of our number, crying out to him to get farther off, or we would instantly shoot him. There was no occasion to repeat the admonition. From the rock where he stood, he slid down like an eel, and appeared again at a considerable distance, still making a sign of wanting to speak with us. While resting on the banks of the river Mogetch, we had been overtaken by two men, and two women, who were driving two loaded asses, and were going to Tcherkin; they had desired leave to keep company with us, for fear of danger on the road. I had two Abyssinian servants, but they were not yet come up, attending one of the baggage mules that was lame, as they said; but I believe, rather busied with some engagements of their own in the villages. We were obliged then to have recourse to one of these stranger women, who understood the language of Tigrè, and undertook readily to carry our message to the stranger, who was still very busy making signs from behind a tree, without coming one step nearer. My message to them was, that if they shewed the smallest appearance of further insolence, either by approaching the tent, or flinging stones that night, the next morning, when the horse I expected were come up, I would burn their town, and put every man of them to the sword. A very submissive answer was sent back, with a heap of lies in excuse of what they called their mistake. My two servants coming soon after, both of whom, hereafter, were to be in the service of Ayto Confu, went boldly one to each village, to bring two goats, some jars of bouza, and to prepare fifty loaves of bread for next morning. The goats were dispatched instantly, so was the bouza; but when the morning came, the people had all fled from their houses, without preparing any bread. These villages were called Gimbaar. They were three in number; each situated upon the top of a pointed hill, in a direction from east to west, and made a very beautiful appearance from the plain below. They belonged to my great enemies, Guebra Mehedin, and Confu, late sons of Basha Eusebius. On the other hand, as my servants told me that a messenger of the king had passed that morning without taking any notice of us, I began to suspect that it was some stratagem of his to frighten me from pursuing my journey; which, after the letters I had received from Sennaar, and which he himself had heard read, he never thought I would have undertaken. This I still believe might be the case; for these peasants did not shew any forwardness to do us harm; however, it turned out as unfortunately for them, as if they really pursued us for vengeance. As soon as we found the villages deserted, and that there were no hopes of a supply of bread, we struck our tent, and proceeded on our journey; the pointed mountain Gutch bore north from our tent, at the distance of about two miles.