James Bruce

“ Sitt. "Safely! God forgive you! you are throwing yourself away wantonly. Idris himself, king of this country, dares not undertake such a journey. But why did not you go along with Mahomet Towash? He set out only a few days ago for Cairo, the same way you are going, and has, I believe, taken all the Hybeers with him. Go call the porter", says she to her slave. When the porter came, "Do you know if Mahomet Towash is gone to Egypt?" "I know he is gone to Barbar, says the porter, the two Mahomets, and Abd el Jelleel, the Bishareen, are with him." "Why did he take all the Hybeers?" says Sittina. ”

“ I say to you now, as I did to your master in the morning, that he cannot either rob or murder me at Teawa without all your nation being responsible for it, wherever they shall go. But I am not a sheep, or a lamb, to be spoiled of my goods, or robbed of my life, without defending myself to the utmost; and I tell you, for your proper instruction, that there are probably now at Sennaar, people from the king of Abyssinia, complaining of my being detained here, and demanding justice. ”

“ A little further in the opening to the river Mariam, I found myself in the middle of about twenty persons, three or four of whom were upon mules, in long clean white clothes, as if in peace, the rest apparently soldiers; this was Engedan's brother, Aylo, whom I was passing without recollecting him, when he cried, Where do you come from, Yagoube? this is not a night for white men like you to be alone ”

“ At this instant an old man, of a noble appearance, who sat in a corner of the room next him, got up, and, in a firm tone of voice, said, "I can bear this no longer; we shall become a proverb, and the hatred of all mankind. What have you to do with Yagoube, or why did you send for him? he was favoured by the late king, but not more than I have seen Greeks or Armenians in all the late reigns; and yet these very people confess, in their own country, they are not worthy of being his servants. ”

“ About thirty of Kefla Yasous's infantry, however, lost their lives by staying behind, and intoxicating themselves with liquor. Of the horse, not a man was either killed or wounded. I was the only unfortunate person; and Providence had seemed to warn me of my danger the day before, for passing then that rock which projected into the valley, the fire giving perfect light, the multitude assembled above, and prepared for that purpose, poured down upon us such a shower of arrows, stones, billets of wood, and broken jars, as is not to be imagined. ”

“ There is, indeed, nothing more different than active and passive courage. Hagi Ismael would fight, but he had not strength of mind to suffer. At eleven o'clock, while we contemplated with great pleasure the rugged top of Chiggre, to which we were fast approaching, and where we were to solace ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris cried out, with a loud voice, Fall upon your faces, for here is the simoom. ”

“ It does not seem to me that they should pride themselves in being free citizens, because the first title of nobility in this country is that of slave; indeed there is no other. Upon any appearance of your undervaluing a man at Sennaar, he instantly asks you if you know who he is? if you don't know that he is a slave, in the same idea of aristocratical arrogance, as would be said in England upon an altercation, do you know to whom you are speaking? do you know that I am a peer? All titles and dignities are undervalued, and precarious, unless they are in the hands of one who is a slave. ”

“ If the man's life be now taken away, to-morrow we may meet the Bishareen, and then we shall all reflect upon the folly of our precaution. For my own part, my constant creed is, that I am in God's hands, whether in the house or in the desert; and not in those of the Bishareen, or of any lawless spoiler. I have a clear conscience, and am engaged in no unlawful pursuit, seeking on foot my way home, feeding on bread and water, and have done, nor design, wrong to no man. ”

“ Her mother being an Arab of the tribe of Jehaina, her complexion was a dark brown. Such was the beautiful Aiscach, daughter of the eldest of the ladies that I was then attending.
Neither sickness nor medicine could prevent those who were present from discovering plainly how exceedingly I was disconcerted. Adelan's daughter said to me, You will think nothing of the women in Atbara, after so long a stay in Abyssinia; but the women in Europe, they say, are so white, that they are the handsomest of all. ”

“ Shekh Fidele's face turned pale; he could scarcely utter, "That is not true." "As that book is the word of God, says Ismael, (pointing to the Koran, lying in the sherriffe's lap) it is every word true. Look upon [390] my turban, (says he to Fidele) do you call me a liar?" Fid. "I did not call you a liar, only that Christian lied." Ism. "I say, that every word he spoke is truth, or I am no true believer. Was not your sword drawn, and your scabbard lying on the floor, when I entered the room? Was there any one present but him and you? Whom did you draw your sword upon?" ”

“ Now I ask you, If any priest, truly a Christian, from our parts, (not a Frank, but agreeing in every thing else with you) , was to preach against this, and some such like practices, frequently used in Abyssinia, could this priest live amongst you, or how would you treat him? Stone him to death, says Ayto Aylo, who was sitting by; stone him to death like a frank, or a Jesuit; he should not live a week. Yagoube is hard upon me, continued Tensa Christos, turning to the Iteghé, but I am sorry to say with truth, I fear they never would abandon the flesh-pots of Egypt, their ancient inheritance ”

“ Michael had sixteen always on the guard, ever since the attempt upon his life by the Guragué. In a moment all the camp was lighted, and the people awakened, whilst, as nobody knew the reason, the tumult increased. Francisco, with great exultation, upon seeing the Ras's torches lighted, cried, "See who is drunk now; where are your jokes? this will be a fine night, and nobody is armed." "Sir, said I, you saw Laeca Mariam and his guard armed; so is every other guard in the camp as much as ever; and you may thank God you have my servant's lance and shield, so you are armed. ”

“ Ozoro Esther, in the deepest concern, had attended her son from the moment of his arrival, and had seen his wound dressed and swathed up. A large gaping flesh-wound (such as his was) frightens ignorant people more than the small orifice made by a shot, which breaks bones and endangers life. Such was Ozoro Esther's apprehension; and every minute she inquired of me if I thought it was possible he could recover. I had not quitted him since he had got off his horse. I advised him by all means to go in a litter to Gondar, either carried by men or mules ”

“ The servant that had conducted me to Sennaar, and was then with us, went forward close to him, and said, in a kind of whisper, "Should he go often to the king?"—"When he pleases; he may go to see the town, and take a walk, but never alone, and also to the palace, that, when he returns to his own country, he may report he saw a king at Sennaar, that neither knows how to govern, nor will suffer others to teach him; who knows [442] not how to make war, and yet will not sit in peace." ”

“ Yagoube. "I was told that horses were not kept at Sennaar, and brought none with me." Adelan. "You suppose you have come through great dangers, and so you have. But what do you think of me, who am day and night out in the fields, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of Arabs, all of whom would eat me alive if they dared?" I answered, "A brave man, used to command as you are, does not look to the number of his enemies, but to their abilities; a wolf does not fear ten thousand sheep more than he does one." ”

“ Sure, said I, Ayto Confu knows, that heavy armed-men on horseback are not fit to force passes [56] through craggy mountains, where they may be all killed by rolling stones upon them, without their even seeing their enemy. Strange, strange, said I, (speaking to myself) that any party should be so audacious as to take post in the king's front, at six miles distance, and put themselves between him and the capital: I am sure they heartily deserve to be cut in pieces, and so they certainly will. Where is Ayto Confu? ”

“ Are you willing to be declared in rebellion?" He said, "By no means; he had always been a faithful servant to Ayto Confu, Ras Michael, and the king, and had come to Serbraxos upon receiving the first order, and would obey whatever I should command." "Then pay me the meery you owe me, and begin first by bringing two camels." "He said, he never refused the camels, and the message he sent was but in sport." "And was it sport too, Sir, said I, when you said you would send me the flesh of elephants to eat? Did you ever know a Christian eat any sort of flesh that a Mahometan killed?" ”

“ Going one evening to wait upon the king, and being already within the palace, passing through a number of rooms that are now totally deserted, where the court of guard used to be kept, I met Mahomet, the king's servant, who accompanied us from Teawa. Such people, though in reality often enough drunk, yet if they happen to be sober at the time of their committing a crime, counterfeit drunkenness, in order to avail themselves of it as an excuse. ”

“ Shekh Adelan, armed, as he fought, with his coat of mail and war saddle, iron-chained bridle, brass cheek-plates, front-plate, breast-plate, large broad-sword, and battle-ax, did not weigh less upon the horse than 26 stone, horseman's weight. This horse kneeled to receive his master, armed as he was, when he mounted, and he kneeled to let him dismount armed likewise, so that no advantage could be taken of him in those helpless times when a man is obliged to arm and disarm himself piece by piece on horseback. Adelan, in war, was a fair-player, and gave every body his chance. ”

“ Hagiuge Magiuge, says he, are little people, not so big as bees, or like the zimb, or fly of Sennaar, that come in great swarms out of the earth, aye, in multitudes that cannot be counted; two of their chiefs are to ride upon an ass, and every hair of that ass is to be a pipe, and every pipe is to play a different kind of music, and all that hear and follow them are carried to hell. ”

“ Sir, says one of the strangers that drove the asses, it is a lie. No man but Ayto Confu, not even Ayto Confu himself, could raise 500 men in this country; no not even 300, Pagans, Mahometans, and Christians altogether. Where is he to get his Pagans? unless he means his own Christian sort, who, indeed, are more Pagans than any thing else, and capable of every mischief; but there is not a Mahometan on this road that does not know who you are, and that you was Yasine's master, and gave him Ras el Feel. ”

“ Belal answered, That travellers through these countries must take up with such people as they can find going the same way; however, he believed some English servants had died in Abyssinia, which country I had left the first opportunity that had offered, being wearied by the perpetual war which prevailed. Upon which the king said, "He has chosen well, when he came into this country for peace. You know, Hagi Belal, I can do nothing for him; there is nothing in my hands. I could easier get him back into Abyssinia than forward him into Egypt. Who is it now that can pass into Egypt?" ”

“ K. "Adelan has sent for you by my desire; Wed Abroff and all the Jehaina Arabs have rebelled, and will pay no tribute. They say you have a quantity of powerful fire-arms with you that will kill twenty or thirty men at a shot." Ya. "Say fifty or sixty, if it hits them." K. "He is therefore to employ you with your guns to punish those Arabs, and spoil them of their camels, part of which he will give to you." I presently understood what he meant, and only answered, "I am a stranger here, and desire to hurt no man. My arms are for my own defence against robbery and violence." ”

“ Each horse had a number of brass bells at his neck, and they no sooner appeared than the whole cavalry of the enemy, starting at the hideous figure and noise, fell into confusion, and, being closely pressed with violent blows of their great swords, no longer disputed the ground, but left the field on the gallop. A beautiful grey horse of Gusho's, superbly ornamented with gold and silver, and having a very rich broad-sword hanging at his saddle, and a pole-ax on the other side under the surcingle, was taken by some soldiers of Ras el Feel, who spread the report instantly that Gusho was slain. ”

“ What is the difference to Yagoube, says he, if Shekh Adelan be at Aira, three hours journey from Sennaar, or at Shaddly, five? Is not Kittou in town? and shall not I bring every slave of the king to join him upon the first requisition? At a time like this, will you persuade me, Hagi Belal, the king is not rather thinking of his own safety than of robbing Yagoube? I do not wish that Yagoube should stay a minute longer at Sennaar; but, till some way be found to get necessaries for his journey, it is not in the king's power to hurt him in the house where he is ”

“ The last Baady who was slain at Teawa was a perfect Negro; and by a slave from his own country he had the late king Nasser, who, like his father, was a perfect black. By an Arab of the tribe of Daveina he had Ismain the present king, who is white, and so it has invariably happened in the royal family, as well as in private ones. But what is still more extraordinary, though equally true, an Arab who is white, marrying a black woman slave, has infallibly white children. ”

“ On seeing him attentive, I continued, "The king sends you word by me, and I declare to you from my own skill as a physician, that the fever now amongst you will soon become mortal; as the rains increase, you will die; consequently, being out of your allegiance, God only knows what will happen to you afterwards. The king therefore wishes you to preserve your health, by going home to Amhara, taking Powussen, and all the rest along with you who are ill likewise, and the sooner the better, as he heartily wishes to be rid of you all at once, without your leaving any of your friends behind you." ”

“ But as he knows the stations of his people, and their courses at particular seasons, that day we meet one Bishareen, the man that is chained with him, and conducts him, shall instantly stab him to the heart, so that he shall not see, much less triumph in, the success of his treachery. On the contrary, if he is faithful, and informs Idris where the danger is, and where we are to avoid it, keeping us rather by scanty wells than abundant ones, on the day I arrive safely in Egypt I will cloath him anew, as also his women, give him a good camel for himself, and a load of dora for them all. ”