I have often heard it observed by officers of skill and experience, that nothing is more difficult to describe than a battle, and that as many descriptions as are given of it, they generally disagree, and seem as many different battles. To this I shall add, that I find as great difficulty in giving an idea of the ground on which a battle was fought, which perhaps is not the case with professional men; and though I describe nothing but what I saw, and what my horse passed over, still I very much doubt if I can make myself intelligible to my readers. The hill of Serbraxos was neither very high nor steep, unless on the north and east, where it was almost a precipice. It was not a mountain joined with others, as the bed of a torrent, that ran very rapidly from Belessen south of Mariam-Ohha, divided it from these mountains. The west side of it sloped gently to a large plain, which extended to the brink of the lake Tzana, and upon this our rear was encamped. The S. W. side of this hill was like the former, and about half a mile from it came an elbow of the river Mariam, so called from a church in the plain: on this side of the hill our center was encamped with the king, Abuna, and the princesses; whilst on the south face (which looked down a valley) was Ras Michael and the van of the army: the hill here was considerably steeper, and I have already said ended with the precipice on the north. Along the bottom of this south face of the hill lay the small stream called Deg-Ohha, which stood in pools, and was the safest and readiest supply for the army, as being perfectly under command of our musquets, where our horses could water without danger: immediately south from this ran a valley full half a mile broad, which ended in a large plain about two miles off.