flic has ftaid till the very laft day befpre.lhe ventured, for
fear o f accidents. Guiho’s men fet the fiih down at the
advanced guard, and returned with the officer who had attended
me, while I went towards the k in g ’s tent, muling
what all this might mean, what power was to carry us to
Gondar, difband the army, depofe Michael, and not . hurt
the king.
I f o u n d the k in g had not been well, and had taken
warm water to vomit, a remedy I advifed him fomedmes
to make ufe of, not chooling to venture on all ovcafions to
give him medicines, and he was then quiet. I therefore
went to Ras Michael, who was alone, and feemingly mdch
chagrined. -He interrogated me ftrifily as to what palled
between me and Guiho. I told him the difcourfe about
Woodage Afahel’s death, and about Eafil ; then about the
lick family I had feen, the offer o f money, the filh, &c.
The fame I repeated when I went back to the king, but
nothing about our meeting at Gondar. 1 begged, however,
as he Hill complained a little o f his head, that he would fee
nobody that night, but lie down and compofe himfelf, allowin
g me to wait in the leCretary’s apartment till hé fhould
awake. I thought he embraced this propofal willingly,
Ozoro Either having had a long conference with him the
night beforç. I do not imagine the date o f the realm h id
much fliare in their converfation. After he was laid down,
I went and found Azage Kyrillos, and with him the beautiful
daughter o f Tecla Mariam, who was juft dreffed to go
to Ozoro Elther’s. She faid fhe would either take me along
with her to Ozoro Efther’s, or flay, and thé k in g would fend
us fupper at her father’s. I excufed myfelf from either,
on account o f the k in g ’s indifpolition, and my bulinefs with
3 her
her father, who, gueiling by my countenance I had fome-
thing material to communicate, fent her on her vifit, and fo
w e were left alone... ,
As he was a man with w hom I had always lived in the
rnoft confidential friendffiip; and knew the fame fubfifted
bètween him and the k in g , I made no fcruple to tell him,
word for word, what I had heard from Guiho, and Enge-
dan’s fervant. He faid, without any feeming furprife, Why,
we are all worn out, but ftate all this to the king; Soon
after, came in the Have: who had the charge o f the k in g ’s
hed-chamber, and told the fecretary that; the k in g found
himfe lf well, only wanted to know what he ihould drink.
I ordered him fome water, with fome ripe tamarinds, a Ik
quor he ufually took in time o f Lent. See him and advife
hitri yourfelf, fays thé fecretary, I accordingly went in,
and told the k in g the whole flory. He feemed to be in
great agitation, repeating frequently, “ O God ! O G o d 1 o
Guebra Menfus Kedus*!”— “ Who is this Guebra Menfus
Kedus ?” faid I afterwards to Tecla Mariam, w ho in his
heart believed in him no more than I did. “ Why,, anfw.er-
ed he gravely, he is a great faint, who n ev ir ate or drank
from his mother’s womb till .his death, faid mafs at Jerufa-
lem every day, and came home at night in form o f a ftork.”
— “ But a bad regimen his, faid I, for fuch violent exercife”'
“ That is hot all, fays Tecla Mariam, he fought with the I
devil once in Tigré, and threw him over the rock Amba Sa-
lam, and killed him.”— “ I wiffi you joy, faid I, this is good
news indeed.” A ll this converfation had paflèd in h a lf a
whifper..
* Serrant of. the Holy Ghofl