the beauty and variety o f its plumage. I ftopt to make a-
rougl^ iheteh o f it* which m ight be finiflied at more leifure
this was fcarcely done,, and we again moving'forwards 6ri
our journey, when we heard a confufion o f flirill, barbarous
cries, and prefently faw a.number o f horfemen pouring
down upon ms, with their lances- lifted up in a pofture
ready to attack us immediately. The ground was woody
and uneven, ib they could not make the fpeed they feemed
to defire, and we had juft time to put ourfelves. upon our
defence with our firelocks,, mufquets, and blunderbuffes in
our hands,, behind our baggage. Woldo’ran feveral paces
towards them, kn owin g them by the cry to be friends, even
before he had feen them,, which was,. Fafil ali, Fafil. ali—
there is none but Fafil that commands here. Upon feeing us without
any marks o f difcompofure, they all ftopt with Waldo,.
and by him we learned that this was the party we had
pafled commanded, by xh&Lamb, who,, after we had left him,
had heard that five-Agow horfemen had pafled between the
army and his party, and from the lliot he had feared they
might have: attempted fomething againft us, and he had
thereupon, come to. qur affiftance with all the fpeed poU
fiblc; . •
T h u s did we fee- that this- man, who,, according to our-
id’eas; feemed in underftanding inferior to moft o f the brute
creation, had yet, in executing his orders, a difcernment,
punri.uality, activity^ andLfenfe o f duty,, equal to any Chrif-
man officer who Ihould have had a like commiffion ; ha
how appeared: to us in a quite different light than when
we; firft had met him; and his inattention, when we were
with him, was the more agreeable, as it left-us at our entire
Eberty, without tcazing or molefting.ua, when hecould be ,
off
o f no real fervice, as every Amharic foldier would have
done. On the other hand, his alacrity and refolution, in
the moment he thought us in danger, exhibited him to our
view as having on both occafions juft the qualities we could
have defired. We now, therefore, Ihewed him the utmoft
civility, fpread a table-cloth on the ground by the brook,
mixed our honey and liquid butter together in a plate, and
laid plenty o f teff bread befide it. We invited the Lamb to
fit down and breakfaft with us, which-he did; each o f us
dipping our hand with pieces, o f bread alternately into the
diih which contained the h o n e y ; but Strates, whofe heart
' was open, for he felt very gratefully the Lamb’s attention;
to fave him from being murdered by the Agows, pulled out
a large piece o f raw beef, part o f the bullock we killed at
Kelti, w hich he had perfectly cleared from all incumbrance -
o f bones, this he gave to the Lamb, defiring; him to divide
it among his men, which, he did, keeping a very fmall proportion
to himfelf, and which he a te before us. Drink we
had none, but the water o f the brook that ran by, for my
people had finiflied all o u r other liquors at Eelti after I was
in. bed, when they were taking their leave o f Guebra Mariam,,
Ozoro Efther’s fervant..
I t was now time to purfue dur journ e y; and, to ihew our
gratitude for the real fervice this Lamb intended to-have
rendered us, I gave him four times the quantity o f tobacco,
he had got before, and fo in proportion o f every other trifle^
all thefe he took with ahfolure^ indifference as formerly,
much as i f it had'been all his o w n ; he exprefled no. fort o f
thanks either in his words or in his countenance; only while
at breakfaft faid, that he was very much grieved that it had;
been but a falfe alarm, for he heartily defired that fome rob-
" - hers,