We then went all up to our kind landlord, Captain Thornhill, to whom I made my excuse, on account of the ill usage I had first met with from my own relation. He laughed very heartily at the narrative, and from that time we lived in the greatest friendship and confidence. All was made up, even with Yousef Cabil; and all heads were employed to get the strongest letters possible to the Naybe of Masuah, the king of Abyssinia, Michael Suhul the minister, and the king of Sennaar. Metical Aga, great friend and protector of the English at Jidda, and in effect, we may say, _sold to them_, for the great presents and profits he received, was himself originally an Abyssinian slave, was the man of confidence, and directed the sale of the king’s, and Michael’s gold, ivory, civet, and such precious commodities, that are paid to them in kind; he furnished Michael, like wise, with returns in fire-arms; and this had enabled Michael to subdue Abyssinia, murder the king his master, and seat another on his throne. On the other hand, the Naybe of Masuah, whose island belonged to the Grand Signior, and was an appendage of the government of the Basha of Jidda, had endeavoured to withdraw himself from his allegiance, and set up for independency. He paid no tribute, nor could the Basha, who had no troops, force him, as he was on the Abyssinian side of the Red Sea. Metical Aga, however, and the Basha, at last agreed; the latter ceded to the former the island and territory of Masuah, for a fixed sum annually; and Metical Aga appointed Michael, governor of Tigré, receiver of his rents. The Naybe no sooner found that he was to account to Michael, than he was glad to pay his tribute, and give presents to the bargain; for Tigré was the province from which he drew his sustenance, and Michael could have over-run his whole territory in eight days, which once, as we shall see hereafter, belonged to Abyssinia. Metical’s power being then universally acknowledged and known, the next thing was to get him to make use of it in my favour. We knew of how little avail the ordinary futile recommendations of letters were. We were veteran travellers, and knew the style of the East too well, to be duped by letters of mere civility. There is no people on the earth more perfectly polite in their correspondence with one another, than are those of the East; but their civility means little more than the same sort of expressions do in Europe, to shew you that the writer is a well-bred man. But this would by no means do in a journey so long, so dangerous, and so serious as mine.