A general silence followed this wild rhapsody; the king was surprised, and very gravely said, I am sorry, for your sake, if it is a lie; for my part, I was rash enough to believe it was true. Guebra Mascal was still going to make bad worse, by some absurd reply, when the secretary, and one or two of his friends, hauled him out behind the throne to one of the apartments within, not without some resistance, every one supposing, and many saying, he was drunk; the king was silent, but appeared exceedingly displeased, when I fell upon the ground before him, (a form of asking leave to speak upon any particular subject) and rising said, Sir, With great submission, it is not, I apprehend, true, that Guebra Mascal is drunk, as some have rashly said now in your presence; we have all ate and drank, and changed our cloathing since the battle; but this man, who has been on foot since five in the morning, and engaged all day, has not, I believe, ate or drank as yet; certainly he has not washed himself, or changed his habit, but has been taking care of his wounded men, and has presented himself now as he came from the field, under the unjust suspicion I was doing him wrong. I then repeated what had happened at the bank when the king was pursuing the troops of Begemder. Now I understand him, says the king, but still he is wrong, and this is not the first instance I have seen, when there was no such mistake. At this time a messenger came to call me from within. The king divined the reason of sending, and said, No, he shall not go to Guebra Mascal; I will not suffer this. Go, says he to one of his servants that stood near him, desire the Ras to call Guebra Mascal, and ask him what this brutality means? I have seen two instances of his misbehaviour already, and wish not to be provoked by a third. At this instant came Kefla Yasous, with his left hand bound up, and a broad leaf like that of a plane upon his forehead. After the usual salutation, and a kind of joke of the king's on his being wounded, I asked him if he would retire and let me dress his forehead? which he shewing inclination to do, the king said, Aye, go, and ask Guebra Mascal why he quarrels with his best friends, and prevents me from rewarding him as he otherwise would have deserved. I went out with Kefla Yasous, being very desirous this affair should not go to the Ras, and we found Guebra Mascal in appearance in extreme agony and despair.