the son of this
Sabreddin, who first threw off allegiance to the Abyssinian King, then
Saif Arad (son of Amda Zion). The latter displaces 'Ali and gives the
government to his son Ahmed. After various vicissitudes Hakeddin, the son
of Ahmed, obtains the mastery in Aufat, defeats Saif Arad completely, and
founds a city in Shoa called Vahal, which superseded Aufat or Ifat. Here
the _Sabreddin_ of Makrizi appears to be identical with Amda Zion's
governor in Bruce's story, whilst the _Hakeddins_ belong to two different
generations of the same family. But Makrizi does not notice the wars of
Amda Zion any more than the Abyssinian Chronicles notice the campaign
recorded by Marco Polo.

(_Bruce_, vol. III. and vol. IV., pp. 23-90, and _Salt's Second Journey to
Abyssinia_, II. 270, etc.; both these are quoted from French versions
which are alone available to me, the former by _Castera_, Londres, 1790,
the latter by _P. Henry_, Paris, 1816; _Fr. Th. Rink, Al Macrisi, Hist.
Rerum Islamiticarum in Abyssinia_, etc., Lugd. Bat. 1798; _Rueppell_,
Dissert. on Abyss. Hist. and Chronology in his work on that country;
_Quat. Makr._ II. 122-123; _Quat. Mem. sur l'Egypte_, II. 268, 276.)

NOTE 6.--The last words run in the G.T.: "_Il ont singles de plosors
maineres. Il ont_ gat paulz (see note 2, ch. xxiii. supra), _et autre
gat maimon si devisez qe pou s'en faut de tiel hi a qe ne senblent a vix
d'omes._" The beautiful cocks and hens are, I suppose, Guinea fowl.

[We read in the _Si Shi ki_: "There is (in Western Asia) a large bird,
above 10 feet high, with feet like a camel, and of bluish-grey colour. When
it runs it flaps the wings. It eats fire, and its eggs are of the size of a
_sheng_" (a certain measure for grain). (_Bretschneider, Med. Res._, I. pp.
143-144.) Dr. Bretschneider gives a long note on the ostrich, called in
Persian _shutur-murg_ (camel-bird), from which we gather the following
information: "The ostrich, although found only in the desert of Africa and
Western Asia, was known to the Chinese in early times, since their first
intercourse with the countries of the far west. In the History of the Han
(_T'sien Han shu_, ch. xcvi.) it is stated that the Emperor _Wu-ti_, B.C.
140-186, first sent an embassy to _An-si_, a country of Western Asia,
which, according to the description given of it, can only be identified
with ancient _Parthia_, the empire of the dynasty of the Arsacides. In this
country, the Chinese chronicler records