A little before noon the drums in the plain beat to arms. Heraclius, Mammo, and Tesfos on the side of the valley, Coque Abou Barea and Asahel Woodage on the side of the plain, with fresh troops, had obtained leave from Gusho and Powussen to try to storm our camp, without any assistance from the main army, in order to bring the whole to a speedy conclusion. There had been a time when such an undertaking would not have been thought a prudent one to much better men than any of those who now were parties in it; but our spirits were greatly fallen, our number, too, much decreased; above all, a relaxation of discipline (and desertion, the consequence of it) began to prevail among us to an alarming degree. This was generally said to be owing to the despondency of the Tigrè troops upon the arrival of Tesfos; but it required little penetration to discern, that all sorts of men were weary of constant fighting and hardships, for no other end but unjustly maintaining Michael in a post in which he governed at discretion, to the terror of the whole kingdom, and ruin of the constitution. The hill of Serbraxos, when we first took post on it, was rugged and uneven, full of acacia and other ill-thriving trees, and various stumps of these had been broken by the wind, or undermined by the torrents. The great need the soldiers had of fuel to roast the miserable pittance of barley, (which was all their food) had cleared away these incumbrances from the side of the hill, and the constant resort of men going up and down, had rendered the surface perfectly smooth and slippery; so that our camp did not appear as placed so high, nor nearly so inaccessible as it was at first. For this reason, Ras Michael had ordered the soldiers to gather all the stones on the hill, and range them in small walls, at proper places, in a kind of zig-zag, under which the soldiers lay concealed, and with their fire-arms protected the mules which went down to drink. Michael had lined all these little fortifications with musquetry, from the bottom of the hill to the door of his tent and the king's. [Illustration: PLAN _of_ THE THIRD BATTLE OF _SERBRAXOS_, _Fought 23^d. May_, 1772. THIRD BATTLE. Explanation. A The center commanded by the king in person. B The van encamped under Ras Michael. C The rear encamped, Guebra Christos being slain, commanded by several officers. DD Woodage Asahel marching up towards the hill to attack the king's camp. E Ayto Tesfos of Samen making a lodgement in the bank, or side of the hill, under the van, to favour the attack of Woodage Asahel. F Coque Abou Barea making a mock attack on the rear to create a diversion in favour of Woodage Asahel. G Servants of Tesfos, his camp and rebellious peasants of Mariam Ohha on a high rock. ]