Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 2.djvu/273

Rh they came up with Socinios in Begemder. Jacob advanced so near him that his tent could be distinctly seen from that of Socinios, and, on the morrow, Jacob and Za Selassé, drawing up their armies, offered Socinios battle.

wise prince saw too well that he was overmatched; and, though he desired a battle as much as Jacob, it was not upon such terms as the present. He declined it, and kept hovering about them as near as possible on the heights and uneven ground, where he could not be forced to fight till it perfectly suited his own interest.

refusal on the part of Socinios did but increase Za Selassè'sSelassé's [sic] pride. He despised Jacob as a general, and thought that Socinios declining battle was owing only to the apprehension he had of his presence, courage, and abilities. He continued parading with the separate army, perfectly intoxicated with confidence and an imaginary superiority, neglecting all the wholesome rules of war rigidly adhered to by great generals for the sake of discipline, however distant they may be from their enemy.

was not long before this was told Socinios, who soon saw his advantage in it, and thereupon resolved to fight Za Selassé singly, and watch attentively till he should find him as far as possible from Jacob. Nor did he long wait for the occasion; for Za Selassé, attempting to lead his army through very uneven and stony ground, called the Pass of Mount Defer, and at a considerable distance from Jacob, Socinios attacked him while in the pass so rudely, that his army, entangled in broken and unknown ground, was surrounded and almost cut to pieces. Za Selassé, with a few followers,