Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/271

 approbation or disapprobation of any thing that had been done, or was doing.

About the end of June he came at once to Abba Samuel, without announcing himself before hand, according to his usual custom, and he paid his first visit to the Iteghe, then a short one to the king, where I saw him: he was very facetious with me, and pretended I had promised him my horse when I returned from Maitsha, which I excused, by observing the horse was out of town. Well, well, says he, that shall not save you; tell me where he is and I will send for him, and give you the best mule in the army in exchange, and take my chance of recovering him wherever he is. With all my heart, replied I; you will find him perhaps in the valley of Serbraxos, at the foot of the hill, opposite to the south ford of the river Mariam. He laughed heartily at this, shook me by the hand at parting, saying. Well, well, for all this you shall not want your mule. The king was exceedingly pleased at what had passed, and said, "I wish you would tell me, Yagoube, how you reconcile all these people to you. It is a secret which will be of much more importance to me than to you. There is Gusho now, for example, so proud of his present fortune, that he scarcely will say a civil word to me; and Fasil has brought me a list of his own servants, whom he wants to make mine without asking my leave, (Adera Tacca Georgis, whom he named to be Fit-Auraris to the king, as he had done formerly when he wanted to quarrel with Socinios, Gubena to be Cantiba, and some others), yet he never sees you come into the room but he begins immediately joking and pleasant conversation,