the whole letter, that, though he writes it himself, he cannot conceal that the king, Yasous, wished him very much away, and was very uneasy at his stay at Gondar. Who this was we know not, but suppose it was one of those assassins of M. du Roule, carrying on a private intrigue, without participation of the consul, some of whom were afterwards detected in Walkayt in the reign of David IV.

As for Elias, the forerunner of the French embassy, now become the only remains of it, he continued in Abyssinia (to judge by his letter) in great poverty, till the year 1718, immediately after which he went over to Arabia Felix, and first wrote from Mocha to M. de Maillet, consul at Cairo, as it will appear in the reign of David IV., where I have inserted his letter. That written to M. du Roule in the name of Yasous; that of Tecla Haimanout to the Basha and Divan of Cairo, I have now here inserted, because I have advanced facts founded upon them.

Translation of an Arabic Letter from the King of Abyssinia to M. du Roule.

"THE king Tecla Haimanout, king of the established church, son of the king of a thousand churches. "This letter cometh forth from the venerable, august king, who is the shadow of God, guide of Christian princes that are in the world, the most powerful of the Nazarean kings, observer of the commandments of the gospel, protector of the confines of Alexandria, he that maintaineth order between Mahometans and Christians, descended from the family of the prophets David and Solomon, upon whom be the blessings of

See this letter, Le Grande, Rel. Hist. d'Abyssinic, p. 465468; and an account of Father Joseph himself, p. 447.

Israel, may God make his happiness eternal, and his power perpetual, and protect his arms-So be it.-To his excellence the most virtuous and most prudent man du Roule, a Frenchman sent to us, may God preserve him, and make him arrive at a degree of eminence.-So be it.-Elias, your interpreter, whom you sent before you, being arrived here, has been well received. We have understood that you are sent to us on the part of the king of France our brother, and are surprised that you have been detained at Sennaar. We send to you at present a letter for king Baady, in order that he may set you at liberty, and not do you any injury, nor to those that are with you, but may behave in a manner that is proper both for you and to us, according to the religion of Elias that you sent, who is a Syrian; and all those that may come after you from the king of France our brother, or his consul at Cairo, shall be well received, whether they be ambassadors or private merchants, because we love those that are of our religion. We receive with pleasure those who do not oppose our laws, and we send away those that do oppose them. For this reason we do not receive immediately Joseph *, with all his companions, not choosing that such sort of people should appear in our presence, nor intending that they should pass Sennaar, in order to avoid troubles which may occasion the death of many; but with respect to you, have nothing to fear, you may come in all safety, and you shall be received with honour."-Written the 10th of the month Zulkade, Anno 1118, i. e. the 21st of January of the year 1706.

Vid. the letter as quoted above. These were the Fathers of the Mission established in Egypt. E.

*The address is" Let the present be delivered to M. du Roule, at the town of Sennaar."

I shall only observe upon this letter, that all the priests, who had flocked to Sennaar before M. du Roule arrived there, disappeared upon his near approach to that city, after having prepared the mischief which directly followed. And, no sooner was the murder, which they before concerted, committed, than they all flocked back again, as if invited to a festival. M. de Maillet speaks of several of them in his letters, where he complains of the murder of du Roule, and says that they were then on their way to enter Abyssinia. Of these was this Joseph, whom Tecla Haimanout strictly prohibits to come farther than Sennaar, having seen what his father had written concerning him in the first letters Elias was charged with.

Others are mentioned in Elias's letter to the consul, as having been in Abyssinia. He calls them those of the league of Michael and Samuel, of whom we shall speak afterwards. But, even though the French consul had ordered his nation to drive all the subjects of Sennaar from their houses and service, none of these missionaries were afraid to return and abide at Sennaar; because they knew the murder of the ambassador was the work of their own hands, and, without their instigation, would never have been committed.

The unlucky messenger, Elias, was again about to enter Sennaar, when he received information that du Roule had been assassinated. If he had fled hastily from this inauspicious place upon the murder of Yasous, his haste was now tenfold, as he considered himself engaged in the same circumstances that had involved M. du Roule's attendants in his misfortunes.

The king, upon hearing the account given by Elias

of the melancholy fate of the ambassador at Sennaar, was so exasperated, that he gave immediate orders for recalling such of his troops as he had permitted to go to any considerable distance; and, in a council held for that purpose, he declared, that he considered the death of M. du Roule as an affront that immediately affected his crown and dignity. He was, therefore, determined not to pass it over, but to make the king of Sennaar sensible that he, as well as all the other kings upon earth, knew the necessity of observing the law of nations, and the bad consequence of perpetual retaliations that must follow the violation of it. In the mean time, thinking that the basha of Cairo was the cause of this, he wrote the following letter to him:

Translation of an Arabic Letter from the King of Abys sinia to the Basha and Divan of Cairo.

"To the Pacha, and Lords of the Militia of Cairo.

"ON the part of the king of Abyssinia, the king Tecla Haimanout, son of the king of the church of Abyssinia.

"On the part of the august king, the powerful arbiter of nations, shadow of God upon earth, the guide of kings who profess the religion of the Messiah, the most powerful of all Christian kings, he who maintains order between Mahometans and Christians, protector of the confines of Alexandria, observer of the commandments of the gospel, heir from father to son of a most powerful kingdom, descended of the family of David and Solomon-may the blessing of Israel be upon our prophet, and upon them! may his happiness be durable, and his greatness lasting; and may his powerful army be always feared! To the most power

ful lord, elevated by his dignity, venerable by his merits, distinguished by his strength and riches among all Mahometans, the refuge of all those that reverence him, who by his prudence governs and directs the armies of the noble empire, and commands his confines; victorious viceroy of Egypt, the four corners of which shall be always respected and defended-So be it. And to all the distinguished princes, judges, men of learning, and other officers, whose business it is to maintain order and good government, and to all commanders in general, may God preserve them all in their dignities, in the nobleness of their health. You are to know, that our ancestors never bore any envy to other kings, nor did they ever occasion them any trouble, or shew them any mark of hatred. On the contrary, they have, upon all occasions, given them. proofs of their friendship, assisting them generously, relieving them in their necessities, as well in what concerns the caravan and pilgrims of Mecca in Arabia Felix, as in the Indies, in Persia, and other distant and out-of-the-way places, also by protecting distinguished persons in every urgent necessity.

"Nevertheless, the king of France our brother, who professes our religion and our law, having been induced thereto by some advances of friendship on our part such as are proper, sent an ambassador to us; I understand that you caused arrest him at Sennaar, and also another, by name Murat, the Syrian, whom you did put in prison also, though he was sent to that ambassador on our part, and by thus doing, you have violated the law of nations; as ambassadors of kings ought to be at liberty to go wherever they will; and it is a general obligation to treat them with honour, and not to molest or detain them; nor should they be subject to pay customs, or any sort of presents. We could very soon repay you in kind, if we