Hazorta tribe, who were to be our guides, the camel-drivers and the Ascari, all of whom in turn begged for themselves and for each other; and, among this tribe of locusts, I was compelled to distribute nearly five hundred dollars, before I could get clear of the place, with any probability of passing in safety with his Majesty's presents to the mountains.
25th.--With a pleasure somewhat similar to that expressed by Gil Blas, when he escaped from the robbers' cave, we quitted Arkeeko, and at twelve had the gratification of mustering all our cafila, at a station about four miles south from that, I had almost said, accursed town. Among all the descriptions of men I have ever met with, the character of the half-civilized savages found at Arkeeko is the most detestable. As they have ingeniously contrived to lose all the virtues of the rude tribes to which they belonged, without having acquired any thing, except the vices of their more refined neighbours. At Massowa even, where the better sort of townsmen are scarcely equal to the worst of the Arabs, they entertain such a dread of the inhabitants of Arkeeko, that they will not, on any account, stay a night in the place; so that the scale of degradation to which these last are reduced cannot very well descend lower, The only description I recollect that would particularly suit them, may be found in Mr. Bruce's very energetic account of the inhabitants of Sennaar. From this sweeping, though just, condemnation, I must except the Nayib and his two sons, who, laying aside their excessive rapacity in endeavouring to extort presents, were very obliging to us, and seemed to possess many valuable qualities, particularly the eldest Hamed, whose conduct with regard to his family appeared to be very exemplary.
I may here take occasion to mention a circumstance I have before omitted. During our short stay at Arkeeko, we received a visit from two respectable looking Greeks, returning from Abyssinia to their native country. One of them proved to be the brother of Abba Marcorius, an elderly man, who had, in the course of the preceding year, been commissioned by the Patriarch of Alexandria to fill the office of Abuna, or High Priest, of the Church of Abyssinia. Unfortunately for the country, he
