ppily being sick, another stayed to attend him; to this they owed their
lives, for the viceroy, finding but four of them, sent them back, telling
them he would see them all together. The fathers, having been already
told of his revolt, and of the pretences he made use of to give it
credit, made no question of his intent to massacre them, and contrived
their escape so that they got safely out of his power.

The viceroy, disappointed in his scheme, vented all his rage upon Father
James, whom the patriarch had given him as his confessor; the good man
was carried, bound hand and foot, into the middle of the camp; the
viceroy gave the first stab in the throat, and all the rest struck him
with their lances, and dipped their weapons in his blood, promising each
other that they would never accept of any act of oblivion or terms of
peace by which the Catholic religion was not abolished throughout the
empire, and all those who professed it either banished or put to death.
They then ordered all the beads, images, crosses, and relics which the
Catholics made use of to be thrown into the fire.

The anger of God was now ready to fall upon his head for these daring and
complicated crimes; the Emperor had already confiscated all his goods,
and given the government of the kingdom of Tigre to Keba Christos, a good
Catholic, who was sent with a numerous army to take possession of it. As
both armies were in search of each other, it was not long before they
came to a battle. The revolted viceroy Tecla Georgis placed all his
confidence in the Galles, his auxiliaries. Keba Christos, who had
marched with incredible expedition to hinder the enemy from making any
intrenchments, would willingly have refreshed his men a few days before
the battle, but finding the foe vigilant, thought it not proper to stay
till he was attacked, and therefore resolved to make the first onset;
then presenting himself before his army without arms and with his head
uncovered, assured them that such was his confidence in God's protection
of those that engaged in so just a cause, that though he were in that
condition and alone, he would attack his enemies.

The battle began immediately, and of all the troops of Tecla Georgis only
the Galles made any resistance, the rest abandoned him without striking a
blow. The unhappy commander, seeing all his squadrons broken, and three
hundred of the Galles, with twelve ecclesiastics, killed on the spot, hid
himself in a cave,