What he said was true; bad kings have most executioners. I was not, however, dismayed; I was in my own mind, stranger and alone, superior to such a beast upon a throne. "The Iteghé, said I, is at present at Koscam, and will inform you if I told her of any gold that was stolen from me, except a gold-mounted knife which the late king gave me at Dingleber the day after the battle of Limjour, and which was accidentally left in my house, as I had not worn it since he went to Tigrè." He squirted at this moment an arch of tobacco-spittle towards me, whether on purpose or not I do not know. I felt myself very much moved; it narrowly missed me. At this instant an old man, of a noble appearance, who sat in a corner of the room next him, got up, and, in a firm tone of voice, said, "I can bear this no longer; we shall become a proverb, and the hatred of all mankind. What have you to do with Yagoube, or why did you send for him? he was favoured by the late king, but not more than I have seen Greeks or Armenians in all the late reigns; and yet these very people confess, in their own country, they are not worthy of being his servants. He is a friend, not only to the king, but to us all: the whole people love him. As for myself, I never spoke to him twice before; when he might have gone to Tigrè with Michael his friend, he staid at Gondar with us: so you, of all others, have least reason to complain of him, since he has preferred you to the Ras, tho' you have given him nothing. As for riding, I wish Yagoube had just rode with you as much as with Tecla Haimanout, and you spent as much time with him as your predecessor did; last night's disgrace would not then have fallen upon us, at least would have been confined to the limits of your own kingdom; you would have neither disobliged Fasil nor the Iteghé; and, when the day of trial is at hand, you would have been better able to answer it, than, by going on at this rate, there is any appearance you will be." This person, I understood afterwards, was Ras Sanuda, nephew to the Iteghé, and son of Ras Welled de l'Oul; he had been banished to Kuara in the late king's time, so I had no opportunity of knowing him.
All the time of this harangue Socinios's eyes were mostly shut, and his mouth open, and slavering tobacco; he was rolling from side to side scarcely preserving his equilibrium. When Sanuda stopt, he began with an air of drollery, "You are very angry to-day, Baba." And turning to me, said, "Tomorrow, see you bring me that horse which Yasine sent you to Koscam; and bring me Yasine himself, or you will hear of it; slave and Frank as you are, enemy to Mary the virgin, bring me the horse!" Sanuda took me by the hand, saying in a whisper, "Don't fear him, I am here; but go home; next time you come here you will have horses enough along with you." He, too, seemed in liquor; and, making me a sign to withdraw, I left the king and his minister together with great willingness, and returned to Koscam to the Iteghé, to whom I told what had passed, and who ordered me to stay near Ozoro Esther, as in her service, and go no more to the palace.
At this time certain intelligence was received that Ras Michael was arrived in Lasta with Guigarr, Shum, or chief of the clan called Waag, once a mortal enemy to Michael, though now at peace with him, and serving him as his conductor. Through his country is the only passage from Tigrè to Begemder and Belessen, and many armies have perished by endeavouring to force it. Michael and the king now passed under the protection of Guigarr, notwithstanding Powussen had many parties among the other clans that wished to prevent him. On the 15th of December he forded the Tacazzè, and turned a little to the left, as if he intended to pass through the middle of Begemder, though he had really no such design, but only to bring Powussen to an engagement. Seeing this was not likely, and only tended to waste time, he pursued his journey straight towards Gondar, not in his usual way, burning and destroying, but quietly, correcting abuses, and regulating the police of the country through which he passed, for he was yet in fear.
The news of his having passed the Tacazzé determined Socinios and the Iteghé to fly; and they set out accordingly. Socinios directed his flight, first towards Begemder, but, the next day, turned to the right, through Dembea, and joined the queen at Azazo, where great altercations and disputes followed between them. The queen had engaged the Abuna to attend her, and that prelate had consented, upon receiving fifteen mules and thirty ounces of gold, which were paid accordingly: But when the queen sent, the morning of her departure, to put the Abuna in mind of his promise, his servants stoned the Iteghé's messenger, without suffering him to approach the house, but they kept the mules and the gold. The queen continued her flight to Degwassa, near the lake Tzana, and sent all that was valuable that she had brought with her, into the island of Dek.
Ayto Engedan and Confu were at hand at the head of large parties scouring the country, at once protecting the Iteghé, and securing as many of those of Socinios's people as were thought worthy of punishment. Sanuda, too, was in arms; and, throwing off the mask, was now acting under the immediate direction of Ras Michael, and had apprehended many of those noblemen of Tigrè who had revolted against the Ras, particularly Guebra Denghel, married to Ras Michael's granddaughter, descended from one of the noblest houses in the province, and a man particularly distinguished for generosity, openness, and affability of manners; and Sebaat Laab and Kefla Mariam, men of great consideration in Michael's province. Confu and Sanuda having joined, entered Gondar, and took possession of the king's house, and put a stop to these excesses and robberies which had become very frequent since the Iteghé's flight.
One day, while I was sitting at Koscam, Yasine entered the court before the house, and, coming into the room, fell down and kissed the ground before me, after the manner they salute their superior. He told me he came from Ayto Confu, who ordered him to do homage to me as usual for the province of Ras el Feel, and that I was to come to him directly, and go out to meet the king, for several of his people were already arrived at Gondar. I sent him back to Ayto Confu with my respectful thanks, declined accepting of any office till I should see the king; and, as he himself had named the place to be Mariam Ohha, I thought it was my duty to stay till he came there.
In the mean time the unfortunate Socinios continued his flight, in company with the queen, till they came to the borders of Kuara, her native country. Those who made Socinios a king had never made him a friend. It was here suggested, that his presence would infallibly occasion a pursuit which might endanger the queen, her country, and all her friends. Upon this it was resolved to abandon the unworthy Socinios to the soldiers, who stript him naked, giving him only a rag to cover him, and a good horse, and with these they dismissed him to seek his fortune.
After a short stay in Kuara, the queen turned to the left towards Burè. All Maitsha assembled to escort her to Fasil, while he led her through Damot to the frontiers of Gojam, where she was received in triumph by her daughter Ozoro Welleta Israel, and Ayto her grandson, to whom half of that province belonged, and with them she rested at last in safety, after a long and anxious journey.
On the 21st of December a message came to me from Ozoro Esther, desiring I would attend her son Confu to meet the king, as his Fit-Auraris had marked out the camp at Mariam-Ohha; observing, that I had a very indifferent knife or dagger in my girdle, (that which I had received from the king being stolen, when my house was plundered) with her own hands she made me a present of a magnificent one, mounted with gold which she had chosen with that intention, and laid upon the seat beside her. She told me she had already sent to acquaint her husband, Ras Michael, how much she had been obliged to me in his absence, both for my attention to her and her eldest son, who had been several times sick since his departure, and that I might expect to receive a kind reception.