ne another; nor can there be a greater offence
against good manners than to let the guests go away sober: their liquor
is always presented by a servant, who drinks first himself, and then
gives the cup to the company, in the order of their quality.

The meaner sort of people here dress themselves very plain; they only
wear drawers, and a thick garment of cotton, that covers the rest of
their bodies: the people of quality, especially those that frequent the
court, run into the contrary extreme, and ruin themselves with costly
habits. They wear all sorts of silks, and particularly the fine velvets
of Turkey.

They love bright and glaring colours, and dress themselves much in the
Turkish manner, except that their clothes are wider, and their drawers
cover their legs. Their robes are always full of gold and silver
embroidery. They are most exact about their hair, which is long and
twisted, and their care of it is such that they go bare-headed whilst
they are young for fear of spoiling it, but afterwards wear red caps, and
sometimes turbans after the Turkish fashion.

The ladies' dress is yet more magnificent and expensive; their robes are
as large as those of the religious, of the order of St. Bernard. They
have various ways of dressing their heads, and spare no expense in ear-
rings, necklaces, or anything that may contribute to set them off to
advantage. They are not much reserved or confined, and have so much
liberty in visiting one another that their husbands often suffer by it;
but for this evil there is no remedy, especially when a man marries a
princess, or one of the royal family. Besides their clothes, the
Abyssins have no movables or furniture of much value, or doth their
manner of living admit of them.

One custom of this country deserves to be remarked: when a stranger comes
to a village, or to the camp, the people are obliged to entertain him and
his company according to his rank. As soon as he enters a house (for
they have no inns in this nation), the master informs his neighbours that
he hath a guest; immediately they bring in bread and all kinds of
provisions; and there is great care taken to provide enough, because, if
the guest complains, the town is obliged to pay double the value of what
they ought to have furnished. This practice is so well established that
a stranger goes into a house of one he never saw with the same
familiarity and assurance of welcome as into that of an intimate friend
o