I now found that he would walk very quietly; that a gentle touch of the spur would quicken him, but that he had not strength or inclination to gallop; and there was no more rearing or kicking up behind. I put my cloak, therefore, about me in the best manner possible, just as if it had never been ruffled or discomposed by motion, and in this manner repassing the Fit-Auraris’ quarters, came in sight of the camp, where a large field sown with teff, and much watered, was in front. I went out of the road into this field, which I knew was very soft and deep, and therefore favourable for me. Coming near Fasil’s tent, the horse stopt upon gently straitening the bridle, as a horse properly broke would have done, on which my servant took the saddle and bridle, and returned the groom his own.
The poor beast made a sad figure, cut in the sides to pieces, and bleeding at the jaws; and the seis, the rascal that put me upon him, being there when I dismounted, he held up his hands upon seeing the horse so mangled, and began to testify great surprise upon the supposed harm I had done. I took no notice of this, only said, Carry that horse to your master; he may venture to ride him now, which is more than either he or you dared to have done in the morning.
As my own horse was bridled and saddled, and I found myself violently irritated, I resolved to ride to compose myself a little before another interview, for I thought this last piece of treachery, that might have cost me my legs and arms, was worse than what passed in the tent the night before; it seemed to be aimed at my life, and to put a very effectual stop to the continuing my journey. My servant had in his hand a short double-barrelled gun loaded with shot for killing any uncommon bird we might see by the way. I took the gun and my horse, and went up the side of the green hill about half way, in fair view of the camp, and considerably above it, I galloped, trotted, and made my horse perform every thing he was capable of. He was excellent in his movements, and very sufficiently trained; this the Galla beheld at once with astonishment and pleasure; they are naturally fond of horses, sufficiently perfect in the useful part of horsemanship, to be sensible of the beauty of the ornamental.
There was then, as there always is, a vast number of kites following the camp, which are quite familiar and live upon the carrion; choosing two gliding near me, I shot first one on the right, then one on the left; they both fell dead on the ground; a great shout immediately followed from the spectators below, to which I seemingly paid no attention, pretending absolute indifference, as if nothing extraordinary had been done. I then dismounted from my horse, giving him and my gun to my servant, and, sitting down on a large stone, I began to apply some white paper to staunch a small scratch the first horse had given me on the leg, by rubbing it against a thorn tree: as my trowsers, indeed, were all stained with the blood of the first horse, much cut by the spur, it was generally thought I was wounded.
Fasil on this sent for me to come immediately to him, having just got up from a sleep after a whole night’s debauch. He was at the door of the tent when I began riding my own horse, and, having seen the shots, ordered the kites immediately to be brought him: his servants had laboured in vain to find the hole where the ball, with which I had killed the birds, had entered; for none of them had ever seen small-shot, and I did not undeceive them. I had no sooner entered his tent than he asked me, with great earnestness, to shew him where the ball had gone through. I gave him no explanation; but, if you have really an inclination to kill me, said I, you had better do it here, where I have servants that will bury me, and tell the King and the Iteghé the kind reception you have given strangers whom they have recommended. He asked what I meant? What was the matter now? and I was going to answer, when Welleta Michael told him the whole story, greatly in my favour, indeed, but truly and plainly as to the trick about the horse. The Fit-Auraris Woldo said something to him in Galla, which plainly made the matter worse. Fasil now seemed in a terrible fury, and said three words to the Fit-Auraris in Galla, who immediately went out; and, as my servants told me afterwards, after sending for the seis, or groom, who had brought me the horse, the first salutation that he gave him was a blow over the head with a bludgeon, which felled him to the ground, then a dozen more strokes, and ordered him to be put in irons, after which he returned into the tent.
Fasil, who heard I was hurt, and saw the quantity of blood upon my trowsers, held up his hands with a shew of horror and concern, which plainly was not counterfeited: he protested, by every oath he could devise, that he knew nothing about the matter, and was asleep at the time; that he had no horses with him worth my acceptance, except the one that he rode, but that any horse known to be his, driven before me, would be a passport, and procure me respect among all the wild people whom I might meet, and for that reason only he had thought of giving me a horse. He repeated his protestations that he was innocent, and heartily sorry for the accident, which, indeed, he appeared to be: he told me the groom was in irons, and that, before many hours passed, he would put him to death. I was perfectly satisfied with his sincerity. I wished to put an end to this disagreeable conversation: “Sir, said I, as this man has attempted my life, according to the laws of the country, it is I that should name the punishment.” “It is very true, replied Fasil, take him, Yagoube, and cut him in a thousand pieces, if you please, and give his body to the kites.” “Are you really sincere in what you say, said I, and will you have no after excuses.” He swore solemnly he would not. “Then, said I, I am a Christian: the way my religion teaches me to punish my enemies is by doing good for evil; and therefore I keep you to the oath you have sworn, and desire my friend the Fit-Auraris to set the man at liberty, and put him in the place he held before, for he has not been undutiful to you.”
I need not say what were the sentiments of the company upon the occasion; they seemed to be most favourable to me; old Guebra Ehud could not contain himself, but got out of the dark corner, and squeezed both of my hands in his; and turning to Fasil, said, “Did not I tell you what my brother Aylo thought about this man?” Welleta Michael said, “He was just the same all through Tigrè.” Fasil, in a low voice, replied, “A man that behaves as he does may go thro’ any country.” They then all begged that I would take care of my wound, looking at the blood upon my trowsers. I told them it was already staunched; and turning to Fasil, said, “We white people, you see, are not so terrified at seeing our own blood as you supposed we were.” He then desired that the tent might be cleared for a short time, and we all went out.
About ten minutes after, I was called in to partake of a great breakfast; honey and butter, and raw beef in abundance, as also some stewed dishes that were very good. I was very hungry, having tasted nothing since dinner the day before; and I had had much exercise of body as well as of mind. We were all very chearful, every one saying something about the Agows, or of the Nile; and Fasil declaring, if it was peace, he would carry me to his country across the Nile as far as the kingdom of Narea. I thanked him. “You are at peace, said I, with the King and the Ras, and going to meet them at Gondar.”—“At Gondar, says he, no; I hope not this time; the Ras has work enough on his hands for the rest of his life.” “What work? said I.” “Why, the mountain,” replies he. “The mountain Aromata!” “The same, says he; you never saw such a place; Lamalmon, and all the mountains of Abyssinia, are nothing to it: he was, when at the prime of life, fifteen years in taking it from this Netcho’s father.” “But he has been luckier this time, replied I, by fourteen years.” “How!” says he, with some amasement. “Pardon me, said I, if I have unawares told you unwelcome news; but the mountain is taken, the garrison put to the sword, and Za Menfus, after surrendering, slain, in cold blood by Guebra Mascal, in revenge for the death of his father.” Fasil had in his hand a blue cut-glass goblet, gilt round the edges with gold. I had bought it at Cairo, with several other articles of the same kind, from a merchant who procured them from Trieste. I had given it to the king, who drank out of it himself, and had sent it as an honourable token to Fasil from Dingleber, the day when they made peace, after the battle of Limjour. Upon hearing what I said, he threw it violently upon the ground, and broke it into a thousand pieces. “Take care what you say, Yagoube, says he, take care this be not a lie; tell it me again.” I told him the whole circumstances from beginning to end; how the news had come to the Iteghé—who had brought the intelligence—how it had come from the Ras to Ozoro Esther—and how Kefla Yasous had surprised the mountain by treachery, having first lulled the besieged asleep by a negociation, and a proposed mediation of the priests and hermits. On this Fasil observed, it was the very way Michael took it last time; and, putting his forefinger in his mouth, bit it very hard, crying, Fool, fool, was he not warned? We all were again dismissed from the tent, and staid out about a quarter of an hour, when we were again called in.
I cannot say but I enjoyed heartily the fright I had visibly given him; it seemed to me that Aylo’s brother, Guebra Ehud, was the only person whom he consulted, for it was he alone that remained with him in his tent when we entered; he had changed his dress; a man was combing his hair, and perfuming it; and he had a new, white, fine cotton cloth thrown about his middle loosely, which covered his legs and feet, his breasts, neck, and shoulders, being quite naked; he rose half up from his seat when I came in, made me sit down on a cushion beside him, and was going to speak, when I resolved to have the first word, for fear he should engage me in more discussions. “Your continual hurry, said I, all the times I have seen you, has put it out of my power till now to make you the acknowledgment it is ordinary for strangers to present when they visit great men in their own country, and ask favours of them.” I then took a napkin, and opened it before him; he seemed to have forgot the present altogether, but from that moment I saw his countenance changed, he was like another man. “O Yagoube, says he, a present to me! you should be sensible that is perfectly needless; you were recommended to me by the King and the Ras; you know, says he, we are friends, and I would do twenty times as much for yourself, without recommendation from either; besides, I have not behaved to you like a great man.”
It was not a very hard thing to conquer these scruples; he took the several pieces of the present one by one in his hands, and examined them; there was a crimson silk sash, made at Tunis, about five yards long, with a silk fringe of the same colour; it was as beautiful a web of silk as ever I saw; it had a small waved pattern wrought in it; the next was a yellow, with a red narrow border, or stripe, and a silver-wrought fringe, but neither so long nor so thick as the other; the next were two Cyprus manufactured sashes, silk and cotton, with a sattin stripe, the one broader than the other, but five yards long each; the next was a Persian pipe, with a long pliable tube, or worm, covered with Turkey leather, with an amber mouth-piece, and a chrystal vase for smoking tobacco through water, a great luxury in the eastern countries; the next were two blue bowls, as fine as the one he had just then broken, and of the same sort. He shoved them from him, laughing, and said, “I will not take them from you, Yagoube; this is downright robbery; I have done nothing for this, which is a present for a king.”—“It is a present to a friend, said I, often of more consequence to a stranger than a king; I always except your king, who is the stranger’s best friend.”—“Though he was not easily disconcerted, he seemed, at this time, to be very nearly so.”—“If you will not receive them, continued I, such as they are offered, it is the greatest affront ever was put upon me; I can never, you know, receive them again.”