Other altercations, still more violent, ensued, and attempts were made
by the creatures of the naybe to break into his house and murder him in
the night; but these were constantly defeated by the courage and
fidelity of his servants. Achmet, too, the nephew of the naybe, exerted
whatever influence he possessed in behalf of the traveller; who, in
return, was, under Providence, the means of preserving his life; for
Achmet at this time falling ill of an intermittent fever, Bruce
assiduously attended and prescribed for him, and in the course of a few
days had the satisfaction of pronouncing him out of danger.
On the morning of the 6th of November, while at breakfast, Bruce
received the agreeable intelligence that three servants had arrived from
Tigrè; one from Jamai, the Greek, the other two from Ras Michael, both
wearing the royal livery. Ras Michael’s letters to the naybe were short.
He said the king’s health was bad, and that he wondered the physician
sent to him by Metical Aga from Arabia had not been instantly forwarded
to him at Gondar, as he had heard of his having been some time at
Masuah. He therefore commanded the naybe to despatch the physician
without loss of time, and to furnish him with all necessaries.
To these peremptory orders the naybe felt himself compelled to yield
obedience; and accordingly Bruce was at length suffered to depart. In
order, however, to make one attempt more at murdering the stranger, for
which the old man appeared to have acquired a kind of passion, he
furnished him with a guide and several attendants, who, it was suspected
by the nephew, had received secret orders to cut him off upon the road.
To counteract the designs of this worthy old relative, Achmet removed
these attendants, and replaced them by servants of his own; and
prevailing upon Bruce to proceed by a different route from that
recommended by the naybe, for which purpose he supplied him with another
guide, he took his leave, saying, “He that is your enemy is mine. You
shall hear from me by Mohammed Gibberti.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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