continue at Jidda, till the season after Mr. Bruce went from thence to Abyffinia. He had already heard once from him, and now a fecond time. He informed Mr. Bruce that his countrymen had been in the greatest pain for him; that several reports had been current, both at Jidda and Mocha, of his having been affaffinated; fometimes it was faid by the Naybe of Mafuah; fometimes that it had happened at Gondar; by others at Sennaar, in his return home. Captain Price wrote in this last letter, that, thinking Mr. Bruce must be diftreffed for want of money, he had left orders with Ibrahim Seraff, the English broker at Jidda, to advance him one thoufand crowns, defiring his draft to be fent to Ibrahim, directed to him or his brother at Bombay, and to make it payable to a gentleman of that name who lived in Smithfield.

Mr. Bruce's refolution being now taken, and leave ob.. tained, he confiders this as the proper place to resume the acCount of his finances. Mr. Bruce had occafionally borrowed from a Greek, whofe name was Petros. This man was originally a native of the island of Rhodes which he must have left early, for he was not at this time much past thirty; he had been by trade.a fhoemaker. For what reafon he left his own country, Mr. Bruce does not know, but he was of a very pleafing figure and addrefs, though very timid. The Iteghé very much distinguished him, and the king had made him Azeleffa el Carmifha, which answers precifely to groom of the ftole, or first lord of the bed chamber in England. Being pliant, civil, and artful, and always well-dreffed, he had gained the good graces of the whole court; he was also rich, as the king was generous, and his perquifites not inconfiderable.

After one of the campaigns, in which a dwarf was fhot who was standing before Ras Michael, and the palace set on fire in the fray which followed, the crown, which was under Petros's charge, was melted; the gold, indeed, that it confifted of, was afterwards found, but there was faid to have been on the top of it a pearl, or jewel, of immense price and fize, larger than a pigeon's egg; and this, whatever it was, had difappeared, being in all probability confumed by the fire. Ras Michael, on the contrary, believed that it had been taken

out

out by Petros with a view to fell it, and for this reafon he had constantly refused him liberty to leave Abyffinia, and had kept him always in fear, that fome day or other he would ftrip him of all that he had faved. While Michael was befieging the mountain Haramat, Petros befeeched Mr. Bruce to take 30l. of him, and gave him his first, second, and third bill of exchange, upon Meffrs. Julian and Rofa, his correfpondents at Cairo, payable a month after fight, to the Maronite Bishop of Mount Sinai, after which he fet out for his own country, in forma pauperis, and thereby escaped the rapacity of both Ras Michael and the Naybe of Mafuah. As for the bill, it came duly to hand, and was paid to the bishop, who would very fain have received for each of the duplicates, and was near being baftinadoed for infifting upon this before the Bey at Cairo.

Mr. Bruce had made a fhew, and, as he himself fays, with fome degree of oftentation, of fending his gold chain to Cairò by the hands of Metical Aga's fervant, declaring always that it was the only piece of Abyffinian gold he should carry out of the country, which he was to leave, both in fact and appearance a pauper. Mules are the only beafts for carriage commonly used in Abyffinia, though bulls and cows, of a particular kind, are bought for the purpose by carriers, merchants, and fuch like in that conntry, especially near the mines or quarries of falt; they are very flow, however, and capable of no great burden, though very easily maintained. Mr. Bruce had abundance of mules of his own for carrying his inftruments and baggage, and the king and Iteghé furnished him with others for his own riding. He had, befides, two favourite horses, which he intended to attempt to carry home, foolishly enough; for though he thought in his own mind, that he was fufficiently informed of, and prepared for all forts of hardships, he had not forefeen the hundreth part of the difficulties and dangers that were then awaiting him.

Since the Iteghé had returned, Mr. Bruce always lived at Kofcam by her own defire, as her health was very precarious fince her refidence in Gojam. This fuited his intention of. withdrawing privately, and therefore, not to multiply the

number

number of leave takings, he had reduced his whole attend. ance to the king and queen.

Mr. Bruce's whole attention was now taken up in prepa rations for his return through the kingdom of Sennaar and the defert. Mr. Bruce does not wish to take up the reader's time with a long narrative of leave taking, or what paffed between him and thofe illuftrious perfonages with whom he had lived fo long in the most perfect and cordial friendship. Men of little, and envious minds, would perhaps think he was com pofing a panegyric upon himself, from which therefore, he fays, he most willingly refrains.

Mr. Bruce then mentions what paffed at the last interview he had with the Iteghé, two days before his departure. Ten⚫ fa Chriftos, who was one of the chief priests of Gondar, was a native of Gojam, and consequently of the low church, or a follower of Abba Euftathius, in other words, as great an enemy as poffible to the Catholic, or as they call it, the religion of the Franks. He was, however, reputed a person of great probity and fanctity of manners, and had been on all occa frons rather civil and friendly to Mr. Bruce when they met, though evidently not defirous of any intimate connections or friendship; and as Mr. Bruce, on his part, expected little advantage from connecting himself with a man of his princi ples, he very willingly kept at all poffible distance.

This priest came often to the Iteghé's and Ayto Aylo's, with both of whom he was much in favour, and here Mr. Bruce happened to meet him, when he was taking his leave in the evening. "I beg of you, (faid he) Yagoube, as a favour, to tell me, now you are immediately going away from this country, and you can answer me without fear, Are you really a Frank, or are you not ?"" Sir, (faid Mr. Bruce) I do not know what you mean by fear; I fhould as little decline anfwering you any question you have to afk had I ten years to stay, as now I am to quit this country to-morrow; I came recommended, and was well received by the king and Ras Michael: I neither taught nor preached; no man ever heard me fay a word about my particular mode of worship; and as often as my duty has called me, I have never failed to attend

divine service as it is established in this country. What is the ground of fear that I fhould have while under the king's protection, and customs of Abyffinia ?" “True, (replied Tenfa Chriftos) I do not say you should be alarmed; whatever your faith is I would defend you myfelf; the Iteghé knows I always fpoke well of you; but will you gratify an old man's curiofity, in telling me whether or not you really are a Frank, · Catholic, or Jesuit ?”

"I have too great a regard, (replied Mr. Bruce) to the requeft of a man, fo truly good and virtuous as you, not to have answered you the question at whatever time you could have asked me and I do now declare to you, by the word of a Christian, that my countrymen and I are more distant in matters of religion, from these you call Catholics, Jefuits, or Franks, than you and your Abyffinians are; and that a prieft of my religion, preaching in any country fubject to those Franks, would as certainly be brought to the gallows as if he had committed murder, and just as speedily as you would ftone a Catholic priest preaching here in the midst of Gondar. Every man in our country is allowed to ferve God in his own way; and as long as their teachers confine themfelves to what the facred books have told them, they can teach no ill, and therefore deserve no punishment. No religion, indeed, teaches a man evil; but, when forgetting this, they preach against government, curfe the king, abfolve his fubjects from allegiance, or incite them to rebellion, as being Jawful, the fword of the civil power cuts them off, without any blame falling upon their religion, because these things were done in contradition to what their priests, from the fcripture, fhould have taught them were truly the tenets of that very religion." The Iteghé now interpofed, and the fubject was dropped.

Mr. Bruce then got up, and, paffing to the other fide of the room, he stood by Tenfa Chriftos, faying to him, "And now, holy father, I have one, last favour to ask you, which is your forgiveness, if I have at any time offended you; your bleffing, now that I am immediately to depart, if I have not; and your prayers while on my long and dangerous journey, through countries of Infidels and Pagans.”

E e

A hum

A hum of applaufe founded all throughout the room. The Iteghé faid fomething, but what, Mr. Bruce did not hear. Tenfa Chriftos was surprised apparently at Mr. Bruce's hu mility, which he had not expected, and cried out, with tears in his eyes," Is it poffible, Yagoube, that you believe my prayers can do you any good?"—"I should not be a Christian, as I profess to be, Father, (replied Mr. Bruce) if I had any doubt of the effect of good men's prayers." So faying, he ftopped to kiss his hand, when he laid a small iron cross upon his head, and, to our traveller's great surprise, instead of a benediction, repeated the Lord's prayer. Mr. Bruce was afraid he would have kept him stooping till he fhould add the ten commandments likewife, when he concluded, "Gzier y' Baracuc," May God bless you. After which, Mr. Bruce made his obeisance to the Iteghe, and immediately withdrew, it not being the custom, at public audiences, to falute any one in the presence of the fovereign.

Twenty greasy monks, however, had placed themselves in his way as he went out, that they might have the credit of giving him the bleffing likewife after Tenfa Chriftos. As he had very little faith in the prayers of these drones, fo he had fome reluctance to kifs their greasy hands and fleeves; however, in running this disagreeable gauntlet, he gave them his bleffing in English,—“ Lord send you all a halter, as he did to Abba Salama," (meaning the Acab Saat.) But they, thinking he was recommending them to the patriarch Abba Salama, pronounced at random, with great feeming devotion, their amen,-So be it.

TRAVELS