling) being granted for leave of passage to Cairo for the abuna; 90 ounces to the sheriff, and as many to the naybe, for allowing the abuna to pass from Cairo: an agreement which subsists to this day. Several other insults of this kind being received from the naybe, Yasous at last discovered that there was a strict alliance betwixt him, the governor of Ti- gré, and the Baharnagash; any one of whom, had he thought proper, could have crushed this pitiful prince with the smallest effort. On this the emperor determined to march against him in person; but was prevented by a rebellion which had been purposely excited in the country of Azab and that of the Dobas. The rebels were easily overthrown: but thus the expedition against the naybe was delayed for a year; during which interval the emperor sent for Michael to Gondar. This order was positively refused, and a war ensued. Michael, unable to contend with the emperor in the open field took to an high mountain, the usual refuge of Abyssinian rebels. Here also his bad fortune pursued him; all his posts were taken by storm excepting one, which, it was evident, would likewise have been carried, though not without a very great expence of men. Here Michael requested a capitulation; and to ensure favourable terms, he desired to put into the hands of Yasous a great quantity of treasure, which would otherwise be dissipated among the common soldiers. This being done, Michael descended with a stone upon his head, as confessing himself guilty of a capital crime, with a design to make submission to the emperor. This was prevented for one day by a violent storm of wind and rain; from which moment the Abyssinians believe he began converse with the devil: but Mr Bruce informs us, that he has often heard him say it was Michael the archangel who was his correspondent.

Yasous was firmly determined to put this rebel to death, notwithstanding the quantity of gold he had received; nevertheless a promise was extorted from him that he would spare his life. As soon as Michael came into his presence, the emperor was filled with indignation, retracted his promise, and ordered him to be carried out and put to death before his tent door. The execution of the sentence, however, was prevented by the intercession of all the officers of any consideration in the court or army. Such universal solicitation could not be withstood: Michael was pardoned; but with these remarkable words, that the emperor washed his hands of all the innocent blood which Michael should shed before he brought about the destruction of his country, which he knew he had been long meditating.

Michael continued for some time in prison; but was afterwards set at liberty, and even restored to his go- verment at Tigré. No sooner was he reinstated in raised to this dignity, than collecting an army, he attacked Kas- mati Woldo, governor of Amhara, defeated him in two battles, and forced him to take refuge among the Galla, whom he soon after bribed to murder him. In other respects he behaved as a most dutiful subject, gave the king the best intelligence, and supplied him with soldiers better accoutred than he had ever before beheld. He was also more humble than before his misfortune; nor did an increase of his favour and influence make him deviate from the line he had prescribed. Having begun to gain friends by bribery, he continued to add one bribe to another to secure the old, and to gain new ones by the same means, pre- tending all the while to no kind of dignity or honour, not even to such as was justly due to his own rank. Thus he became such a favourite with the emperor, that he bestowed upon him the governments of En- derta and Siré, in addition to that of Tigré; so that he was now master of almost one half of Abyssinia. Dur- ing the reign of Yasous, however, he attempted no-thing. The foundations of the disturbances which civil war in succeeded were laid by the queen-mother, towards the end of the reign of Yasous. This emperor had been married when very young to a lady of Amhara, by whom he had two sons named Adigo and Aylo; but as his wife pretended to interfere in matters of state, he was persuaded by his mother to banish both her and her children to Wechne. After this his mother chose a wife for him from among the Galla; a people of all others the most obnoxious to the Abyssinians, both on account of the horrid barbarity of their manners, and the continual wars which from time immemorial had taken place between the two nations. The new queen was the daughter of one Amitzo, a prince who had once hospitably entertained Baculfa before he became emperor; and his people were esteemed the least bar- barous of the whole. A prejudice against her, however, against her offspring, and the emperor himself, never to be effaced, now took place among the Abyssinians; but this did not show itself during the reign of Yasous. The emperor died on the 21st of June 1753, being the 24th year of his reign, not without suspicion of being poisoned by his mother's relations, who were now at- tempting tempting to engross the whole power of the empire into their hands.

On the death of Yasous, his son Ioas by the Galla princess just mentioned succeeded to the throne without any opposition. The discontent which had taken place in the former reign about the power assumed by the relations of the old queen, now began to show itself more openly; and it was complained that a relationship to her was the only way to preferment, by which means the old families, whose merit had often saved the state, were totally excluded from every share of favour.

On the accession of the young king, a party of Galla horse, said to be about 1200 in number, were sent as the portion of his mother; and these were quickly followed by a number of private persons from motives of curiosity, or hopes of preferment, who were embodied to the number of 600 into a troop of infantry, the command of which was given to Woosheka. The great favour in which these people were at court soon induced many others to make their appearance. Two of the king's uncles were sent for by his express desire; and they brought along with them a troop of 1000 horse. By the time they arrived the queen was dead; but her two brothers, named Brulhe and Lubo, finding that the king put an entire confidence in them, determined to make a party at court. This was easily effected; everything was governed by Gallas; even the king himself affected to speak their language; while the Abyssinians were to the last degree mortified at seeing their inveterate enemies thus establishing a dominion over them in the heart of their own country. At last the king thought proper to appoint his uncle Lubo to the government of Amhara; but this produced such excessive discontent, that he was fain to retract his nomination lest a civil war should have ensued. While the empire was thus divided into two parties, Suhul Michael came to Gondar in a very splendid manner, on an application from the exiled prince of Sennaar to be restored to his kingdom. This prince, when conducted into the presence of the emperor, prostrated himself before him, owned himself his vassal, and was put in possession of the government of Ras el Feel upon the frontiers, with a large revenue, where he was advised to stay till the disputes which subsisted at that time should subside. This salutary advice, however, he had not prudence to comply with; but suffering himself to be decoyed from his asylum in Atbara, was taken prisoner and murdered.

In the mean time the Abyssinian prime minister, Welled de l'Oul, died. He had hitherto moderated the fury of the opposite parties by his wise and prudent conduct; but no sooner was he taken out of the way, than a most dreadful scene of confusion and civil war took place, which raged with the utmost violence while Mr Bruce was in Abyssinia, and seemed not likely to come to any termination when he left it. The whole empire was divided into two great factions: at the head of the one was the old queen, mother of Yasous; and at the head of the other, Ioas himself the emperor, with his Galla relations. Matters were first brought to a crisis by the imprudence of the emperor himself in bestowing the government of Begender upon Brulhe one of his Galla uncles. The government of this province had been lately resigned into the hands of the queen by an old officer named Ayo; and it was supposed that his son named Marian Barea, universally allowed to be one of the most accomplished noblemen of the kingdom, was to succeed him in this government. This opinion was farther confirmed by the marriage of Marian himself with Ozoro Esther, a daughter of the old queen by her second husband. Unfortunately a quarrel had happened between Kasmati Ayo, the old governor of Begender, and Suhul Michael, a little before the resignation of the former, and continued undecided till Marian took the office upon him. The occasion was quite trifling; nevertheless, as Marian had refused to submit to the decision of the judges, whom he stigmatized as partial and unjust, insisting that the king should either decide the affair in person, or that it should be referred to the decision of the sword, he thus fell under the imputation of being a disobedient and rebellious subject. In consequence of this, Ioas looked upon him ever afterwards with an evil eye; and now deprived him, by proclamation, of the government of Begender, giving it to his own Galla uncle made governor of Begender, of whom we have already made so much mention. This unexpected promotion threw the whole empire into a ferment. As Begender was a frontier province bordering on the country of the Galla, there was not the least doubt, that, immediately on the accession of Brulhe to his new office, it would be overrun by that race of barbarians, remarkable for their savage manners almost beyond all the other nations in Africa. This was the more dangerous, as there was not above a day's journey betwixt the frontiers of Begender and Gondar, the capital of the whole empire. Marian Barea himself, who had a high sense of honour, was particularly hurt at the manner in which he was deprived of his dignity, and condemned with his family to be subject to a race of Pagans, whom he had often defeated in battle, and obliged to acknowledge him as their superior. All remonstrance, however, was vain. Brulhe, under the sanction of the imperial command, advanced with an army to take possession of his new dignity: but so exceedingly averse were the Abyssinians to follow him in this expedition, that the army disbanded itself several times after it had been collected; and it took up almost a year before he could proceed from the place where his camp was, at the lake Tzana or Demba, to the frontiers of Begender, though scarce a day's journey distant. Marian Barea is opposed beheld his operations with great contempt, employing his time in the dispatch of ordinary business, and endeavouring to reconcile himself to the king, but without success. As his last effort, he sent a remonstrance to the emperor; in which, after many protestations of duty and obedience, he reminded him, that, in his investiture into the office of governor of Begender, he had sworn not to allow any of the Galla to enter his province; that, should he deviate from the observance of this oath, the safety of the princes in Wechne would be endangered; they would constantly be liable to the invasions of the Pagans, and probably be extirpated, as had already happened at two different times; and he begged of the emperor, if he was determined to deprive him of his government, to bestow it rather upon some Abyssinian nobleman; in which case he promised to retire, and live in private with his old father. He had, however, formed a resolution, which he thought it his duty to submit to the emperor, that if his ma- Abyssinia. jestly should think proper to come, at the head of a Galla army, to invade his province, he would retire to the farthest extremity of it, till he was stopped by the country of the Galla themselves; and so far from molesting the royal army, he might be assured, that though his own men might be straitened, every kind of provision should be left for his majesty. But if an army of Galla, commanded by one of that nation, should enter the province, he would fight them at the well of Fernay, on the frontiers, before one of them should drink there, or advance the length of a pike into the province.

This remonstrance had no effect upon the emperor. He returned a scoffing answer, announcing the speedy arrival of Brulhe, whom he thought sure of victory: but, at the same time, to show that he did not put his confidence entirely in his prowess, he created Suhul Michael governor of Samen, which lay next to Tigré in the way to Begemder, so that no obstruction might lie in the way of that officer's march to Gondar, in case there should be any occasion for him. Mariam, provoked at the manner in which he was undervalued in the king's message, gave an ironical reply, in which he alluded to the name of Brulhe, in the Abyssinian language signifying a kind of bottle; this he told him would be broken on the rocks of Begemder, if sent in to that country.

On receiving this last message from Mariam, the king instantly ordered the army to be put in motion; but the Abyssinians had unanimously determined not to act offensively against their countrymen. Brulhe therefore was left to decide the affair with his Galla. Mariam kept exactly to his word in the declaration he had made to the king, not stirring out of his province, nor allowing the least attempt to be made to harass his enemy, till they were drawn up at the well above mentioned, where he met them with his army. The Galla, unsupported by the Abyssinian troops, were utterly unable to bear the shock of Mariam's army, and therefore soon betook themselves to flight; but a part of them, who were surrounded by the cavalry, fought valiantly till they were all cut to pieces. Mariam had given the most express orders to take Brulhe alive; or, if that could not be done, to allow him to make his escape. One of his servants, however, observing him in the field, pushed up through the enemy to the place where he was, and running him twice through with a lance, left him dead on the spot.

Mariam Barea was no sooner informed of the death of his rival, than he cried out in great emotion, that Suhul Michael, with the whole army from Tigré, would attack him before autumn. In this he was not deceived. Ioas instantly dispatched an express for Michael, ordering his attendance, and investing him with the dignity of Ras, by which he became possessed of unlimited power both civil and military. Michael himself had for a long time seen that matters would come to this crisis at last, and had provided for it accordingly. He now set out with an army of 26,000 men, all of them the best soldiers in the empire, and 10,000 of them armed with muskets. As he passed along, his troops desolated the country wherever they came, but he encumbered his army by nothing useless; allowing his men to carry along with them neither women, tents, beasts of burden, nor even provisions.

The subsistence of his troops was abundantly provided Abyssinia, for by the miserable inhabitants of the provinces through which he passed; and not satisfied with this, he insisted on a contribution in money from all the districts within a day's march of those places where he was; the least delay was followed by the slaughter of the inhabitants and destruction of their houses. Towns, villages, and buildings of every kind, were set on fire as he passed along; the people fled from all quarters to the capital for refuge, as from the face of the most inveterate enemy; and Ioas himself was now sensible of his having been in the wrong to invest him with such unlimited power. On his arrival at the capital, Michael took possession of all the avenues, as if he meant to besiege it; so that an universal consternation ensued. Instead of offering any hostility, however, he waited with the utmost respect on the emperor, proceeding immediately from the royal presence to his own house, where he sat in judgment, as the nature of his office required him to do. No sooner had he taken upon him this new office, however, than justice immediately executed justice in such a rigorous and impartial manner as made the boldest offenders tremble. Some parties of his own soldiers, presuming upon the licence that had hitherto been granted them, entered Gondar, and began to plunder as they had done in other places; but, on the very first complaint, their commander caused 12 of them to be apprehended and hanged. Their execution was followed by 50 others in different quarters of the city; after which he gave the charge of the capital to three officers who were to preside over three quarters, himself taking care of the fourth. Two civil judges were appointed to assist each officer in a district, two were left in the king's house, and four of them held a court of judicature in his own. Thus the inhabitants finding, that instead of bloodshed and massacre, they were to expect nothing but strict equity and moderation, became reconciled to Michael the day after his arrival, and lamented only that he had not come sooner to relieve them from the anarchy and confusion in which they had been held so long. To so great a degree of perfection indeed did he bring his legislation, that a very short time after he entered the city, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and an ounce of gold, were exposed in the market-place on the head of a drum night and day for some time, without any one offering to take them away. This was the more remarkable, as there was then a scarcity of provisions, and Michael himself would allow but a very scanty supply of water to be carried into the city; thereby giving the inhabitants to understand, that if he should set fire to it as he had done to other places, it would not be in their power to quench the flames.

The capital being thus secured in perfect obedience, Marches Michael next prepared to set out on his expedition a-against Marian Barea. Sensible, however, that the Marian destruction of this worthy nobleman would be attend- ed with a great degree of odium, he was resolved that none of it, or at least as little as possible, should fall upon himself. For this purpose, he insisted that the emperor should march in person from Gondar, and carry all his soldiers along with him. Thus he had an opportunity of throwing the whole blame upon Ioas, and representing himself as no more than a passive instrument in the affair. He also took every occasion of praising praising his antagonist for his virtues, and censuring the emperor for attempting to cut off such an excellent officer.

In the mean time Mariam Barea keeping exactly to the terms of the last remonstrance he had sent to Ioas, retired before him to the extremity of the province. Ioas and Michael advanced furiously, burning and destroying every thing as they went along. An engagement at last ensued at a place called Nefas Musa, on the extreme borders of Begender, when Mariam could not retreat without going out of the province. As the royal army was more than twice the number of the other, and commanded by an officer of superior skill, victory was not long of being decided in its favour. Mariam with 12 of his officers, took refuge in the country of the Galla; but were immediately delivered up by that faithless people. He was put to death by Lubo the brother of Brulhe, who is said with his own hands to have cut his throat as a sheep is commonly killed in this country, and afterwards to have disfigured the body in a shocking manner. The head was cut off, and carried to Michael's tent, who would not allow it to be uncovered in his presence. It was afterwards sent to the family of Brulhe in the country of the Galla, to shew them what attention had been given to revenge his death; and this displeased the Abyssinians even more than any thing that had yet happened since the beginning of the contest.

The 12 officers, who were taken along with him, sought protection in the tent of Ras Michael, to which they were suffered to escape by Woosheka their keeper. Lubo, however, intended likewise to have sacrificed them as he had done Mariam, and therefore sent Woosheka to demand them: but no sooner had he unfolded his errand, than Michael, in a rage, called to his attendants to cut him pieces before the tent door; which would certainly have been done, had he not fled with the utmost precipitation.

The scandalous ascendancy which the Galla always manifested over the king, had greatly displeased Michael; who expressed himself so freely on the subject, that a coolness took place between them. Another officer named Waragna Fasil, a Galla by birth, had insinuated himself into the king's favour, and greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Nefas Musa. It was no wonder, therefore, that he soon became a rival to Michael; and this rivalry was greatly augmented by the following circumstance. Near the field of battle at Nefas Musa was a house of Mariam Barca, where Ozoro Esther his widow now was. Being surrounded by pleasant and verdant meadows, Fasil encamped there for the sake of his cavalry. No other design was at that time apparent; however his presence greatly alarmed the princess. She had along with her at that time a nobleman named Ayto Aylo, who had been at the battle of Sennaar; but had there been terrified to such a degree, that he resolved to renounce the world ever after and turn monk. In this character he was now with Ozoro Esther: and though he refused to be concerned in any military affairs, he was still consulted by both parties as a kind of oracle. In the present emergency, therefore, he told the princess that there was only one way by which she could secure herself from the cruelty of the Galla, and becoming a prey to one or other of the murderers of her husband; and that was by immediately espousing Ras Michael. Ozoro was perfectly sensible of the propriety of the advice, and therefore set out next morning in company with Aylo to Michael's tent. Here she threw herself at his feet on the ground; and refusing to rise, Aylo explained her errand, informing the Ras that she intended to bestow herself upon him in marriage, as being the only person not guilty of her former husband's death capable of affording her protection in her present situation. Michael saw clearly the advantages attending such a match; and therefore having caused the army to be drawn up in order of battle, as if for a review, he sent for a priest, and was married to the princess in the sight of all his men. The ceremony was followed by the loud acclamations of the whole army; and Ioas was soon informed of the reason. He expressed his displeasure at the match, however, in such unequivocal terms, that a mutual hatred from that moment commenced. This was soon made public by a very trifling accident. One day while the army was marching, Michael being much incommoded by the sun, which affected his eyes, threw a white handkerchief over his head to keep off the heat. This was instantly told the king, who took it as an affront offered to himself; for in Abyssinia it is unlawful to cover the head on any occasion whatever in presence of the emperor, or even within sight of the palace where he lodges. Ioas was no sooner informed of the supposed affront, than he sent to the Ras to know upon what account he presumed to cover his head in his presence; but though the covering was instantly taken off, it was thought that no atonement could ever be made for such a grievous offence. Soon after this a quarrel happening between Fasil and a person named Gusho, likewise a man of great consequence, complaint was made to the Ras, who, as civil judge, summoned both parties before him. Fasil absolutely refused to obey any such jurisdiction; and the affair being laid before the other judges, it was given in favour of Michael, and Fasil declared to be in rebellion. This was followed by a proclamation depriving him of his government of Damot, and every other public office he held. Fasil, however, had no mind to submit to this disgrace; and therefore, after holding a long conference with the king, departed with his army, encamping on the high road betwixt Damot and Gondar, where he intercepted the provisions coming from the southward to the capital. This was followed by an attempt to assassinate the Ras. A shot fired was fired from one of the windows of the palace intot Michael the house where he sat in judgment; the distance being so small, that he could easily be seen from the palace window while thus employed. The ball, however, missed Michael, but killed a dwarf who was standing before him fanning the flies from his face. As it was evident that this shot must have been fired with the knowledge of the king, it was rightly judged to be the commencement of hostilities. Ioas instantly removed to a distance, but sent Woosheka with orders to the Ras to return to Tigré without seeing his face; declaring, at the same time his own uncle Lubo governor of Begender and Amhara. Michael could scarcely be prevailed upon to see Woosheka, and told him that he should certainly be put to death the next time he appeared in his presence. Next day Ioas sent a message to the Ras by four judges, commanding him to return to Tigré without without the least delay, under pain of his highest displeasure. Michael returned a formal answer, concluding, that he expected the king himself to be ready to march against Fasil to-morrow. To this an absolute refusal was given: on which Michael issued a proclamation, commanding all the Galla to leave the capital next day under pain of death: in case of disobedience they were declared outlaws, and liable to be killed by the first that met them if they were found 24 hours after the proclamation in the capital, or to the same penalty if they were found in the kingdom after ten days. An engagement took place a short time after, in which Fasil was totally defeated, and obliged to retire into Damot. In this engagement some of the king's black horse were taken. These were all slaves, and subject to no other commands but those of his majesty himself. Their appearance clearly showed that they must have been sent by the king to fight against the Ras. All of them were therefore brought before the latter, and interrogated by whose orders they had come to the battle. Two refused to give any answer, and had their throats cut in presence of their companions. A third plainly told him that they had been sent by the king; who had likewise ordered an Armenian to fire out of the palace window at Ras Michael. On this the prisoners were dismissed; but assassins instantly dispatched to put an end to the king's life; which they accomplished, and buried him in a church dedicated to St Raphael.

On the death of Ioas, Michael, now absolute master of Abyssinia, set up for emperor Hannes, brother to the late king Baculla, an old man who had resided almost all his lifetime on the mountain of Wechne, and being entirely unacquainted with the affairs of the world, was on this account probably supposed by Michael to be the more proper for his purposes. Hannes had been maimed by the loss of his hand, on purpose to incapacitate him for the throne; but this objection was laughed at by the Ras. He found him, however, possessed of a quality much more inimical to his own purposes; and that was, an absolute aversion at meddling with the affairs of government; so that he could not by any means be induced to take the field against Fasil. Michael therefore was obliged to set out by himself; but thinking it improper to leave a king of any kind behind him in the capital, he had the old man poisoned before his departure; putting his son Tecla Haimanout in his place.

The young emperor, according to Mr Bruce's account, was of a fair complexion, less tawny than a Neapolitan or Portuguese, owing to his having been born in the mountain. He was endowed with many princely accomplishments; and so much attached to Michael Ras, that he called him Father from the time of his accession, waiting upon him when indisposed with the affection of a son. There being now no objection, therefore, Michael marched against Fasil without delay, and entirely defeated him on the 3d of December 1769. On this occasion Woosheka was taken prisoner, and afterwards fled alive, notwithstanding the intercession of some of Michael's officers for him; his skin being afterwards formed into a bottle. This piece of cruelty was attributed to Ozero Esther; whom Mr Bruce represents as the most humane and merciful of women; though he is obliged to allow, that on the present occasion, as well as on every other which regarded her former husband, she entirely forgot her character. The night on which this miserable victim was destroyed, she appeared in the king's tent dressed like a bride; and in a little time returned in triumph to Gondar.

Soon after these transactions Mr Bruce entered Abyssinia. He arrived at Masuah when there was only a report of Hannes's being ill, and Mr Bruce was supposed to be his physician, though in truth that emperor was already dead. Here he was ill-treated by the naybe, with a design to extort money, and afterwards probably to put him to death, as was his custom with other strangers. He escaped the danger, however, by the protection of Achmet, nephew and heir apparent to the naybe, and by his own prudent and resolute behaviour; threatening his adversaries with the arrival of a British man of war in case of any injury; showing the Grand Signor's protection; making use of the name of Ras Michael, now so formidable, and to whom he had obtained a recommendation, &c. After many vexations and delays, he was at last allowed to depart; and a guide, by name Saloome, was sent along with him. This man was brother-in-law to the naybe, and a professed Christian; but a traitor in his heart, and who wished to do every thing in his power to hurt our traveller. He was furnished with another guide, however, by his friend Achmet, to inform him where to pitch his tent, and other necessary particulars.

On the 15th of November 1769 Mr Bruce left Ar-Sete keeko, on the eastern coast of Africa, and proceeded southwards for Gondar the capital of Abyssinia. After an hour's journey, he pitched his tent near a pit full of rain water, where he remained all day; and in the evening a messenger arrived from the naybe, who took away the guide Saloome. Next day the latter returned in company with Achmet the naybe's nephew already mentioned. The latter caused him deposite in his hands Saloome's full hire, as though he had gone the whole length he had promised. Four of the men were commanded to go back to Ar-keeko, and others put in their place: after which Achmet told Mr Bruce that he was not to take the road through Dobarwa, though near, because it belonged to the naybe; but that Saloome knew another by a place called Dixan, which belonged to himself, and where he could insure him of a good reception. In this journey, he told him, that he would be obliged to cross the mountain of Taranta, the highest in Abyssinia; but the fatigue of this would be more than compensated by the assurance of safety and the curiosity of the place. Taking leave of Achmet in a very friendly manner, therefore, Mr Bruce with his company finally set out on their journey the evening of the 16th. For the short space they had travelled, the ground was covered with grass broader in the leaf than the coursers; but in a little time the soil became hard, dry, through gravelly, and full of acacia or Egyptian thorn. Next day (the 17th) they changed their course from south to west; and soon arrived at a range of mountains standing so close to one another, that there was no passage between them excepting what was worn by torrents of water; the bed of one of which consequently now became their road. In the evening they pitched their tent at some distance from this torrent, which had scarcely any water in it when they left it; but all the afternoon there had been an appearance of rain, with much thunder and lightning, at a distance. On a sudden they heard a noise among the mountains louder than thunder; and instantly saw the torrent, swelled immensely by the distant rains, now running like a rapid river, and the foremost part of it advancing in its bed in a body of water about the height of a man. Having run for some time in this violent manner, the current, no longer supplied by the rains, began to diminish, and by the next morning was quite gone. Among these mountains the nights are cold even in summer.

On the 18th the journey was resumed in the bed of the torrent, which now scarcely had any water: though the stones were rendered very slippery by the quantity of rain which had fallen. Leaving this disagreeable road, they came to a fine rivulet; which being the first clear water they had seen from the time Mr Bruce left Syria, was exceedingly agreeable. They proceeded along the banks of this river for some time; and soon after leaving it, they came to another of the same kind: but next day were obliged to resume their course in the bed of a torrent. The mountains in this part of the world are excessively rugged and full of precipices, entirely destitute of soil, and covered with loose stones of a black colour. On the side of the torrent in which they marched, however, there grew very large sycamore trees, some of them little less than 7½ feet in diameter. Their branches afforded shelter to an infinite number of birds; many of them without song; but others having notes very different from the European kinds, and peculiar to the continent of Africa. Most of those which had very beautiful colours were of the jay or magpie kind. The trees were loaded with figs; but they came to nothing, by reason of the ignorance of the savages, who knew not the process of clarification. The streams of water themselves, which at this season were found so delightful, run only after October; they appear on the other side of the mountains when the summer rains in Abyssinia are ceasing; at other times no water is to be met with, excepting what is contained in stagnant pools.

On the 25th of November they began to ascend the high mountain of Taranta. Their road was now exceedingly rugged and uneven, intersected with monstrous gullies and holes made by the torrents, as well as by huge fragments of rocks which had tumbled down. It was with the utmost difficulty that they could carry the astronomical instruments up the hill; in which work Mr Bruce himself, and one of his attendants named Yasine, a Moor, bore a principal share. The only misfortune they met with was, that their asses being unloaded, and committed to the care of a single person, refused to ascend this barren mountain; and in spite of all that their drivers could do, set off at a brisk trot for the fertile plains below. Luckily, however, they were afterwards recovered by four Moors sent after them, and the journey resumed without any material interruption. The beasts were now become much more tractable, having been seen and pursued by the hyenas with which that mountain abounds.

Taranta is so destitute of earth, that there was no possibility of pitching a tent upon it; so that our travellers were obliged to take up their lodging in one of the caves with which it abounds. The under part of the mountain produces in great plenty the tree called kolquall, which was here observed in greater perfection than in any other place throughout the whole journey. The middle part produced olives which carried no fruit; and the upper part was covered with the oxycedras or Virginia cedar, called arse in the language of the country. On the top is a small village of the vil.-named Halai, inhabited by poor shepherds, who keep flocks of the rich people of the town of Dixan and inhabi- low; their hair black, and curled artificially by means of a stick, and which our author supposes to be the same with the crisping-pin mentioned Isa iii. 22. The men have a girdle of coarse cotton cloth, swathed six times round their middle; and they carry along with them two lances, and a shield made of bulls hides. Besides these weapons, they have in their girdles a crooked knife with a blade about 16 inches in length, and three in breadth at the lower part. There is here great cattle, &c. plenty of cattle of all kinds; the cows generally of a milk white, with dewlaps hanging down to their knees; their horns wide like those of the Lincolnshire cattle; and their hair like silk. The sheep are all black, both here and throughout the province of Tigré; having hair upon them instead of wool, like the rest of the sheep within the tropics; but remarkable for its lustre and softness, without any bristly quality. On the top of the mountain is a plain, which, at the time our author was there, they had sown with wheat. The air seemed excessively cold, though the barometer was not below 59° in the evening. On the west side, the cedars, which on other parts are very beautiful, degenerate into small shrubs and bushes.

The road down this mountain was for some time Town of nothing inferior in ruggedness to what they had met Dixan de- with in ascending it; but as they approached Dixan, it became considerably better. This is the first town on the Abyssinian side of Taranta. It is seated on the top of a hill of a form exactly conical, surrounded by a deep valley like a ditch; and no access to it but by a path which winds round the hill. The inhabitants were formerly exterminated by Michael Ras; and the succeeding race, in Mr Bruce's time, were of a very indifferent character, being, as he says, composed of the worst people from the territories of the Baharnagash and the province of Tigré, on both of which it borders. Here he was in danger from the treachery of Saloome, who wished to have decoyed him into the power of some assassins. Finding that this could not be done, he surrounded Mr Bruce and his retinue with a body of armed men; but they were dispersed by the authority of Hagi Abdelecarder, the friend of Achmet, who had received orders to provide for the safety of the travellers. The only trade car- ried on here is that of buying and selling slaves; who are stolen from Abyssinia, chiefly by the priests, and sent into Arabia and India.

The next stage was from Dixan to Adowa, capital Journey to of the province of Tigré. Leaving Dixan on the 25th Adowa, the of November, they pitched their tent the first night capital of under a large spreading tree called daroo, which Mr Tigre. Bruce says was one of the finest he saw in Abyssinia, being about 7½ feet in diameter. They had been joined by some Moors driving 20 loaded asses and two bulls, which in that country are likewise used as beasts of burden. burden. Here, our author says, he recovered a tranquillity of mind which he had not enjoyed since his arrival at Masuah; but they were now entirely without the dominions of the naybc, and entered into those of the emperor. Saloome attended them for some way, and seemed disposed to proceed; but one of the company, who belonged to the Abyssinian monarch, having made a mark in the ground with his knife, told him, that if he proceeded one step beyond that, he would bind him hand and foot, and leave him to be devoured by wild beasts.

Being now in a great measure delivered from their fears and embarrassments, the company proceeded on their journey with pleasure, through a much better country than they had hitherto passed. In some places it was covered with wild oats, wood, high bent grass, &c. but in not a few places rocky and uneven. Great flocks of a bird as large as a turkey, called in the Amharic language, erkoom, were seen in some places. A large animal of the goat kind, called agarasan, was found dead and newly killed by a lion. It was about the size of a large ass, and afforded a plentiful repast. Numbers of kolquall trees were also seen; and the sides of the river Habesh were adorned with a beautiful tree of the same name with the stream. There were in this place also many flowers of various kinds, particularly jessamine. The mountains of Adowa, which they came in sight of on the 5th of December, are totally unlike any thing to be met with in Europe; their sides being all perpendicular rocks, like steeples or obelisks of many different forms.

Adowa, though the capital of an extensive province or kingdom, does not contain above 300 houses; but occupies nevertheless a large space, by reason of the enclosures of a tree called wanzey, which surround each of the houses. It stands on the declivity of a hill, situated on the west side of a small plain surrounded by mountains. It is watered by three rivulets which never become dry even in the greatest heats. A manufacture is carried on here of a kind of coarse cotton cloth which passes for money throughout all Abyssinia. The houses are built of rough stone cemented with mud; lime being only used in the construction of those at Gondar, and even there it is very bad.

Our traveller was very hospitably entertained at Adowa, by one Janni, with whom he resided during his stay there. Leaving it on the 17th of December, he visited the ruins of Axum, once the capital of the empire. Here are 40 obelisks, but without any hieroglyphics. A large one still remains, but the two largest are fallen. There is also a curious obelisk, of which he gives a figure, with other antiquities which our limits will not allow us to enlarge upon. The town has at present about 600 houses, and carries on manufactures of the coarse cotton cloth already mentioned. It is watered by a small stream which flows all the year, and it is received into a fine basin 150 feet square, where it is collected for the use of the neighbouring gardens. Its latitude was found by Mr Bruce to be 14° 6' 36" north.

On the 20th of January 1770, our traveller set out from Axum. The road was at first smooth and pleasant, but afterwards very difficult; being composed of stones raised one above another, the remains of a magnificent causeway, as he conjectures. As they passed farther on, however, the air was every where perfumed by a vast number of flowers of different kinds, particularly jessamine. One species of this, named agam, was found in such plenty, that almost all the adjacent hills were covered by it; the whole country had the most beautiful appearance; the weather was exquisitely fine, and the temperature of the air agreeable. In this fine country, however, Mr Bruce had the first opportunity of beholding the horrible barbarity of the Abyssinians, in cutting off pieces of flesh from the bodies of living animals, and devouring them raw; but notwithstanding this extreme cruelty, they have the utmost horror and religious aversion at pork of every kind; insomuch that Mr Bruce durst not venture to taste the flesh of a wild boar, just after having assisted in the destruction of five or six.

During the remaining part of the journey from Adowa to Siré, the country continued equally beautiful, and the variety of flowers and trees greatly augmented; but as a report was propagated that Ras Michael had been defeated by Fasil, they now met with some insults. These, however, were but trifling; and on the 22d in the evening they arrived safely at Siré, situated in N. Lat. 14° 4' 35".

This town is still larger than Axum; but the houses Siré are built of no better materials than clay, and covered scribed with thatch; the roofs being in the form of cones, which indeed is the shape of all those in Abyssinia. It stands on the brink of a very steep and narrow valley, through which the road is almost impassable. It is famous for a manufacture of cotton cloth, which, as we have already observed, passes for money throughout the whole empire. At some times, however, beads, needles, antimony, and incense, will pass in the same way. The country in the neighbourhood is extremely fine; but the inhabitants are subject, by reason of the low situation, to putrid fevers. On leaving it on the 24th, our travellers passed through a vast plain, where they could discern no hills as far as the eye could reach, excepting some few detached ones standing on the plain, covered with high grass, which the inhabitants were then burning. The country to the northward is flat and open. In the way to Gondar, however, lies that ridge of mountains called Samen; of which one named Lamalman is the most remarkable, and by some supposed to be the highest in Abyssinia. Betwixt Siré and these mountains the river Tacazze runs, which, next to the Nile, is the largest in Abyssinia. Mr Bruce informs us that it carries near one third of the water which falls on the whole empire; and when passing it, he saw the marks of its stream, the preceding year, 18 feet perpendicular above the bottom; nor could it be ever ascertained whether this was the highest point to which scribed it had reached. It has its source in the district of Angot, rising from three sources like the Nile, in a flat country, about 200 miles to the S. E. of Gondar. It is extremely pleasant; being shaded with fine lofty trees, the water extremely clear, and the banks adorned with the most fragrant flowers. At the ford where they crossed, this river was fully 200 yards broad, and about three feet deep; running very swiftly over a bottom of pebbles. At the very edge of the water the banks were covered with tamarisks, behind which grew tall and stately trees, that never lose their leaves. It abounds with fish; and is inhabited by crocodiles and hippopotami; Abyssinia. Hippopotami; the former of which frequently carry off people who attempt to cross the river upon blown-up skins. The neighbouring woods are full of lions and hyenas. The Tacazze is marked by Mr Bruce in his map as a branch of the Astaboras, which falls into the Nile. The latitude of the ford was found to be \(13^\circ 42' 45''\).

This river was passed on the 26th of January; after which our travellers entered into the country of Samen; the governor of which, Ayto Tesfos, had never acknowledged the authority of Ras Michael, nor any of the emperors set up by him since the death of Joas. The country therefore was hostile; but the uncertainty of the event of the war, and the well-known severity of Michael's disposition, preserved our traveller and his company from any insult, excepting a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to extort money. Here Mr Bruce observes that the people were more flat nosed than any he had hitherto seen in Abyssinia. The path among the mountains was for the most part exceedingly dangerous, having a precipice of vast height close by it which way soever you turn. The mountains appeared of very extraordinary shapes; some being like cones; others high and pointed, like columns, pyramids, or obelisks. In one place a village was observed in such a dangerous situation, that scarce the distance of a yard intervened between the houses and a dreadful precipice. Below it is a plain of about a mile square, covered with citron and lemon trees. A river named Mai-Lumi rises above this village, and falls into the wood, where it divides into two; one branch surrounding the north and the other the south part of the plain; then falling down a rock on each side, they unite; and having run about a quarter of a mile farther, the stream is precipitated in a cataract 150 feet high. The lions and hyenas were very numerous among these mountains, and devoured one of the best mules our travellers had. The hyenas were so bold, that they stalked about as familiarly as dogs, and were not intimidated by the discharge of fire arms. Their voracity was such, that they ate the bodies of those of their own species which our travellers had killed in their own defence.

On the 7th of February they began to ascend La-malmon by a winding path scarcely two feet broad, on the brink of a dreadful precipice, and frequently intersected by the beds of torrents, which produced vast irregular chasms in it. After an ascent of two hours, attended with incredible toil, up this narrow path, they came to a small plain named Kedus or St Michael, from a church of that name situated there. This plain is situated at the foot of a steep cliff, terminating the western side of the mountain, which is as perpendicular as a wall, with a few trees on the top. Two streams of water fall down this cliff into a wood at the bottom; and as they continue all the year round, the plain is thus preserved in continual verdure. The air is extremely wholesome and pleasant. On ascending to the very top of the mountain, where they arrived on the 9th of February, our travellers were surprised to find, that though from below it had the appearance of being sharp pointed, it was in reality, a large plain, full of springs, which are the sources of most rivers in this part of Abyssinia. These springs boil out of the earth, sending forth such quantities of water as are sufficient to turn a mill. A perpetual verdure prevails;

and it is entirely owing to indolence in the husbandman if he has not three harvests annually. Lamalmon stands on the north-west part of the mountains of Samen; but though higher than the mountains of Tigre, our author is of opinion that it is considerably inferior to those which are situated on the south-east. The plain on the top is altogether impregnable to an army, both by reason of its situation and the plenty of provisions it affords for the maintenance of its inhabitants; even the streams on the top are full of fish. Here the mercury in the barometer stood at 20\( \frac{2}{3} \) inches.

During the time our travellers remained at La-Journey te malmon, a servant of Ras Michael arrived to conduct Gondar them safely to the capital, bringing a certain account of the victory over Fasil: so that now the difficulties and dangers of their journey were over. The country appeared better cultivated as they approached the capital; and they saw several plantations of sugar canes which they grow from the seed. In some places, however, particularly in Woggora, great damage is done by swarms of ants, rats, and mice, which destroy the fruits of the earth. Mr Bruce had already experienced the mischief arising from a small species of ants, whose bite was not only more painful than the sting of a scorpion, but which issued out of the ground in such numbers as to cut in pieces the carpets and every thing made of soft materials to which they could have access.

When Mr Bruce approached the capital, he was dressed like a Moor: and this dress he was advised to keep until he should receive some protection from government; his greatest, indeed his only, danger arising from the priests, who were alarmed at hearing of the approach of a Frank to the capital. This was the more necessary, as the emperor and Michael Ras were both out of town. For this reason also he took up his residence in the Moorish town at Gondar; which is very large, containing not fewer than 3000 houses. The only inconvenience he underwent here was the not being allowed to eat any flesh: for we have already taken notice of a law made by one of the emperors, that none of his subjects should eat flesh but such as had been killed by Christians: and a deviation from this would have been accounted equal to a renunciation of Christianity itself. Here he remained till the 15th of February; when Ayto Aylo waited upon him, and addressed him in the character of physician, which he had assumed. By this nobleman he was carried to the palace of Koscam, and introduced to the old queen. His advice was required for one of the royal family who was ill of the smallpox; but a saint had already undertaken his cure. The event, however, proved unfortunate; the patient died, and the saint lost his reputation. Our limits will not allow us to give any particular account of the steps by which Mr Bruce arrived at the high degree of reputation which he enjoyed in Abyssinia. In general, his success in the practice of medicine; his skill in horsemanship and the use of fire-arms, which by his own account must have been very extraordinary; his prudence in evading religious disputes; as well as his personal intrepidity, and presence of mind, is promoted to the government of Ras-el-Feel, was his constant Abyssinia.

constant attendant on all occasions, and was with him in several military expeditions; but never met with any opportunity of distinguishing his personal valour, though he had the command of a body of horse at one of the battles fought at a place named Serbraoxos. Thus honoured and employed, he had an ample opportunity of exploring the sources and cataracts of the Nile, as well as the geography and natural products of the whole country; obtaining also leave at last to return home. We cannot, however, praise the benevolence of his spirit at his departure. It has already been observed, that he was in some danger from the priests on his first arrival, on account of their suspecting him to be a Jesuit; for that is the meaning which they affix to the word Frank or European. As he constantly attended the established worship of the country, however, and carefully avoided all disputes on the subject of religion, he became at last not only unsuspected, but very intimate with many of the principal ecclesiastics. From one of these, named Tensa Christos, he asked a benediction immediately before he departed; which piece of unexpected humility so affected the priest, that it brought tears in his eyes. The benediction was conveyed in the simple form, "God bless you." A troop of inferior priests who attended would needs bless him also; and probably were pleased at having it in their power to bestow a benediction publicly on a man of such consequence: but to the blessings of these poor monks Mr Bruce replied in English, "Lord send you all a halter, as he did Abba Salama!" This Abba Salama had been an ecclesiastic of great consequence; but of a very dissolute life, and at last hanged for his crimes. The monks imagined he had been recommending them to their patriarch Abba Salama, and with great devotion answered "Amen."

The history of the war after Mr Bruce's arrival is related at great length in his work. The king Tecla Haimanout still kept his ground, and was at last acknowledged by almost the whole empire, though success did not always attend his arms. An usurper, named Socinios, was reduced and made a servant in the king's kitchen; but was afterwards hanged for theft. Ras Michael, notwithstanding all his skill in military affairs, was not able to get the better of Fasil; and his excessive cruelty, avarice, and ambition disgusted every one. An attempt was even made to assassinate him; and his spiritual friend (Michael the archangel, according to his own report, or the devil, according to that of the Abyssinians) at last forsook him; so that he was carried off prisoner by a party of the rebels. After this misfortune he was much dejected, imputing it to the want of the spiritual assistance just mentioned, and which it seems had withdrawn itself some time before. His wife Ozoro Esther, whom Mr Bruce characterizes as the handsomest woman he ever saw, was in great favour with the king at the time our traveller left Abyssinia. As the king himself was a handsome young man, there is no improbability in supposing with Mr Bruce, that "they were not insensible to each other's merits;" and as she was sometimes honoured with a private audience, where Michael himself "hore no part in the conversation," we shall conclude our history of this singular empire by a conjecture, that soon after Mr Bruce's departure, Michael either died by course of nature, he being then very old, or was cut off by his enemies; on which Tecla Haimanout, having fully settled the affairs of his empire, became possessed of the beautiful Ozoro Esther, and commenced his reign with great glory.

With regard to the geographical description of ancient Ethiopia, little can be said; as not even the boundaries of the empire itself, much less those of the particular districts which composed it, were known. The ancient writers, however, agreed that it was very mountainous: but they mention no mountains of any consequence excepting Garbata and Elephas, whose situation is not well ascertained, though it is generally supposed that they answer to the mountains of Tigre. The most noted cities were Axum, Napata, Premis or Premnis, Melis, Mondus, Abalis, Mosylon, Caloe, Opone, &c.

The nations which inhabited ancient Ethiopia have already been enumerated; and it is not to be supposed that all, or indeed any two of them, would agree in many respects. The ancient historians, however, give the following information. They had many laws which were very different from those of other nations; especially their laws relating to the election of kings. The priests chose the most reputable men of their body, and drew a large circle around them, which they were not to pass. A priest entered the circle, running and jumping like an Egyptian or satyr. He of those that were enclosed in the circle who first caught hold of the priest, was immediately declared king; and all the people paid him homage, as a person intrusted with the government of the nation by Divine Providence. The new-elected king immediately began to live in the manner which was prescribed to him by the laws. In all things he exactly followed the customs of the country; he paid a most rigid attention to the rules established from the origin of the nation, in dispensing rewards and punishments. The king could not order a subject to be put to death, though he had been capitally convicted in a court of justice, but he sent an officer to him, who showed him the signal of death. The criminal then shut himself up in his house, and was his own executioner. It was not permitted him to fly to a neighbouring country, and substitute banishment for death; a relaxation of the rigour of the law, with which criminals were indulged in Greece.

We have the following extraordinary information with regard to the death of many of their kings: The priests of Meroë, who had acquired great power there, when they thought proper dispatched a courier to the king to order him to die. The courier was commissioned to tell him, that it was the will of the gods, and that it would be the most heinous of crimes to oppose an order which came from them. Their first kings obeyed these groundless despotic sentences, though they were only constrained to such obedience by their own superstition. Ergamenes, who reigned in the time of Ptolemy the second, and who was instructed in the philosophy of the Greeks, was the first who had the courage to shake off this iniquitous and sacerdotal yoke. He led an army against Meroë, where, in more ancient times, was the Ethiopian temple of gold; when he put all the priests to the sword, and instituted a new worship.

The friends of the king had imposed on themselves a very singular law, which was in force in the time of Diodorus Siculus. When their sovereign had lost the use of any part of his body, by malady, or by any other accident, they inflicted the same infirmity on themselves; deeming it, for instance, shameful to walk straight after a lame king. They thought it absurd not to share with him corporeal inconveniences; since we are bound by the ties of mere friendship to participate the misfortunes and prosperity of our friends. It was even customary among them to die with their kings, which they thought a glorious testimony of their constant loyalty. Hence the subjects of an Ethiopian king were very attentive to his and their common preservation; and therefore it was extremely difficult and dangerous to form a conspiracy against him.

The Ethiopians had very particular ceremonies in their funerals. According to Ctesias, after having salted the bodies, they put them into a hollow statue of gold which resembled the deceased; and that statue was placed in a niche on a pillar which they set up for that purpose. But it was only the remains of the richest Ethiopians that were thus honoured. The bodies of the next class were contained in silver statues; the poor were enshrined in statues of earthen ware.

Herodotus* informs us, that the nearest relations of the dead kept the body a year in their houses, and offered sacrifices and first fruits during that time to their deceased friend; and at the end of the year, they fixed the niche in a place set apart for the purpose near their town.

The Ethiopians made use of bows and arrows, darts, lances, and several other weapons, in their wars, which they managed with great strength and dexterity. Circumcision was a rite observed amongst them, as well as among the Egyptians, from very early antiquity; though which of these nations first received it, cannot certainly be known. The Ethiopian soldiers tied their arrows round their heads, the feathered part of which touched their foreheads, temples, &c. and the other projected out like so many rays, which formed a kind of crown. These arrows were extremely short, pointed with sharp stones instead of iron, and dipped in the virus of serpents, or some other lethiferous poison, insomuch that all the wounds given by them were attended with immediate death. The bows from which they shot these arrows were four cubits long; and required so much strength to manage them, that no other nation could make use of them. The Ethiopians retreated fighting, in the same manner as the Parthians; discharging volleys of arrows with such dexterity and address, whilst they were retiring full speed, that they terribly galled the enemy. Their lances or darts were of an immense size, which may be deemed a farther proof of their vast bodily strength.

Thus far chiefly with regard to the Ethiopians who lived in the capital, and who inhabited the island of Meroë, and that part of Ethiopia which was adjacent to Egypt.

There were many other Ethiopian nations, some of which cultivated the tracts on each side of the Nile, and the islands in the middle of it; others inhabited the provinces bordering on Arabia; and others lived more towards the centre of Africa. All these people, and among the rest those who were born on the banks of the river, had flat noses, black skins, and woolly hair. They had a very savage and ferocious appearance; they were more brutal in their customs than in their nature. They were of a dry adust temperament; their nails in length resembled claws: they were ignorant of the arts which polish the mind: their language was hardly articulate; their voices were shrill and piercing. As they did not endeavour to render life more commodious and agreeable, their manners and customs were very different from those of other nations. When they went to battle, some were armed with bucklers of ox hides, with little javelins in their hands; others carried crooked darts; others used the bow; and others fought with clubs. They took their wives with them to war, whom they obliged to enter upon military service at a certain age. The women wore rings of copper at their lips.

Some of these people went without clothing. Sometimes they threw about them what they happened to find, to shelter themselves from the burning rays of the sun. With regard to their food, some lived upon a certain fruit, which grew spontaneously in marshy places; some ate the tenderest shoots of trees, which were defended by the large branches from the heat of the sun; and others sowed Indian corn and lotos. Some of them lived only on the roots of reeds. Many spent a great part of their time in shooting birds; and as they were excellent archers, their bows supplied them with plenty. But the greater part of this people were sustained by the flesh of their flocks.

The people who inhabited the country above Meroë made remarkable distinctions among their gods. Some, they said, were of an eternal and incorruptible nature, as the sun, the moon, and the universe; others having been born among men, had acquired divine honours by their virtue, and by the good which they had done to mankind. They worshipped Isis, Pan, and particularly Jupiter and Hercules, from whom they supposed they had received most benefits. But some Ethiopians believed that there were no gods; and when the sun rose, they fled into their marshes, execrating him as their cruellest enemy.

These Ethiopians differed likewise from other nations in the honours which they paid to their dead. Some threw their bodies into the river, thinking that the most honourable sepulchre. Others kept them in their houses in niches: thinking that their children would be stimulated to virtuous deeds by the sight of their ancestors; and that grown people, by the same objects, would retain their parents in their memory. Others put their dead bodies into coffins of earthen ware, and buried them near their temples. To swear with the hand laid upon a corpse, was their most sacred and inviolable oath.

The savage Ethiopians of some districts gave their crown to him who of all their nation was best made. Their reason for that preference was, that the two first gifts of heaven were monarchy and a fine person. In other territories, they conferred the sovereignty on the most vigilant shepherd; for he, they alleged, would be the most careful guardian of his subjects. Others chose the richest man for their king; for he, they thought, would have it most in his power to do good to his subjects. Others, again, chose the strongest; esteeming those most worthy of the first dignity who were ablest to defend them in battle.

The Jesuit missionaries were the first who gave any account of information to the Europeans concerning this country; the mission- Abyssinia.

and indeed, excepting them and the late accounts by Mr Bruce, we have no other source of information concerning it. Louis XIV. of France appointed six Jesuits to this mission, and furnished them with suitable presents for the emperor and the principal nobility. The admission of these missionaries was facilitated by a dangerous scorbutic disorder, which had attacked Yassou and his son, and for which they wished to have the advice of an European physician. Maillet, the French consul at Cairo, wishing the Jesuits to have the honour of the mission, disappointed the views of Friars Paschal and Anthony, two Franciscans, who were first thought of, and recommended Charles Poncet, a Frenchman, who had been bred a chemist and apothecary, and Father Brevedent as his servant, to Hagi Ali, a Mahometan factor at Cairo, for the desired purpose. The Franciscans attempted the destruction of Poncet and his attendants; but Poncet arrived safe at Gondar on the 21st of July, 1699, and having perfectly cured his royal patient, set out on the 2d of May, 1700, on his return for Europe, and arrived in safety at Masuah. Brevedent died at Gondar soon after their arrival. An embassy on the part of the Abyssinian monarch was defeated by the interference of Maillet; but the Jesuits concerted another mission from France, and the person appointed as ambassador was M. de Roule, vice-consul at Damietta. This mission was very improperly conducted; the merchants at Cairo opposed it; the Franciscans obstructed it, and it terminated in the murder of the ambassador in the province of Sennaar.

The missionaries confirm what is said by the ancients, that Abyssinia is a very mountainous country. The provinces of Begemder, Gojam, Waleka, Shoa, &c. according to them, are only one continued chain of mountains. Many of them were said to be of such enormous height, that the Alps and Pyrenees are but mole-hills in comparison of them. Those called Aorni were said to be of this kind; but Mr Bruce informs us, that these accounts are greatly exaggerated. Amongst those mountains, and even frequently in the plains, there are many steep and craggy rocks to be met with of various and whimsical shapes; some of them so smooth, that men and oxen are raised to the top by means of engines. The tops of these rocks are covered with woods and meadows, full of springs and streams of water; of which Mr Bruce has given us an account in his description of Lamalmon. The most remarkable of these, according to the authors we are now speaking of, is that called Amba Geshen, mentioned in the course of this article as one of the mountains used for a prison to the princes of the blood. Its top is described as only half a league in breadth, though it is said that it would require near half a day to go round it.

Modern Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, as it is now called, is divided, according to Mr Bruce, into two parts, named Tigré and Amhara; though this rather denotes a difference in the language than the territory of the people. The most easterly province properly so called is Masuah. It is of considerable length, but no great breadth; running parallel to the Indian ocean and Red sea, in a zone of about 40 miles broad, as far as the island Masuah. The territories of the Baharnagash include this province as well as the districts of Azab and Habab. In the former are mines of fossil salt, which substance in Abyssinia passes current instead of money. For this purpose the mineral is cut into square solid pieces about a foot in length. Here also is a kind of mint from which great profits are derived. The Habab is likewise called the land of the Agaazi or Shepherds; who speak the language called Geez, and have had the use of letters from the most early ages. This province was formerly taken by the Turks, when the rebellious Baharnagash Isaac called them to his assistance against the emperor Menas. From that time the office fell into disrepute, and the Baharnagash at present has much less power than formerly. The province of Masuah is now governed by a Mahometan prince or officer called a naybe.

Tigré is bounded on the east by the territories of the Baharnagash, of which the river Mareh is the boundary on the east, and the Tacazze on the west. It is about 200 miles long from north to south, and 120 broad from west to east. All the merchandise sent across the Red sea to Abyssinia, or from Abyssinia across the Red sea, must pass through this province, so that the governor has his choice of it as it goes along. Thus the province itself is very wealthy; and as the Abyssinian fire-arms are brought from Arabia, the governors of Tigré, by purchasing quantities of them, may easily render themselves very powerful. No arms of this kind can be sent to any person without his permission; nor can any one buy till the governor has first had an offer.

Siret was some time ago united to Tigré, on account of the misconduct of its governor; but was disjoined from it at the time Mr Bruce was in Abyssinia, with the consent of Ras Michael, who bestowed the government of it upon his son. It is about 25 miles long, and as much in breadth. Its western boundary is the Tacazze.

Samen is a very mountainous province lying to the westward of the river Tacazze, about 80 miles long, and in some places 30 broad, though in most it is much narrower. It is mostly inhabited by Jews.

Begemder lies to the north-east of Tigré. It is about 180 miles long and 60 broad; bounded by the river Nile on the west. It comprehends the mountainous country of Lasta; and there are now several small governments dismembered from it. The inhabitants are fierce and barbarous, but reckoned the best soldiers in Abyssinia; and it is said that this province with Lasta can furnish 45,000 horsemen. It abounds with iron mines, which in Abyssinia would be very valuable if properly managed. It is also well stored with beautiful cattle. Near the south end it is cut into vast gullies, seemingly by floods, of which we have no account. This province is reckoned the great barrier against the incursions of the Galla; and though they have often endeavoured to make a settlement in it, they have never yet found it practicable. Several of their tribes have been cut off in the attempt.

Next to Begemder is the province of Amhara, in length about 120 miles, and somewhat more than 40 in breadth. It is very mountainous; and the men are reckoned the handsomest in all Abyssinia. In this province is the mountain or rock Geshen, formerly the residence of the royal family. This province is parallel to Begemder on the south; being separated from it by the river Bashilo. On the west it is bounded by the Nile. The river Geshen is another boundary. Walaka lies between the rivers Geshen and Samba. It is a low unwholesome province, having Upper Shoa to the southward. It was in this province that the only surviving prince of the family of Solomon was preserved after the massacre by Judith, formerly mentioned; and on this account great privileges were conferred upon the inhabitants, which in some degree continue to this day. The governor is considered as an ally, rather than a subject, of the emperor of Abyssinia; and to preserve his independence, he has allowed the Galla to surround his province entirely, yielding up to them the territory of Walaka above mentioned. Trusting to the valour of his own people, he is under no apprehension of his barbarous neighbours the Galla. This province is also remarkable for the monastery of Debra Libanos, where the famous saint Tecla Haimanout, the founder of the power of the clergy, was bred.

Gojam is remarkable for having in it some of the sources of the Nile. It is bounded on the north by the high mountains of Amid Amid, on the south by the river Nile, on the west by another river named Gult, and on the east by the river Temci; on the north-east it has the kingdom of Damot. It is about 40 miles long from north to south, and somewhat more than 20 in breadth from east to west. It is very populous, but the men are accounted the worst soldiers in Abyssinia. There is great plenty of very beautiful cattle.

Beyond the mountains of Amid Amid on the east lies the country of the Agows; on the west it has Buré, Umbarma, and the country of the Gorgas; on the south, those of Damot and Gafat; and Dingleber on the south.

Dembea occupies all the space along the lake of the same name, from Dingleber below the mountains bounding Guesque and Kuara. Mr Bruce is of opinion, that the lake has formerly overflowed the whole of it; and the decrease of this lake he brings as an instance of the decrease of large pools throughout the world.

To the south of Dembea is the country of Kuara, bordering on that of the Shangalla, the Macrobi of the ancients. The neighbouring countries, inhabited by Pagan savages, produce gold, which is introduced in plenty into this province. None is produced in the province itself, nor indeed does Mr Bruce mention any part of Abyssinia where gold is naturally found. In the lower part of this country is a colony of Pagan blacks named Ganjar; derived, according to our author, from the black slaves who came into the country with the Arabs after the invasion of Mahomet. These deserting their masters, formed the colony we speak of; but it is now more increased by vagabonds from other parts than by the multiplication of the inhabitants themselves. The governor of this country is one of the great officers of state: he has kettle-drums of silver, which he is allowed to beat through the streets of Gondar; a privilege allowed to none but himself. This privilege was conferred upon the first governor by David II. who conquered the country.

The frontier countries of Narea, Ras-el-Feel, Tchelga, &c. are wholly inhabited by Mahometans, and the government of them is usually given to strangers. The country is very hot, unwholesome, and covered with thick woods. The people are fugitives from all nations, but excellent horsemen; making use of no other weapon but the broadsword, with which, however inadequate we might suppose the weapon to be, they will attack the elephant or rhinoceros.

According to Mr Bruce the empire of Abyssinia is bounded on the south by a vast chain of mountains, extending with very little interruption from 34° to 44° E. Long. and between 8° and 9° N. Lat. In more prosperous times it extended beyond these southward, particularly into the kingdom of Adel; but the mountains just mentioned are undoubtedly to be reckoned its natural boundaries on this side. On the east and north-east it has the Red sea, and on the south-east the kingdom of Adel. On the west and north its boundaries are less distinctly marked; having on both these quarters the barbarous kingdom of Sennaar, whose limits will no doubt frequently vary according to the fortune of war betwixt the two princes. From Arkeeko, situated near the foot of the basaltes mountains, in about 15° 30' N. Lat. it extends to near 7° N. Lat. where the mountains of Caffa, the most southerly province of Abyssinia, terminate. Along the coast of the Red sea lie the territories inhabited by the Hazorta Shiho, the district of Engana Shiho, and the kingdom of Dancali, including the territory of Azab and the salt pits already mentioned. To the westward of these is the province or kingdom of Tigré, including the country of the Dobas, part of the kingdom of Bali, and that of Dawaro. Still farther west are those of Sirè, Lasta, Amhara, the greatest part of Bali, and part of Fatigar, which last reaches beyond the mountains. Proceeding still in the same direction, we come to Tcherkin, Tchelga, Abargale, Salao, Begender, Shoa, and Ifat; reckoning always from north to south; Tcherkin, for instance, being to the northward of Tchelga, &c. Shoa extends a considerable way to the westward; so that, besides Ifat, it has to the south of it also the kingdoms of Hade and Cambut; the latter extending beyond the southern ridge of mountains. To the westward are Ras-el-Feel, Dembea, Gojam, and Damot; and beyond these are the kingdoms of Bembea, Bizamo, Gooderoo, and Gurague; those of Narea or Enarea and Caffa occupying the south-west corner of the empire.

The climate of Abyssinia, though, like other parts of the torrid zone, it was formerly thought to be uninhabitable, is not only tolerable, but in general temperate and healthy. In this respect, however, the uneven surface of the country exposes different situations to the effects of heat and cold, of dryness and moisture, and of a free circulation or a stagnation of the atmosphere, in very various degrees. On the mountains, and in the higher parts of the country, the sky is clear and serene, the air is cool and refreshing, and the people are healthy and sprightly; whilst those who live in some of the valleys, in the vicinity of marshes, and in sandy deserts, experience the pernicious influence of excessive heat, and of a moist, stagnant, and suffocating air; so that the climate depends upon soil and situation as much almost as upon the latitude. Mr Bruce observes, that on the highest mountain of the ridge called Lamalmon, the thermometer stood at 32° in the depth of winter, the wind being north-west; clear and cold, but attended only with hoar frost. This, he adds, vanished into dew. Abyssinia, after a quarter of an hour's sun; nor did he ever see any sign of congelation of water upon the top of the highest mountains. The barometer stood at 19° 9' at noon of the same day, and the thermometer was at 78°. He observed hail to lie for three hours in the forenoon on the mountains of Amid Amid. The range of the barometer and thermometer, according to Mr Bruce's register kept at Gondar from February 19, 1770, to May 31, 1771, will appear from the following table.

<table> <tr> <th></th> <th>Barom.</th> <th>Thermom.</th> <th>Wind.</th> </tr> <tr> <td>April 29.</td> <td>22.11</td> <td>69°</td> <td>S.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>6 1/2 A.M.</td> <td>20.11</td> <td>75°</td> <td>E.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mar. 29.</td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>2 1/2 P.M.</td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>April 19.</td> <td></td> <td>91°</td> <td>W.N.W.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>12 Noon.</td> <td>21.6</td> <td>54 1/2°</td> <td>W.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>July 7.</td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>12 Noon.</td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> </table>

The rainy season commences in April or the beginning of May, when the sun becomes vertical, and ends in September. The rains generally cease about the 8th of September; a sickly season follows till they begin again, about the 20th of October; they then continue constant, but moderate till the 8th of November. All epidemic diseases cease with the end of these rains. In order to avoid the inconveniencies that attend the overflowing of their rivers during this season, as well as on account of the greater salubrity of elevated situations, the Abyssinians have built many of their towns and villages on the mountains. Their houses are generally very mean, consisting only of one story, and constructed with straw and laths, earth and lime; though there are some of stone and better materials. It is a mistaken notion, however, that they live in tents, and not in houses. In a climate like that of Abyssinia, subject to scorching weather for six months, and to deluges of rain, storms of wind, thunder and lightning, and hurricanes, such as are unknown in Europe, for the other six, it is not probable that they should choose to live in tents, after having known how to build such cities as Axum. In many of the towns and villages, the houses are separated by hedges, which being always green, and intermixed with flowers and fruit trees at certain distances, afford an agreeable prospect, and contribute also to their salubrity.

The inhabitants of Abyssinia are subject to violent fevers, which commonly prove fatal on the third day. Those who survive to the fifth day often recover, merely by drinking cold water, and by repeatedly throwing cold water upon them in their beds. The bark is the most effectual remedy; which in critical cases, says Bruce, should be frequently repeated in small doses, and perfect abstinence observed, unless from copious draughts of cold water. Another common disease in Abyssinia, is the tertian fever, which is in no respect different from our tertian, and is successfully treated in the same manner. All fevers terminate in intermittents, and if they continue long in dysenteries, which are always tedious, and very frequently mortal. Bark and ipecacuanha, in small quantities, water, and fruit not over ripe, have been found the most effectual remedies. The dysentery, commencing with a constant diarrhoea, is seldom cured, if it begins with the rainy season; otherwise small doses of ipecacuanha either remove it, or change it into an intermittent fever, which yields to the bark. Another endemic disease is called hanzeer, the hogs or the swine, and is a swelling of the glands of the throat, and under the arms, which by ineffectual attempts for producing suppuration, and opening the tumours, becomes a running sore, and resembles the evil. In connection with this disorder, we may mention those swellings to which the whole body is subject, but more particularly the arms, thighs, and legs, sometimes accompanied with ulcers in the nose and mouth, which deface the smoothness of the skin, and which on this account are much dreaded by the Abyssinians. The two last diseases sometimes yield to mercurials; but the last is speedily and completely cured by antimonials. Another complaint afflicts those who are in the habit of drinking stagnant water. It is called furenctit, or the worm of Pharaoh, and appears in all parts of the body, but most frequently in the legs and arms. It is a worm with a small black head and a hooked beak, of a whitish colour, and a white body of a silky texture, resembling a small tendon. The natives seize it by the head, and wind it gently round a piece of silk, or a bird's feather, and thus by degrees they extract it without any inconvenience, or permanent scar. Mr Bruce suffered much from this complaint, and the breaking of the worm in the operation of extracting it. The most terrible of all the diseases of this climate is the elephantiasis. The cincta, mercury, and tar-water, were unsuccessfully tried in this complaint; the greatest benefit was derived from whey made of cows milk. To the alternation of scorching heat and chilling cold, thin clothing, the use of stagnant putrid water for four months, and other such causes, these diseases may be partly, if not wholly ascribed. The smallpox was introduced into Abyssinia at the time of the siege of Mecca, about the year 356, and the Abyssinian army was the first victim to it.

The great difference of climate, owing to the vast soil and extent and variety of elevation in different parts of this vegetable empire, is very perceptible in its soil and productions. The mountains in many places are not only barren, but altogether inaccessible, except by those who make it their constant practice to climb amongst them: and even by them they cannot be ascended without great difficulty and danger. The shapes of these mountains, as we have already had occasion to observe, are very strange and fantastical: exceedingly different from those of Europe; some resembling towers and steeples, while others are like a board or slate set up on end; the base being so narrow, and the whole mountain so high and thin, that it seems wonderful how it can stand. In the valleys, however, and flat parts of the country, the soil is excessively fruitful, though in the warmest places grain cannot be brought to perfection. Wine is also made only in one or two places; but the greatest profusion of fruits of all kinds is to be met with every where, as well as many vegetables not to be found in other countries. There is a vast variety of flowers, which adorn the banks of the rivers in such a manner as to make them resemble fine gardens. Among these a species of rose is met with, which grows upon trees, and is much superior in fragrance to those which grow on bushes. Senna, cardamom, ginger, and cotton, Abyssinia.

cotton, are likewise produced here in great quantities. Among the variety of rare plants to be met with in Abyssinia, Mr Bruce particularly describes the following.

1. The papyrus, the ancient material for paper: which our author supposes to have been a native of Ethiopia, and not of Egypt as has been supposed. 2. Balsassan, balm, or balsam plant; a tree growing to the height of 14 or 15 feet, and used for fuel along with other trees in the country. It grows on the coast of the Red sea, among the myrrh trees behind Azab, all the way to Babelmandel. This is the tree producing the balm of Gilead mentioned in Scripture. 3. The sassa, myrrh, and opocalpasum trees. These grow likewise along the coast of the Red sea. The sassa or opocalpasum is used in manufactures; and, according to our author, resembles gum adragant, probably tragacanth. The tree which produces it grows to a great size, and has a beautiful flower, scarce admitting of description without a drawing. 4. The ergett, a species of the mimosa, is of two kinds; one called ergett y'dimmo, or the bloody ergett, from the pink colour of its filaments; the other ergett el krone, or the horned ergett, with a flower resembling the acacia vera or Egyptian thorn. These were both found on the banks of a river named Amo, near the great lake Dembea. 5. Eusete, an herbaceous plant, growing in Narca, in swampy places; but is supposed to grow equally well in any other part of the empire, where there is heat and moisture sufficient. It forms a great part of the vegetable food of the Abyssinians. It produces a kind of figs, but these are not eatable. When used for food, it is to be cut immediately above the small detached roots, or perhaps a foot or two higher, according to the age of the plant. The green is to be stripped from the upper part till it becomes white; and when soft, it affords an excellent food when eaten with milk or butter. 6. Kolquall, a kind of tree, only the lower part of which is woody, the upper part being herbaceous and succulent. The flowers are of a beautiful golden colour, and the fruit turns to a deep crimson; so that the trees make a very beautiful appearance. The whole plant is full of a very acrid and caustic milk. 7. Rack is a large tree, growing not only in Abyssinia but in many places of Arabia Felix. Its wood is so hard and bitter, that no worm will touch it; for which reason it is used by the Arabs for constructing their boats. It grows, like the mangrove, among the salt-water of the sea, or about salt springs. 8. Gir-gir, or Geshe-el-aube, a kind of grass found about Ras-el-Feel, growing to the height of about three feet four inches. 9. The kantulla, a very noxious species of thorn, much more troublesome than any with which we are acquainted, and growing to the height of eight or more feet. The flowers have a strong smell like the flower migniolet. 10. The gagnedi, is a short tree only about nine feet high, a native of Lamalmon. The flowers, which are yellow, and very beautiful, turn towards the sun like those of the helianthus. 11. The wansey, a tree common throughout all Abyssinia, flowers exactly on the first day the rains cease. It grows to the height of 18 or 20 feet; having a thick bark and close heavy wood; the first part of which is white, but the rest of a dark colour. The flowers are of a beautiful white colour; but it does not appear to possess any other remarkable property, though it is held in great estimation by the Abyssinians, and is even worshipped by the Galla. 12. The farek, or Bauhinia acuminata, grows in the country immediately adjacent to the sources of the Nile; being found by Mr Bruce scarce 400 yards distant from the fountain. 13. Kuara, is a beautiful tree, growing in the south and south-west parts of Abyssinia. It has a fruit like a bean, of a red colour, which in the early ages was made use of as a weight for gold and diamonds; and hence Mr Bruce is of opinion that the name of the imaginary weight carat is derived. 14. The walkufa, grows in the hottest parts of Ethiopia. It is a flowering tree, with beautiful white blossoms, which do not appear till towards the middle of January. The flowers have no smell, and are accounted pernicious to bees. The wood is very heavy. 15. The wooginos, or Brucea antidysenterica, is common throughout the whole empire, but principally on the sides of the valleys. It is a sovereign remedy against the dysentery, a very common and fatal disease in hot countries. Mr Bruce had experimental proof of its antidysenteric virtue. 16. Cusso, or Banksia anthelmintica, is a very beautiful and useful tree, being a strong anthelmintic, and used as such by the Abyssinians. Every person there, whether male or female, is troubled with that kind of worm called ascariides; a great number of which are evacuated every month, and the evacuation is promoted by an infusion of this plant. While taking this medicine, the patients sequester themselves from all their acquaintance, and keep close at home. It is said that the want of this medicine in other countries is the reason why the Abyssinians do not go out of their own country; or, if they do, that they are short-lived. Teff, is a kind of grain sown generally throughout Abyssinia; and constituting the bread commonly made use of by the inhabitants. They have indeed plenty of wheat, and are as skillful in forming it into bread as the Europeans; but this is only made use of by people of the first rank: however, the teff is sometimes of such an excellent quality, that the bread made from it is held in equal estimation with the finest wheat. From the bread made of this grain, a sourish liquor called bouza is prepared, which is used for common drink like our small beer. A liquor of the same kind, but of inferior quality, is made from barley cakes. Some have been of opinion, that the use of teff occasions the worms above mentioned; but this is controverted by Mr Bruce. Nook, a plant not to be distinguished from our marigold, either in shape, size, or foliage, is also sown very generally over the country, and furnishes all Abyssinia with oil for the kitchen and other uses.

Abyssinia abounds with a vast variety of quadrupeds both wild and tame. Immense numbers of cattle every-peds. where present themselves, some of them the most beautiful in the world. Some have monstrous horns, said to be capable of holding 10 quarts each; but this, as our author informs us, is a disease which proves fatal to them. Buffaloes are here met with in great numbers, and are very fierce and untractable; but there are no such animals as carnivorous bulls, which have been said to exist in this and other internal parts of Africa. Antelopes and other wild animals are met with in great numbers in the uncultivated parts; feeding chiefly on the leaves of trees. They abound most of all, however, in those parts which have been once cultivated, Abyssinia. cultivated, but since desolated by the calamities of war; and where wild oats abound in such quantities as to hide them from pursuit. Hyenas, lions, foxes, jackals, wild boars, &c. are also found, as well as the elephant, rhinoceros, camelopard, and others of the larger and more uncommon kinds. Great havoc is made in the cultivated fields by multitudes of baboons, apes, rats, and mice. There is plenty of hares; but these being reckoned unclean, as well as wild boars, are not used as food. The rivers abound with crocodiles and hippopotami, at least the Nile, and those large streams which flow into it; but a great number have water in them only during the rainy season, and these have neither fish nor any animal that feeds upon them.

Birds.

The number of birds in this country is immense; nor are those of the carnivorous kind at all deficient. Great numbers of eagles, vultures, hawks, and others of that kind are met with, and come punctually every year after the tropical rains have ceased. They feed at first upon the shell fish which are met with in great quantities on the edges of the deserts, where they had lived in the salt springs; but, being forced from their natural habitations when these springs were swelled by the rains, are afterwards left to perish on dry land. When these fail, their next resource is from the carcases of the large animals, such as the elephant and rhinoceros, which are killed in the flat country by the hunters. Their next supply is the multitude of rats and field mice which infest the country after harvest. The vast slaughter of cattle made by the Abyssinian armies, the multitude of persons killed whose bodies are allowed to rot on the field of battle, &c. furnish them also with another resource. These supplies, however, all fail at the beginning of the rainy season, when the hunters and armies return home, and the vast quantity of water which continually overflows the ground renders it impossible for them to find any other food.

There are other birds which feed upon insects, and multitudes which live on grain or seeds of various kinds; all of which are amply supplied by the immense quantity of fruits and berries which grow in Abyssinia, and are ripe at all seasons of the year. A very remarkable particular concerning this is, that the trees which bear fruit all the year round do not carry it always in the same place. The west side is that which blossoms first, and where of consequence the fruit first comes to perfection; the south side succeeds, and goes through the same process: after which, the north blossoms in like manner; and last of all is the east side, which produces flowers and fruit towards the beginning of the rainy season. All the trees of Abyssinia are ever-green; and their leaves are of a thick leathery consistence, and highly varnished, to enable them to resist the violent rains which fall during a certain season. The granivorous birds have likewise this advantage, that the rains do not fall at the same time all over the country. It is intersected by a chain of mountains that divide the seasons also; so that they have but a short way to fly in order to become birds of passage, and supply themselves with such food as is necessary for them beyond the mountains. All the pigeons, of which there are many species, are birds of passage, excepting one kind. The owls are extremely large and beautiful, but few in number. There is a great variety of swallows, several kinds of which are unknown in Europe; but, says our author, "those that are common in Europe appear in passage at the very season when they take their flight from thence. We saw the greatest part of them in the island of Massah, where they lighted and tarried two days, and then proceeded with moon-light nights to the southwest." The large birds which reside constantly among the mountains of Samen and Tarant'a have all their feathers tubular, the hollow part being filled with a kind of yellow dust which issues out in great abundance on hunting them. This was particularly observed by Mr Bruce in a species of eagle, which he calls the golden eagle; and the dust being viewed through a microscope with a very strong magnifying power, appeared like fine feathers. The crows are spotted white and black, almost in equal proportions. The raven has his feathers intermixed with brown, the tip of his beak white, and a figure like a cup or chalice of white feathers upon his head. Our author saw no sparrows, magpies, nor bats; neither are there many water-fowl, especially of the web-footed kind: but there are vast numbers of storks, which cover the plains in May, when the rains become constant. There are no geese, excepting one species called the golden goose or goose of the Nile, which is common all over Africa; but there are snipes in all the marshes.

Our author describes very few fishes; though he says that an account of these, and other marine productions of the Red sea, which he has painted and collected, would occupy many large volumes, and the engraving cost a sum which he could not by any means afford. Among others, he mentioned the torpedo and the binyi, which latter is good food, and grows to a large size; that from which he took the drawing was about 32 pounds weight. Its whole body is covered with beautiful scales resembling silver spangles.

Locusts and a species of ants are extremely troublesome and pernicious in Abyssinia, but the fly by the natives called tsaltsalya is most destructive to cattle. Mr Bruce gives a particular description of a kind of Fewser lizard, and of the cerastes or horned serpent; but de-pents in aines that serpents are numerous in Abyssinia, as almost all authors have supposed, and as we should be led naturally to suspect. He vouches also for the power that some persons have of enchanting serpents and scorpions, which in some is natural, in others communicated artificially by certain medicines. He prevailed upon those who knew the secret to prepare him by these means as they had done others; but, notwithstanding this assistance, he acknowledges, that when it came to the trial his heart always failed him.

The crown is hereditary in the line of Solomon, but Method of it depends on the minister to choose the particular person who is to enjoy it; and as it is always his inclination to have the government in his own hands, he never fails to choose an infant, who is seldom suffered to live after he comes to the years of maturity. Thus perpetual wars and commotions take place, insomuch that civil the ravenous birds, as has been observed, find one great wars. supply of food in the slaughters made by the Abyssinians of one another. All authors indeed agree that the Excessive devastations committed by the armies of this country are by their excessive; insomuch, that after a long encampment is armies removed, Abyssinia. removed, nothing is to be seen all around the place where it was but bare earth. When an army marches through the country, says Mr Bruce, "an inconceivable number of birds and beasts of prey, especially the former, follow it from the first day of its march to its return; increasing always in proportion the more it advances into the country. An army there leaves nothing living behind, not even the vestige of a habitation; but fire and the sword reduce every thing to a wilderness and solitude. The beasts and birds un molested have the country to themselves, and increase beyond all possible conception. The slovenly manners of this savage people, who, after a battle, bury neither friends nor enemies; the quantity of beasts of burthen that die perpetually under the load of baggage, and variety of mismanagement; the quantity of offal, and half-eaten carcases of cows, goats, and sheep, which they consume in their march for sustenance; all furnish a stock of carrion sufficient to occasion contagious distempers, were there not such a prodigious number of voracious attendants who consume them almost before putrefaction. There is no giving the reader any idea of their number, unless by comparing them to the sand of the sea. While the army is in motion, they are a black canopy which extends over it for leagues. When encamped, the ground is discoloured with them beyond the sight of the eye; and all the trees are loaded with them."

The prodigious number of criminals executed for high treason, whose bodies are cut in pieces and thrown about the streets, invite the hyenas to the capital, in the same manner that the carrion of the camp invites the birds of prey to follow it. The method of keeping off these voracious animals is certainly very curious. "An officer (says Mr Bruce) called Sorach Massery, with a long whip, begins cracking and making a noise worse than 20 French positions at the door of the palace before the dawn of day. This chases away the hyenas and other wild beasts: this too is the signal for the king's rising, who sits in judgment every morning fasting; and after that, about eight o'clock, he goes to breakfast."

From these and other circumstances we should be apt to imagine that the Abyssinians, instead of becoming more civilized, were daily improving in barbarity. The king is anointed at his election with plain oil of olives; "which (says Mr Bruce) being poured upon the crown of his head, he rubs into his long hair indecently enough with both his hands, pretty much as his soldiers do with theirs when they get access to plenty of butter." In former times, however, matters seem to have been conducted with more decency. Soscinios, the greatest monarch that ever sat on the Abyssinian throne, was crowned, after having gained a great victory over the Galla, in a very different manner, and with the ceremonies which we are told were in use among the ancient kings of Tigré. At that time he had with him an army of about 30,000 men; and was besides attended by all the great officers dressed in the gayest manner, as well as by the ladies of the first quality in the empire. The king himself, dressed in crimson damask, with a great chain of gold about his neck, his head bare, and mounted on a horse richly caparisoned, advanced at the head of his nobility, passed the outer court, and came to the paved way before the church. Here he was met by a number of young girls, daughters of the ambares or supreme judges, together with many noble virgins standing on the right and left of the court. Two of the noblest of these held in their hands a crimson cord of silk, somewhat thicker than common whip cord, stretched across from one company to another, as if to shut up the road by which the king was approaching the church. When this cord was prepared and drawn tight about breast-high by the girls, the king entered; advancing moderately quick, and showing his skill in horsemanship as he went along. Being stopped by the tension of the string, the damsels asked, Who he was? To this he answered, "I am your king, the king of Ethiopia." But they replied, "You shall not pass; you are not our king." He then retired some paces, and again presented himself. The question was again put, "Who he was?" To which he answered, "I am your king, the king of Israel." But the same reply was still given by the girls. The third time, on being asked, "Who he was?", he answered, "I am your king, the king of Sion:" and drawing his sword, he cut the cord asunder. The damsels then cried out, "It is a truth, you are our king; truly you are the king of Sion." On this they began to sing Hallelujah, and were joined by the whole army and the rest of the king's attendants. Amidst these acclamations the king advanced to the foot of the stair of the church, dismounted, and sat down upon a stone; which, in Mr Bruce's opinion, was plainly an altar of Anubis or the Dog-star. After the king, came a number of priests in proper order. The king was first anointed, then crowned, and accompanied half up the steps by the singing priests. He stopped at a hole made on purpose in one of the steps, where he was fumigated with myrrh, aloes, and cassia: after which divine service was celebrated; and he returned to the camp, where 14 days were spent in feasting and rejoicing.

Ceremonies of this kind are now given over on account of the expense. Our author was informed by Tecla Haimanout, that when he was obliged to retire into Tigré from his enemies, Ras Michael had some thoughts of having him crowned in contempt of his enemies; but by the most moderate calculations that could be made, it would have cost 20,000 ounces of gold, about 80,000l. sterling; on which all thoughts of it were laid aside.

The Abyssinians compute time by the solar year. Mode of Thirty days constitute their month, to which they add five days and a quarter, and thus they complete the year. The five days are added to the month of August, and to every fourth year they add a sixth day. They begin their year with the 29th or 30th of August, i.e. the kalends of September; the 29th of August being the first of their month Mascaram. The common epoch which the Abyssinians use is from the creation of the world, and they reckon 5500 years from the creation to the birth of Christ, rejecting the odd eight years of the Greeks, who make this period 5508 years. They have also many other epochs, such as from the council of Nice and Ephesus. In their ecclesiastical computations they make use of the golden number and epact. The first use of epacts amongst them was not earlier, according to Scaliger, than the time of Dioclesian; but Mr Bruce observes, that this is contrary to the positive evidence of Abyssinian history, which says expressly, that the epact was invented by Abyssinia. Demetrius of Alexandria. This Demetrius was the 12th patriarch of Alexandria, and elected about the 190th year of Christ, or in the reign of Severus, and consequently long before the time of Dioclesian. The Abyssinians have another mode of computing time, that is peculiar to themselves. They read the whole of the evangelists, in order, every year, in their churches; and when they speak of an event, they write or say, it happened in the days of Matthew; that is, in the first quarter of the year, whilst they were reading the gospel of St Matthew in their churches. They compute the time of the day in a very arbitrary manner. The twilight being very short, is selected for the beginning of their day; this they call Naggê, which comprehends the duration of twilight. Mését expresses the moment when the evening twilight begins. Mid-day is called Kater, which signifies culmination. All the other parts of time they describe, in conversation, by pointing at the place in the heavens where the sun was, when the event, which they are describing, happened.

With regard to the manners of the Abyssinians, they are represented by Mr Bruce as highly barbarous. Their continual warfare inures them to blood from their infancy; so that even children would not have the least scruple at killing one another, or grown up persons, if they were able. Many shocking instances of hardness of heart are related by our author in 'Tecla Haimanout himself, though otherwise an accomplished prince. Their cruelty displays itself abundantly in the punishments inflicted upon criminals, one of which is flaying alive, as has been already related of Woosheka. Cutting in pieces with a sabre is another; and this is performed, not by executioners, whose employment is reckoned disgraceful as in this country, but by officers and people of quality. So little is this thought of indeed in Gondar, the capital of the empire, that Mr Bruce happening to pass by an officer employed in this work, who had three men to dispatch, the officer called to him to stop till he had killed them all, as he wanted to speak to him upon a matter of consequence. Stoning to death is a capital punishment likewise common in this country; and usually inflicted on Roman Catholics if they happen to be found, or upon other heretics in religion.

Manners of the Abyssinians. It is not to be supposed that people who regard the lives of one another so little, will show much compassion to the brute creation. In this respect, however, the Abyssinians are cruel and savage beyond all people on the face of the earth. There are many instances of people eating raw fish or flesh, and we call them barbarous that do so; but what name shall we give to those who cut off pieces of flesh from animals while still living, and eat it not only raw but still quivering with life! He informs us, that when at no great distance from Axum, the capital of Tigre, he fell in with three soldiers "driving a cow. They halted at a brook, threw down the beast, and one of them cut a pretty large collop of flesh from its buttock; after which they drove the cow gently on as before." In another place he tells us, that the flesh was taken from the upper part of the buttock; that the skin was flapped over the wound, fastened with a skewer, and a cataplasm of clay put over all. But it may be asked, how could the animal travel after those muscles were cut which are necessary to its motions? In his description of their feasts there is more consistency; for there the animal is tied so that it cannot move: after stripping off the skin, the flesh of the buttocks is cut off in solid square pieces, without bones or much effusion of blood; and the prodigious noise the animal makes is a signal for the company to sit down to table. The flesh is then cut smaller, laid on pieces of bread, powdered with pepper and salt, and eaten. All this time the animal bleeds but little: but when the large arteries are cut and it expires, the flesh becomes tough; and the wretches who have the rest to eat, gnaw it from the bones like dogs!

The truth of Mr Bruce's account of these horrible barbarities, as well as of many other parts of his narrative, has been questioned. Later testimony proves, that the practice of cutting flesh from living animals for eating does exist in the country; but it does not seem to be common; nor does it appear that public feasts are conducted with such circumstances of monstrous cruelty. In a few other particulars, later travellers have qualified Mr Bruce's statements. But they at the same time bear testimony to the accuracy of his description of the country and its inhabitants, and to his knowledge of its history, and thus give additional authority to all that is important in his work. Under the article Abyssinia, in the Supplement, an account is given of the new information furnished by Mr Salt's two journeys, and of the controversy regarding Bruce's accuracy.