water abounds, with the fame industry kill the hippopotami, or river-horses, which are exceedingly numerous in the pools of the stagnant rivers. Where this flat belt, or country is broadeft, the trees thickeft, and the water in the largest pools, there the most powerful nations live, who have often defeated the royal army of Abyffinia, and conftantly laid waste, and fometimes nearly conquered, the provinces of Tigré and Siré, the most warlike and most populous part in Abyffinia.

Mr. Bruce, before he gives over the account of the Shangalla, delivers them again out of their caves, because this re turn includes the history of an operation never heard of per haps in Europe. No fooner does the fun pass the zenith, going fouthward, than the rains inftantly cease; and the thick canopy of clouds, which had obfcured the sky during their continuance, being removed, the fun appears in a beautiful fký of pale blue, dappled with small thin clouds, which foon after difappear, and leave the heavens of a most beautiful azure. A very few days of the intense heat then dries the ground fo perfectly, that it gapes in chafins ; the grass, struck at the roots by the rays, fupports itself no more, but droops and becomes parched. To clear this away, the Shangalla fet fire to it, which runs with incredible violence the whole breadth of Africa, paffing under the trees, and following the dry grafs among the branches with fuch velocity as not to hurt the trees, but to occafion every leaf to fall.

A proper diflance is preserved between each habitation, and round the principal watering-places; and here the Shangalla again fix their tents in the manner before defcribed. Nothing can be more beautiful than thefe fhady habitations; but they have this fatal effect, that they are difcernible from the high grounds, and guide their enemies to the places inhabited. The country now cleared, the hunting begins, and, with the hunting the danger of the Shangálla. All the governors bordering upon the country, from the Baharnagaf to the Nile on the west, are obliged to pay a certain number of flaves.

The Shangalla go all naked; they have feveral wives, and thefe very prolific. They bring forth children with the utmoft eafe, and never reft or confine themselves after delivery,

but

but washing themselves and the child with cold water, they wrap it up in a foft cloth made of the bark of trees, and hang it upon a branch, that the large ants, with which they are infested, and the serpents, may not devour it. After a few days, when it has gathered ftrength, the mother carries it in the fame cloth upon her back, and gives it fuck with the breaft, which the throws over her fhoulder, this part being of fuch a length, as in fome to reach almoft to their knees.

From the constant interruptions Quftas had met with in all his hunting-matches, the divining monks had prophefied his reign was to be short, and attended with much bloodshed; nor were they for once diftant from the truth; for, in the month of January, 1714, while he was overlooking the workmen building the church of Abba Antonius at Gondar, he was taken fuddenly ill, and, suspecting fome unwholesomenefs or witchcraft in his palace, he ordered his tent to be pitched without the town till the apartmentsshould he smoaked with gun powder. But this was done fo carelessly by his fervants, that his house was burnt to the ground, which was looked upon as a very bad omen, and made a very great impreffion on the minds of the people.

It was generally understood that the king was dangerously ill, and that his complaint was every day increafing. Upon this the principal officers went, according to the usual custom, to condole with and comfort him. This was at least what they pretended. Their true errand, however, was pretty well known to be an endeavour to ascertain whether the ficknefs was of a kind likely to continue, till measures could be adopted with a degree of certainty to take the rains of government out of his hand. The king eafily divined the reason of their coming. Having had a good night, he used the ftrength he had thereby required to roufe himself for a moment, to put on the appearance of health, and fhew himself, as ufual, engaged in his ordinary difpatch of bufinefs. The feeming good countenance of the king made their condolence premature. Some excufe however, for fo formal a vifit, was neceffary; but every apology was not fafe. They adopted this, which they thought unexceptionable, that, hearing he was fick, which they happily found he was not, they came to

propofe

propose to him a thing equally proper whether he was fick or well; that he would in time fettle his fucceffion upon his fon Fail, then in the mountain of Wechné, as a means of a quieting the minds of his frinds, preventing bloodshed, and fecuring the crown to his family. Ouftas did the utmost to command himself upon this occafion, and to give them an anfwer fuch as fuited a man in health who hoped to live many years. But it was now too late to play fuch a part; and in fpite of his utmost diffimulation, evident figns of decay appeared upon him.

On the 10th day of February Oustas died, but whether of a violent or natural death is not known. Pofterity regarding his merit more than his title, have, however, kept his name ftill among the lift of kings; and tradition, doing him more justice still than history, has ranked him among the best that ever reigned in Abyffinia.

DAVID immediately upon his acceffion, appointed FitAuraris Agrè, Ozoro Keduste's brother, his Betwudet, and Abra Hezekias his master of the household, and was proceeding to fill up the inferior posts of government, when he was interrupted by the clamours of a multitude of monks, demanding a convocation of the clergy. David was a rigid adherent to the church of Alexandria, and educated by his mother in the tenets of the monks of Saint Euftathius, that is, the most declared enemies of every thing approaching to the tenets of the church of Rome. He was, confequently, not by inclination, neither was he by duty obliged to undertake the defence of measures adopted by Oustas, of which he was befides ignorant, having been confined in the mountain of Wechné. ordered, therefore, the miffionaries, and their interpreter, whose name was Abba Gregorius, to be apprehended. These unfortunate people were accordingly produced before the most prejudiced and partial of all tribunals. The trial neither was nor intended to be long. The first question was put a very direct one; "Do you, or do you not receive the coun

He

cil of Chalcedon as a rule of faith? and, Do you believe that Leo the pope lawfully and regularly prefided at it, and conducted it?" to this the prifoners plainly answered, "That they looked upon the council of Chalcedon as the fourth general council, and received it as fuch, and as a rule of faith; that they did believe pope Leo lawfully and regularly prefi ded at it, as being head of the Catholic church, fucceffor to St. Peter, and Chrift's vicar upon earth." Upon this a geneeral fhout was heard from the whole affembly; and the fatal cry, "Stone them.-Whoever throws not three ftones, he is accurfed, and an enemy to Mary," immediately followed.

One priest only, diftinguished for piety and learning among.. his countrymen, and one of the chief men in the affembly, with great vehemence, declared they were tried partially and unfairly, and condemned unjustly. But his voice was not heard amidst the clamours of fuch a multitude; and the imonks were accordingly by the judges condemned to die. Ropes were inftantly thrown about their necks, and they were dragged to a place behind the church Abbo, in their way to Tedda, where they were, according to their sentence, flonned to death, fuffering with patience and refignation equal to the first martyrs..

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Confpiracies against the king, owing to his having maffacred! many monks, were every where openly talked of, the fruits! of which foon appeared. David fell fick, and thofe about him endeavoured to purfuade him, that it was the renrains of an injury which he had lately received from a fall off his horfe. But, upon the meeting of the council on the 9th of March 1719, it was discovered and proved, that Kafmati Laté and Ras Georgis had employed Kutcho, keeper of the palace, to give a ftrong poifon to the king, which he had taken that morning from the hands of a mahometan, Ras Georgis was then brought before the council, and fcarcely denied the fact; upon which his only fon was ordered to be hewn to pieces before his face, and immediately after the father's eyes wer pulled out. Kutcho, keeper of the palace, and the Mahometan who gave the poison, were hewn to pieces with fwords before the gate of the palace, and their mangled bodies thrown to the dogs. The king died that evening in great agony.

BACUFFA.

BACUFF A.

FROM 1719 TO 1729.

BACUFFA, who now fucceeded to the throne, was exceedingly fond of divinations, dreams, and prophecies, so are alt the Abyffinians; but he imbibed an additional propensity to these among the Pagans to whom he had fled. One day when walking alone, he perceived a priest exceedingly attentive in obferving the forms that little pieces of ftraw, cut to certain lengths, made upon a pool of water, into which rana fmall ftream. From the combination of these in letters, or figures, as they chanced to fall, an answer is procured to the doubt proposed, which, if you believe these idlers, is perfectly infallible.

The new king in disguise, dressed like a poor man, is said to have afked the priest after what he was inquiring. The priest answered, he was trying whether the king would have a fon, and who fhould govern the kingdom after him. The king abode the investigation patiently; and the answer was, that he fhould have a fon; but that a Walleta Georgis fhould govern the kingdom after him for thirty years, though that Walleta Georgis fhould be neither his fon nor any defcendant of his. Full of thought at this untoward prediction, he harboured it in his breaft without communicating it to any one, and refolved to blaft the hopes of every Walleta Georgis that should be fo unfortunate as to stand within the poffibility of reigning after him. Many innocent people of different parts difappeared from this unknown crime; and eleven princes on the mountain of Wechné, fome fay more, loft their lives for a name that is very common in Abyffinia, without one overt act of treason, or even a fufpicion of what they were accufed. A panic now ftruck all ranks of people, without terminating in any scheme of refiftance; which fufficiently fhewed that the king had fucceeded in diffolving all confederacies among his subjects, and destroying radically that rebellious spirit which had operated fo fatally in the laft reigns.

Among the kings of Abyffinia, it is a cuftom, especially in intervals