He conducted us through a court yard planted with jessamin, to a very neat, and, at the same, time, large room, furnished with a silk sofa; the floor was covered with Persian carpets and cushions. All round, flowers and green leaves were strewed upon the outer yard; and the windows and sides of the room stuck full of evergreens, in commemoration of the Christmas festival that was at hand. I stopt at the entrance of this room; my feet were both dirty and bloody; and it is not good-breeding to show or speak of your feet in Abyssinia, especially if any thing ails them, and, at all times, they are covered. He immediately perceived the wounds that were upon mine. Both our cloaths and flesh were torn to pieces at Taranta, and several other places; but he thought we had come on mules furnished us by the Naybe. For the young man I had sent to him from Kella, following the genius of his countrymen, tho’ telling truth was just as profitable to him as lying, had chosen the latter, and seeing the horse I had got from the Baharnagash, had figured in his own imagination, a multitude of others, and told Janni that there were with me horses, asses, and mules in great plenty; so that when Janni saw us passing the water, he took me for a servant, and expected, for several minutes, to see the splendid company arrive, well mounted upon horses and mules caparisoned. He was so shocked at my saying that I performed this terrible journey on foot, that he burst into tears, uttering a thousand reproaches against the Naybe for his hard heartedness and ingratitude, as he had twice, as he said, hindered Michael from going in person and sweeping the Naybe from the face of the earth. Water was immediately procured to wash our feet. And here began another contention, Janni insisted upon doing this himself; which made me run out into the yard, and declare I would not suffer it. After this, the like dispute took place among the servants. It was always a ceremony in Abyssinia, to wash the feet of those that come from Cairo, and who are understood to have been pilgrims at Jerusalem. This was no sooner finished, than a great dinner was brought, exceedingly well dressed. But no consideration or intreaty could prevail upon my kind landlord to sit down and partake with me. He would stand, all the time, with a clean towel in his hand, though he had plenty of servants; and afterwards dined with some visitors, who had come out of curiosity, to see a man arrived from so far. Among these was a number of priests; apart of the company which I liked least, but who did not shew any hostile appearance. It was long before I cured my kind landlord of these respectful observances, which troubled me very much; nor could he wholly ever get rid of them, his own kindness and good heart, as well as the pointed and particular orders of the Greek patriarch, Mark, constantly suggesting the same attention.