Tie never would confent to his crofling tKe T aca z ze ; and5
this had, with moft people, the defired effeiit; for a ll Gonr
darloved TeclaHaimanoutas much as theydetefted Socinios;
but the hloodflied, and cruelty that would certainly attend5
Michael’s coming, made them wiih f6r any government that
would free them from the terror o f that event. On the
other hand, Socihibs, though now perfe itly perfuaded o f
•Fafil’s motives, had not deferted his-own caufe; he had
fent Woodage A'fahel,- fortified with all his authority, int.
to Maitffia, ih order to -raife a commotion- there ; ordered it
to be proclaimed to the whole body o f Galla in that province,
that i f they would come to Gondar, and prevent the
arrival o f Ras Michael', and bringr their Bouco (or fce^tre)
along with them, th e y ihould have the eleclion o f their
own governor, and not p a y any thing to the kin g fdr feven
years to come;- and,’ befides, he had - ordered Powufien o f
Begemder to endeavour, by a forced m arch, to furprife Fafil,,
then at Gondar, attended by a few troops. Mean time, he
diflembled the befthe could; but, ashehadvery ihrewdpeople
to deal with, it was more than probable his fecret was early.-
difcovered..
Ev e r y hand b e in g now armed,'and all tneafures taken, as -
far as human forefight could reach. it was impoflible to defer
any longer the coming to blows in fome part or o ther ..
Gn the at night, advice was received from Adera Tacca
Georgis, an officer o f Fafil in Maitiha, that he- had attacked
Woodage Afahel, who had collected a number o f troops,
and was endeavouring to raife commotions ; and, after an
obftinate combat, he had defeated him, and flaih o r w ounded
mofl o f his follow er s: that Afahel' himfelf, wounded
twice w ith a lance, had, by the goodhefs o f his horfe, efcap-
ed, and jqincd Eowuffen in Begemder,
‘ v T h e s e
T hese news occafionedFafil to throw o ff the maik : he now
publicly avowed it was his intention to redore Tecla Haim-
anout to the throne, and that, rather than fail in it, he would
replace Ras Michael in all his pods and dignities. He fait}
that Socinios was created for mockery only ; and publicly
aderted, that he was not fon o f Yafous, but o f one Mercurius,
a private man at Degwafia; and indeed he bore not, in his
features or carriage, any refemblance to the royal family
from which he pretended to be defcended.
So c in io s now faw that he was from henceforward to
look upon : Fafil as an enemy. Orders were accordingly
given to ih u t the gates of. the palace, and to dation a number
o f troops in the different courts and avenues leading
to the kin g’s apartment. No perfon was to be admitted to the
k in g without examination. The drums were beat, and con-
dant guard kept. ; and three hundred Mahometans taken into
his fervice as mufketeers ; a meafure that ga ve great offence,
F a s il had taken up his refidenee in the houfe which be- -
longed to the office o f Ras, at the other end o f the town 4 -
and, to ihew his contempt for the king, was very flighdy
guarded, his army remaining encamped under the palace.
One thing at this time feemed particularly remarkable ; a
drum was heard to heat in the houfe where Fafil was ;
whereas it is an invariable rule, that no drum is fuffered
to beat in the capital any where but in the houfe where the
k in g refides. It was faid that k in g Yafous, fécond fon to the
Iteghé, or queen-mother, and father to Joas, bad left two
fons by a Have o f the queen indeed he had fo many by low
people, that very little care was taken o f them, not even
that o f fending them to the mountain Wechné. One o f
F 2 thcfp.