of them; they also gave her fome gold; but she, more generous and nobler in her fentiments than they, feemed to pay little attention to these that announced to her the feparation from her friends; fhe tore her fine hair, which fhe had every day before braided in a newer and more graceful manner; fhe threw herself upon the ground in the houfe, and refused to fee our travellers mount on horfeback, or take their leave, and came not to the door till they were already fet out, then followed them with her good wishes and her eyes as far as she could fee or be heard.

Mr. Bruce took his leave of Kefla Abay, the venerable priest of the most famous river in the world, who recommended him with great earnestness to the care of his god, which as one of our travellers humorously enough obferved, meant nothing less than he hoped the devil would take him. All the young men in the village, with lances and shields, attended them to Saint Michael Sacala, that is, to the borders of their country, and end of Mr. Bruce's little fovereignty.

TRAVELS

TRAVELS

TO DISCOVER

The SOURCE of the NILE.

BOOK VII.

Return from the Source of the Nile to Gondar-Mr. Bruce prepares to leave Abyffinia.

ON

N the 10th of November, 1770, our travellers left Geesh on their return to Gondar, and paffed the Abay, under the church of Saint Michael Sacala. The next day, they continued their journey in their former road, and in the afternoon they halted at the house of Shalaka Welled Amlac, with whom Mr. Bruce was well acquainted at Gondar; his houfe is called Welled Abea Abbo, from a church of Abbo about an eighth part of a mile distant.

Here Mr. Bruce settled with his former guide Woldo, to his perfect fatisfaction, and cancelled entirely the memory of fome disagreeable things paffed. He then configned our traveller very folemnly to Ayto Aylo's fervant, in presence of Welled Amiac, and then took his leave.

On the 12th of November, having fettled their account with their hoft, they fet out from the hofpitable house of Shalaka Welled Amlac. Their landlord accompanied them in perfon to the ford; and by this, and his

2

readiness

readiness to fhew them what he thought worthy of their curiofity, and by his care in afcertaining for them the distances and fituations of places, he gave them a certain proof he was well contented, and, therefore, that they had nothing to fear.

They gained, with difficulty, the middle of the river, where the bottom was firm, and there they rested little. Whilst they were wading near the other fide, they found foul ground, but the water was fhallow, and the banks low and easy to afcend. The river fide, as far as they could fee, was bare and deftitute of wood of any kind, only bordered with thiftles and high grafs, and the water tinged deep with red earth, of which its banks are compofed. This paffage is called Delakus, and is paffable from the end of October to the middle of May. Immediately on the top of the hill afcending from the river is the small town of Delakus, which gives this ford its name; it is more confiderable in appearance than is the generality of these small towns or villages in Abyffinia, because inhabited by Mahometans only, a trading, frugal, intelligent, and induftrious people.

Their conductor, Welled Amlac, put our travellers in mind of the service he had rendered them, and they were not unmindful of him. He had been received with very great respect at the laft place, and it is incredible with what expedition he swallowed near a pound of raw flesh cut from the buttocks of the animal yet alive. After fome horns of hydromel, he paffed to the other fide, where he was received with ftill more affection, if poffible, by Welleta Michael; and there he began again to eat the raw meat with an appetite as keen as if he had fafted for whole days; he then configned our travellers to Ayto Welleta Michael, his friend, who furnished them with a fervant to conduct them on their way, while he himself remained that night at the ford.

They left the ford at five in the evening, and, purfuing their journey north, they paffed the fmall town of Delakus, continuing along the hill among little fpots of brush wood and fmall fields of corn intermixed.

Maitha, the place our travellers were now preparing to leave, is governed by ninety-nine Shums, and is an appendage of the office of Betwuder, to whom it pays

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two thousand ounces of gold. The people are originally of thofe Galla weft of the Abay. Yafous the Great, when at war with that people, who, in many preceding reigns, had laid waste the provinces of Gojam and Damot, and especially Agow, when he paffed the Abay, found these people at variance among themselves; and the king, who was every where victorious, being joined by the weakeft, advanced to Narea, and, on his return, tranfplanted thefe Galla into Maitfha, placing part of them along the Nile to guard the paffes. His fucceffors at different times followed his example; part they fettled in Maitsha, and part along the banks of the Nile in Damot and Gojam, where being converted to Christianity, at leaft to fuch Chriftianity as is profeffed in Abyffinia, they have increased exceedingly, and amounted, at leaft before the war in 1768, to 15,000 men, of whom about 4000 are horsemen.

Mr. Bruce's fervants and baggage arrived at Gondar, while he himself went to Kofcam, and thus finished their long-projected expedition, or journey, to the fountains of the Nile, having, in their return home, made, as it were, the chord of the arch of their former journey, or about ninety-three miles.

It was not till the 23d of November, owing to the troubles that then reigned in the capital of Abyffinia, that Mr. Bruce faw the Iteghé. She fent for him early in the morning, and had a large breakfast prepared: fhe looked very much worn out and indifpofed. When he came firft into her prefence, he kneeled, with his forehead to the ground. She put on a very serious countenance, and, without defiring him to rife, faid gravely to her people about her, "There, fee that madman, who in times like thefe, when we the natives of the country are not safe in our own houses, rafhly, against all advice, runs out into the fields to be hunted like a wild beaft by every robber, of which this country is full." She then made him a fign to rife, which he did, and kiffed her hand. “Madam, faid he, if I did this, it was in confequence of the good leffons your majefty deigned to give me. ""Me! fays fhe, with furprife, was it I that advised you, at fuch a time as this, to put yourself in the way of men like Coque Abou Barea, and Wood

age

age Afahel, to be ill-used, robbed, and probably murdered "-" No, faid Mr. Bruce, Madam, you certainly never did give me fuch advice; but you must own that every day I have heard you fay, when you was threatened by a multitude of powerful enemies, that you was not afraid, you was in GoD's hands, and not in theirs. Now, Madam, Providence has hitherto protected you? I have, in humble imitation of you, had the fame Chriftian confidence, and I have fucceeded; I knew I was in GoD's hands, and therefore valued not the bad intentions of all the robbers in Abysfinia."

Mr. Bruce next proceeds to give the history of the Abyffinians during his refidence among them. This fubject employs feveral fheets; but, as they contain only a detail of horrid rebellions, battles, blood, and flaughter, and fuch as the readers of this abridgement can be no ways interested in, we fhall content ourselves with obferving, that Mr. Bruce feems to have shewn great courage in feveral instances, and on that account was presented by the king with a large chain of gold, with very maffy links, which he doubled twice, and then put it over Mr. Bruce's neck. The chain confifted of 184 links, each of them weighing 3 1-12 pennyweights of fine gold, “It was with the utmoft reluctancce, fays Mr. Bruce, that, being in want of every thing, I fold a great part of this honourable diftinction at Sennaar in my return home. It is hoped my fucceffors will never have the fame excuse I had for further diminishing this honourable monument which I have left them."

After the troubles had ceafed, and Ras Michael, of whom we have before fpoken, was fent away prisoner from Gondar, the queen returned to Kofcam, where Mr. Bruce paffed a great part of his time, but his health declining every day, he had obtained, with great difficulty, liberty from her to attempt his return home. The king, too, after a hundred exceptions and provifos, had at length been brought to give an unwilling confent.

Captain Thomas Price, of the Lion of Bombay, had been obliged, by this bufinefs with the government of Mecca, to continue at Jidda, till the feafon after Mr.

Bruce