The kings of Abyssinia pretend to descend from King Solomon by the queen of _Sheba_ or _Saba_; who being delivered by the way, named her son _Melech_, and sent him to his father, to be by him declared king of Ethiopia. Whereupon Solomon anointed him, and gave him the name of _David_, after his grandfather. Solomon likewise appointed him a household, giving him officers of his own, and sent with him as high priest, Azaria the son of Zadoc, who stole the tables of the law from the temple of Jerusalem, and carried them along with his new prince. It is affirmed that the descendants of these original officers still possess the same employments. The Abyssinians had some knowledge of the law of Christ from Queen _Candace_, in whom they glory as being of their country: But their true apostles were St Philip and St Mathew. In memory of his descent, the king or emperor of Abyssinia begins the enumeration of his many titles in this manner: "_David_, beloved of God, pillar of the Faith, descendant of Judah, grandson of David, son of Solomon, son of the pillar of Sion, son of the progeny of David, son of the hand of Mary, &c. Emperor of the higher Ethiopia," &c. He dwells for the most part in a camp, resembling a populous city, and is frequently removing from one part of the country to another. In his messages, he uses a style similar to that of the kings of Portugal and Spain, beginning "_I the king_." The people are very religious, having many churches and great numbers of monasteries which belong only to two religious orders, that of St Anthony, and the Canons regular. Those religious persons who live in convents wear long cotton garments; but all the others, and their priests and nuns, are dressed in skins, hardly covering so much as modesty requires. They have no considerable towns, have little learning, no skill in mechanics, and are very rude in their diet and clothing. In such houses as assume any degree of grandeur, all the furniture is brought from other countries. There are as expert thieves in this country as our gypsies are in Europe. This is the substance of what could be gathered by the first discoverers of Abyssinia.