This man was now immediately called for. He went by the nickname of Goul, or the Giant, from his small size and debility of body. "Is this your man, says Gusho, who shot Woodage Asahel on the hill?" "O, by no means, says Goul; he was an old man with a long grey beard, and a white cloth round his head. This man I know well. I saw him with Fasil. This is Yagoube, the king's friend; he would not do such a thing." "No, certainly he would not, says Gusho, and so mind that you tell Woodage Asahel's friends." Upon this he withdrew. And now, says Gusho, talk no more upon this affair, I will take the rest upon myself. There is a servant of Metical Aga's now in the camp, sent over by desire of your friends and countrymen[12] at Jidda, to know if you are alive and well. He has also a message to the king, and perhaps I may send him to the camp to-morrow, but more probably defer it till we meet at Gondar. Mean time, remember my injunction to you, to keep close by the person of the king, and then no accident can befal you in the confusion that will soon happen. I thanked him for his friendly advice, which I promised to follow. I then asked for Ayto Confu and Engedan, as also for Metical Aga's servant, but he answered, I could not then see them.
He had now in his hand some silk paper, in which they generally wrap their ingots of gold, and he was preparing to slip this into my hand at parting, in the same manner we do the fee of a physician in Europe. "You forget, said I, what you mentioned in the morning, that I am no cast-away, no Greek nor Armenian servant, but perhaps of equal rank to yourselves: if I wanted money, Metical Aga's servant would procure it for me upon demand. It is your wife and two daughters who are ill; and when you shall hereafter be great, and governing every thing at Gondar, I will by them put you in mind of any piece of friendship I may stand in need of at your hand; and you shall grant it."—"You are a good prophet, Yagoube, says he; and so I shall; but remember my advice; I know you are a friend of Ozoro Esther, but she cannot protect you; Ozoro Altash[13] may: the best of all is to keep close to the king, to defend yourself if any body molests you on your way to Gondar, and leave the rest to me."
An officer was now appointed to conduct me across the plain, and several servants laden with fish and fruit. About a hundred yards from the tent, a man muffled up met me, whom I found to be a servant of Engedan. "Your army will disband, says he to me, in a low tone of voice; keep by the king, or Aylo my master's brother, and he will bring you over here." Having left him, we continued across the plain, and saw several small parties of horse patroling, but they came not near us. My conductor said they were Galla, waiting for some opportunity to do mischief. He told me that Ozoro Welleta Israel, and his son Aylo, had joined their army that day with 10,000 men from Gojam, to no purpose at all, continued he, but that of eating up the country. But your friend the Iteghé could not see Ras Michael fall without giving him a shove, though she has staid till the very last day before she ventured, for fear of accidents. Gusho's men set the fish down at the advanced guard, and returned with the officer who had attended me, while I went towards the king's tent, musing what all this might mean, what power was to carry us to Gondar, disband the army, depose Michael, and not hurt the king.
I found the king had not been well, and had taken warm water to vomit, a remedy I advised him sometimes to make use of, not choosing to venture on all occasions to give him medicines, and he was then quiet. I therefore went to Ras Michael, who was alone, and seemingly much chagrined. He interrogated me strictly as to what passed between me and Gusho. I told him the discourse about Woodage Asahel's death, and about Fasil; then about the sick family I had seen, the offer of money, the fish, &c. The same I repeated when I went back to the king, but nothing about our meeting at Gondar. I begged, however, as he still complained a little of his head, that he would see nobody that night, but lie down and compose himself, allowing me to wait in the secretary's apartment till he should awake. I thought he embraced this proposal willingly, Ozoro Esther having had a long conference with him the night before. I do not imagine the state of the realm had much share in their conversation. After he was laid down, I went and found Azage Kyrillos, and with him the beautiful daughter of Tecla Mariam, who was just dressed to go to Ozoro Esther's. She said she would either take me along with her to Ozoro Esther's, or stay, and the king would send us supper at her father's. I excused myself from either, on account of the king's indisposition, and my business with her father, who, guessing by my countenance I had something material to communicate, sent her on her visit, and so we were left alone.
As he was a man with whom I had always lived in the most confidential friendship, and knew the same subsisted between him and the king, I made no scruple to tell him, word for word, what I had heard from Gusho, and Engedan's servant. He said, without any seeming surprise, Why, we are all worn out, but state all this to the king. Soon after, came in the slave who had the charge of the king's bed-chamber, and told the secretary that the king found himself well, only wanted to know what he should drink. I ordered him some water, with some ripe tamarinds, a liquor he usually took in time of Lent. See him and advise him yourself, says the secretary. I accordingly went in, and told the king the whole story. He seemed to be in great agitation, repeating frequently, "O God! O God! O Guebra Menfus Kedus[14]!"—"Who is this Guebra Menfus Kedus?" said I afterwards to Tecla Mariam, who in his heart believed in him no more than I did. "Why, answered he gravely, he is a great saint, who never ate or drank from his mother's womb till his death, said mass at Jerusalem every day, and came home at night in form of a stork."—"But a bad regimen his, said I, for such violent exercise."—"That is not all, says Tecla Mariam, he fought with the devil once in Tigrè, and threw him over the rock Amba Salam, and killed him."—"I wish you joy, said I, this is good news indeed." All this conversation had passed in half a whisper. The king was quiet; but, hearing me say the last words, he started, and cried, "What joy, what good news, Yagoube?"—"Why, said I, Sir, it is only Tecla Mariam informing me that the devil is dead, which is good news, at least to me, who always dreaded falling into his clutches."—"Aye, says the king, the monks say so; it must have been long ago; but the saint was surely a holy man."
Though the king was violently agitated, yet he neither said that he did or did not understand what was meant by Gusho and Engedan, but only ordered me home immediately, saying, "As you value your life, open not your mouth to man or woman, nor seem to take particular care about any thing, more than you did before; trust all in the hands of the Virgin Mary, and Guebra Menfus Kedus."
I needed no incitement to go to my tent, where I went immediately to bed. I cannot say but I had a ray of hope that Providence had begun the means which were to extricate me out of the difficulties of my present situation, better and sooner than I had before imagined; I therefore fell soon into a profound sleep, satisfied that I should be quickly called if any thing ailed the king. The lights were now all put out, and, except the cry of the guards going their rounds, very little noise in the camp, considering the vast number of people it contained. I was in a profound sleep when Francisco, a Greek servant of the Ras, a brave and veteran soldier, but given a little to drink, came bawling into my tent, "It is madness to sleep at this time."—"I am sure, said I, very calmly, I should be mad if I was not to sleep. Why, when would you have me to take my rest? and what is the matter?"—"Get up, cries he, quickly, for we shall all be cut to pieces in a minute."—"Then hang me, said I, if I don't lie still, for if I have no longer to live, it is not worth while to dress."—"Fasil (continued he) has surprised the camp, and gives no quarter."—"Fasil! said I, impossible: but go to the guard commanded by Laeca Mariam, and if he has a horse ready saddled bring him to me."
On this Francisco catched up a lance and shield that were in my tent, for fear of danger in the way, and ran off. In a minute he returned to ask the word. "Googue, said I, is the parole, (it signifies Owl.) A curse upon his father, says, he, (meaning the owl's father), and a curse upon their fathers who gave such unlucky words for the parole at night; no wonder misfortunes happen," says he, in Greek; he then returned to the guard under Laeca Mariam. In the mean time, surveying the camp around, I could not help doubting the truth of this alarm; for not a soul was stirring about Kefla Yasous's tent, and the light scarcely burning. On the other hand, however, there seemed several in the tent of the Ras, and people moving about it, though the Tigrè guard around were quiet, who, I knew well, would have been alarmed by the motion of a mouse.
There was, however, still a light, and an unusual noise in the upper end of the camp to the N. E. Francisco now returned from the king's tent, and, without my speaking to him, said, in a great passion, "Those black fellows are all become mad; you don't keep them in any sort of order." "Has Laeca Mariam got ready a horse for me, said I; where is he?"—"When I delivered your orders, replied Francisco, to have a horse ready for you, he said there were fifty, but did not suppose you intended galloping to-night." Francisco continued, "I told him Fasil was in the camp; at which he laughed outright, said I was drunk, and wondered you had given me the parole with a curse upon its father; a great catch this word, to be sure, it will make me rich." "I am afraid, said I, friend, Laeca Mariam hath stated the truth; at least I never heard of an army cut to pieces so very quietly as ours is." While I was speaking, the flambeaux at the Ras's tent were all suddenly lighted, which was likewise done by Kefla Yasous, all the general officers, and lastly from the king's tent. This is a kind of torch, or flambeau, used by the janizary Aga, at Cairo and Constantinople, when he patroles the streets; in the night-time it is lighted, but the fire does not appear till you whirl it three or four times round your head, and then it bursts out into a bright flame. Michael had sixteen always on the guard, ever since the attempt upon his life by the Guragué. In a moment all the camp was lighted, and the people awakened, whilst, as nobody knew the reason, the tumult increased. Francisco, with great exultation, upon seeing the Ras's torches lighted, cried, "See who is drunk now; where are your jokes? this will be a fine night, and nobody is armed." "Sir, said I, you saw Laeca Mariam and his guard armed; so is every other guard in the camp as much as ever; and you may thank God you have my servant's lance and shield, so you are armed. I may drink coffee, though I very much fear there may be some embroil on foot, of which you may be yourself part of the occasion. Go, however, to the Ras's tent, and ask if he has any orders for me."
In short, we soon after found that the cause of all this disturbance was, that some part of Tesfos's men had come to the back of the camp and attempted to recover the mules which had been taken from them; and they had succeeded in part, when they were discovered, pursued, and some of the mules retaken. At the sight of armed men running up and down the hill, an alarm spread that nobody knew the occasion of, till the Ras caused the mule-keeper to be bastinado'd in the morning. That day, the 26th, we received advice, that the Edjow Galla, and some other horse of the same district, had massacred all the people they met on their way to and from Gondar, and that a body of troops had marched into the town, which threatened to set it on fire if any more provisions were sent to the camp.