Mariam and G uebra Men fus Kedus, and prevented fromkiffi-
in g the ground ; the k in g held his hand uncovered, bur not
extended, that is, as. i f he did not intend or expetft that he
fhould kifs it. Amha Y afous, after the ftruggle was over
about the proftration, fuddenly feized the kin g’s hand and
killed it, \vith fonae refisftance on, the part o f the king, who,
when he had kifled th e hack o f his hand, turned th e '
palm likewife ; a great mark o f familiarity and confidence
in this country. There was a fmall ftool, about h a lf a foot
from the ground, covered with a Perfian carpet. Amha-
Yafous attempted to fpeak ftandi-ng, but was not fuffered,
but con drained by the two noblemen to fit down on the,
little ftool-; they then deluged him lb with rofe-water; that
3 do believe he never in his life was fo w et with rain. Afte
r feme, general qneffiions the tent was cleared. All-this ceremonial
was premeditated and;ftudied ; the etiquette- could
not have been more punctually and uniformly obferved1
in any court o f Europe; and would have j uft fignified what
it did here.
A m h a Y a so u s was a man fromttwenty-fix t o twenty-eight
years o f age, tall, and o f a juft degree o f corpulence, with
arms and legs finely m ad e ,; he had a -very -beautiful face,
fmall1 features, and the moft affable manners. I have thought,
-when I have feen them together, that the k in g, Engedan,
and himfelf, were-three o f the handfbmeft men I had ever
beheld in any country ; be fide s -this, ail three hadfme under-
ftandings, noble fentiments, and courage fuperior to the
great eft danger; charitable too, and humane inclinations,
were k n ot for that accurfed indifférence, or rather pro-
penfity, one o f them had to ihed human blood ; this the
4 , young
y o u n g k in g had imbibed in the fchool o f Michael, hut fo r
natural talents he certainly was the firft o f the three.
A p a r tm e n t s in the palace, and a table, were afligned to
Amha Yafous,, and he was ferved by the k in g ’s fervants as
well as His own; a guard was appointed at his door, the officer
o f which attended to receive his orders and take the
word daily. This was the manner o f receiving illuftrious
itrangers in m y time atGondar.. Anthule, a-Greek, maker
o f the k in g ’s wardrobe, was ordered frorn time to time to
bring him clothes o f the fame kind with thofe the k in g
wore. All the ©zeros, or noble women at court, fe ll violently
in love with Amha Yafous, as fame reported, except
Ozoro Efther. The young prince had not a grain o f cold-
nefs nor indifference in his n a tu re ; he carried himfelf,.
wherever- he went, with honourable, attentive, and decent
gallantry. But his chie f attention was paid to Welleta Se-
la ffe ; nor was Ras Michael jealous, nor, as public report
went, was Welleta Selaffe unkind. I was often in the evenings
in his parties at her h o u fe ; a fixed, never-changing melancholy
hung upon her face ; deep, and involuntary fighs
efcaped from her under vifible conftraint: it did not appear
to me poffible this could have been her behaviour, i f in actual
enjoyment o f fuccefsful love; or that, after having gratified
it, fhe could have put in execution that defperate re-
folntion which apparently fhe had then formed in her
mind,
A m h a Y a so us was fon o f a filler o f G u fh o ; it-was f a i i
afterwards that he had a commiffion from his father, governor
ofShoa, to detach Gufho, i f poffible, from his alliance
with Powulien, and bring him back to his allegiance to the