I can scarce conceive the reason why these reverend fathers misrepresent and misplace this intended capital of Catholic Abyssinia. Jerome Lobo calls this convent a collection of miserable villages. Others place it fifty miles, when it is but two, from Adowa to the north-east. Others say it is only five miles from the Red Sea, while it is an hundred. It is very extraordinary, that these errors should occur in the situation of a place built by their own hands, and where their body long had its residence; and, what makes it more extraordinary still, it was the domicil which they first occupied, and quitted last. The kindness, hospitality, and fatherly care of Janni never ceased a moment. He had already represented me in the most favourable light to the Iteghè, or queen-mother, (whose servant he had long been) to her daughter Ozoro Esther, and Ozoro Altash; and, above all, to Michael, with whom his influence was very great; and, indeed, to every body he had any weight with; his own countrymen, Greeks, Abyssinians, and Mahometans; and, as we found afterwards, he had raised their curiosity to a great pitch. A kind of calm had spread itself universally over the country, without apparent reason, as it has been in general observed to do immediately before a storm. The minds of men had been wearied rather than amused, by a constant series of new things, none of which had been foreseen, and which generally ended in a manner little expected. Tired of guessing, all parties seemed to agree to give it over, till the success of the campaign should afford them surer grounds to go upon. Nobody loved Michael, but nobody neglected their own safety so much as to do or say any thing against him, till he either should lose or establish his good fortune, by the gain or loss of a battle with Fasil. This calm I resolved to take advantage of, and to set out immediately for Gondar. But the 17th of January was now at hand, on which the Abyssinians celebrate the feast of the Epiphany with extraordinary rejoicings, and as extraordinary ceremonies, if we believe what their enemies have said about their yearly repetition of baptism. This I was resolved to verify with my own eyes; and as Alvarez, chaplain to the embassy from Don Emanuel, king of Portugal, to king David III. says he was likewise present at it, the public will judge between two eye-witnesses which is likeliest to be true, when I come to give an account of the religious rites of this people. Adowa is in lat. 14° 7´ 57´´ north. On the 17th, we set out from Adowa, resuming our journey to Gondar; and, after passing two small villages Adega Net, and Adega Daid, the first about half a mile on our left, the second about three miles distant on our right, we decamped at sun set near a place called Bet Hannes, in a narrow valley, at the foot of two hills, by the side of a small stream.