As foon as he had heard in how favourable a m anner Wood-
age Afahel had -been received, he decamped, taking with;
him 400 horfe and 600 foot,all chofen men, from Maitlha and
Damot, an d with thefe he advanced, by forced marches, to Gon-
dar, where he arrived the 2d o f November, to the furprife o f
the wnole town and court, for he had already fo often pro-,
mifed, and fo often broken his word, that nobody pretended
to guefs more about him till they actually faw him arrived^
That fame evening he waited on the queen, where he made
a ihort yifit he paid a; flill lhorter to the king, and nos
buliuefs palled at either o f thefe meetings.-
' T h e king,-Socinios, was now more than ever confirmed^
in the b elief o f Afahel’s information, becaufe, notwithftahdi
in g that Fafil knew perfeétly «his neceffities, and that for.
feven years he had not paid a farthing: to the revenue,,he
flill had not brought either payment, or prefeUnof any fort;
and, inftead "of coming with a large army to give battle to.
Ras Michael, he arrived as in peace with fcarce a body guards
and, what feemed to put the matter beyond a l l , doubt, the
very night o f his arrival, upon coming from his audience,
he fet Welleta Selafle at liberty, and fent h im to Tigré to his
uncle Ras Michael, loaded with many prefents, and with
every mark of. refpedt. There were, however, about Soei-
nios lotnc people o f w ifdom enough to ceunfel him to take
no notice o f this behaviour o f Fafil, which feemed to favour
ftrongly o f defiance ; and he was wife enough for a ihort:
time to follow their advice. As he had, by fair means,
gained Woodage Afahel, he thought he might, by purfuing
the fame conduit, fucceed with Fafil alfo.
In
t h e S o u r c e o f t h e n i l e . 35
In the morning, therefore, o f the 3d o f November, with-
out attempting further difcuffion, proclamation was made
that' Fafil was Ras and Betwudet, governor o f Damot, Manilla,
and Agow, and had the difpofal o f all place^under the
k in g throughout the em p it e d e c la r in g alfo, that all appointments
that had been made by th e Iteghe or himfelf, in
Fafd’s abfence, were null and void, to be again filled up by
Fafil only. Socinios, however, foon found that he had a
different fpirit to manage than that o f Woodage Afahej.
Fafil took him at his word, accepted o f the appointment, began
immediately to exercife his power, and the very firft day
he gave the pod o f Cantiba, that is, governor o f Dernbea,
toA y to Engedan, nephew to the queen-mother, and fon to
Kafmati Eihte, whom he himfelf had depofed, murdered,
and fucceeded in the government o f Damot and Maitlha;
and Selaffe Barea, brother to Ayto Aylo, he made Palamba-
ras. Thefe appointments juft planted the k in g in the difficulty
that was intended ; for the places had been given to
Kafmati Sanuda, as a recoinpence for refigning the polls o f
Ras and Betwudet, which were now conferred upon Fafil;
and Sanuda, whom Socinios believed his only friend, and
the perfon that raifed him to the throne, was now left def-
titute o f all employment whatever, by an adt o f feeming ingratitude
flowing from the k in g alone.
T he next day Fafil, purfuing the fame line o f conduit,
appointed Adera Taeca Georgis, a creature o f his own, Fit-
Auraris to the king. None o f thefe preferments Socinios
could be brought to comply with ; fo that when thefe noblemen
came to do homage for their refpeftive places, Socinios
abfolutely refufed to receive them, or difplace Kafmat
i Sanuda. This involved the k in g in flill greater difficul-
E 2 ties,