Chapter VIII: Book VII (6)

This assassin was no sooner secured and disarmed, than a noose, with a running knot, was slipt round his neck, and his hands tied behind his back, in which manner he was carried before Ras Michael, who sat upon a stool at some distance from his tent, after every part of it had been searched. The fellow at first refused to speak, but, being threatened with torture, answered, in his own language, which I did not understand. He was asked, who had employed him to attempt that assassination? He said, The rebels; and named Gusho and Powussen: he then varied, and said the Iteghé employed him. Before he was sent away he contradicted all this, and declared, that Hagos, his brother, had employed him; and that he was then actually in the camp, with four others, who were determined to murder the Ras and Guebra Mascal, whatever it should cost them.

A search was on this ordered through all the camp, but no stranger found, excepting one of the same nation, who had planted himself and his faggot near the tent of the Abuna; and who being seized, examined, and promised pardon, declared himself absolutely ignorant of any scheme but robbing, for which purpose three of them, he said, had come into the camp together; one of them had stolen two mules the night before, and gone off, and that he was that night intending to take away two of the Abuna's mules; and he supposed his companion had the same intention with regard to the Ras; but as to murder, or any other plot, he knew nothing of it. Being put slightly to the torture, he persisted in his declaration; and when interrogated, declared, that they all three had come from Guragué with Amha Yasous, to load and unload his baggage, and take care of his beasts: that none of them had been at Gondar before the attempt, except the assassin, who had formerly lived there some years, but whether with Hagos, or any other, he did not know, nor did he ever hear him pronounce the name of Hagos, nor see any stranger, whom he did not know, converse with him: that they all three had lain the last night at the church of Serbraxos: but he further declared, that the person apprehended spoke the Amharic language as well as his own, contrary to what the villain had all along pretended.

This declaration, which I heard from the king's secretary, word for word as it was given, threw all the council into great confusion, the more so, that, being gently talked to, and food given him after his examination, at night the assassin had again repeated what he before said about Gusho, and that Fasil, too, was accessory to the attempt. And what made this labyrinth of lies still more intricate was, that it was certainly known that Hagos, his brother, had constantly lived with Coque Abou Barea, in Kuara, from the time Ras Michael had put his brother to death at Gondar. It was intended therefore to try the effect of further torture in the morning, to make him confess the truth. His guard, however, having fallen asleep, or gone out of the tent, he was found strangled by the running noose that was left round his neck; nor was any further light ever thrown upon this affair at any time after; but it was generally believed the attempt had been made at the instigation of some connection of the Iteghé, and there were some who went so far as to name Welleta Israel.

Early in the morning some priests came from Powussen, Ayabdar, and Gusho, to take the most solemn oaths before the Abuna, that they never had the smallest knowledge of what the assassin had laid to their charge; and they took upon themselves sentence of excommunication, which the Abuna then pronounced conditionally, if they had directly, or indirectly, been principal or accessory, or known, or been consulted, in any manner whatever, as to the designs of that assassin. Several principal officers of the rebels, moreover, who had left Gondar and gone over to Fasil, and who were there in Gusho's camp, came over to congratulate with Ras Michael upon his escape, so that, for a moment, one would have thought the whole country interested in saving him whom all were actually in arms at that instant to destroy. What surprised me most of all, probable as the thing might seem to be, not one man in the camp, from the Ras and King downward, seemed to think that this attempt of the Guragué had been in any shape the plot of the rebels; and yet, in old times, murder by treason must have been very frequent in his kingdom, as appears by their customs preserved to this day; no person, be their station, connection, or friendship what it will, can offer any one meat or drink without tasting it before them.

Proposals of peace followed this friendly intercourse, but the condition being always that Michael should depart to Tigrè, which he thought was but in other terms a proposal to destroy him, these friendly overtures ended in defiance and protestation, That to him alone was owing the effusion of human blood, and the ruin of his country, which was immediately to follow.

It was the 17th of May, at night, the attempt had been made on the Ras's life; and the 18th was spent in excommunication before the Abuna; and, in the evening, Michael received intelligence, that Ayto Tesfos, from the mountains of Samen, and Heraclius and Samuel Mammo, from Walkayt and Tzegadé, were both preparing to join the rebels with a considerable force. We were now arrived at the fatal field of Serbraxos, as we had endeavoured to pass it, but in vain; nothing now remained but to try to find which side the devil (the father of lies) had been forced to tell the truth, or whether he had yet told it to either. Darion, a principal man of Belessen, and Guigarr of Lasta, joined the Ras's army about noon, bringing with them 1200 men, chiefly horsemen, good troops, and they were joyfully received.

A council was held with all the great officers that evening, and the order of battle fixed upon for next day. Kefla Yasous, with the best of the foot from Tigrè, with the king's household troops, the Shoa horse, and the Moors of Ras el Feel, with their libds, (in all not amounting to 10,000 men, but the flower of the army) composed the left wing, in the center of which was the king in person, the heavy-armed black horse before him, and the officers and nobility surrounding him: Guebra Christos, and Kasmati Tesfos of Siré, commanded the center, in which was Darion and Guigarr's cavalry, for the Lasta men, though of different sides, could never be prevailed upon to fight against one another, so instead of being with the king against Begemder and Lasta, they were placed in the center against Gusho and Amhara. The right of the king's army was commanded by Welleta Michael and Billetana Gueta Tecla, opposed to the left wing of the rebels under Kasmati Ayabdar, who had lately received large reinforcements from Gojam, by means of the Iteghé, who well knew him to be an inveterate enemy to Ras Michael, and one who would never make peace with him.

I have often heard it observed by officers of skill and experience, that nothing is more difficult to describe than a battle, and that as many descriptions as are given of it, they generally disagree, and seem as many different battles. To this I shall add, that I find as great difficulty in giving an idea of the ground on which a battle was fought, which perhaps is not the case with professional men; and though I describe nothing but what I saw, and what my horse passed over, still I very much doubt if I can make myself intelligible to my readers. The hill of Serbraxos was neither very high nor steep, unless on the north and east, where it was almost a precipice. It was not a mountain joined with others, as the bed of a torrent, that ran very rapidly from Belessen south of Mariam-Ohha, divided it from these mountains. The west side of it sloped gently to a large plain, which extended to the brink of the lake Tzana, and upon this our rear was encamped. The S. W. side of this hill was like the former, and about half a mile from it came an elbow of the river Mariam, so called from a church in the plain: on this side of the hill our center was encamped with the king, Abuna, and the princesses; whilst on the south face (which looked down a valley) was Ras Michael and the van of the army: the hill here was considerably steeper, and I have already said ended with the precipice on the north. Along the bottom of this south face of the hill lay the small stream called Deg-Ohha, which stood in pools, and was the safest and readiest supply for the army, as being perfectly under command of our musquets, where our horses could water without danger: immediately south from this ran a valley full half a mile broad, which ended in a large plain about two miles off.

The valley where Michael and the van first engaged, was formed by the hills of Belessen on the east, and the river Mariam on the west, and near the middle of the valley there was a low and flat-topt hill, not above 30 yards in height, which did not join with the hill of Serbraxos. Between them there was an opening of about 100 yards, through which ran Deg-Ohha, to the ford of the river Mariam, from which you ascended in a direction nearly N. W. up into the plain which reached to the lake Tzana. On the south end of this hill, as I have said, which might have been about two miles in length, the banks of the Mariam are very high, and the river stands in large deep pools, with banks of sand between them. Where this hill ends to the right is another ford of the river Mariam, where a deep and narrow sandy road goes winding up the banks, in a direction N. W. like the former, and leads to the same plain bordering on the lake Tzana: so that the plain of the valley where the Mariam runs, which is bordered by the foot of the mountains of Belessen, and continues along the plain south to Tangouré, is near 200 feet lower than the plain that extends on the side of the lake Tzana. Nor is there a convenient access from the plain to the valley, at least that I saw, by reason of the height and steepness of the banks of the Mariam, excepting these two already mentioned; one between the extremity of the long even hill, and slope of the mountain on the north, and the other on the south, through the winding sandy road up the steep banks of the river, by the south end of that low hill, as I have already said. At these two places are the two fords of the river, which continue passable even in the rainy season, and the water at that time stands in pools below it, till several miles further it joins the Zingetch Gomara, a larger stream than itself, whose banks are low, and where the stream is fordable also; but the banks of the river Mariam continue steep, and run in a southern direction. In this valley, at the south end of this hill near the ford was the engagement between Michael with the van, and the Begemder troops, on the 16th; at the ford on the north end of this hill, in the same valley, was the fight between the light troops and Kasmati Ayabdar, and the king in person, the very same day; so that the valley was perfectly known by the enemy, and as they had few or no musquetry, was wisely considered as not fit ground for their purposes being narrow and commanded by hills everywhere.

On the 19th of May, word was brought that the whole rebel army was in motion, and before eight o'clock (reckoned in Abyssinia an early hour for such business) a great cloud of dust was seen rising on the right of the rebels towards Korreva, and this was the moment the Begemder troops got on horseback in the dusty plain; soon after we heard their kettle-drums, and about nine o'clock we saw the whole troops of Begemder appear, drawn up at such a distance in the plain, above the road up the steep bank of the Mariam, as to leave great room for us to form with the road on our left, and a little on our rear; Michael easily divined Powussen's intention, which was to beat us back by a superior force of horse, and then making a number of troops glide below unseen, along the river in the valley, take possession of the round hill, at the north ford of Mariam, and cut off our retreat to our camp at Serbraxos; the Ras immediately dispatched some single horsemen to take a view of the enemy more nearly, and report what their numbers were, and where Gusho and Ayabdar were posted, for we could distinguish the colour of the horses, and all the movements of the Begemder troops, not being much above three miles distance, yet we did not know whether they were alone, or whether one or more of the other generals were with them: we saw indeed Powussen's standards, but they were so weather-beaten and faded, that we could not distinguish their real colours, which were blue and yellow.

The king's whole army was descending into the valley, and passing over the ford of the Mariam, to the plain above where Kefla Yasous was riding to and fro with great earnestness, encouraging his troops. In a very short time the left was formed; the Ras, having given all his orders, and taken to himself the charge of the camp and the reserve, sat down, as was usual, to play at drafts with the black servants. The army was now all in the plain, when the scouts arrived, and brought word that Gusho and Ayabdar had both taken their ground, not directly in a straight line from Powussen, square with the lake, but as it were diagonally declining more to the southward, so that the most advanced, or nearest to us, were the troops of Begemder; and this was probably done, in order that, our backs being more turned to the lake, we might be easier cut off from our camp, and surrounded in the plain, between their army and the Tzana, if Powussen was so fortunate as to beat the king and the left; but this disposition of these troops was out of our sight, being down nearer the lake. Nor is it to be understood that I mean here to give any account of their movements, or of any other, unless those of the left wing under the king, where I was myself engaged.

Several spies came into Ras Michael at this time, and they, and the horsemen that had been sent on the service, all agreed, that in the center of the Begemder horse a large red standard was displayed, with a number of kettle drums beating before it, which the Ras no sooner heard, than giving his draft board a kick with his foot, he overturned the whole game, and afforded, at least, a bad omen of the future engagement. He then called for Kefla Yasous, and Guebra Mascal, and having conferred with them both, he detatched Guebra Mascal with five hundred musqueteers to take possession of the hill in the valley below, and coast along the left flank of our left without appearing in sight.

The day had been exceeding close, seeming to threaten violent thunder, and we were now come so near as to see distinctly the large red standard, which being pointed out to the king, he said, smiling with a very chearful countenance, "Aye, aye, now we shall soon see what miracle king Theodorus will work." The clouds had been gathering ever since we went down the hill, and some big drops of rain had fallen. The soldiers were now covering their lighted matches, for fear of more, when first a most violent storm of thunder, lightening, and rain began, then a tempest of rain and wind, and last a dead calm, with such a heavy shower that I scarce ever saw the like even in the rainy season.

Had I been commander of the Begemder troops that day, this shower should have been the signal of charging; for all the king's fire-arms were useless, and the matches wet; but the Begemder horse seemed most uneasy under the fall of rain; they began to be unmanageable, and turn tail to the wind, which now arose and was directly in their faces, and in a few minutes they wheeled about, and retired to their camp. The king halted on the ground where he was, ordered the kettle-drums to beat, and the trumpets to sound; and having continued half an hour till the heavy shower began, he fell back as did the whole army, and retired to the camp. When he got up the hill, and passed the brow where Ras Michael was sitting with some slaves, who held up a piece of sail-cloth over his head to keep off the rain, the servants raised the Ras upon his feet; without any previous salutation, he then asked the king what he had done with king Theodorus? and was answered, "Begemder brought him, and Begemder took him away, we saw nothing but his flag." Lasta carried his flag, says one of the nobility. He is a peaceable prince, says the king; yet he begins with fighting, but he will make amends afterwards, if he governs this country in peace a thousand years. If he does that, says the Ras, Powussen is to die at the next battle, for the thousand years peace will never begin, as long as he is alive.

CHAP. VII.

_King offers Battle to the Rebels in the Plain--Description of
the Second Battle of Serbraxos--Rash Conduct, and narrow Escape
of the King--Both Armies keep the Ground._

The whole evening of the 19th of May was spent in festivity and joy; a prophet from some part in Dembea had foretold the defeat of king Theodorus, and what was much more interesting, two large droves of cattle, the one from Belessen, near Mariam-Ohha, the other from Dembea, were driven that day into the camp. Ras Michael, who knew the value of to-morrow, spared nothing that might refresh the troops this day. The king and he, Ozoro Esther, and Ozoro Altash, Kefla Yasous, and the Abuna himself, gave each of them entertainments to the principal officers of the army, and all those who were likely to bear the burden of the ensuing conflict. The soldiers were in great spirit, but it was now very generally known that the officers were mostly disaffected, engaged in private treaties, and in daily expectation of peace.

A very short council was held at the king's tent; all that could be resolved upon had been already fixed the day before, and little had happened since to occasion any alteration. All the young nobility were, as usual, at Ozoro Esther's. It was with infinite pity I heard them thoughtlessly praying for a warm and fair day to-morrow, the evening of which many of them were never to see.

Besides the stores that Ozoro Esther always was provided with, the king had sent her two live cattle, wine, brandy, and hydromel; and what was a very unusual condescension, the Ras, immediately after council, came into the tent, and brought with him a fresh supply. He was very gracious and affable, said a number of kind things to everybody, and asked me particularly how we drank in England?

I explained to him as well as I could the nature of our toasts, and drinking to the health of our mistresses by their names in bumpers; that our soldiers toasts on such a night as that, if the general honoured them as he did us now with his company, would be, A fair morning, and speedy sight of our enemy. He comprehended it all very easily, and when I saw he did so, I asked if I should give my toast? and he and all the company joining in a loud cry of approbation, I filled a horn with wine, and standing up, for he had forced us all to be seated, I drank, Long life to the king, health, happiness, and victory, to you, Sir, and a speedy sight of king Theodorus. A violent shout of applause followed. He himself (the soberest of men) would drink his horn full, which he did, with many interruptions from immoderate fits of laughter; the horn went quickly round, and I ventured to prophecy, that, in the thousand years he is to reign, Theodorus will never again be so chearfully toasted.

The Ras then turning to me said, I wish I had 5000 of your countrymen, Yagoube, to-morrow, such as you are, or such as you have described them. I answered. Would you had one thousand, and I had twenty lives staked upon the issue. Ayto Engedan upon this got up, and passing across the tent in a very graceful manner, kissed the Ras's hand, saying, Do not make us think you undervalue, or distrust your children, by forming such a wish: Yagoube is one of us, he is our brother, and he shall see and judge to-morrow, if we, your own sons, are not able to fight your battle without the aid of any foreigners. Tears, on this, came into the old man's eyes, who took Engedan in his arms, and kissed him; then recommending to us not to sit up late, he withdrew. A great deal of buffoonery followed about toasts, and soon after arrived two officers from the king, desiring to know what was the reason of that violent outcry? by which he meant the shout when we drank the toast. Ozoro Esther answered, We were all turned traitors, and were drinking the health of king Theodorus. But it was afterwards thought proper to explain the whole matter before the messengers went back, and make them drink the toast also.

Tecla Mariam had not spoken much, her father having sent for her at that time to the king. Before she departed, I begged Ozoro Esther to apologise for me, that I had absented myself, and had not waited upon her in the morning. I intreated her to continue her kind partiality to me the next day, and to judge for ever of the esteem I had for her by my then behaviour. She promised to do so with the utmost complacency and sweetness, and departed.

Soon after this, a servant arrived from Ras Michael, with a magnificent saddle and bridle as a present to Engedan. This man told us that a messenger had come from Waragna Fasil, desiring a place might be marked out for him to encamp, for he was to join the king early in the morning; but nobody gave any credit to this, nor did he, as far as I ever heard, advance a foot nearer the camp. The messenger commanded us all, moreover, to go to bed, which we immediately complied with. I only went to the king's tent, where the company was dispersing, and kissed his hand, after which I retired. In my way home to my tent, I saw a faggot lying in the way, when the story of the Guraguè came presently into my mind. I ordered some soldiers to separate it with their lances; but it had been brought for fuel, at least no Guragué was there.

I was no sooner laid upon my bed, than I fell into a profound sleep, which continued uninterrupted till five o'clock in the morning of the 20th. I had spared myself industriously in last night's carousal, for fear of contributing to a relapse into despondency in the morning; but I found all within serene and composed as it should be, and entirely resigned to what was decreed, I was perfectly satisfied, that the advancing or retarding the day of my death was not in the power of the army of Begemder. I then visited all the horses and the black soldiers, and ordered two or three of them, who were not perfectly recovered from their hurts, to stay in the camp. I afterwards went to the king's tent, who was not yet up; and the very instant after, the Ras's first drum beat, and the king rose; soon after which, the second drum was heard for the soldiers to go to breakfast. I went into the king's tent to kiss his hand, and receive his orders. He told me they were speedily then going to breakfast within, to which meal I was engaged at Ozoro Esther's. He answered, Make haste then, for I am resolved to be on the field before king Theodorus to-day. I am his senior, and should shew him the example. He seemed more than ordinary gay and in spirits.

I finished my breakfast in a few minutes, and took a grateful, but chearful leave of Ozoro Esther, and received many acknowledgements, and kind expressions, both from her and Tecla Mariam, who did not fail to be there according to appointment. The day was clear, the sun warm, and the army descended into the plain with great alacrity, in the same order as the day before. Guebra Mascal, with his musqueteers, took possession of the long hill in the valley, and coasted the left flank of our left wing, the river Mariam and its high banks being only between us. The king took his post, with the winding road aforementioned (up the steep banks of the Mariam) close on his left. Guebra Mascal having come to the south end of the hill below, marched briskly up the road, and then advanced about 200 yards, making his men lye down at the brink of the hill next the plain, among bent grass, and thin tall shrubs like Spanish broom, so as to be perfectly out of sight; his line was at right angles with our front, so that his fire must enfilade the whole front of our line.

If not very useful, yet it may, however, be thought curious, to know the disposition of a barbarous army ready to engage in a pitched battle as this was. Kefla Yasous, who commanded the left-wing under the king, placed his cavalry in a line to the opening of the road down into the valley; between every two musquets were men armed with lances and shields; then, at a particular distance, close before this line of horse, was a body of lances, and musquets, or sometimes either of them, in several lines, or, as they appeared, a round body of soldiers, standing together without any order at all; then another line of horse, with men between, alternately as before; then another round corps of lances and musquets, advanced just before the line of horse, and so on to the end of the division.

I know nothing of the disposition of the rest of the army, nor the ground they were engaged on; that where we stood was as perfect a plain as that commonly chosen to run races upon, and so I believe was the rest, only sloping more to the lake Tzana.

The king's infantry was drawn up in one line, having a musqueteer between every two men, with lances and shields. Immediately in the center was the black horse, and the Moors of Ras el Feel, with their libds, disposed on each of their flanks. Immediately behind these was the king in person, with a large body of young nobility and great officers of state, about him. On the right and left flank of the line, a little in the rear, were all the rest of the king's horse, divided into two large bodies, Guebra Mascal hid in the bank on our left at right angles with the line, enfilading, as I have already said, the whole line of our infantry; this will be easily understood by consulting the plan where H H, G G, F, and I, represent the disposition that I have now described.

PLAN
---- _of_ ----
THE SECOND BATTLE
---- OF ----
_SERBRAXOS_.
_Fought 20^{th} May,
1772._

SECOND BATTLE.

Explanation.

1. Gondar.
2. King's palace.
3. King's palace on the River Kaha.
4. Mahometan town on the River Kaha.

* * * * *

A The king marches from his camp to F by the road D and E.

GG The two bodies of horse.

HH Line of infantry, muskets, and lances alternately.

I Guebra Mascal in ambush, in the face of the banks of the
Mariam, among the bushes.

KK Powussen's march from his camp at Correva.

LL Powussen's first appearance in disorder.

MM Powussen's line formed in the front of the king.

NN The army of Begemder galloping to charge the king, receive
a close fire from Guebra Mascal hid in the bank at I, and
immediately after from the king's line HH.

OO Part of the army of Begemder wheeling to the left, and flying
over the plain in disorder.

PP The king, with his reserve following the right of the
Begemder horse.

QQ The right of the Begemder horse pursued by the king, having
rallied.

RR The Begemder horse turn to slowly surround the king at SS,
and drive him to the edge of the Bank.

T The king escaping down the bank, crosses between the pools of
the River Mariam, and enters the valley.

V The king arrived in the valley, is joined by the foot that ran
scattered down by the bank.

W Engedan detached from the camp by Ras Michael, joins the king.

X Musketeers detached by Michael, take post on the south side of
the long hill.

Y Part of the king's musketry posted on a rocky ground on the
south side of the valley.

Z The king's troops under Kefla Yasous filing down the narrow
road from the plain above into the valley, with the heavy armed
horse behind him.

a Guebra Mascal drawn up at the foot of the banks, makes way by
his fire for the black horse to take post in the king's front.
]

It was full half an hour after the king had formed before the army of Begemder made any motion. The Ras first saw them from the hill, and made a signal, by beating his drums and blowing his trumpets; this was immediately answered by all the drums and trumpets of the left wing, and for the space of a minute, a thick cloud of dust (like the smoke of a large city on fire) appeared on the side of Korreva, occasioned, as the day before, by the Begemder troops mounting on horseback; the ground where they were encamped being trodden into powder, by such a number of men and horse passing over it so often, and now raised by the motion of the horses feet, was whirled round by a very moderate breeze, that blew steadily; it every minute increased in darkness, and assumed various shapes and forms, of towers, castles, and battlements, as fancy suggested. In the middle of this great cloud we began to perceive indistinctly part of the horsemen, then a much greater number, and the figure of the horses more accurately defined, which came moving majestically upon us, sometimes partially seen, at other times concealed by being wrapt up in clouds and darkness; the whole made a most extraordinary, but truly picturesque appearance.

I was so struck with this, that I could not help saying to Billetana Gueta Ammonios, who commanded the horse under me, Is not that a glorious sight Ammonios! who, that was a king, would not be fond of war? David, however, curses those that delight in war, says Ammonios. Therefore, replied I, there must be pleasure in it, or else no body would fall into a sin that was disagreeable in itself, and at the same time forbidden by God. Well, well, replied Ammonios, this is not a time for argument, see what a glorious spectacle we shall all be before sun-set.

At this time Powussen's whole army was distinctly seen; they came riding backwards and forwards with great violence, more as if they were diverting themselves, than advancing to attack an enemy, of our consequence, that was waiting them. They seemed like two wings, and a main body, each nearly equal in numbers, as far as I could guess, and are described in the plan by the letters L L, but they were sometimes all in one croud together, and in such perpetual motion, that it was impossible to ascertain their precise form.

Four men, upon unruly, high-mettled, or at least ill-broke horses, rode galloping a small space before, conversing together, as if making their observations upon us: they were now arrived at about six hundred yards distance, but it was not a time to make accurate calculation; they then made a stop, and began extending the left of their line to the westward, as described by M M. I suppose, too, their horses needed to breathe a little, after they had so imprudently blown them to no purpose.

In the middle of their cavalry, or rather a little more towards their right, than opposite to the place where the king was, a large red flag was seen to rise, and was saluted by the drums and trumpets of their whole army. An accident happened at this moment, which endangered the discovery of the hidden part of our disposition, and which would thereby have destroyed the sanguine hopes we had of victory, and endangered the safety of the whole army. Upon displaying the red flag, two musquets were fired from the post in the face of the hill where Guebra Mascal lay in ambush. Luckily, at that very instant, all the king's drums beat, and trumpets sounded, a kind of mock alarm, (such as the posture-masters and mountebanks use,) in ridicule of king Theodorus, and his red flag then flying before us.

Immediately upon this, as on a signal for battle, the whole army of Begemder set out full gallop, to charge, as at N N, and a long hundred yards before they joined, they received, through the very depth of their squadron, a close well-directed fire from the whole musquetry of Guebra Mascal, and from the king's line an instant after, which put them into the utmost confusion, so that they in part came reeling down upon our line, half wheeled about to the left, as men that had lost their way, with their right, that is, their naked sides exposed as they turned, their shields being in their left. The fire from Guebra Mascal was the signal for our line to charge, and the heavy-armed horsemen, with their pikes, broke thro' them with little resistance, the line in the mean while, with horse and foot, closed with them, after the musquets had given them their fire, and then staid behind to recharge. Part of their left did not engage at all, but wheeled about, and fled southward over the plain.

While their army was thus separated into two divisions, both in great confusion, the king, with his reserve, fell furiously upon them; and being followed by all the rest of the horse, they pushed the right division (where Powussen was in person) along the plain, but these retired, fighting very obstinately, and often rallying. Kefla Yasous saw the great danger to which the king would quickly be exposed by pursuing the troops of Begemder so far at a distance from his foot, and that they would soon turn upon and overpower him with numbers, and then surround him. He therefore, with great presence of mind, provided for his retreat. He drew up the heavy-armed horse which could not gallop, the Moors of Ras el Feel, and the foot which were left behind, and which had now recharged their firelocks before the narrow road, and ordered Guebra Mascal to resume his station. He then twice, with great earnestness, cried in a loud voice to the soldiers, The king's safety depends upon you,--Stand firm, or all is lost. After which, he galloped, with a small body of horse, to join the king, closely engaged at a considerable distance: The foot that had pursued, or were scattered, now came in by tens and twelves, and joined the heavy-armed horse, so that we began again to shew a very good countenance. Among these, a common soldier of the king's household, busied in the vile practice of mangling and spoiling the dead, found the red colours of king Theodorus lying upon the field, which he delivered me, upon promise of a reward, and which I gave a servant of my own to keep till after the engagement.

At this instant Guebra Mascal came up from below the bank, leaping and flourishing his gun about his head, and crying, just before my horse, "Now, Yagoube, stand firm, if you are a man." "Look at me, you drunken slave, said I, armed, or unarmed, and say, it is not a boast if I count myself at all times a better man than you. Away to your hiding-hole again, and for your life appear within my reach. Away! you are not now, as the other day, before the king." The man cried out in a transport of impatience, "By G--d, you don't know what I mean; but here they all come, stand firm, if you are men;" and saying this, he ran nimbly off, and hid himself below the bank, with his lighted match in one hand, and all ready.

It is proper, for connection's sake, though I did not myself see it, to relate what had happened to the king, who had pursued the Begemder horse to a very considerable distance, and was then at S S in the plan, when the whole army of the rebels that had not engaged, observing the resistance made by Powussen, and part of the division which they had left, turned suddenly back from their flight, and at R R nearly surrounded the king and his cavalry, whom they had now driven to the very edge of the steepest part of the bank of the Mariam. Kefla Yasous's arrival, indeed, and his exerting himself to the utmost, fighting with his own hand like any common soldier, had brought some relief; yet as fresh horse came in, there can be little doubt at the end, that the king must have been either slain or taken prisoner, if Sertza Denghel, a young man of Amhara, a relation of Gusho, and who had a small post in the palace, had not dismounted, and offered to lead the king's horse down the steepest of the banks into the river. To this, however, he received an absolute refusal. "I shall die here this day, says the king, but while I have a man left, will never turn my back upon the rebels." Sertza Denghel hearing this vain discourse, and seeing no time was to be lost, took hold of the bridle by force, at T, and happily led the horse along one of the sheep-paths, slanting down the declivity of the bank. The king having in vain threatened displeasure, and even death, with the butt-end of his lance, in despair, struck Sertza Denghel in the mouth, and beat out all his fore-teeth. A bank of gravel, like a bridge, separated two deep pools, in the river Mariam, over which the king escaped, though with difficulty, the ground being foul with quick sand.

All the foot that had remained about the king ran down the bank, where the Begemder horse could not pursue them, and joined him in the valley, where he made the best of his way towards the south side of the long low hill, by the winding road, on the side of which, and just above him, was placed Guebra Mascal. Ras Michael, who saw the dangerous situation and escape of the king, and who had kept Ayto Engedan near for some such purposes, dispatched him with a considerable body of horse, along the low hill, ordering him immediately to join the king, and cover his retreat; he likewise detached a considerable body of musqueteers, and mounted for the greater speed upon mules, who were directed to take post upon the south end of the round hill, below the winding road, while another party possessed themselves of some rocky ground on the south side of the valley. This command was as soon executed as given. Ayto Engedan joined the king, who had lost all his kettle-drums but one, now beating before him, and upon his arrival at the entrance of the valley, the king, at V, turned his face to the enemy, having the musquetry, at X and Y, newly arrived from the camp on his right and left.

Kefla Yasous was immediately acquainted with the king's escape, and, knowing the consequence of protracting time, renewed the engagement with so much vigour, that he pushed the horse of Begemder to some small distance back into the plain. Powussen, whose only view was to take the king prisoner, and wrest the possession of his person, and with that his authority from Ras Michael, was much disconcerted at the unexpected way by which the king escaped; he after this halted a little for council, then divided his troops, with one part of which he resolved to go down the winding road, and with the other to pass at the junction of the rivers, and enter the valley in that direction, in order to overtake the king, and intercept him in his way to the camp, in case any thing obstructed his passing the winding road. Kefla Yasous took advantage of this movement, and with his horse made his way to join the heavy-armed troops, and those who had joined the line, standing closely and firmly where they were stationed.

The first person that appeared was Kefla Yasous, and the horse with him, stretching out his hand, (his face being all besmeared with blood, for he was wounded in his forehead) he cried as loud as he could, Stand firm, the king is safe in the valley. He had scarce faced about, and joined the line, when the enemy approached at a brisk gallop. The Begemder horse were closer than usual, and deeper than the front was broad; they resembled therefore an oblong square, if they resembled any thing; but the truth is, they were all in disorder, and their figure, never regular, changed every moment; the right of their front (which was not equal to ours) was finally placed against the road, being close by Guebra Mascal's post, whose men were much increased in number; they received the discharge of his whole musquetry in two vollies, so near that I scarce believe there was one shot that did not take place on man or horse. A great cry from the bank at the same time added to their panic, which was answered by the king's troops, who immediately charged them as before, as they wheeled half round to the left. They were pursued, for a small distance, by some of the troops that had not engaged in the morning, and it was easy to perceive their disorder was real, and that they were not likely to rally. By this last discharge, Powussen was slightly wounded, and his men were plainly seen hurrying him off the field. In the very instant the rebels turned their backs, Kefla Yasous ordered all the troops, horse and foot, to file off down the narrow road into the valley, behind the heavy-armed horse, who kept their ground before the road, and there to join the king.

For my part, I thought the affair was over, when, last of all, we, too, with our heavy horses, descended the road, where we found Guebra Mascal, (whose activity was above all praise) drawn up on our right along the foot of the bank, (with a large pool of water in his front) flanking the valley, the king drawn up in the narrowest part of it, and just engaged with the troops of Lasta and Begemder, that had gone round by the junction of the rivers. These had lost, as we afterwards heard, much time in giving their horses water. They were, however, the more refreshed when they did come, and though they had received a fire from the troops on the round hill, and from those posted on the rocky ground, on the other side of the valley, they had beat the king and Engedan back, and wounded him in the thigh.

At this time the Koccob horse, and Yasine with his Moors (who had the charge of the road above till all the troops were gone) arrived, being as it were shut out from the army, who were engaged at the other side of the hill. Kefla Yasous, after descending through the winding road into the valley, ordered Guebra Mascal to pass the pool, and stand at the bottom of the winding road, for fear the enemy should enter at the valley on the king's right, where the river ran, and so cut us off from our camp.

This space he was then occupying when Yasine, first, and afterwards, our black horse, arrived. He had, it seems, cried out to me before from the side of the pool, but I had not then heard him. He now, however, repeated, Where are you going, Yagoube? To die, said I, surlily; it is the business of the day. He then added, Kefla Yasous has crossed over behind Basha Hezekias, and fallen into the king's rear. You know well, said I, our post is in his front. Then follow me, cried Mascal, for by G--d I say you shall not take one step to-day, but I will go five before you. So saying, he advanced very hastily, and when he saw the Begemder colours retreating before the king, he poured in a volley, which, though at a considerable distance, turned all to a perfect flight.

We entered upon the smoke, just before the Shoa horse, with no loss, and very little resistance, and came just into the place which we occupied in the morning. Though the flight of the rebels was apparently real, Kefla Yasous would not suffer a pursuit into the plain, but advancing singly before us, began to form immediately; the musquetry were planted on each side of the valley as far up the hill as to be out of reach of the horse, and the rest of the infantry in the plain; Basha Hezekias was on the round hill just behind the center, where the king had placed himself, and Guebra Mascal nearly where he stood before.

The army now made an appearance of a large section of an amphitheatre. I observed the king had pulled off the diadem, or white fillet he wears for distinction, and was very intent upon renewing the engagement: the Begemder troops were forming, with great alertness, about half a mile below, being reinforced from time to time. The king ordered his drums to beat, and his trumpets to sound, to inform the enemy he was ready; but they did not answer, or advance: soon after (it being near three o'clock) the weather became overcast, and cold, on which the troops of Begemder beat a retreat; the king, very soon after, did the same, and returned to the camp without further molestation; only that coming near a rock which projected into the valley, (not far distant from the camp) a multitude of peasants belonging to Mariam-Ohha, threw down a shower of stones from their hands and slings, which hurt several. The king ordered them to be fired at, though they were a great distance off, and passed on: but Guebra Mascal commanding about fifty men to run briskly up the hill, on each side of the rock, gave them two discharges at a less distance, which killed or wounded many, and made the rest disappear in a moment.

I doubt that my reader will be more than sufficiently tired with the detail of this second battle of Serbraxos; but, as it was a very remarkable incident in my life, I could not omit it as far as I saw it myself, and suppressing any one part of it would have involved the rest in a confusion, with which I fear it may be still too justly charged. I therefore shall only say for connection's sake, that Gusho and Guebra Christos, in the center, were but partially engaged, and Kasmati Tesfos of Siré, second commander for the king, in that division, wounded, and taken prisoner. Guebra Christos, the king's uncle, was slain, (as it was believed) by a shot of his own men; few other lives of note were lost on either side, in that division. The king's troops fell back under the hill of Serbraxos, where Michael was, and, though followed by Gusho, were no further attacked by him. But on the right, Billetana Gueta Tecla, and Welleta Michael, after a very obstinate and bloody engagement, were beaten by Kasmati Ayabdar, and forced across the river Mogetch, where, having rallied and posted themselves strongly, it was not thought proper to attempt to force them, and they all joined the camp soon after the king, but with very great loss.

This battle, though it was rather a victory than a defeat, had, however, upon the king's affairs, all the bad consequences of the latter, nor was there any thinking man who had confidence in them from that day forward. Near 3000 men perished on the king's side, a great proportion of whom was of the left wing, which he commanded; near 180 young men, of the greatest hopes and noblest families in the kingdom, were among that number; Guebra Christos was in all respects a truly national loss. Kefla Yasous was twice wounded, but not dangerously, besides a multitude of others of the first rank, among whom was Ayto Engedan, who by proper care soon recovered also, but in the meantime was sent to Gondar, to his cousin Ayto Confu. On our side, too, a son of Lika Netcho, and a son of Nebrit Tecla, were both slain.--Providence seemed now to have begun to require satisfaction for the blood of the late king Joas, in the shedding of which these two were particularly concerned. Among the slain were our friends the Baharnagash and his son, who died valiantly fighting before the king at the time he escaped down the bank into the valley.

But what served as comfort to the king, was the still heavier loss sustained by the enemy, who, by their own accounts that day, lost above 9000 men, seven thousand of whom were from the troops of Begemder and Lasta, with which the king was engaged. For my own part, I cannot believe, but that both these accounts are much exaggerated; the great proportion that died of those that were wounded must have greatly swelled the loss of the rebels, because most gun-shot wounds, especially if bones are broken, mortify, and prove mortal. Among the slain, on the part of Begemder, were two chiefs of Lasta, and two relations of Powussen, (a brother-in-law and his son) they were both shot, bearing the banner of king Theodorus. The unworthy Confu, brother to Guebra Mehedin, and nephew to the Iteghé, whom I have often mentioned, had escaped, indeed, from Kasmati Ayabdar, who had given orders to confine him, to die a rebel this day among the troops of Begemder.

The king being washed and dressed, and having dined, received a compliment from Ras Michael, who sent him a present of fruit, and a thousand ounces of gold. There began then the filthiest of all ceremonies that ever disgraced any nation stiling themselves Christians; a ceremony that cannot be put in terms sufficiently decent for modest ears, without adapting the chaste language of scripture, which, when necessity obliges to treat of gross subjects, always makes choice of the least offensive language.