43° TRAVELS TO DISCOVER
whip acrofs the eyes, another behind took hold of your fword that was flung upon my fhoulders, and would have ftrangledme with the cord if I had not fallen backwards ; they all began then to flrip me. I was naked in a minute as I was the hour I was born, having only this night-cap ; when one of them, a tall black fellow, drew a crooked knife, and propo- fed to pay me a compliment that has made me fhudder every time I have fince thought of it. I don't know what would have been the end of it, if Confu had not faid, Poh ! he is a ivbite man, and not worth xhefcarifying: Let us feek his mafter, faysGuebraMehedin,he will by this have palled the Gomara; he has always plenty of gold both from the king and Iteghe, and is a real Frank, on which account it would be a fin to fpare him. On this away they went fkirmifhing about the plain. Horfemen came to join them from all parts, and every one that palled me gave me a blow of fome kind or other. None of them hurt me very much, but, no matter ; I may have my turn : we fliall fee what figure he will make before the Iteghe fome of thefe days, or, what is better, be- fore Ras Michael."
" That you fliall never fee, fays Negade Ras Mahomet, who entered the room in the inflant, for there is a man now without who informs us that Guebra Mehedin is either dead or juft a-dying. A fhot fired at him, by one of you at the Gomara, cut off part of his cheek-bone; the next morn- ing he heard that Kafmati Ayabdar was going to the hot wa- ters at Lebec with fervants only, and the devil towhom he be- longed would not quit him; he would perfift, ill as he was, to attack Ayabdar, who having, unknown to him, brought a number of flout fellows along with him, without difficulty cut his fervants to pieces. In the fray, Tecla Georgis, a fer-
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