our persecutors. He
seized upon all our lands, and, advancing with his troops to Fremona,
blocked up the town. The army had not been stationed there long before
they committed all sorts of disorders; so that one day a Portuguese,
provoked beyond his temper at the insolence of some of them, went out
with his four sons, and, wounding several of them, forced the rest back
to their camp.

We thought we had good reason to apprehend an attack; their troops were
increasing, our town was surrounded, and on the point of being forced.
Our Portuguese therefore thought that, without staying till the last
extremities, they might lawfully repel one violence by another, and
sallying out to the number of fifty, wounded about three score of the
Abyssins, and had put them to the sword but that they feared it might
bring too great an odium upon our cause. The Portuguese were some of
them wounded, but happily none died on either side.

Though the times were by no means favourable to us, every one blamed the
conduct of the viceroy; and those who did not commend our action made the
necessity we were reduced to of self-defence an excuse for it. The
viceroy's principal design was to get my person into his possession,
imagining that if I was once in his power, all the Portuguese would pay
him a blind obedience. Having been unsuccessful in his attempt by open
force, he made use of the arts of negotiation, but with an event not more
to his satisfaction. This viceroy being recalled, a son-in-law of the
Emperor's succeeded, who treated us even worse than his predecessor had
done.

When he entered upon his command, he loaded us with kindnesses, giving us
so many assurances of his protection that, while the Emperor lived, we
thought him one of our friends; but no sooner was our protector dead than
this man pulled off his mask, and, quitting all shame, let us see that
neither the fear of God nor any other consideration was capable of
restraining him when we were to be distressed. The persecution then
becoming general, there was no longer any place of security for us in
Abyssinia, where we were looked upon by all as the authors of all the
civil commotions, and many councils were held to determine in what manner
they should dispose of us. Several were of opinion that the best way
would be to kill us all at once, and affirmed that no other means were
left of re-establishing order and tranquillity in the kingdom.

Others, more prudent, were no