The Highlands of Ethiopia
By Sir William Cornwallis Harris
Published by Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London.
This edition dated 1844.

Introduction to the Second Edition.

In putting forward a second edition of my "Highlands of Ethiopia," I
have two very different duties to perform: first, to thank the press for
the extremely liberal and generous manner in which it has received my
work; secondly, to reply to certain objections which have been made by
one or two periodicals, happily not of the first eminence, against both
me and my travels.  So numerous, however, are the publications that have
evinced a favourable, I might almost say a friendly, disposition towards
me, that I am unable to specify them.  They will, therefore, I trust,
accept in general terms my thanks to them one and all.

Their very flattering testimonies have induced me to revise carefully
what I have written, in order, if possible, to render it worthy of their
warm praise, and to justify their predilection in my behalf.  On the
other hand, _fas est et ab hoste doceri_.  I have consequently turned to
account even the animadversions of my enemies--for enemies unhappily I
have, and those, too, of the most implacable and malignant character--
mean persons to whom I have shown kindness, which they have apparently
no means of repaying but by inveterate aversion.  This circumstance I
ought not perhaps to regret, except on their account.  The parts we play
are suitable to our respective characters; and I should even now abstain
from prejudicing them in the estimation of the public, if I did not
apprehend that my forbearance might be misconstrued.

The points of attack selected by my adversaries are not many in number.
Ultimately, indeed, they resolve themselves into three: first, my style
of composition, which they say is gorgeous and inflated, and therefore
obscure; second, the inaccuracy of several of my details; and third, the
absence of much new information, which it seems the public had a right
to expect from me.  On the subject of the first accusation it will not
perhaps be requisite that I should say much.  To any one who cannot
understand what I write I must necessarily appear obscure; but it may
sometimes, I think, be a question with which of us the fault lies.  That
my composition is generally intelligible may not unfairly, I think, be
inferred from the number of persons who have understood and praised it;
since it can scarcely be imagined that the majority of reviewers would
warmly recommend to the public that in which they could discern no
meaning.  Besides, on the subject of style there is a great diversity of
opinion, some thinking that very extraordinary scenes and objects should
be delineated in forcible language, while others advocate a tame and
formal phraseology which they would see employed on all occasions
whatsoever.  I may observe, moreover, that "style," as Gibbon remarks,
"is the image of character," and it is quite possible that my fancy may
have a natural aptitude to take fire at the prospect of unusual scenes
and strange manners.  Still I am far from defending obstinately my own
idiosyncracies, and yet farther from setting them up as a rule to
others.  In describing what I saw, and endeavouring to explain what I
felt, I may very possibly have used expressions too poetical and ornate;
but the public will, I am convinced, do me the justice to believe that,
in acting thus, my object was exactly to delineate, and not to delude.
I called in to my aid the language which seemed to me best calculated to
reflect upon the minds of others, those grand and stupendous objects of
nature which had made so deep and lasting an impression on my own.  At
all events, I am not conscious of having had in this any sinister
purpose to serve.

It is a far more serious charge, that I have presented the public with a
false account of the Embassy to Shoa; that I have altered or suppressed
facts; that I have been unjust to my predecessors and companions; and
that I have at once misrepresented the country and its inhabitants.  It
has been already observed, that my accusers are few in number.  Probably
they do not exceed three individuals, two who affect to speak from their
own knowledge, and one whom they have taken under their patronage as
their cat's-paw.  It may seem somewhat humiliating to answer such
persons at all.  I feel that it is so.  But if dirt be cast at me, I
must endeavour to shield myself from it, without enquiring whether the
hands of the throwers be naturally filthy or not.  That is their own
affair.  Mine is to avoid the pollution aimed at me.  This must be my
apology for entering into the explanations I am about to give.

When I undertook to lay before the public an account of my travels in
Abyssinia, I had to choose between the inartificial and somewhat tedious
form of a journal, and that of a more elaborate history, in which the
exact order of dates should not be observed.  I preferred the latter;
whether wisely or unwisely remains to be seen, though hitherto public
opinion seems to declare itself in favour of my choice.  Having come to
this determination, it was necessary that I should act in all things
consistently with it.  As I had abandoned the journal, it was no way
incumbent on me to observe the laws which govern that form of
composition.  My business, as it appeared to me, was to produce a work
with some pretensions to a literary character; that is, one in which the
order of time is not regarded as a primary element, the principal object
being the grouping of events and circumstances so as to produce a
complete picture.  I perfectly understood that I was to add nothing and
to invent nothing, but that I was at liberty to throw aside all trivial
details, and dwell only on such points as seemed calculated to place in
their proper light the labours of the mission, with the institutions,
customs, and type of civilisation found among the people to whom we had
been sent.  In conformity with this theory I wrote.  One of the first
consequences, however, of the view I had taken of my subject, was the
sacrifice of all minute personal adventures, which scarcely appeared in
any way compatible with my plan.  I abandoned likewise the use of the
first personal pronoun, and always spoke of myself and my companions
collectively, thereby perhaps doing some little injustice to my own
exertions, but certainly not arrogating to myself any credit properly
due to others.  Among my friends there are those who object to this
manner of writing, and I submit my judgment to theirs.  In this Second
Edition, therefore, I have reconstructed the narrative so far as was
necessary in order to convert the third person into the first.  To the
charge that I have not observed the strict chronology of a journal, I
have already pleaded guilty.  It seemed to me far better to arrange
together under one head whatever belonged properly to one topic.  For
example, when recording the medical services rendered to the people of
Shoa, high or low, I have not inserted in my work each individual
instance as it occurred, but have placed the whole before the reader in
a separate chapter.  So likewise in other cases, that which appeared to
elucidate the matter in hand, was introduced into what I thought its
proper place, because there it might both receive and reflect light,
whereas in any other part, perhaps, of the work, it might have been
without significance, if not altogether absurd.  Not being infallible, I
may possibly have misinterpreted the laws of rhetoric which I adopted as
my guide: of this let the public be judge.  I have aimed, at all events,
at drawing a correct outline of Shoa and the surrounding countries, as
far as my materials would permit, and should I have sometimes fallen
into error, I claim that indulgence which is always readily extended to
authors similarly circumstanced.  While in Abyssinia, my official
position very greatly interfered with my predilections as a traveller.
I could not move hither and thither freely.  To enlarge the circle of
science was not the principal object of my mission; but at the same time
it must not be forgotten that I enjoyed some advantages which a
traveller visiting the country under other auspices would scarcely have
commanded.  In drawing up my work, however, the character in which I
travelled was of considerable disservice to me.  Much of the information
that I collected, it was not permitted me to impart, which I say, not by
way of complaint against the regulations of the service in which I have
the honour to be engaged,--on the contrary, I think it most just and
proper that such should be the case--but that the reader, when he feels
a deficiency in political or commercial information, may know that it
has not been withheld through any negligence or disrespect of the public
on my part.

I now come to consider more in detail the objections which have been
urged against my travels.  Some of these, it will at once be perceived,
are so loose and indefinite as to be wholly incapable of being answered.
For example, it is said, I have made no addition to the information
already existing respecting the southern provinces of Abyssinia.  How
can I reply to this?  Must I reprint all the works which had been
previously published, and point out the additions I have made?  The
process, it will be acknowledged, is an unusual one.  Besides, the
scientific world has not hitherto been averse to look at several views
of the same country, to compare them for itself, and to derive from the
very comparison both pleasure and information.  Some additions,
moreover, to geographical science I undoubtedly have made, and there are
those who have not been ashamed to borrow them.  I have ascertained, for
example, that the Gochob does not flow into the Nile, as it is made to
do in a map which I have seen, constructed by one of the reviewer's
greatest authorities.  The inquiries I instituted render it probable
that the Gochob is the same river with the Juba.  And, above all, the
longitude of Ankober was, under my directions, and by a laborious series
of operations, correctly determined.  The importance of this to
travellers who may not possess the ability or the means of resolving it
themselves, I need scarcely point out.  Previously, every position in
the maps of Southern Abyssinia was calculated from a false position, and
therefore of necessity wrong.  But I shall not here enter upon an
inventory of my humble services to science.  I could wish they were more
numerous, but such as they are I trust they will be found not wholly
without their value.

In "ethnography," or rather perhaps "ethnology," the critic discovers my
ideas to be all wrong; and he accounts for the circumstance by supposing
in me some innate aversion to the "savage."  I certainly dislike that
particular variety of our species whether at home or abroad, but it does
not necessarily follow that I have been therefore guilty of
misrepresentation.  These things, nevertheless, I leave to be determined
by public opinion, which, so far as I can perceive, is little, if at
all, influenced by the bitter and self-interested censures of my
enemies.

When I determined on making some reply to the "slashing" Aristarchus who
has assailed my work--I would say publicly, but that the thing is so
obscure that few persons have even heard of it--my design was to attempt
something like order, that I might not by a multiplicity of disjointed
remarks confound the memory of my readers.  But the impossibility of
following any rational plan soon became apparent.  The reviewer with
whom I have to deal is a man who scorns all order and regularity.  His
only rule is that of _hysteron proteron_, or putting the cart before the
horse.  Not possibly that he considers such a method of writing best in
itself, but that by introducing perfect anarchy into his critique, and
returning a dozen times to each objection urged, my faults might in
appearance be so multiplied that they would suffice to fill a whole
encyclopaedia.  Now if in my reply I followed any other than his
fragmentary system, I might perhaps seem to many not to answer all his
objections, whereas my intention is to demolish every one of them.  I
resolved therefore to begin _ab ovo_, and giving quarter to no
impertinence or absurdity by the way, to clear the ground completely,
and leave a perfect _rase campagne_ behind me.  That in so doing I shall
not prove tedious, is more than I can hope.  My adversary is insipidity
personified.  But if the controversy be unamusing, it shall, at least as
far as I can render it so, be brief.

The critic whose vagaries I have undertaken to expose, though affecting
not to be hypercritical, first dwells with a puerile pertinacity on the
title of my book, which he pronounces to be a misnomer, because,
forsooth, the territories of Shoa are not high lands, but a high land!
Possibly he figures to himself the whole of Abyssinia as one single vast
plateau, whose surface presents neither elevation nor depression,
otherwise the reader will see no reason why it should be spoken of in
the singular.

In describing the contents of the second volume, my reviewer speaks of
"a slaving expedition among the Galla, _in which the Embassy_," he
affirms, "_took part_."  The assertion, however, is incorrect, not to
apply to it a harsher epithet; for the spectator who looks on a play can
with no propriety be said to take part in the acting of it.  The mission
was sent to Sahela Selassie, not to the city of Ankober.  It was
consequently my business to attend the king, to watch his movements, and
study his character, just as the Embassy under Sir John McNeil attended
the Shah of Persia to Herat, though instead of taking part in the siege,
he laboured earnestly to put a stop to it.

The contents of the third volume are next wilfully misrepresented, the
critic desiring to make it appear that a very small portion indeed has
reference to the country or people of Abyssinia, though at least
two-thirds treat expressly of those subjects, whilst the remainder is
strictly connected with them.

But it is not merely in the third volume that the critic is unable to
discover any information respecting Shoa.  He takes courage as he
proceeds, advances from particulars to generals, and contends that the
book contains no information at all in any part of it, that no account
is given of the geography of the country, no sketch of its history, in
short no account of it in any way whatsoever.  Afterwards, indeed, an
exception is made in favour of religion.  Taking no interest in this,
however, he treats it as a twice-told tale with which he was previously
familiar.  Considering the modes of thinking prevalent in the quarter,
it may, without much uncharitableness, be permitted one to doubt this.
Not to insist, however, on a point which may be disagreeable to the
reviewer, I hasten to compliment him on his sagacity, which, through the
table of contents, has made the discovery, that the political history of
Abyssinia for the last thirty years is not given.  I acknowledge the
omission, and may perhaps have been to blame for suffering any
consideration connected with the size of the volumes to weigh with me in
such a matter.  The historical sketch in question, however, was actually
written, though the critic would probably not have derived from it any
more satisfaction than from the rest of the book.  He objected to its
absence because it was not there.  Had I introduced it, he would have
said it was a twice-told tale, and absolutely good for nothing.

My adversary now and then qualifies, as he proceeds, his absolute
affirmations.  Having again and again maintained that there is no
account, "historical or otherwise," given of the country, he afterwards
admits his error, but says the account is "confused and unintelligible."
I think it was Mr Coleridge who made the remark, when persons
complained that they could not understand his work, that it was their
fault, since all he had to do was to bring the book, and that it was
their duty to bring the understanding.  I make the same reply to the
critic.  Other people understand my account of Abyssinia; and if he
really does not, I am sorry for him, but can offer him no assistance.
However, there is an old proverb, I believe, which says, "There are none
so blind as those who won't see."

The argument by which I am proved to have read Mr Salt, though I make
no allusion to him, is curious; but I either profited by my reading, or
I did not.  If I profited, the consequences must be visible in my work;
if I derived nothing from Mr Salt, then my work can contain no proof
that I did.  But it does, according to the critic, contain such proof;
_ergo_, I have profited by Mr Salt's labours.  It would have been well,
however, if the critic had pointed out where and how much; for until he
does so, my word will probably be thought as good as his, especially as
he is anonymous, and I am not.  One proof of my careless reading of Mr
Salt is, I own, very remarkable.  It seems, had I been well versed in
his production, I should have known that Oubie is "still alive and ruler
of Tigre;" Mr Salt having, of course, been careful to relate that
circumstance.  It so happens, however, that at the period I was engaged
in writing my work, Oubie was a prisoner, and another prince seated on
his throne--a fact, I believe, not preserved in Salt.

Next comes on the tapis the orthography of Ethiopia; _apropos_ of which,
the critic takes occasion to call in question my classical acquirements.
I was not, however, aware that, by preferring one orthography to
another, I was laying claim to profound erudition, or setting myself up
for "an authority among scholars."  On the contrary, I followed those
who appeared to me very sufficient guides.  Gibbon and Dr Johnson,--
authors who may perhaps, even by the reviewer himself, be permitted to
claim a humble niche among our classics.  But they wrote, it may be
said, in the last century.  I therefore refer to a perfectly new
publication, on a classical subject, if not the work of a classic,--I
mean Mr Saint John's "History of the Manners and Customs of Ancient
Greece," in which the orthography I have adopted is likewise made use
of.  If then I have been affected, I have at all events indulged my
affectation in very good company.  But the reviewer does not stop here.
He thinks the orthography involves a mystery, and he goes about the
unveiling of it in a very mysterious way.  It is a proof he thinks that
I am indebted to Mr Krapf for what little proficiency I may have made
in the art of spelling; nay more, that I have derived from that
gentleman all my knowledge of Abyssinia of every kind!

Before I make any other remark on this part of the subject, I will take
occasion to compliment myself on my simplicity; for if I had desired to
conceal my obligations to Dr Krapf, and have been conscious of any
which I have not frankly stated, I should have been careful to spell
Ethiopia _classically_, that is, as the reviewer does, in order to
conceal the source from which I had drawn.  I should thus clearly have
put him on a very wrong scent, since a single letter suffices to lead
him by the nose.  But the most curious view of this question remains yet
to be taken.  Dr Krapf, he says, possesses the most complete knowledge
of Abyssinia, its geography, language, and literature.  He then goes on
to maintain that Dr Krapf imparted his knowledge to me, and I that same
knowledge to the public.  But, no! the reviewer stops short here, and
affirms that I envied the public the possession of Dr Krapf's
knowledge, and withheld it all; since he everywhere asserts that there
is no information whatever in my book.  Verily, I have been taking a
lesson from that ancient Briton who is represented as having plundered a
naked Scotchman:

  "A painted vest Prince Vortigern had on,
  Which from a naked Pict his grandsire won!"

Because, if I tell nothing new, and owe all I do tell to Dr Krapf, who
also imparted to me all he knew, his knowledge must clearly have been
very limited.  I have acknowledged, however, and I repeat the
acknowledgment, that Dr Krapf was of essential service to me in various
ways; that he freely imparted to me the valuable information he
possessed, and gave me to understand that I was at liberty to make use
of it.  I did make use of it, having previously however been careful to
publish my obligations to him.  In fact, there is no man who would be
more ready than Dr Krapf, were he now in England, to express his
perfect satisfaction with what I have done.  He has, indeed, expressed
it publicly in his "Journal," where he acknowledges himself to be under
obligations to me; and the Church Missionary Society, in its preface,
makes the same admission.

I am next blamed for not giving a connected history of the mission; the
proper answer to which is, that I never undertook to give it.  I have
not entitled my book "the History of an Eighteen Months' Residence in
Shoa," but have said that my observations were collected _during_ an
eighteen months' residence there.  They are not all my observations, nor
have I arranged them chronologically; therefore, though the reviewer
feels disappointed, he has no right to quarrel with me.  He expected one
thing--I published another; simply because I did not write for him, or
such as he, but for the public.  As it is, however, I am not sorry that
he is "tantalised," which he would not be if he possessed one-tenth of
the knowledge to which he obliquely lays claim.  On most points he is
profoundly ignorant, and it suits my purpose to leave him so.  Any
information that I can impart, without prejudice to the public service,
it is doubtless my duty to give; and accordingly, in this second
edition, I have stated some facts not recorded in the first.  In most
cases, indeed, men publish a first edition as an _experiment_, to
ascertain how far their views of what information the public needs are
correct, that they may afterwards diligently, and to the best of their
power, supply it.

The Mission, it is said, has been "a complete failure."  But how is this
proved?  By a scrap extracted from some anonymous correspondent to a
newspaper, who writes, not from Angollala or Ankober, but from Cairo,
which is nearly as though a person residing in Saint Petersburgh were to
write authoritatively to China respecting what is going on in Lisbon.
But it does not follow that the Mission has been a failure, because some
Cairo gossip chooses to say so, or because all the fruits of it have not
yet been reaped.  A treaty has been concluded, friendly relations have
been established, and upon this basis commerce will proceed, slowly
perhaps, but surely, to erect its structure.  It will be for the next
generation to determine whether or not the mission was "a complete
failure."  A reviewer residing in the purlieus of High Holborn is not
competent to do it.

On the subject of "German crowns," the critic may, for aught I know, be
a great authority; or, as he says on another matter, may know somebody
that is.  But the quarrel which he seeks to pick with me is so utterly
puerile, that I will not engage in it.  His positiveness, however, is as
usual proportioned to his ignorance, for even on so infinitesimal a
point as this he contrives to be wrong, since the marks are not _three_,
as he supposes, but _seventeen_, on the coronet and shoulder-clasp.
However, supposing I had here been wrong, would it therefore have been
fair to infer that on every other point I must be wrong also?  An usurer
would be a better authority on the aspect of a gold coin than the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, yet in finance the Jew might not be a match
for the Chancellor.  Let it not, however, be supposed that I desire to
compare myself with Mr Goulburn, or the critic to a Jew; I merely
mention these things by way of illustration.  At any rate, my censor's
blunder must be obvious to every one who has seen a German dollar, and
to adopt his own phrase, "_Ex pede Herculem_."

On the practice observed by the Mohammadans in slaughtering animals, the
reviewer displays a vast deal of erudition, and quotes the treatise of
Mr Lane, on the "Manners of the Modern Egyptians."  It happens,
however, that there are variations in the practices of the Moslems; and
he might as well have argued, that because there are pyramids in Egypt,
there must also be pyramids in Abyssinia, as that because the Egyptians
do not make use of certain words on particular occasions, therefore, the
Danakil and the Somauli cannot possibly employ them.  My narrative does
not touch on the customs of Egypt, on which Mr Lane writes but on those
of a different part of Africa, in which, so far as I can discover, that
author has never been.  What I relate, however, is matter of fact, and
the critic only exhibits his profound ignorance of human nature by
supposing that Mohammadanism is stereotyped in any part of the world,
since there are as many differences in the customs of the Mohammadan
nations, as in those of Christendom.  For example,--the practice of
"bundling," so common in Wales, does not, I believe, prevail in Egypt;
but if our critic were to infer that it is, therefore, altogether
anti-Islamite, he would be as completely wrong as he is in the present
instance; for that which the Egyptian Mussulman detests, is the
established custom in certain parts of Afghanistan.  So, likewise, is
the invocation of the name of God during the slaughter of animals.  The
Egyptians, it seems, invoke the sacred name without coupling with it
"the Compassionate, the Merciful," which they think would sound like
mockery; but what proof is the reviewer prepared to advance in his
wisdom, that this rule is observed in India and every other part of the
East?

The Mohammadans, again, he says, never drink blood; and why? because it
is forbidden them by the Koran.  But stealing is no less peremptorily
prohibited.  Will he, therefore, argue, that there is no such thing as a
Mohammadan thief?  The question is not as to what is forbidden or
ordained, but as to a simple matter of fact.  I state what I saw with my
own eyes.  The critic, who was never in the country, who cannot possibly
know what I saw or did not see, contradicts me.  I leave it to the
public to judge between us; asserting, however, that he is fully as
ignorant of the people whose customs he so glibly writes about, as he is
of the rules of common decency.

For verbal criticism I entertain no contempt, though I think that a
strict application of its rules to a book of travels, is scarcely called
for.  However, let us see how the critic succeeds in his task.  I relate
that the Arabs call the cove _Mirsa good Ali_, the "source of the sea;"
from which he immediately infers my utter ignorance of Arabic.  The only
thing, however, that is really clear from the remark he has made is,
that he does not understand English when it happens to be in the
slightest degree inverted.  A Biblical critic.  Dr Parr, if I remember
rightly, objected to a passage in the English version of the Bible upon
much the same grounds.  "Thus," says the Scripture, "he giveth his
beloved sleep."  Now the doctor maintains "beloved" to be an epithet
bestowed on sleep, although the real sense is, that sleep is given to
the "beloved."  Still, in my opinion, the meaning is so obvious, that it
required some ingenuity to mistake it.  In my own case, the meaning I
think is equally obvious; at least, what I intended to say was, that the
Adaiel bestow on Mirsa good Ali cove, the additional name of "the source
of the sea."

Upon the remarks on "mafeesh," I scarcely know what to say; but if he
were to ask me,--is there any point or sense in them?  I should reply
"_mafeesh_, there is none"--an idiom well understood in English.  Let
the critic try again at Richardson's dictionary, and if he really can
make out the Arabic characters, I think he will be able to discover a
meaning which would come in very properly where I have placed it.  "It
is of no consequence," exclaimed the young assassin, "none," which is
precisely the answer sometimes given to the insatiate "beggars" that we
are told "surround the traveller" in certain countries, "there is no
money in my pocket--none."  Nevertheless, as I have passed public
examinations, and obtained certificates of superior proficiency in no
more than four oriental tongues, I cannot be deemed so competent to
offer an opinion on this subject as the reviewer and his accomplices.

With regard to the critiques on the Amharic expressions found in my
work, it may be sufficient to say, that by his own confession "the
reviewer does not understand one syllable of the language," but hazards
his remarks on the strength of knowing somebody who does.  This appears
to me a very poor qualification.  It is as though I should set up as a
critic in Sanscrit because I have shaken hands with Professor Wilson.
However, let us examine the notions of this man who is so learned by
proxy.  One of the greatest triumphs of his erudition is his explanation
of the Amharic word "Shoolada," which, strengthened by Salt, and others,
he determines to signify exclusively a "rump-steak."  That it has this
signification there can be no doubt, but if the critic be disposed to
defer on this, as on other occasions, to Dr Krapf's Amharic
scholarship, he may yet, as he expresses it, "live and learn."  In a
copy of manuscript notes in Dr Krapf's handwriting, still in my
possession, occurs the following passage, which I quote _verbatim et
literatim_:--"In one point the Abyssinian practices agree remarkably
with those of the Jews, we mean the practice mentioned in Genesis
chapter xxxii, where we find that the Israelites did not eat the nerve,
since Jacob had been lamed in consequence of his earnest supplication to
the Almighty, before he met his brother Esau.  This nerve is called in
Amharic `Shoolada.'  I cannot determine how far the abstinence from this
kind of meat is kept in the other parts of Abyssinia, but it is a fact
in Shoa, that many people, particularly those of royal blood (called
Negassian), do not eat it, as they believe that by eating it they would
lose their teeth, the Shoolada being prohibited and unlawful food.
Therefore, if anybody has lost his teeth, he is abused with the reproach
of having eaten prohibited meat, as that of vultures, dogs, mules,
donkeys, horses, and particularly of man, the meat of whom is said to
prove particularly destructive for the teeth."

From the above passage, if the reviewer be disposed to accept Dr Krapf
for his teacher, he may clearly learn one or two particulars not
hitherto comprehended within the wide circle of his knowledge.  For
example, he will perceive that the idea of eating man's flesh is not yet
entirely exploded from that part of Africa.  On the contrary, the
forbidden luxury would appear sometimes to be indulged in even by those
who are one step at least, advanced before the polite Danakil, whom, at
the sacrifice of my reputation for charity, I have denominated
"vagabonds and savages."

The critic's observations on the pronunciation of Amharic and Galla
words are so elaborate a specie men of trifling, that it would be wholly
lost labour to wade through them.  Of the Galla language he knows
nothing, and had the case been different, still I might be permitted to
judge by my own ear in the case of a tongue absolutely unwritten.  Those
acquainted with the works of travellers in the East are aware that
almost every one has adopted a peculiar system of orthography.  All,
therefore, but one, might, by a disingenuous critic, be accused of
ignorance.  But the reviewer goes on to inform the public that "the
_vulgar_ mistakes of English pronunciation--which are not participated
in by Germans--are the wrong insertion or omission of the aspirate."
This is designed as a death-blow to me for writing _Etagainya_ without
an initial A, which highly culpable omission he presently afterwards
takes occasion to rectify.  Under this charge of vulgarity it is some
consolation to me to quote as my authority Isenberg's Amharic
Dictionary, more especially since that gentleman _is_ a German; but had
he even been otherwise, I think his views on this subject of the
aspirate might perhaps be preferred to those of any cockney.

The elaborate disquisition on _larva_ and _boudak_ [For _boudak_ read
_boudah_.  It ought to have been translated _sorcerer_, but all
artisans, blacksmiths especially, are regarded as _boudahs_.  Vide
Isenberg's Amharic Dictionary.  For _larva_ read _lava_.] proves the
critic to be qualified for the reading of proof-sheets, which appears to
be the highest praise he can justly lay claim to.  He can detect a
misprint in other men's works, and when his passions are unexcited, may
possibly be able to correct it.  But in the matters of ear or style, I
would just as soon defer to the judgment of the great "Arqueem Nobba,"
whoever that may be, [Vide Anti-Slavery Reporter, November 29th, 1843,
page 222.  For the information of my readers, it may be proper to
explain that "Arqueem nobba" is believed to be doing duty for "Hakim
nabaroo," "You were the doctor"] from whom he seems to have obtained so
much of his Oriental learning.  He well knows to whom I allude, if no
one else does.  I shall turn his weapons against himself, and take
occasion to question the classical attainments of a reviewer who
translates "_suum cuique_"--"be it for good or ill;" and shall direct
the public indignation to the fact of his having aroused curiosity
"without gratifying it," by the statement that I "studiously laboured to
keep out of sight _a very_ special service performed by the members of
the Embassy."  What was it?  He must surely be thinking of _his
reporters_, not of _my assistants_.  Be this as it may, he will not
attempt to screen himself behind the printer's devil, it being clear
that no typical errors can be admissible in his forty pages of
letter-press, if two are to be held inexcusable in my twelve hundred!

It will by this time, I think, be apparent that an extremely peculiar
system of criticism has been adopted in reviewing my book.  Here the
diction is attacked, there the want of information; now we have
complaints that information is given, but that it was obtained through
the instrumentality of Dr Krapf; then the reviewer wanders into
political and other considerations, and attacks my conduct as leader of
the Mission.  Occasionally he appears to be overwhelmed by a painful
sympathy, an intense philanthropy, extreme sorrow for the dead, which
betrays him into persevering rancour towards the living.  In discussing,
for example, the melancholy catastrophe at Goongoonteh, which, if credit
be given me for the smallest particle of human feeling, I must be
supposed to have regretted as much as any man, especially since Sergeant
Walpole and Corporal Wilson were under my command, and both highly
useful to me as soldiers and artisans, the critic suffers his compassion
so powerfully to disturb his intellect, that he literally knows not what
he says.  He may, therefore, if such be his object, be thought extremely
amiable by some people, but, upon the whole, I apprehend, he will appear
to be infinitely more absurd: because, to obtain credit for a generous
and expansive humanity, it is necessary, at least, to bear the semblance
of an unwillingness to wound men's reputations, living or dead.  A
genuine sympathy is always most active in proportion to the capacity of
feeling possessed by the object of it.  Thus we sympathise with our
contemporaries more than with generations passed away; with Christians
more than with Turks and Pagans; with Englishmen more than with Chinese;
with our relations and friends more than with persons whom we never saw.
But my critic reverses this order of things.  His benevolence clings to
individuals whose names he never heard, and urges him to inflict injury
at all events, and pain if he can, upon persons whose sensibilities, he
supposes, lay them open to his attacks.  In one publication it seems to
be intimated that I killed the men myself, whilst in the other I am
conjectured to have been standing sentry, and to have dropped asleep at
my post.  The former charge I shall leave the Government of my country
to answer; for if I be guilty and still at large.  Government has made
itself my accomplice.  Shall I on the second point enlighten the critic,
or shall I not?  The fact is, I was not asleep, though with the greatest
propriety I might have been, but at the very moment of the perpetration
of the murder, I was leaning in bed upon my elbow, conversing with
Captain Graham.  Nevertheless, from the form of the _wady_, I could not
command a view of every part of the encampment, or discern in the dark
the approach of the assassins, at the distant point which they selected
for their noiseless attack.

As to the manner in which I have related the circumstance, that is
another affair, and the critic is at liberty to judge of it as he
pleases.  I claim, however, the same liberty for myself, and will
venture to observe, that this part of his review is more lumbering,
heavy, and absurd than ordinary; that in attempting to display feeling,
he is only betrayed into lugubrious affectation; and that however I may
be able to wield our mother tongue, he manages it so unskilfully that he
wounds no one but himself.

The next charge is based, like the former, on the critic's sympathy.  I
relate that at the village of Farri the gentleman entrusted with the
command of the watch, "worn out by incessant vigils," fell asleep.  The
apology, it will be perceived, precedes the statement of the fact.  But
this new knight of La Mancha is not satisfied.  Putting his redoubtable
quill in rest, he tilts most chivalrously at my narrative; and, the
operation over, chuckles with delight at my supposed discomfiture.  He
may, perhaps, have learned from some prying visitor to what particular
officer I allude in the above passage.  But most assuredly the public
has not, and therefore no evil consequence can arise from what I say.
All our critic's ideas, however, are peculiar.  He considers it criminal
to hint indistinctly in a published work at a "breach of discipline,"
but thinks I might with propriety have reported the circumstance
officially to Government!  My theory of propriety is different.  I made
no report to Government; but when there were so many broad shoulders to
share the blame between them, I thought it quite safe to touch upon it
in my volumes.

Having waded through the above tedious list of charges, we arrive, so
the reader may be tempted to imagine, at something new.  But that is not
the critic's plan.  On the contrary, we find Monsieur Tonson on the
stage again.  Well might Dr Krapf exclaim, "Deliver me from my
friends!" if the reviewer in question be really one among the number.
Secretly, however, it is not the Missionary that is aggrieved, but
another individual whose name I will not be provoked to print in my
pages.  This person, we are told, came down to Dinomali, in company with
Mr Krapf, "to welcome the Embassy."  What he came down to do is not,
however, the question.  Come he certainly did; and I should have made
honourable mention of him had I, during my stay in Shoa, found no reason
to be dissatisfied with his conduct.  The reverse was the case; and as I
did not choose to be at the trouble of writing in his dispraise, I
thought it better to say nothing.  Let the reviewer be satisfied with
that, for, if I should say anything further, I am sure his satisfaction
would not be augmented.  He is perfectly right in supposing, that I have
not imparted to the public all the knowledge I acquired in Shoa, and
that I have not related all the piquant comic anecdotes which were often
at my pen's point, struggling to see the light.  But who knows?  The
time for telling them with effect is not yet passed, and it is quite
possible that, under certain combinations of circumstances, I may yet
return to this part of my subject, especially if the anonymous system be
persevered in, and attempts be made to wound me from behind the friendly
figure of the Missionary.

I may here, however, mention by the way, that, besides the learned
Theban alluded to, the critic has two other authorities.  Dr Krapf and
M. Rochet D'Hericourt.  Upon them he relies with equal and entire
confidence.  But I would beg to suggest, that there exist some slight
discrepancies between the statements of those two writers, and that
weight can be laid on the testimony of the one only in proportion as you
mistrust the other.  Yet the critic appears to discover nothing of this,
never perceives that their testimonies are inter-destructive, but is
perfectly satisfied to play off each in his turn against me.  These
authorities, in fact, are the legs on which his whole accusation appears
to stand, though there be in reality an anonymous authority, which, like
the third leg in the riddle, helps to support the tottering figure.  To
Mr Krapf, it is said, the Embassy owed whatever influence it possessed
in Shoa.  The officers of the Mission were nothing; the presents were
nothing; the expectation of assistance and support from the Indian
Government, in which Sahela Selassie indulged, were nothing:--the
reverend missionary was the "life and soul of the Embassy."  I know not
whether, as Dr Krapf is a minister of the Gospel, this be meant as a
compliment or as a sneer; but so it is.  I am said to have had no
influence with the king, save through him who was literally all-powerful
at court.  This being borne in mind, turn we now to the critic's other
authority, M. Rochet D'Hericourt, who is said to have been equally
influential.  But here comes the difficulty, which the critic either
perceived or did not perceive.  In the latter case he is criminally
ignorant of what he ought to have known before he ventured to attack me;
and if he did perceive it, then he is still more criminal for having
suppressed the truth, and made that suppression serve the purpose of its
contrary.  It will be seen that I abstain from harsh language, and
rather extenuate than otherwise the unworthiness of my adversary.  The
circumstance, however, to which I allude, is this: the critic maintains
that Dr Krapf was all-powerful with Sahela Selassie; M. Rochet
D'Hericourt, on the other hand, asserts that Dr Krapf possessed so
little influence, that it was only through _his_ special interference,
and at _his_ earnest entreaty, that the king suffered him to proceed
towards the Galla frontier with the army.  Nay, not only had the
missionary, according to this traveller, [Rochet D'Hericourt, Voyage
dans le Pays D'Adel, et le Royaume de Choa, pages 224-233.] no
influence, but the king displayed the strongest possible repugnance for
him, and made him feel the effects of his dislike throughout the whole
campaign.  Consult the "Journal" [Journal of the Rev  Messrs. Isenberg
and Krapf, page 187] of the worthy missionary himself; and we find that
both he and M. Rochet D'Hericourt were, without solicitation or
entreaty, on his part at least, "ordered to accompany the king."  I am
not pretending to dictate to the public as to which of these authorities
it shall prefer.  I only state facts, and leave others to draw the
proper inference.  The authority of Dr Krapf, however, at the court of
Shoa to me seems to be strangely and wilfully exaggerated.  It was a
reflected authority, if I may so speak, that he exercised during the
residence of the Mission in the country; an authority based upon the
influence of the British Government, represented there for the time by
me.  The amount of his personal influence was such that the slightest
accident sufficed to overthrow it.  Had it been greater, his application
to return would have been listened to.  It may no doubt be observed in
reply, that neither could my influence, which was fully exerted in his
behalf, have been very considerable.  But the caprices of despotism are
not always to be accounted for, and they will serve to explain both the
missionary's want of success, and my own.

This subject has been artfully connected with the return of the Mission
from Shoa.  It is said, that had we not retired, we should have been
forcibly expelled.  I can certainly offer no proof that we should not;
but the probability is, that the king of Shoa would have been in no
hurry to dry up a constant source of profit to himself.  It may, in
fact, be laid down as a general rule, that no Oriental despot ever
expels the giver of presents.  It is the receiver of presents that he
regards as an eyesore, the man who is dependent on him for his daily
bread.  The critic, however, has been "assured," that had we not
retired, we should "probably ere long" have been expelled.  But to this
I reply, that probably we should not; and I call on him to state his
proofs of the "disrepute" into which he asserts we had fallen.  I have
been "assured," that "probably" he has none to give, and "probably" this
assurance is correct; otherwise, I think he would have been too glad to
offer them.  Be this as it may, the fact is, that we were not expelled,
but recalled by our own government, when it considered that the duties
for which I had been deputed, were fully accomplished.

The next attack upon me is based on certain "strange stories," which the
critic says he has heard.  For myself, considering the strange people
with whom he associates, I entertain not the slightest doubt in the
world that he has been crammed with "strange stories," and that he
firmly believes them.  In fact, he reminds me strongly of an anecdote
related by Vossius, who, as Charles the Second observed, would believe
anything but the Gospel.  So this critic, who has no appetite whatever
for plain truth, will swallow "strange stories" by the bushel.  For
example, with an earnestness which does great credit to his simplicity,
he believes that the British officers in Shoa, with the few rank and
file under their command, assisted the king in making prisoners among
the Gallas.  He believes, too, of course, that the field-piece, which
had been presented to the king, and was therefore no longer under the
control of the embassy, was employed to batter down villages, and, in
one word, to effect the triumph of Sahela Selassie over his refractory
subjects and heathen neighbours.  I feel for the distress his humanity
must have suffered, and all through the "strange stories" to which he
lends so greedy an ear!  But let him be re-assured.  The slaughter was
not perpetrated by means of the galloper gun, which went not on the
expedition at all, but was left by the king at his palace newly erected
near Yeolo, the place of rendezvous.  (N.B. This is not meant as a
translation.)  There were no "rounds of _artillery_" in the case, and
the escort of British soldiers was taken with us, not to join in the
foray, but to protect our own tents.  Neither is this "memorable
circumstance." "omitted in my volumes," as asserted by the veracious
critic.  It is distinctly stated for the information of those who are
able to read, and the conduct of one of the privates stands specially
recorded, who was urged by the Amhara to destroy a Galla.

[As a military man, and an Engineer officer to boot, I may perhaps be
permitted to suggest, although with the utmost deference to the reviewer
and his anonymous authorities, that the term "ammunition" might here
have been employed with advantage.  But perhaps he may consider "rounds
of _artillery_" to be a more _classical_ expression!]

The critic's persevering patronage of Dr Krapf is so chivalrous, that I
almost regret to show that it has been exerted in vain.  Truth, however,
requires that I should do so.  Perhaps, indeed, the reviewer's purpose
may be less benevolent than it appears at first sight.  His object may
not be so much to exalt the clergyman, as to depress me, by creating, as
far as he is able, in the public mind, the belief of what he asserts so
positively, namely, that the Embassy fell into utter "disrepute" after
the departure of the missionary, that so far from being able to exercise
any influence, it would have been forcibly expelled, had it not beaten a
hasty retreat.  My opponent is a man of dates, and parades them in a
manner truly pathetic.  But how on these points did he happen to remain
so much in the dark?  Had he not all the great Abyssinian authorities at
his elbow?  Was he not acquainted with those who knew everything about
the country--Arabic and Amharic scholars, who, by the help of Isenberg's
Dictionary, could translate _boudah_, and with the aid of Richardson,
plunge into the mysteries of _mafeesh_?  Where was the erudite
individual who weighed my classical attainments in the balance, and
found them wanting?  Where was his _fidus Achates_, the "Arqueem Nobba?"
How happens it that his oracles grew suddenly dumb when he consulted
them on the subject of dates?  The reader will scarcely credit the
reason of all this when it is stated; but the fact is, that the reviewer
had no other object in view than to misrepresent and injure me, though
of course aware that it was in my power fully to refute him.  I shall do
so now, and, as I think, so satisfactorily, that he will not return to
the charge.

I state in my travels, that through the interference of the British
Embassy, four thousand seven hundred persons, reduced by an arbitrary
edict of the king to bondage, were liberated; upon which the critic,
full of the "strange stories" which his strange associates had related
to him, immediately concludes that Dr Krapf might have had some hand in
that transaction.  At all events he must contrive to make it appear so,
otherwise what would become of his primary thesis, that the Embassy
"fell into such disrepute?"  Montaigne, the reader will doubtless
remember, observes somewhere in his essays, that in order to catch his
critics napping, he often put forth the opinions of the greatest writers
of antiquity, without making the least allusion to the author, in order
that, if these should be turned into ridicule, as was not unlikely, he
might show that it was not himself that they had attacked, but Seneca,
or Cicero, or Plato.  Without having any such intention, I have caught
my critic in a similar trap.  Believing he could attribute the honour to
Dr Krapf, he does not call in question the issuing of the edict or the
liberation of the slaves, but inquires knowingly, "had _he_, the
missionary, nothing to do with their deliverance?"  Next, with a skill
which does him much credit, he connects the liberation of the princes
with this other transaction, so that if the reader believes his
unfounded assertion that it was Dr Krapf, not the Embassy, whose
influence prevailed with the king in the one case, he may be led to
suppose that it was so in the other.  This, it must be acknowledged, is
a very ingenious piece of workmanship, and has, I doubt not, earned its
author much credit.  Nevertheless, it will not bear the touch of
examination.  The simplest statement of facts in the world will suffice
to destroy it, together with the critic's main theory on the subject of
my loss of influence at the court of Shoa.  Dr Krapf quitted Angollala
on the 12th of March, 1842, and during May of the same year, left
Massowah for Aden.  His active influence, it may fairly be inferred,
terminated at this date.  The forlorn Embassy was now abandoned to its
own resources.  There was no one to interest the king in its behalf; no
one to perform great and benevolent actions, in order that I might
obtain the credit of them.  While we were in this state of torpor, the
proclamation in question was published by the herald.  Before Dr Krapf
quitted Massowah?  Alas! no.  For that event took place in May, whereas
the royal edict was only promulgated on the 3rd of August.  It was by
me, therefore, and not by Dr Krapf, that the remonstrance was forwarded
to Sahela Selassie, which produced the liberation of the slaves.  This
fact is known to every member of the Mission, and it ought to have been
within the recollection of some of those infallible authorities who at
once supplied the critic with facts and with learning, who remembered
for him, understood languages for him, and when need was, invented for
him.

The statement that the parents of the four thousand seven hundred
individuals liberated, were slaves, is not true.  I have said that their
fathers were bondsmen, and their mothers free women, and this position I
maintain.  To the question who delivered the petition, I reply, "my
dragoman of course."  Upon his boasted maxim of "giving honour to whom
honour is due," the conscientious reviewer will doubtless award the sole
credit of the success attending this remonstrance, not to myself, but to
the party who presented it, and his doing so will be quite as reasonable
as the decision that I collected no geographical information, because my
assistant.  Dr Kirk, was entrusted by me with the department of survey.
In equity he ought surely to have taken the case of Dollond into
consideration, since _he_ made the satellite glass and the sextant used
in determining the longitude of Ankober, upon which every recent
addition to the geography of southern Abyssinia is indebted for whatever
value it does possess.

Next comes the deliverance of the princes, which took place little more
than three months before my return to India.  These facts, known to
every person in Abyssinia, the correctness of which will be vouched for
by every member of the Mission, and the whole particulars of which were
laid at the time before the Indian and British governments, may,
perhaps, suffice to show in what spirit I have been criticised, and how
totally unscrupulous my assailants have been.  The gross misstatements
disseminated anonymously through some of the public journals, and
repeated by the candid reviewer, I have already publicly contradicted
with my name.  I here also contradict the assertion, that the king
remained silent during my sojourn on the frontier.  What object the sage
reviewer would propose by my going back to take _a second_ leave of His
Majesty, when such is the etiquette of no country in the whole world,
and my public duties imperatively required my presence at Farri, the
reader will be, as I am, at some loss to comprehend.

The treaty concluded with the king of Shoa having now been placed by
Parliament before the country, I should have thought it unnecessary to
notice the remarks which have been made on that subject, but for one or
two considerations connected with it.  First, it is said, that the
ancient practice of detaining strangers had in usage been previously
abolished, and it seems that, notwithstanding the treaty, it was
afterwards, in one particular case, revived.  Clearly the critic does
not perceive the force of his own statements; for if, in spite of the
most solemn engagements that a prince can enter into, Sahela Selassie
denied a British subject ingress to his country, does it not follow that
distinct stipulations on this point were necessary?  What does it
signify, that practically Sahela Selassie had in many instances
permitted Europeans to enter his country?  Were they not all, whilst
there, legally subject to his caprice, and was it not prudent to
endeavour to emancipate them from that caprice?  But Sahela Selassie, it
is said, shortly violated the treaty, and his act is made the subject of
accusation against me.  Had I broken it myself, the circumstance would
have been somewhat more germane to the matter.  At present, all that can
be said is, that Sahela Selassie is a novice in European diplomacy.

The case of hardship alluded to, is that of Dr Krapf, who, having
quitted Shoa on urgent private business, was denied re-admission.  On
this subject I might enter into a long explanation, which, because of
the peculiarity of my position, could never be complete.  I therefore
judge it more satisfactory to refer to the testimony of the Church
Missionary Society, which, as well as Dr Krapf himself, has put on
record its entire satisfaction with my proceedings.  If, therefore, the
parties most deeply concerned be content because they understand the
whole state of the case, I may safely despise the reproaches of a critic
who neither knows nor cares any thing about the matter, further than as
it may enable him to prejudice me in public opinion.

In every page of the criticism the sophisms and fallacies of which I
have undertaken to expose, there is some fresh proof that the reviewer
does not see his own way, and that he is perpetually at contradiction
with himself.  For example, he insists on nothing more incessantly than
the all-powerful influence of Dr Krapf over the king of Shoa, to which,
he says, the Embassy owed whatever success it met with.  No sooner,
however, does the missionary quit the precincts of the court, than he is
arrested and plundered, evidently, the reviewer insinuates, with the
knowledge and connivance of his fast friend Sahela Selassie.  What then
becomes of his prodigious influence, since it did not suffice for his
own protection?  But if Dr Krapf was powerless, so likewise, argues the
critic, was the Embassy; "for we read of no remonstrances, no
applications made to the king on behalf of the missionary, and surely
there are no political considerations to restrain communicativeness upon
a subject like this."  He is perfectly mistaken.  For although it may,
without compromising any one, be stated that remonstrances were made,
there are reasons, and those public ones too, which forbid me to explain
why those remonstrances were ineffectual.  Had the critic, or his
Amharic philosopher, possessed one atom of sagacity, they would have
divined those reasons; but as the case is otherwise, I leave them in the
darkness which encompasses the whole coterie.

As to my having no right to use information expressly collected for me
by the Political Agent at Aden, and by Lieutenant Christopher, in
reference to the Eastern Coast, that is really a point upon which the
reviewer can hardly be reckoned a competent judge.  Lieutenant Barker,
like Dr Kirk and the rest of my assistants, was under my orders, and
sent with me for the express purpose of taking share, as I might see
fit, in the duties allotted to me.  The authorities quoted by the
reviewer, as having been first in the field with every particular
respecting slavery and the slave-trade in Shoa, do not bear out his
assertion.  Not to go any farther, where does he find the fact, which is
rather an important one, that the king claims one out of every ten
slaves that pass through his dominions?  Like most other points which
bear materially upon the subject, this is omitted in the "reports" which
are so confidently advanced, in order to throw dust in the eyes of those
who will take the Reviewer's word for whatever he has the effrontery to
assert.

Next comes the question of the royal arms of Shoa, which I have stated
to be the Holy Trinity.  Here the critic, as he thinks, has me clearly
at disadvantage.  He denounces me, accordingly, to be in the wrong, by
showing, not what the arms of Shoa are, but what are the arms of the
Ethiopic empire; which is exactly the same as if a traveller in
Flanders, having described the royal arms of that country, were to be
taken to task because the arms of the Austrian Emperor were different.
I make a statement on one subject, and he refutes me by making a
different statement on a different subject, which is somewhat comic, to
say the least of it.  But the arms of Abyssinia are, it seems, the "Lion
of the Tribe of Judah," to which the Catholic missionaries have added a
cross.  M. le Grand, in speaking of Abyssinian coronations, says: "The
escutcheon is a lion holding a cross, with this motto: _Vicit leo de
tribu Judah_."  But all this has nothing to do with the king of Shoa,
who employs a device of his own, and that device is exactly what I have
represented.

The ignorance of the reviewer and his anonymous authorities is again
conspicuous in the remarks offered relative to the signet.  Why has he
not followed the rule he has laid down for my guidance, and "said
openly," who these mysterious informants are, in order that, by their
calibre, the public might have been enabled to judge whether on any, and
on what subject, their opinion or their assertion is likely to be better
than my own?  As it is, the reader might really be tempted to believe
that there existed a penny post in the kingdom of Shoa, and that every
subject was in the daily habit of corresponding through it with all his
acquaintance.  But with exception of a few letters indited by His
Majesty, or by the Queen, there are, perhaps, not half a dozen penned
during the year, and those are upon scraps of parchment the size of a
visiting card, and have neither signature nor superscription, much less
device to adorn them.  More than ignorance is displayed in the sneers
cast upon my ability to use the pencil and the rifle.  These
qualifications, however incompatible their exercise may be with the
dignity to which the critic has been pleased to elevate me, are far from
being lightly estimated in Abyssinia; and that foreigner who can neither
draw portraits, nor ride, nor slay wild beasts, is not likely to hold a
very high place in the estimation of Sahela Selassie, whatever may be
thought of him by a learned reviewer.

The speculations indulged in as to the success or failure of my Embassy,
are artfully spread over the whole article, a little here and a little
there; so that the reader, should a reader be found, must always of
necessity have doubts unanswered in his mind.  There is some skill in
this, and I give the writer credit for it; but though he manages his
matter well, the matter itself is good for nothing.  He puts himself in
the place of the public, and demands certain explanations which I am not
permitted to give.  Parliament alone has it in its power to satisfy my
critic, and to Parliament I refer him.  Everybody else will feel that an
imperfect explanation would be worse than none at all; a complete one I
cannot furnish, though it may hereafter be permitted me to clear up the
whole matter, which I am fully able to do.

It appears to me that I have now answered every objection worthy of
notice that has been made against my work on Shoa.  Not improbably, I
shall be thought by some to have been too minute and circumstantial in
my reply--to have exposed too seriously misrepresentations originating
in ignorance or wanton malice--to have expended argument on that which
deserved only contempt.  But, respecting the public as I do, I judged it
to be incumbent on me completely to disprove the assertion that I had
imposed upon it.  I trust I have established my own veracity, which I
have been far more solicitous to do than to defend the plan adopted in
the composition of my narrative.  Much more might have been said, to
show that the truth is neither in the reviewer, nor his "private
informants," but it is not worth my while to trouble myself further with
such people.  The public, I am convinced, will agree with me in thinking
that I have left no just cause for cavil, and if, therefore, the system
of abuse should be persevered in, it can only be because I happen to
have enemies who will make a point of pursuing me as long as I am above
ground, and perhaps much longer.  I wish they could discover some better
and more profitable employment, and with that wish I leave them.

W.C. Harris.

_London, March_ 31, 1844.

Extract of Instructions Addressed by the Secretary to the Government of
Bombay to Captain W.C. Harris.

Bombay Castle, 24th April, 1841.

Sir,

I am directed to inform you, that the Honourable the Governor in Council
having formed a very high estimate of your talents and acquirements, and
of the spirit of enterprise and decision, united with prudence and
discretion, exhibited in your recently published Travels "through the
territories of the chief Moselekatse to the tropic of Capricorn," has
been pleased to select you to conduct a Mission which the British
Government has resolved to send to Sahela Selassie, the King of Shoa in
Southern Abyssinia, whose capital, Ankober, is computed to be about four
hundred miles inland from the port of Tajura on the African coast.

The Mission will be conveyed to Aden in the Honourable Company's steam
frigate Auckland, now under orders to leave Bombay on the 27th instant;
and it has been arranged that one of the Honourable Company's vessels of
war, at present in the Red Sea, shall be in readiness to convey the
Mission thence to Tajura, at which latter place it should immediately
disembark, and commence its journey to Ankober.

(Signed) J.P. Willoughby, Secretary to Government.

To Captain W.C. Harris, Corps of Engineers.

The Embassy was thus Composed:

Captain W.C. Harris, Bombay Engineers.

Captain Douglas Graham, Bombay Army.  Principal Assistant.

Assistant-Surgeon Rupert Kirk, Bombay Medical Service.

Dr J.R. Roth, Natural Historian.

Lieutenant Sydney Horton, H.M. 49th Foot,--as a Volunteer.

Lieutenant W.C. Barker, Indian Navy.

Assistant-Surgeon Impey, Bombay Medical Service.

Mr Martin Bernatz, Artist.

Mr Robert Scott, Surveyor and Draftsman.

Mr J. Hatchatoor, British Agent at Tajura.

Escort and Establishment:--

Two sergeants and fifteen rank and file; volunteers from H.M. 6th Foot,
and from the Bombay Artillery.

An Assistant Apothecary.

Carpenter.

Smith.

Two Tent Lascars.



INTRODUCTION.

Written in the heart of Abyssinia, amidst manifold interruptions and
disadvantages, the following pages will, in many respects, be found
imperfect.  Their chief recommendation must be sought in the fact of
their embodying a detail of efforts zealously directed, under the
auspices of a liberal Government, towards the establishment of a more
intimate connexion with a Christian people, who know even less of the
world than the world knows of them,--towards the extension of the bounds
of geographical and scientific knowledge, the advancement of the best
interests of commerce, and the amelioration of the lot of some of the
least favoured portions of the human race.

An obvious necessity for the introduction of the foregoing extract from
his instructions will exonerate the Author from an intention to
appropriate as his due the very gratifying encomium passed upon his
previous exertions in Southern Africa.  As a public servant, the freedom
of his pen has now in some measure been curtailed; but his official
position and resources, added to the able assistance placed at his
command, have, on the other hand, extended more than commensurate
advantages.

To Captain Douglas Graham, his accomplished and early friend, and
principal assistant, he acknowledges himself most especially indebted,
for the aid of a head and of a pen, such as are not often to be found
united.

The exertions of Assistant-Surgeon Kirk alleviated incalculable human
suffering; and his perseverance, although long opposed by an
unfavourable climate, carried through a series of magnetic and
astronomical observations of the highest importance to Abyssinian
geography.

An indefatigable devotion to the cause of science, added to the
experience gained during previous wanderings in Palestine, eminently
adapted the learned Dr Roth to discharge the arduous functions of
natural historian to the Mission; and the splendid collection realised,
together with the researches embodied in the various appendices to these
volumes, will afford the fullest evidence of his industry and success.

To all who were associated with himself, in view to the better
attainment of the objects contemplated, the Author here offers his warm
acknowledgments for the cheerfulness displayed under trials and
privations.  Of the able assistance of some he was unavoidably deprived
during an early period of the service.  The disappointment thus involved
in his own person has been fully equal to that experienced by
themselves; but they must be sensible that their hardships have not been
undergone in vain, and that they too have accomplished their share in
the undertaking, so far as fortune permitted.

To the Reverend Dr Krapf the thanks of Government have already been
conveyed, for the valuable co-operation derived from his extended
acquaintance with the languages of Abyssinia.  But the Author gladly
avails himself of this opportunity publicly to record his personal sense
of obligation to the active and pious Missionary of the Church of
England, whose kindness from the first arrival of the Embassy on the
frontiers of Shoa, to the date of his own departure for Cairo, was
unremitting.

By no tribute of his own could the writer of these volumes extend the
well-deserved reputation of McQueen's Geographical Survey.  It will
nevertheless be satisfactory to one who takes rank among the foremost
benefactors of the oppressed "children of the sun," to receive the
additional testimony which is due to the undeviating accuracy of
theories and conclusions founded upon years of patient and honest
investigation; and this the Author unhesitatingly records, in so far as
the north-eastern portions of Africa have come within the observation of
the Embassy which he has the honour to conduct.

_Ankober, 1st January_, 1843.

POSTSCRIPTUM.

The length of time that has unavoidably elapsed between the preparation
and the appearance of these volumes, needs no apology, neither is it
proposed to offer any for their termination in the country of which they
treat, and wherein they were written.  But the work must not now be
suffered to go forth without the expression of the Author's gratitude
for the assistance derived during its progress through the press, from
the talents and literary taste of his friend Major Franklin Lushington,
C.B.

Volume One, Chapter I.

DEPARTURE OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY FROM THE SHORES OF INDIA.

It was late on the afternoon of a sultry day in April, which had been
passed amid active preparations, when a dark column of smoke, streaming
over the tall shipping in the crowded harbour of Bombay, proclaimed the
necessity of a hurried adieu to a concourse of friends who still
thronged the deck; and scarcely was the last wish for success expressed
to the parties that had embarked, before the paddles performed their
first revolution, and the Honourable East India Company's steam frigate
"Auckland," bound upon her maiden voyage, shot through the still blue
water.

A turbaned multitude of manifold religions had lined the pier and the
ramparts of the saluting battery, to pay a parting tribute of respect to
their late governor.  Sir James Rivett Carnac, who, with his lady and
family, was now returning to his native land.  On board also were the
officers and gentlemen composing an Embassy organised under instructions
by the government of India.  More than a fortnight had been diligently
passed in the equipment of this mission; but its objects, no less than
the destination of its innumerable bales and boxes, still served as
puzzles to public curiosity; and many a sapient conjecture on the
subject was doubtless launched after the bounding frigate as she
disappeared amid the haze of the closing day.

Immortal Watt! sordid is the man who places his foot behind the Titanic
engines which owe their birth to thee, and who would withhold, as an
offering to the altar of thy memory, a mite, according to his worldly
means, wherewith to erect a fabric colossal as the power enthralled by
thy transcendent genius!  Strange are the revolutions undergone in
affairs nautical since the introduction of the marine steam-engine upon
the Indian seas.  The creaking of yards has given place to the coughing
and sobbing of machinery, as it heaves in convulsive throes.  Tacking
and wearing have become terms obsolete, and through the clang of the
fire-doors, and the ceaseless stroke of paddle-wheels, the voice of the
pilot is rarely heard, save in conjunction with "Stop her," or "Turn
a-head."

Marked by a broad ploughed wake, the undeviating course pursued through
the trackless main was demonstrated midway of the voyage by a tall
pillar of smoke from the funnel of the "Cleopatra," rising against the
clear hot horizon, like a genie liberated from his sealed bottle, to
proclaim the advent of the English mails.  The deep blue sea was glassy
smooth.  Each passing zephyr set from Araby's shores; but, heedless
alike of wind and opposing current, the good ship steadily pursued her
arrow-like flight,--passed the bold outline of Socotra, redolent of
spicy odours,--and before sunset of the ninth day was within sight of
her destined haven, one thousand six hundred and eighty miles from the
port she had left.

Cape Aden was the bold promontory in view, and it had borrowed an aspect
even more sombre and dismal from a canopy of heavy clouds which stole
across the naked and shattered peaks, to invest the castle-capped
mountain with a funereal shroud.  Crossed by horizontal ledges, and
seamed with gaps and fissures, Jebel Shemshan rears its turreted crags
nearly eighteen hundred feet above the ocean, into which dip numerous
bare and rugged buttresses, of width only sufficient to afford footing
to a cony, and each terminating in a bluff inaccessible scarp.  Sand and
shingle strew the cheerless valleys by which these spurs are divided,
and save where a stunted balsam, or a sallow clump of senna, has
struggled through the gaping fissure, hollow as well as hill is
destitute of even the semblance of vegetation.

  "How hideously
  Its shapes are heap'd around, rude, bare, and high.
  Ghastly, and scarr'd, and riven!  Is this the scene
  Where the old earthquake's demon taught her young
  Ruin?  Were these their toys?--or did a sea
  Of fire envelope once this dismal cape?"

Rounding the stern peninsula, within stone's cast of the frowning
headlands, the magnificent western bay developed its broad expanse as
the evening closed.  Here, with colliers and merchantmen, were riding
the vessels of war composing the Red Sea squadron.  Among the isolated
denizens of British Arabia, the unexpected arrival of a steam frigate
created no small sensation.  Exiles on a barren and dreary soil, which
is precluded from all intercourse with the fruitful, but barbarous
interior, there is nothing to alleviate a positive imprisonment, save
the periodical flying visits of the packets that pass and repass betwixt
Suez and Bombay.  In the dead of night the sudden glare of a blue light
in the offing is answered by the illumination of the blockship,
heretofore veiled behind a curtain of darkness.  The double thunder of
artillery next peals from her decks; and as the labouring of
paddle-wheels, at first faint and distant, and heard only at broken
intervals, comes booming more heavily over the still waters, the
spectral lantern at the mast-head is followed by a red glow under the
stem, as the witch, buffeting a cascade of snowy spray, vibrates to
every stroke of the engine, and leaving a phosphoric train to mark her
even course, glides, hissing and boiling, towards her anchorage.  Warped
alongside the blockship, the dingy hulls lean over like affectionate
sisters that have been long parted; and, flinging their arms together,
remain fast locked in each other's embrace.

And who are these swart children of the sun, that, like a May-day band
of chimney-sweeps, are springing with wild whoops and yells over the
bulwarks of the new arrival? 'tis a gang of brawny Seedies, enfranchised
negroes from the coast of Zanzibar, whose pleasure consists in the
transhipment of yonder mountain of coal, lying heaped in tons upon the
groaning deck.  To the dissonant tones of a rude tambourine, thumped
with the thighbone of a calf, their labour has already commenced.
Increasing the vehemence of their savage dance, they heave the ponderous
sacks like giants busied at pitch and toss, and begrimed from head to
foot, roll at intervals upon the blackened planks, to stanch the
streaming perspiration.  Thus stamping and howling with increased fury,
while the harsh notes of the drum peal louder and louder to the
deafening vehemence of the frantic musician, they pursue their task,
night as well as day, amid clamour and fiendish vociferations, such as
might suggest the idea of furies engaged in unearthly orgies.  In the
first burst of their revelry, the spectator is happy to escape from the
suffocating atmosphere of impalpable coal-dust; and rarely does it
happen that for every hundred tons of fuel received, fewer than one life
is forfeited by the actors in the wild scene described--some doomed
victim, swollen with copious draughts, and exhausted by the frenzy of
excitement, invariably casting himself down when his Herculean task is
done, to rally and rise up no more.

Volume One, Chapter II.

DISEMBARKATION AT CAPE ADEN.

Quitting the boisterous deck of the steamer, and pulling towards the
shores of Arabia, a cluster of barren rocks, which might fitly be
likened to heaps of fused coal out of a glass furnace, present an
appearance very far from inviting or prepossessing.  They are little
relieved by a few straggling cadjan buildings, temporarily occupied by
those whose avocations enable them, during the summer months, to fly the
intolerable heat of the oven-like town.  But under the roof of Captain
Stafford Haines, who fills the honourable and responsible post of
Political Agent, there awaited the embassy, on its landing, a
hospitality of no ordinary stamp.  It literally knew no bounds, and
could not fail to obliterate at once any unfavourable first impression
arising out of the desolate aspect bestowed by Dame Nature upon "Steamer
Point."

A volunteer escort of European artillerymen was yet to be obtained from
the garrison of Aden; horses, too, were to be purchased, and sundry
other indispensable preparations made for the coming journey into the
interior of Africa.  During a full week there seemed no termination to
the influx of bags containing dates, rice, and juwarree, and scarcely a
shorter period was occupied in the selection from the government
treasury of many thousand star-dollars of the reign of Maria Theresa,
displaying, each in its turn, all the multifarious marks and tokens most
esteemed by the capricious savage.  Neither was the bustle one whit
diminished by the remote position of the town, which, unless through the
kindness of friends, is only to be attained on the back of one of the
many diminutive donkeys stationed along the beach for the convenience of
the stranger.  Encumbered with a straw-stuffed pack-saddle far exceeding
its own dimensions, the wretched quadruped is zealously bastinadoed into
a painful amble by the heavy club of some juvenile Israelite with
flowing auburn ringlets, whose chubby freckled cheeks, influenced by the
sultry sun no less than by the incessant manual labour employed, are
wont to assume a strangely excited appearance ere the journey be at an
end.

Along the entire coast of Southern Arabia, there is not a more
remarkable feature than the lofty promontory of Aden, which has been
flung up from the bed of the ocean, and in its formation is altogether
volcanic.  The Arab historian [Masudi] of the tenth century, after
speaking of the volcanoes of Sicily and in the kingdom of the Maha Raj,
alludes to it as existing in the desert of Barhut, adjacent to the
province of Nasafan and Hadramaut, in the country of Shaher.  "Its
sound, like the rumbling of thunder, might then be heard many miles, and
from its entrails were vomited forth red-hot stones with a flood of
liquid fire."  The skeleton of the long-exhausted crater, once, in all
probability, a nearly perfect circle, now exhibits a horse-shoe-shaped
crescent, hemmed in by splintered crags, which, viewed from the turreted
summit of Jebel Shemshan especially, whence the eye ranges over the
entire peninsula, presents the wildest chaos of rock, ruin, and
desolation.

From the landing-place at Ras Marbut, a tortuous track of five miles
conducts past the coal-depot and Seedie location, along various
curvatures of the arid coast, to the cantonment and town of Aden.
"Sublime in barrenness," the rugged and lofty cliffs pile themselves
upward in masses of the most fantastic shape, now bare and bald,
shooting into perpendicular spires, and now leaning over the caravan of
heavily-laden camels that toil along the path.  The sunshine of
perpetual summer reigns throughout the scene.  Glittering sand-hills
slumber in breezy dimness around the land-locked harbour, and over the
faint peaks of Yemen's distant mountains the unclouded sky floats bright
and blue.  The sparkling waters leap against the dark base of the naked
islets; but the wide glassy surface beyond, reposing like a broad lake,
is only ruffled by the circling eddy which follows the sportive plash of
the bottle-nosed porpoise, or the pluming of a fleet of silver-winged
terns, riding quietly at anchor on its tranquil bosom.  As the road
retires from the beach, the honey-combed cliff's assume the similitude
of massive wads and battlements, every where pierced with loopholes and
embrasures.  A gradual ascent leads through a craggy portal, bristling
with cannon, and guarded by the pacing sentinel.  One narrow rift in the
solid rock, to the foot of which the sun rarely penetrates, forms an
abrupt division in the chain, and beyond it the eye suddenly embraces
the basin-like valley wherein stands the decayed capital of Arabia
Felix.

"Aden," saith old Ibn Batuta of Tangiers, "is situate upon the
sea-shore--a large city, without either seed, water, or tree."  Five
hundred years have elapsed since this graphic account was penned, and
the vegetation has in nowise improved.  An amphitheatre of dimensions
sufficient for the Devil's punch-bowl is formed by two volcanic ranges,
once in connection, but obviously rent asunder, heaved outwards, and
canted in opposite directions by some violent eruption that has forced
an opening to the ocean.  A sterility which is not to be surpassed
invests the scene with an aspect most repulsive and forbidding.  No tree
varies the dreary prospect, no shrub relieves the eye, not even a flower
lends its aid to enliven the wild and gloomy hollow, the fittest refuge
that the imagination could picture for the lawless and the desperate.
Fortifications are to be traced on every point either liable to assault
or eligible for defence: ruined castles and watch-towers perched on the
highest elevations of the precipitous hills stand the now inaccessible
guardians of other days; and even the limited view to seaward, where the
passing white sail of a small coasting craft, or the catamaran of the
amphibious fisherman may occasionally be seen, is partially screened by
a triangular rock, which frowns like a great spectre over the inner
harbour.  Seerah, "the fortified black islet," is said to have been the
residence of Cain, "the first born of a woman," after the murder of his
brother Abel; and, verily, it would be difficult to devise a more
appropriate exile for the banished fratricide.  Hurled into the sea by a
convulsive shock, it is surrounded by pumice and by currents of
obsidian, the products of volcanic emission, strewed among vast
undulating waves of cavernous lava, or mingled with black masses of
porous rock, which bear evidence of fusion, and yield to the touch a
metallic sound.

Sterility has indeed claimed this dreary region as her own; and even in
the more productive portions of the peninsula, little verdure is derived
from the almost leafless Besham, the _Balsamodendron Opobalsamum_, a
dwarf shrub, which, according to the Arab tradition, formed a part of
the present carried to King Solomon by the Queen of Sheba from the
aromatic regions of myrrh and frankincense.  Where incisions are made in
its stem, the far-famed Balm of Mecca flows copiously, but the volatile
oil quickly evaporating, leaves a tasteless insipid gum.  Nursed by no
periodical shower and by no hidden spring, the precious plant, scorched
by a withering blast, derives its only moisture from the mists which
envelope the mountain-top, when all is sunshine below.

Among the most singular features of the Cape is the supply of water,
which is found only in the valley of Aden, close under the cliffs, and
at the openings of the fissures from the steppes above.  Here, piercing
to a great depth through the solid rock, are upwards of one hundred
wells; many dilapidated and choked up, but others yielding an abundant
and unfailing supply.  Whence or in what manner they are fed it is
extremely difficult to conjecture.  All near the beach are bad, and more
or less brackish; some are sensibly affected by the tides, and very
saline; whilst of those which afford sweet water, one only is visibly
acted upon by some lower spring.  It is excavated at the entrance of a
dark gorge rent by some violent convulsion in the rugged bosom of
Shemshan, and the surface, which is in a state of constant commotion,
remains at the same level, although daily drawn upon from morning till
night for the supply of thousands.

The almost total absence of the vegetable kingdom considered, it is not
surprising that there should exist also a palpable deficiency in the
animal creation.  In perhaps no other quarter of the universe are the
sparrow and the crow such perfect strangers.  The pigeon, the fox, and
the rat, divide the sovereignty of the rocky cleft; and the serrated
heights are held without a rival by a garrison of monkeys.  With these
long-tailed occupants of the tower-capped pinnacles are connected
wondrous superstitions, and an Aden tradition, extant throughout
Southern Arabia, would exalt them into the remnant of the once-powerful
tribe of Ad, "a people great, and strong, and tall," who are believed to
have been metamorphosed into apes, in token of the displeasure of
Heaven, when Sheddad, "the king of the world," illustrious in the annals
of the East, impiously sought, in defiance of the prophet Hud, to create
unto himself a garden which should rival the Celestial Paradise.  The
Bostan el Irem, with its gorgeous palaces and shining domes, the
similitude whereof had never been constructed on the regions of the
earth, is said to be yet standing in the solitary deserts of Aden,
although miraculously concealed from mortal ken.  Within the silent
walls of its lofty towers did Abdallah ibn Aboo Kelaba pass his night of
wonder during the reign of Moawiyeh, Prince of the Faithful; and it is
believed by every good Moslem that this marvellous fabric of human skill
and impiety, which finds a record in the sacred Koran, will endure until
the Last Day, an imperishable, but rarely revealed monument of Divine
retribution.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note 1.  Lieutenant J.C. Cruttenden, assistant to the Political Agent at
Aden, heard the same version repeated at Saana, the capital of Yemen,
which far-famed city he has been the first European to visit, since the
days of Niebuhr.

Volume One, Chapter III.

A STROLL THROUGH THE INFANT METROPOLIS OF BRITISH ARABIA.

A uniform system of architecture pervades the houses of Aden, nearly all
of which would appear to have arisen out of the ruins of former more
extensive edifices, now buried far below the surface of the accumulated
soil.  Tiers of loose undressed stone are interlaid, instead of mortar,
with horizontal bands of timber; the walls thus traversed being
perforated with pigeon-holes to serve as windows, and surmounted by a
low parapet concealing the terraced roof.  Many, occupied by the more
wealthy, have attained to a third story; but nearly all are destitute of
ornament.  This is now restricted to the decayed palace of the sultans
of Yemen, where

  "In proud state
  Each robber chief upheld his armed halls,
  Doing his evil will."

In the thick coating of cement with which the shattered edifice is still
partially encrusted, are the remains of various raised devices; and a
profusion of open fretwork in wood is still observable, interspersed
with latticed cornices, comprising choice sentences from the Koran.

The shops of Parsee and Mohammadan merchants already extend an
assortment of European commodities to the notice of the visitor; and in
a bazaar, infested like other fish-markets by a legion of cats, are
exposed sharks and a variety of the finny tribe.  Water from the
sweetest well is hawked about in dirty skins, instead of the lemonade
and sherbet of large oriental towns; and piles of fruit, drugs, dates,
molasses, and other abominations, present the same amount of flies, and
no abatement of the compound of villainous smells, by which the booth of
the shrewd and avaricious Gentoo is so invariably distinguished.

In the suburbs, the frail cadjan wigwam of the Arab and Somauli
population impart the undeviating aspect of the portable encampment of
the nomade hordes.  The tattered goat-hair awning of the bare-footed
pilgrim to the shrine at El Medina is here; and low crazy cabins of
matting or yellow reeds are so slenderly covered in with the leaves of
the palm as to form but a scanty shelter against the intolerable heat
and dust occasioned by periodical blasts of the fiery Shimal.

During his diurnal reign, the sun has shone fiercely over the extinct
crater of Aden, and the relentless shower of dust and pebbles has kept
the inhabitants within their rude dwellings.  But as the declining rays
cast a lengthened shadow across the narrow alleys, and the hot puffs,
abating in violence, are succeeded by a suffocating calm, the hitherto
torpid population is to be seen abroad.  That bronzed and sun-burnt
visage, surrounded by long matted locks of raven hair--that slender, but
wiry and active frame--and that energetic gait and manner, proclaim the
untameable descendant of Ishmael.  He nimbly mounts the crupper of his
now unladen dromedary, and at a trot moves down the bazaar on his way
back to the town of Lahedge.  A checked kerchief around his brows, and a
kilt of dark blue calico about his loins, comprise his slender costume.
His arms have been deposited outside the Turkish wall, which stretches
its barrier across the isthmus from sea to sea, where flying parties of
the Foudthli still infest the plain; and as he looks back, his meagre
ferocious aspect, flanked by that tangled web of hair, stamps him the
roving tenant of the desert.

The Arab has changed neither his character nor his habits since the days
of the patriarchs, and he affords a standing evidence of the truth of
the scriptural prophecy.  He regards with disdain and with proud
indifference every other portion of mankind, for who can produce so
ancient monuments of liberty as he who, with little intermission, has
preserved it from the very Deluge?  Is the land of his ancestors
invaded?  A branch torn by the priest from the venerated _Nebek_ [A tree
bearing a fruit like the Siberian crab], having been thrust into the
fire, is quenched in hot blood welling from the divided throat of a ram
which has only the moment before been slaughtered in the name of God the
one omnipotent.  Dripping with the crimson tide, the emblem is solemnly
delivered to the nearest warrior, who hies him forth with this his
summons for the gathering of the wild dans.  Down from their rocky
fastnesses pour the old and the young, the untried stripling, and the
stern veteran with a thousand scars.  On, on speeds the messenger with
the alarum of coming strife.  Transferred from hand to hand, it rests
not in the grasp of any; and in a few brief hours, thousands of wild
spirits, calling upon Allah for victory, and thirsting for the blood of
the foe, have mustered around the unfurled standard of their prophet.

Thus it was that the numerous hill-forts and strongholds studding the
rich province of Assyr, which borders on the Holy Land of the Moslem,
last poured forth their hordes to meet the invader of her fair plains,
and the despoiler of her countless flocks.  Sixteen thousand warriors,
composing one of the most ancient as well as bravest of the Arab tribes,
cast aside spear and falchion, and, armed only with the deadly creese,
stole during the night upon the camp of the insatiate Egyptian, and
slaughtering the greater number, drove Ibrahim Pacha, with the wreck of
his army, to seek safety in precipitate flight to Hodeida.

In yonder fat and sensual money-changer from the city of Surat is
presented the very antipodes to the posterity of Hagar.  In drowsy
indolence, see him emerge from his treasures of ghee and groceries,
among which, scales in hand, he has been patiently squatted since
earliest dawn at the terrace of his booth, registering his gains in the
daily ledger.  Not one spark of animation is there.  A dark slouching
turban, and ample folds of snowy drapery, envelope the sleek person of
the crafty Hindoo, and his lethargic motions render it difficult to
comprehend how he should have contrived to exile himself from his native
soil, and in such a forbidding spot, even in pursuit of his idol,
Mammon.

Ajan and Berbera, famous for their early connection with the Greek kings
of Egypt, have both contributed largely to the population that now
throngs the street.  The regular and finely-turned features of those
Somauli emigrants from the opposite coast are at once selected from the
group, although some have disguised their hair under a thick plaster of
quick-lime, and others are rendered hideous by a wig of fiery red curls;
whilst the dyed ringlets of a third have faded to the complexion of a
housemaid's mop, and a fourth, forsooth, is shaven because his locks
have been pulled in anger.  [It is the practice of the Somauli to shave
the head when thus insulted, and to make a vow that the hair shall not
grow again until they have had their revenge.]  All present a curious
contrast to the jet black skin and woolly pate of the Suhaili, who, in
his turn, is destitute of the thick pouting lip which adorns that
stalwart Nubian, swaggering like a great bully by his side.  At the door
of those cadjan cabins, which resemble higglers crates, not less in size
than in form and appearance, groups of withered Somauli crones are
diligently weaving mats, baskets, and fans, of the pliant date-leaf; and
their laughing daughters, yon tall, slim, and erect damsels with the
earthen pitchers above their plaited tresses, present, on their way up
from the well, some of the comeliest specimens of the ebon race.

"Honesty," saith the Arab proverb, "is found only amongst poor fools."
The Bedouin has for ages been celebrated for his ingenuity and daring,
and the African offset is nothing behind the parent stock.  A Somauli
thief is perhaps "the cunningest knave in the universe."  He has been
known to cut away a pile of tobacco so as to leave to the merchant who
reposed thereon, naught but the effigy of his own figure: and after
entering through the roof of a house, the burglar has taken his exit
through the door with chests of treasure, from the top of which the
sleeping proprietor has been first hoisted, with his bed, by a tackle
lowered through the aperture, and so left hanging until the morning!

Muffled in a Spanish mantilla, see the spouse of the bigoted Islam
taking the air upon the crupper of a donkey, her fat face so
scrupulously concealed, that nothing of it is visible save two sloe
black eyes which glitter through perforations in the white veil, and
impart a similitude to the horned owl.  On the rude steps of the
clustering habitations that she has passed, surrounded by rosy-cheeked
urchins, are seated numerous dark-eyed and well-dressed Jewesses.
Rachel, although discreet, and preserving the strictest decorum, is
unveiled.  Were it possible to prevail upon her to have recourse to
daily ablution, in lieu of the hebdomadal immersion which celebrates her
sabbath eve, her complexion would not be less fair than that of the
native of Southern Europe; and in the well-chiselled features and
aquiline profile of the brunette, are preserved all those marked
peculiarities which in every part of the world distinguish the scattered
daughters of Israel.

The children of the tribe of Judah are most completely identified with
the soil of Aden, and may be regarded as the artisans and manufacturing
population.  Victims heretofore of the tyranny and intolerant
persecution which the infidel has ever to expect at the hand of the true
believer, they toiled and accumulated, but feared lest a display of the
fruits of their labour should excite the cupidity of a rapacious master.
Now their prospect has brightened, and the remnant of a mighty though
fallen and dispersed people, no longer exists here in poverty and
oppression, insulted and despised as they have always been in every part
of the Eastern world; but in uninterrupted security ply their
industrious occupation, and under British protection fearlessly practise
those rites which have been religiously preserved from the time that
their priests bore aloft the ark of the covenant.  Stone slabs with
Hebrew inscriptions mark the resting-place of the departed; schools
witness the education of the rising generation; and men and women,
arrayed in their holiday apparel, sit apart in the synagogue, to listen
at each return of their sabbath to the law which had been read since "by
way of the wilderness of the Red Sea" their fathers "went up harnessed
out of the land of Egypt."

Volume One, Chapter IV.

THE GIBRALTAR OF THE EAST.

Aden, in its history and reverses, presents the type of many a mighty
nation,--it flourished and has fallen.  As it once stood, it was the
maritime bulwark of Arabia Felix.  So early as the reign of Constantine
the Great, it was celebrated for its impregnable fortifications, its
extended traffic, and its attractive ports.  Here the camels of the
Koreishites were laden with a precious cargo of aromatics.  Here
commerce first dawned; and little more than two centuries and a half
have rolled away since the decayed city ranked among the most opulent
emporia of the East.  Its decline is only dated from the close of the
illustrious reign of Suleiman the Magnificent; but the spider has since
"weaved her web in the imperial palace, and the owl has stood sentinel
upon the watch-tower."

In the eyes of the true believer, the Cape is hallowed by the tradition
that it was honoured with the preaching in person of that arch impostor,
"the last of all the prophets," who, with the sword in one hand and the
Koran in the other, became the lawgiver of the Arabians, and the founder
of an empire which in less than a century had spread itself from the
Pyrenees to the Indus.  Three hundred and sixty mosques once reared
their proud heads, and eighty thousand inhabitants poured into the
field, an army which accomplished the subjugation of El Yemen.  This
latter, famous from all antiquity for the happiness of its climate, its
fertility and surpassing riches, became an independent kingdom at the
period that Constantinople fell into the hands of Mahomet the Second.
Aden frequently cast off its allegiance; and when the Turks, by means of
their fleet built at Suez, rendered themselves masters of the northern
coast of the Red Sea, they found the peninsula independent, under the
Sultan of Foudthli.  Turkey and Portugal, struggling for supremacy in
the East, hotly contested its possession; but, being unable longer to
maintain their rivalry, it finally reverted into the grasp of its
ancient masters.

Great natural strength, improved by the substantial fortifications which
had been carried by Sultan Selim completely round the zone of hills that
engirds the town, now rendered it the fittest of all retreats for the
piratical hordes of the desert; and the lawless sons of Ishmael,
scouring the adjacent waters, loaded their stronghold with booty.  But
after the loss of government, Aden could not be expected to retain its
opulence.  Its trade passed into the rival port of Mocha, and grinding
oppression caused the removal of the wealthy.  At the period of the
British occupation, ninety dilapidated houses, giving shelter to six
hundred impoverished souls, were all that remained to attest its ancient
glories.  The town lay spread out in ruin and desolation, and heaps of
stone, mingled with bricks and rubbish, sternly pointed to the grave of
the mosque and tall minaret.

Few fragments now survive the general decay, to record the high estate
of the once populous metropolis, or reveal the magnificence it could
formerly boast in works of public utility.  The chief buildings are
believed to have been situated ten miles inland, and to have been
swallowed up by the ever rising, never ebbing, tide of the desert.  The
red brick conduit of Abd el Wahab can still be traced from the Durab el
Horaibi, whence it stretches to Bir Omheit, upwards of eight miles,
across a now dilapidated bridge.  Here are numerous wells, which
supplied the reservoirs; but, "like the baseless fabric of a vision,"
every vestige of an edifice has vanished.

Among the most perfect and conspicuous relics of the past are the
laborious and costly means adopted to insure in so arid and burning a
climate, a plentiful supply of water.  In addition to the wells, three
hundred in number, the remains of basins of great magnitude are found in
various directions; and in the Valley of Tanks are a succession of
hanging cisterns, formed by excavations in the limestone rock.  These
are lined with flights of steps, and supported by lofty buttresses of
imperishable masonry, forming deep reservoirs of semi-elliptical form,
which still blockade every channel in the mountain side, and once served
to collect the precious drops from heaven, when showers doubtless fell
more abundantly than at the present day.

In the extensive repositories for the dead, too, may be found assurances
of the former population of Aden.  Many of the countless tombs in the
Turkish cemetery were of white marble, and bore on jasper tablets
elaborately-sculptured inscriptions surmounted by the cap and turban;
but the greater number of these pillared monuments have either
disappeared or been overthrown.  Of the evidences of Mohammadanism that
once graced the city, nearly all lie buried from sight beneath heaps of
accumulated rubbish and debris, the removal of portions of which has
disclosed many curious coins of remote date.  The minaret of Menaleh,
and a tottering octagon of red brick, attached to the Jama el Musjid,
lone survivors of the wreck, still point to the sky; and of the few
mosques that have been spared by the destroying hand of time, the
principal is that of the tutelar saint of the city, beneath the cupola
of which, invested with a pall of crimson silk, and enshrined in the
odour of sanctity, repose the venerated remains of Sheikh Hydroos.

An excellent zig-zagged road, imperfectly paved, and raised in parts to
the height of twenty feet, extends from the base to the summit of Jebel
Shemshan, and, with some few of the disjointed watch-towers, has defied
the ravages of centuries.  Three enormous pieces of brass ordnance,
pierced for a sixty-eight pound shot, and covered with Turkish
inscriptions, were the chief symbols of the former strength of this
eastern Gibraltar.  These were transmitted to England, when their
capture, shortly after the present accession, avenged an insult offered
to her flag, and wreathed the first laurels around the brow of her
youthful Queen.

In general aspect the Cape is not dissimilar from the volcanic islands
in the Grecian Archipelago, and viewed from a distance it appears
separated altogether from the mainland.  The long dead flat of sand by
which it is connected with the Arabian continent, rising on either beach
scarcely two feet above high water mark, induces the belief that the
promontory must on its first production in early ages have been
insulated.  According to the evidence of the present generation the sea
is still receding, and the sand steadily accumulating, but the noble
western bay will not be affected for many centuries.  Though the glory
of Aden may have fled, and her commerce become totally annihilated, her
ports will long remain as nature formed them, excellent, capacious, and
secure.

Important commercial advantages cannot fail to accrue from the
occupation of so secure an entrepot, which at any season of the year may
be entered and quitted with equal facility.  The readiest access is
afforded to the rich provinces of Hadramaut and Yemen, famous for their
coffee, their frankincense, and the variety of their gums, and abounding
in honey and wax, of a quality which may vie with the produce of the
hives of the Mediterranean.  A lucrative market to the manufactures of
India and Great Britain is also extended by the facilities attending
communication with the African coast, south of Bab el Mandeb, where the
high mountain ranges bordering upon the shore are clothed with trees
producing myrrh, frankincense, and precious gums, whilst the valleys in
the interior pour forth for export, sheep, ghee, drugs, dry hides, gold
dust, civet, ivory, rhinoceros horns, peltries, and ostrich feathers,
besides coffee of the choicest growth.  A wide field is open for
mercantile speculation, and it is not a little pleasant to contemplate
the approaching improvement of Christian Abyssinia, and the civilisation
of portions of Africa even more benighted and remote, through the medium
of intercourse with British Arabia.

Under the flag of old England, Aden has enjoyed a degree of happiness
and security never previously experienced, even in the days of her
greatest glory, when she ranked among the foremost of commercial marts
in the East, and when vessels from all the known quarters of the globe
thronged her boasted roadstead.  Emigrants from the interior as well as
from the exterior of Hadramaut and Yemen, and from both shores of the
Red Sea, are daily crowding within the walls to seek refuge from
grinding oppression, and to free themselves from the galling burthen
beneath which they have long groaned at the hand of insatiate native
despots.  The amazing increase of population and the crowded state of
the bazaars form subject for high admiration.  In the short space of
three years the census has been augmented to twenty thousand souls;
substantial dwellings are springing up in every direction, and at all
the adjacent ports, hundreds of native merchants do but await the
erection of permanent fortifications in earnest of intention to remain,
to flock under the guns with their families and wealth.  Emerging thus
rapidly from ruin and degradation, the tide of lucrative commerce, both
from Africa and Arabia, may be confidently expected to revert to its
former channel.  Blessed by a mild but firm government, the decayed
mart, rescued from Arab tyranny and misrule, will doubtless shortly
attain a pinnacle far eclipsing even its ancient opulence and renown;
and Aden, as a free port, whilst she pours wealth into a now
impoverished land, must ere long become the queen of the adjacent seas,
and take rank among the most useful dependencies of the British crown.

Volume One, Chapter V.

VOYAGE ACROSS THE GULF OF ARABIA.

Eight bells were "making it twelve o'clock" on the 15th of May, when the
boatswain piped all hands on deck to weigh the anchor, and within a few
minutes the Honourable Company's Brig-of-war "Euphrates," having the
Embassy on board, and commanded by one of its members [Lieutenant
Barker, Indian Navy], set her white sails, and, followed by three large
native crafts freighted with horses and baggage, stood across the
Arabian Gulf.  A favourable breeze pressed her steadily through the
yielding bosom of the ocean.  The salt spray flew under her gallant
bows; and as the hospitable cadjan roofs on Steamer Point, first in
order, and then the jagged pinnacles forming the spider skeleton of
Aden, sank gradually astern, each individual of the party destined to
traverse the unknown wilds of Ethiopia, took the pilgrim's vow that the
razor should pass no more over his beard, until his foot had again
rested on civilised shores--an event not unreasonably conjectured to be
far distant for all, and for some destined never to be realised.

The breeze increasing, the low sandy promontory of Ras Bir on the
African coast became visible during the forenoon of the following day;
and before evening, notwithstanding a delay of some hours, caused by an
accident to the mainyard of one of the tenders, which obliged her to be
taken in tow, the brig was passing a group of eight coral islands,
elevated about thirty feet above the level of the sea.  The remainder of
the fleet having parted company during the night, were now perceived
standing directly for Mushahh, the nearest of these islets, situated at
the mouth of the Gulf of Tajura, and divided from the Danakil coast by a
fathomless channel of seven miles.  An iron messenger despatched to
bring the convoy to, ricochetted over the blue water, kicking up a
column of white spray at every bound, and before the smoke of the gun
had cleared the bulwarks, a bald pate protruded between the rigging, was
followed by the swarthy person of Aboo Bekr, of the Somauli tribe Aboo
Salaam, and commonly styled Durabili, or "the Liar."  Nakhuda of a small
trading craft which had been employed as a pilot boat during the recent
trigonometrical survey of the coast, he was well-known to the officers
of the "Euphrates," and was ascertained to be at this moment charged
with despatches for Aden, which, whether important or otherwise, had
been during three days lying safely at anchor off the island, to admit
of enhanced profits by the collection of a cargo of wood.

"Salaam aleikum!" exclaimed the old Palinurus as soon as his foot had
touched the deck; "Hamdu-lillah!  Praise be unto God! it is you, after
all.  When I saw those two crazy tubs in your van, I believed that it
could not be my old ship, although it loomed so vastly like her; but the
moment you took in your studding-sails to let Aboo Bekr come alongside,
I knew it must be the Capitan Bashi.  Kayf halut, how fares it with your
health?"

The welcome visitor was forthwith accommodated with a chair on the poop;
into which having squeezed himself with difficulty, he drew up his knees
to his scanty beard, inserted a cigar into his mouth as a quid, and,
sipping tea like a finished washerwoman, instituted a train of inquiries
relative to the position of affairs in the British possessions across
the water.

"Tayyib, tayyib," he ejaculated, when thoroughly satisfied that Cape
Aden was not again in the hands of the Arabs.  "Marhabba, it is well.
All, too, is as it should be at Tajura.  Misunderstandings are adjusted,
and the avaricious chieftains have at last, the Lord be praised! got all
the dirt out of their bellies.  Their palms have been judiciously
tickled, and it only now remains to be seen whether the old sultan, who
is fully as fond of money as his neighbours--or his ancient rival,
Mohammad Ali, is to have the honour of forwarding the English to King
Saloo.  My boy has just returned from Habesh, and shall escort you.
Abroo has been twice in Bombay, as you know, Capitan.  You have only to
tell me if he should misbehave, and I'll trounce the young scamp
soundly."

Meanwhile the bold mountain outline of the land of promise, forming a
worthy barrier to the unexplored treasures of the vast continent of
Africa, had been rapidly emerging from obscurity, and the brown
forbidding bluff, styled Ras Dukhan, "the smoking promontory," in height
about five or six hundred feet, was now on the starboard quarter; its
abrupt summit, as usual, surmounted by a coronet of fleecy clouds, from
which, if not from the thermal well at its base, this Cape has probably
derived its appellation.  The brig was already standing up the bay of
Tajura; but darkness overtaking her, it was resolved to lay to until
daybreak; and a gun fired in intimation of approach was presently
answered by a display of rockets and blue lights from the Honourable
Company's schooner "Constance," riding at anchor in the harbour.

The Arabs lay claim to the invention of the compass; and Aboo Bekr, who
believed himself in truth a second Anson, was provided with one, which
must certainly have been the first ever constructed.  Age having
impaired the dilapidated needle, it was forced off its pivot by a
quantity of pepper-corns, which are here considered highly efficacious
in the restoration of decayed magnetic powers.  From the native
navigators in the Indian Ocean he had borrowed a primitive nautical
instrument for determining the latitude; nor was he a little vain of his
practical skill as an observer.  Through a perforation in the centre of
a plane of wood in size and shape like a playing card, was passed a
knotted whipcord, and the distance from each knot was so regulated that
the subtended angle should equal the altitude of the polar star at some
frequented point on the coast.  The knot having been placed between the
teeth, and the lower margin of the plane brought in optical contact with
the horizon, the position of Polaris must be observed with reference to
the upper edge; when, if it be above, the desired haven is known to be
to the southward--if below, to the northward, and the course is shaped
accordingly.

"I'll take you in this very night, Capitan Bashi, if you so please,"
resumed the pilot, whose packet had by this time escaped his
recollection altogether.  "Only give me the order, and, praise be unto
Allah! there is nothing that Aboo Bekr cannot do.  My head, as you see,
is bald, and I may perhaps be a little old-looking now, but wait until
we get on shore, and my new wig is bent; Inshallah!  I shall look like a
child of five years among the youngest of them."

"Now if we had but Long Ali of Zeyla on board," continued the old man,
whose merry tongue knew no rest; "if we had only Two-fathom Ali here,
you would not make all these difficulties.  When they want to lay out an
anchor, they have nothing else to do but to hand it over to Ali, and he
walks away with it into six or eight feet without any ado.  I went once
upon a time in the dark to grope for a berth on board of his buggalow,
and stumbling over some one's toes, inquired to whose legs they
belonged; `All's,' was the reply.  `And whose knees are these?' said I,
after walking half across the deck; `Ali's.'  `And this head in the
scuppers, pray whose is it?'  `Ali's to be sure,' growled a sleepy
voice; `what do you want with it?'  `Subhan Allah, Ali again!'  I
exclaimed; `then I must even look for stowage elsewhere.'"

Dawn of the 17th revealed the town of Tajura, not a mile distant, on the
verge of a broad expanse of blue water, over which a gossamer-like fleet
of fishing catamarans already plied their busy craft.  The tales of the
dreary Tehama, of the suffocating Shimal, and of the desolate plains of
the bloodthirsty Adaiel, were in that moment forgotten.  Pleasure
sparkled in every eye, and each heart bounded with exultation at the
near prospect of fulfilling the benevolent schemes in design, and of
adding one mite to the amelioration of Afric's swart sons.

Those who are conversant with Burchell's admirable illustration of an
encampment of Cape farmers, with their gigantic waggons scattered about
in picturesque confusion, will best understand the appearance of the
group of primitive habitations that now presented itself on the
sea-beach.  Exceeding two hundred in number, and rudely constructed of
frames of unhewn timber, arranged in a parabolic arch, and covered in
with date matting, they resembled the white tilts of the Dutch boors,
and collectively sheltered some twelve hundred inhabitants.  The bold
grey mountains, like a drop scene, limited the landscape, and, rising
tier above tier, through coral limestone and basaltic trap, to the
majestic Jebel Goodah, towering five thousand feet above the ocean, were
enveloped in dirty red clouds, which imparted the aspect of a morning in
the depth of winter.  Verdant clumps of date and palm trees embosomed
the only well of fresh water, around which numerous Bedouin females were
drawing their daily supply of the precious fluid.  These relieved the
humble terraced mosque of whitewashed madrepore, whence the voice of the
muezzin summoned the true believer to matin prayer; and a belt of green
_makanni_, a dwarf species of mimosa with uniform umbrella tops,
fringing the sandy shore, completed a pleasant contrast to the frowning
blocks of barren black lava which fortify the Gibraltar whereupon the
eye had last rested.

As the ship sailed into the harbour, the appearance of a large shark in
her wake caused the tongue of the pilot again to "break adrift."  "A
certain friend of mine," said he, "Nakhuda of a craft almost as fast a
sailer as my own, which is acknowledged to be the best in these seas,
was once upon a time bound from this port to Mocha, with camels on
board.  When off Jebel Jan, the high table-land betwixt the Bay of
Tajura and the Red Sea, one of the beasts dying, was hove overboard.  Up
came a shark, ten times the size of that fellow, and swallowed the
carcass, leaving one of the hinder legs protruding from his jaws; and
before he had time to think where he was to find stowage for it, up came
a second tremendous monster, and bolted his messmate, camel, leg, and
all."

In return for this anecdote, the old man was treated to the history of
the two Kilkenny cats in the sawpit, which fought until nothing remained
of either but the tail and a bit of the flue.  "How could that be?" he
retorted seriously, after turning the business over in his mind.  "Now,
Capitan Bashi, you are spinning yarns, but, by Allah, the story I have
told you is as true as the holy Koran, and if you don't choose to
believe _me_, there are a dozen persons of unblemished veracity now in
Tajura, who are ready to vouch for its correctness."

Volume One, Chapter VI.

CAST ANCHOR AT TAJURA ON THE AFRICAN COAST.

A scraggy, misshapen lad, claimed by Aboo Bekr as his own most dutiful
nephew, now paddled alongside in a frail skiff, the devil dancing in his
wicked eye; and having caught the end of a rope thrown by the doting
uncle, he was on board in another instant.

During a former cruise of the "Euphrates," this imp had contrived to
pass on the purser a basket of half-hatched eggs, which he warranted
"new laid," but with which he was subsequently pelted over the gangway.
On being greeted as "Sahib el bayzah," "the master of the eggs," and
asked if he had not brought a fresh supply for sale, grinning archly, he
dragged forward by the topknot a dull, stupid, little wretch--his
messmate--whose heavy features formed the exact reverse of his own
impudent animation.  "Here," he exclaimed, "is the identical young
rascal of whom I told you I bought them; he actually stole the whole
from under his mother's hen, and then assured me that they were fresh."
"Why don't you grow taller as well as sharper?" enquired the party upon
whom the precocious child of the sea had imposed; "'tis now twelve
months since you cheated me, and you are as diminutive a dwarf as ever."

"How can any one thrive who is starved," was the prompt reply; "were I
to eat as immoderately as you do, I doubt not I should soon grow as
corpulent."

But the arrival of Ali Shermarki shortly changed this desultory
conversation to weightier matters.  This worthy old man, sheikh of the
Somauli tribe Aber Gerhajis, possessing great influence and
consideration among the entire Danakil population of the coast, had been
invited from Zeyla, his usual place of residence, to assist in the
extensive preparations making for the journey of the Embassy; and he now
represented the requisite number of camels to be on their way down from
the mountains, if the assurances of the owners, upon whose word small
reliance could be pieced, were to be implicitly believed.

Long faithfully attached to the British government, the sheikh's first
introduction arose out of a catastrophe which occurred many years ago--
the loss of the merchant brig "Mary Anne" at Berbera, a sea-port on the
Somauli coast, lying immediately opposite to the peninsula of Aden.
Deserted from October till March, it becomes, throughout the residue of
the year, one uninterrupted fair, frequented by ships from the Arabian
shores, by rapacious Banians from India, and by caravans of wandering
savages from all parts of the interior--a vast temporary city or
encampment, populated by not fewer than fifty thousand souls, springing
into existence as if by the magic aid of Aladdin's lamp, and
disappearing so suddenly, that within a single week, not one inhabitant
is to be seen.  Yet another six months, and the purse-proud merchant of
Hurrur is again there, with his drove of comely slaves newly exported
from the highlands of Abyssinia.  There, too, is the wild pagan,
displaying coffee, peltries, and precious gums from beyond Gurague; and,
punctual as ever, see the kafilah from the distant gurriahs of Amin and
Ogaden, a nomade band, laden with ivory and ostrich plumes, and stained
from head to foot, both in person and in garment, by the impalpable red
dust traversed during the long march from the southward.

Religious prejudices on the part of the wily Hindoo precluding all
traffic in live stock, the Somauli shepherd retains in his own hand the
sale of his black-headed flocks; embarked with which in his frail bark
of fifty tons, he stands boldly across the gulf, at seasons when the
Arab fears even to creep along the coast of the Hejaz.  All other trade,
however, is engrossed by the subtle Banian, who divides the _adductor
pollicis_ of the right thumb, in order to increase the span by which his
wares are to be measured; and he, during many years, has enjoyed,
silently and unobserved, the enormous profits accruing from the riches
annually poured out from the hidden regions of Africa.  No form of
government regulates the commerce; and, in the absence of imposts,
barter is conducted solely through the medium of a native broker styled
Aban, who, receiving a regulated percentage upon purchases and sales, is
bound, at the risk of his own life, to protect his constituent from
injury or outrage.

A vessel standing towards the coast proves a signal to all who gain
their livelihood by this system, to swim off, and contest first arrival
on board; the winner of the aquatic race, in accordance with ancient
usage, being invariably received as her Aban.  Thus it was that Ali
Shermarki became agent to the "Mary Anne," a small English merchantman
from Mauritius, whose captain, imprudently landing with the greater
portion of his crew, afforded to a party of knavish Somauli an
opportunity to cut the cable, when she drifted on shore and was lost.
Hoping by his influence to prevail upon the plunderers to desist, the
Aban, then a younger man, exerted himself to gain the wreck, but he was
repulsed by a shower of spears, and his boat was swamped.  A savage
rabble next beleaguered his dwelling, and imperiously demanded the
persons of the officers and crew, in order to put them to death; but,
true to his charge, Ali Shermarki stoutly resisted, and being severely
wounded, succeeded with his blood in securing honourable terms, and
preserving the lives for which he had made himself responsible.  His
zealous integrity was duly rewarded by the British Government, and a
sword was presented in token of his gallantry, the display of the
brilliant setting of which led to the narration of the foregoing
history.

The passage from Aden had been made in forty-two hours.  As the cable of
the "Euphrates" ran through the hawse-holes, and the rest of the
squadron feu into their places betwixt herself and the shore, she fired
a salute of five guns; and, after considerable delay, a negro was
perceived timidly advancing with a lighted brand from among a knot of
grey-bearded elders, seated in deep consultation beneath the scanty
foliage of an ancient date tree.  A superannuated 4 Pr., honey-combed
throughout its calibre, and mounted upon a rickety ship carriage,
tottered on the beach--the sole piece of ordnance possessed by Sultan
Mohammad ibn Mohammad, reputed ruler of all the Danakil tribes.  It was,
after much coaxing, persuaded to explode in reply to the compliment
paid, and for some minutes afterwards, wreaths of white smoke continued
to ascend from the chimney-like vent, as though the venerable engine had
taken fire, and was being consumed internally.

The commander of the "Euphrates," whose naval functions were now
temporarily suspended, having long enjoyed the honour of a personal
acquaintance with the potentate bearing the above pompous and
high-sounding title, repaired forthwith to the palace, which consists of
the stern moiety of the ill-starred "Mary Anne," tastily erected, keel
uppermost, in the middle of the town, to serve as an attic story.
Letters of introduction from the political authorities at Aden, with
many complimentary speeches, duly delivered, permission to land was
solicited; and although the formidable array of shipping, whose guns,
not two hundred yards distant, sullenly overlooked the royal lodge, had
given birth to certain misgivings, the Sultan finally overcame his
fears, and acquiesced in the arrangement.  A spot of waste land, forming
a common near the mosque, was pointed out as the site upon which to
encamp, but the favour was granted with this express understanding, that
the British Embassy should tarry in so enviable a situation, not one
moment longer than the exigencies of the service imperatively demanded;
a saving clause in the stipulation to which all parties heartily
subscribed.

The bay in which the "Euphrates" now rode, styled, from its wonted
smoothness, "Bahr el Banateen," "the sea of the two nymphs," is a deep
narrow estuary, bounded by a bold coast, and extending, in a
south-westerly direction, about forty-five miles, when the Eesah and
Danakil shores suddenly converge so as to form a straitened channel,
which imparts the figure of an hour-glass.  Barely three quarters of a
mile across, this passage is divided by a barren rocky islet styled
"Bab," "the door," as occupying the gateway to the inner bay of Goobut
el Kharab, "the basin of foulness."  The vortices formed by the strong
tide setting through these confined apertures, assume a most dangerous
aspect; and although the water in the bowl, whereof the longer axis
measures twelve, and the shorter five miles, is so intensely salt as to
create a smarting of the skin during immersion, mud adhering to the lead
at one hundred fathoms, is perfectly sweet and fresh.  Of four islets,
two are rocks; Bood Ali, on the contrary, three hundred feet in height,
and perfectly inaccessible, being thickly encrusted with earth and
vegetable matter, whilst the sides of its nearest neighbour.  Hood Ali,
are bare, and present unequivocal traces of more recent volcanic action
than are to be found in the surrounding debris.

Immediately outside the bay, on the Danakil coast, there issues from the
rock below high water line, a spring which, at the flood tide, is
completely effaced; but during the ebb is so intensely hot, that a crab
is instantly destroyed and turned red by immersion.  At the western
extremity of Goobut el Kharab, a cove three hundred yards in diameter,
with sixteen fathoms water, is enclosed by precipitous volcanic cliffs,
and the entrance barred by a narrow coral reef, which, at low tide, lies
high and dry.  In the waters of this recess is presented one of those
strange phenomena which are not to be satisfactorily explained.  Always
ebbing, there is an underflow during even the flood tide; and usually
glassy smooth, they become occasionally agitated by sudden ebullition,
boiling up in whirlpools, which pour impetuously over the bar; whence
the natives, persuaded that there exists a subterranean passage
connected with the great Salt Lake, of which the sparkling expanse is
visible from an intervening high belt of decomposing lava, term the cove
"Mirsa good Ali," "the source of the sea."

Volume One, Chapter VII.

RECEPTION OF THE EMBASSY BY THE SULTAN OF THE SEA-PORT, AND RETURN VISIT
TO HIS HIGHNESS.

The first British camp with which the sea-port of Tajura had been
honoured since its foundation, raised its head on the afternoon of the
18th of May; when the Embassy, accompanied by the officers of both ships
of war in the harbour, landed under a salute of seventeen guns from the
"Euphrates," [commanded by Lieutenant J. Young, I.N.,] and in a spacious
crimson pavilion, erected as a hall of audience, received a visit of
ceremony from the Sultan and his principal chiefs.  A more unprincely
object can scarcely be conceived than was presented in the imbecile,
attenuated, and ghastly form of this most meagre potentate, who, as he
tottered into the marquee, supported by a long witch-like wand, tendered
his hideous bony claws to each of the party in succession, with all the
repulsive coldness that characterises a Dankali shake of the hand.  An
encourager of the staple manufactures of his own country, his decrepit
frame was enveloped in a coarse cotton mantle, which, with a
blue-checked wrapper about his loins, and an ample turban perched on the
very apex of his shaven crown, was admirably in keeping with the harmony
of dirt that pervaded the attire of his privy council and attendants.
Projecting triangles of leather graced the toes of his rude sandals; a
huge quarto Koran, slung over his bent shoulder, rested beneath the left
arm, on the hilt of a brass-mounted creese, which was girded to the
right side; and his illustrious person was further defended against evil
influence by a zone and bandolier thickly studded with mystic amulets
and most potent charms, extracted from the sacred book.  Enfeebled by
years, his deeply-furrowed countenance, bearing an ebony polish, was
fringed by a straggling white beard, and it needed not the science of
Lavater to detect, in the indifference of his dull leaden eye, and the
puckered corners of his toothless mouth, the lines of cruelty, cunning,
and sordid avarice.

His Highness's haggard form was supported by the chief ministers of
Church and State--Abdool Rahman Sowahil, the judge, civil, criminal, and
ecclesiastic, and Hamed Bunaito, the pursy Wazir, whose bodily
circumference was in strict unison with the pomposity of his carriage.
One Saleh Shehem, too, occupied a prominent seat in the upper ranks--a
wealthy slave-merchant, whose frightful deformities have ennobled him
with the title of "Ashrem," which being interpreted signifies, "he of
the hare-lip."  This trio alone, of all the unwashed retinue, showed
turbaned heads, every lesser satellite wearing either a natural or
artificial full-bottomed peruke, graced with a yellow wooden skewer,
something after the model of a salad fork, stuck erect in hair well
stiffened with a goodly accumulation of sheep's-tail fat, the rancid
odour whereof was far from enhancing the _agremens_ of the interview.
Izhak and Hajji Kasim, two elders of the blood-royal, with whom a much
closer acquaintance was in store, were perfectly bald,--their
patriarchal bearing and goodly presence affording no bad imitation of
the scriptural illustrations by the old masters of the apostles Saint
Peter and Saint Paul.  True to his word, the wag Aboo Bekr, as full of
pleasantries as ever, had donned a preposterous tawny wig, quaintly
manufactured of the fleece of a sheep; and in his smirking, facetious
physiognomy was found the principal relief to the scowling satanic
glances of the ill-favoured rabble, dripping with tallow, and redolent
of abominable smells, who crowded the tent to the choking of every
doorway.

It having heretofore been the invariable maxim of the Sultan to exact a
visit from the stranger before condescending to pay one himself, the
departure from established rule in favour of the liege subjects of Her
Britannic Majesty could not fail to prove eminently gratifying.
Compliments of the most fulsome nature were bandied about with compound
interest, as the coffee-cup passed round to the more distinguished of
the Danakil guests.  Promises of assistance the most specious were
lavished by the authorities, in grateful acknowledgment whereof,
Cachemire shawls, and Delhi embroidered scarfs of exquisite workmanship,
were liberally distributed, and as greedily tucked under the dirty cloth
of the avaricious recipients; and although, in accordance with the
unpolished custom of the country, no sort of salutation was offered when
the conference broke up, the filthy guests departed with a semblance of
good humour, that had been observable in none at their first entrance.

Widely different was the mood of the son of Ali Abi, chief of the
Rookhba, as he rushed into the pavilion on the exit of his rival, the
hereditary Sultan of the Danakil.  Lucifer, when gazing forth upon the
newly created Paradise, and plotting the downfall of the sinless inmates
of the garden of Eden, looked not half so fiend-like as Mohammad Ali,
whilst, trembling with jealousy and rage, he demanded the reason of
having been so insultingly omitted in the distribution of valuables?
"Am I then a dog," he continued, in the highest indignation, "and not
worth the trouble of propitiating? whereas that old dotard yonder is to
have his empty skull bound with rich shawls from India, and his
powerless relatives decorated from head to foot.  Inshallah, we shall
see anon whether the Sultan of the sea-beach, or the son of Ali Abi,
keeps the key of the road to Habesh."

Unlike the succession of every other government in the universe, the
nominal sovereignty of the united tribes composing the Adaiel of Danakil
nation, whereof Tajura is the seat, is alternately vested in the Adali
and the Abli, a Sultan drawn from the one, being succeeded by his Wazir,
who is invariably a member of the other, whilst the individual to fill
the post vacated by the latter, is elected by suffrage from the family
of the Sultan deceased.  The town is besides the rendezvous of the petty
chiefs of all the surrounding clans, who, to the number of eight or ten,
claim an equal voice in the senate, and with about an hundred litigious
followers each, make it their head-quarters during the greater portion
of the year.  Mohammad Ali is the principal of these, and his powerful
tribe occupying a central position on the road to Abyssinia, he asserts
the right to escort all parties proceeding thither--a right which the
Sultan denies.  The necessity of propitiating at one time, and in the
same place, two rival savages, possessing equally the means of
annoyance, whilst neither is sufficiently strong to afford protection
against the interference of the other, rendered the negotiation one of
considerable difficulty and delicacy; nor was it without a vast
expenditure of honied words, that the ruffled temper of the malcontent
was finally soothed, and he was persuaded to waive the assertion of his
recognised claim, until a more suitable opportunity.

All the tents having been erected, the steeds landed and picketed in the
rear, and the heterogeneous mass of property which strewed the sea-beach
reduced to a something less chaotic state, a return visit to His
Highness was paid in full uniform; and the _cortege_ being swelled by
the naval officers, an exceedingly gay procession of cocked hats,
plumes, and gold lace, passed along the strand to the palace, under a
befitting salute from the Brig of war.  The lounging population were
altogether lost in amazement at the sight of such magnificence--old and
young, of both sexes, thronging the wayside, with features indicative of
unequivocal admiration at the brilliancy of so unwonted a display.

The thunder of artillery, to which the nervous old Sultan does not
conceal his insuperable aversion, still shook the unpretending couch
whereon he quailed, as the procession entered the fragile tenement of
stakes and matting which constituted the Divan; and which, without
possessing any pretensions to exclude either sun or rain, proved just
sufficiently large to include the entire party.  A renewal of
hand-shaking in its coldest form, and a repetition of yesterday's
compliments, and of yesterday's promises mode only to be broken, was
followed by a general sipping of coffee, prepared, not in the royal
kitchen, but in the _cuisine_ of the Embassy; and after being
scrutinised during ten minutes of suffocating heat by numerous female
eyes glistening through an infinity of chinks and perforations in the
envious matting, the party returned, bearing as a costly token of His
Highness's regard, a cloth similar to that composing the royal mantle.

It did indeed, in this instance, form matter of heartfelt
congratulation, that the regal custom was dispensed with, of investing
the honoured guest with a garment from the imperial wardrobe!  As the
cavalcade, duly impressed with this sentiment, remounted at the gate of
the thorn inclosure which fortifies the palace, the Sultana vouchsafed a
glimpse of her bedizened person from the stern cabin window of the "Mary
Anne"--the withered frame of the ancient beldame, embedded in spells,
beads, amulets, and grease, forcibly reminding the spectator of the
witch of Endor, and rendering her in very truth, a right seemly partner
for her wrinkled lord.

Volume One, Chapter VIII.

TAJURA, "THE CITY OF THE SLAVE-MERCHANT."

In the heart of the peninsula of Arabia, environed on every side by
rocky mountains, there stood, in the middle of the sixth century, a
celebrated pagan shrine, that had been held in the most exalted
veneration during fourteen hundred years.  The edifice was believed to
cover the hallowed remains of Ishmael, the father of the wandering
Bedouin, and it contained a certain sacred black stone, whereon the
Patriarch Jacob saw the vision of angels ascending into heaven.  On its
site, according to the Arab tradition, Adam pitched his tent when
expelled from the garden of Eden, and there died Eve, the partner of his
fall, whose grave of green sods is shown to the present day, upon the
barren shores of the Red Sea.

This shrine, of course, was none other than the famous temple of the Sun
at Mecca, since so consecrated by the lawgiver of the Mohammadans, as to
form the focus of attraction to every true believer.  The extraordinary
veneration it received in those early days, concentrating the tide of
commerce, rendered it the absorbing mart of Eastern trade.  Abyssinia at
that period held in occupation the adjacent provinces of Arabia Felix,
and Abrahah, the vicegerent of Yemen, conceiving the idea of diverting
the channel to his own advantage, erected in the country of the
Homerites a splendid Christian church, which, under the title of
Keleisa, he endowed with the same privileges, immunities, and
emoluments, that had pertained, from all antiquity, to the shrine of
Sabaean idolatry.

"If," says Gibbon, "a Christian power had been maintained in Arabia,
Mahomet must have been crushed in his cradle, and Abyssinia would have
prevented a revolt which has changed the civil and religious aspect of
the world."  But alarmed at the prospect of the desertion of their
temple both by votaries and merchants, the Beni Koreish, who held the
keys of the black stone in hereditary right, polluted the rival fane at
Saana, which had no equal, saving the palace of the Hamyar kings, and
was calculated to ensure the veneration of every pilgrim.  Out of this
sacrilege and affront arose the event celebrated in the Koran as "the
war of the Elephant."  Mounted on a huge white elephant, Abrahah,
surnamed El Ashrem, placing himself at the head of a vast army,
proceeded to take revenge on the idolaters; but, misled by intelligence
artfully given by Aboo Taleb, grandfather to the Apostle of God, he
destroyed, instead of the Kaaba, a temple of Osiris at Taief, and the
first recorded appearance of the small-pox, shortly afterwards
annihilated the Christian forces.

The wars that distracted all Arabia, between the Greeks and Persians in
the first instance, and subsequently between Mahomet and the population
in support of his divine mission, had greatly impaired the traffic
carried on by general consent at the temple of Mecca.  A caravan
scarcely ever ventured forth by any road, that it was not plundered by
the opposing partisans, and merchants as well as trade gradually
departed south of the Arabian Gulf, to sea-ports which in earlier times
had been the emporia of commerce with the East.  Raheita, Zeyla, Tajura,
and a number of other towns in the Indian Ocean, thus recovered their
importance and their lost prosperity.  The conquest of the Abyssinian
territories in Arabia, drove every Ethiopian to the African shores.
Little districts now grew into great consideration.  Mara, Hadea, Aussa,
and Adel, amongst other petty states, assumed unto themselves the title
of kingdoms, and shortly acquired power and wealth eclipsing many of the
more ancient monarchies.

The miserable town of Tajura, "the city of the slave-merchant," as it
exists at the present day, demands no further description.  It was for
two years in the hands of the Turks, who occupied it after the taking of
Massowah, and converted into a fort a venerable mosque, now in ruins, on
the sea-beach near the palace.  But no consistent chronicle, either of
the capture or evacuation, is to be expected where every man is
notorious equally as a boaster and a liar, and making himself the
individual hero in every passage of arms, never foils to extol his own
clan as immeasurably superior in valour to every other.  The melancholy
aspect of the place is but too well calculated to convey to the
traveller a foretaste of the sufferings inseparable from a pilgrimage
through any portion of the country denominated Adel; and each barbarian
of the entire population of Tajura will be found, on sad experience, a
type of the Dankali nation!

Bigoted Mohammadans, punctual to the call of the Muezzin, praying three
times in excess of the exactions of the Prophet, often passing the
entire night in the mosque, or sitting in council at its threshold;
sedulously attentive to the outward forms of their creed, though few
have sufficient energy to undertake a pilgrimage to the Kaaba, and
content, like other hypocrites, with a rigid observance of externals--
the Danakil rise from their devotions well primed with Moslem
intolerance, and are perfectly ready to lie and cheat as occasion may
offer.  Unoccupied, and at a loss for honest employment, idlers without
number sauntered about the pavilion at all times and seasons, entering
at pleasure, and monopolising chairs and tables with the insolent
independence which forms one of their most prominent features.
Supported by a long staff, the ruffians gazed for hours together at the
novel splendour of the equipage; and invariably disfigured by a large
quid of tobacco adulterated with ashes, squirted the redundant saliva
over the carpet, although squatted on the outside of the door, with
ample space at command.  But although thieves by profession on a grand
scale, they fortunately contrived to keep their hands from picking and
stealing; and notwithstanding that the tents were thus thronged from
morning till night, and the sea-beach for many weary days was strewed
with boxes and bales of truly tempting exterior, nothing whatever was
abstracted.

The classic costume of the people of this sea-port consists of a white
cotton robe, thrown carelessly over the shoulder, in the manner of the
old Roman toga; a blue-checked kilt reaching to the knees, simply
buckled about the waist by a leathern belt, which supports a most
formidable creese, and a pair of rude undressed sandals to protect the
feet of such as can afford the luxury.  The plain round buckler and the
broad-headed spear, without which few ever cross their threshold,
renders the naturally graceful and manly figure of almost every
individual a subject for the artist's pencil; but the population are to
a man filthy in the extreme, and the accumulated dirt upon their persons
and apparel leaves a taint behind, that might readily be traced without
the intervention of a bloodhound.  Rancid mutton fat, an inch thick,
frosts a bushy wig of cauliflower growth, which harbours myriads of
vermin.  Under the melting rays of a tropical sun, the grease pours
copiously over the skin; and the use of water, except as a beverage,
being a thing absolutely unheard-of, a Dankali pollutes the atmosphere
with an effluvium, such as is only to be encountered elsewhere in the
purlieus of a tallow-chandler's shop.

All are vain of scars, and desirous of displaying them; but little
favour is shown for other outward ornament; and the miserly disposition
which pervades the breast both of young and old, inducing an effort
towards the concealment of property possessed, a paltry silver ring in
the ear, a band of copper wire round the junction of the spear-blade
with the shaft, or pewter mountings to the creese, form the sum total of
decoration on the arms and persons even of the most extravagant.  Fops
in numbers are to be seen at Tajura, who have called in the aid of moist
quick-lime towards the conversion of the naturally jet black peruke to a
most atrocious foxy red--when judicious frizzing, and the insertion of
the wooden skewer, used for scratching, completes the resemblance to a
carriage mop.  But this novel process of dyeing, so contrary to that
employed by civilised beaux, is only in fashion among the Somauli, who,
in common with the Danakil dandies, employ, in lieu of a down pillow, a
small wooden bolster, shaped like a crutch, which receives the neck, and
during the hours of presumed uncomfortable repose, preserves the periwig
from derangement.

Massy amulets in leathern envelopes, or entire Korans in quarto or
octavo, are borne on the unpurified person of almost every individual;
and the ancient Arab remedy of swallowing the water in which passages
from the holy book have been washed from the board or paper whereon they
were inscribed, is in universal repute, as a sovereign medicine for
every ailment to which frail flesh is heir--the firm of Sultan, Wazir
and Kazi, who alone possess the privilege of wearing turbans, holding
the monopoly, and driving a most profitable trade by the preparation of
this simple, but potent specific.  Large doses of melted sheep's-tail
fat are moreover swallowed on certain occasions; and a native Esculapius
gave proof of the perfection to which the dentist's art has attained at
Tajura, by dexterously detaching a carious tooth from the stubborn jaws
of a submissive old woman, with the patent machinery of a rusty nail as
a punch, struck with a heavy stone picked up on the sea-beach, where the
operation was performed for the edification of the encampment.
Applications were nevertheless frequent for European aid--a venerable
priest numbering threescore years and ten, peremptorily demanding, in
addition to a philter, the instantaneous removal of two obstinate
cataracts, which had long dimmed his sight, and upon which he had vainly
expended the teeth of half the mules in Tajura, roasted, and reduced to
an impalpable powder.

Education, to the extent of spelling the Koran, is general, and all
speak Arabic as well as Dankali; the lore of the most learned being
however restricted to a smattering of the holy book, with a very
confused idea of numerals, and ability to endite a scraggy Arabic
letter, which, when completed with infinite labour, the writer is often
puzzled to decipher.  To the immortal honour of the Sultan be it here
recorded, that although the oldest male inhabitant of Tajura, he is a
solitary instance of non-acquaintance with the alphabet.  The swarthy
cheek of every urchin who distinguishes himself by diligence or
quickness, receives in token thereof, a dash of white chalk, a black
streak in like manner disgracing the idle and stupid; but the pedagogue
would appear to omit the residue of this oriental custom--the stuffing
the mouths of the well-behaved with sugar-candy, which would doubtless
prove a source of much greater enjoyment.

In the evening the ingenuous youth of the town, each armed with a creese
in case of quarrel, convene in numbers on the common, to play a game
which combines hockey and football; the residue of their time being
spent in angling, when the juvenile Walton stands up to the chin in the
salt sea, and employing his head as a substitute for the reel, spins out
a dozen yards of line in a truly fisherman-like manner.  Numbers spent
the period of their relaxation from study in gaping with the adults at
the door of the pavilion, whilst the magic effect of the magnet was
exhibited, or fire produced from the human mouth by means of a
promethean, here emphatically denominated "the devil."

The softer sex of Tajura, whilst young, possess a tolerable share of
comeliness, and a pleasing expression withal; but they are speedily past
the meridian of beauty.  A close blue chemise, a plain leathern
petticoat, or a cloth reaching to the ankles, and a liberal coat of lard
over extravagantly braided ringlets, which are knotted with white beads,
form the toilet of maid, wife, and widow.  An occasional necklace of
coloured beads falling over the sable bosom, a pendant of brass or
silver wire of no ordinary dimensions in the ear, and large ivory
bracelets or anklets, proclaim the besetting foible of the sex: but
ornaments are by no means general.  Mohammadan jealousy tends to the
seclusion of the better order of females to a certain extent; but a
marriage in high life, when the procession passed close to the
encampment, afforded an opportunity not always enjoyed, of beholding the
beauty and fashion of the place.  The matrimonial shackles are here
easily loosed; and the greater portion of the population being deeply
engaged in the slave trade with the interior, have their rude houses
filled with temporary wives, who are from time to time unceremoniously
shipped for the Arabian market, in order that the funds accruing from
the sale of their persons may be invested in new purchases.

Agriculture there is none.  Every man is a merchant, and waxes
sufficiently rich on his extensive slave exportations, to import from
other climes the produce he requires.  An extensive traffic is carried
on with Aussa and Abyssinia, in which nearly all are engaged at some
period of the year.  Indian and Arabian manufactures, pewter, zinc,
copper and brass wire, beads, and salt in large quantities, are at these
inland marts exchanged for slaves, grain, ivory, and other produce of
the interior,--salt and human beings forming, however, the chief
articles of barter.  Virgin Mary German crowns of Maria Theresa, 1780,
as integrals, and strips of raw hide for sandal soles, as fractionals,
form the currency of the sea-port; beads, buttons, mirrors, trinkets,
empty bottles, snuff, and tobacco, for which latter there is an
universal craving, being also received in exchange for the necessaries
of life.

Avarice is the ruling passion--the salient point in the character of the
Dankali.  His whole soul is engrossed in amassing wealth, whilst he is
by nature indolent and lazy, and would fain acquire riches without
treading the laborious uphill path towards their attainment.  Miserly in
disposition, there is not an individual of the whole community, from the
Sultan downwards, who would not infinitely prefer the present receipt of
two pieces of silver, to a promissory note for twenty at the expiration
of a week, upon the very best security.  "Trees attain not to their
growth in a single day," remarked Ali Shermarki, after remonstrating
with the grasping ruler on his inordinate love of lucre--"take the tree
as your text, and learn that property is only to be accumulated by slow
degrees."

"True," retorted the old miser--"but, Sheikh, you must have lost sight
of the fact, that my leaves are already withered, and that if I would be
rich I have not a moment to lose."

Volume One, Chapter IX.

FORETASTE OF DANAKIL KNAVERY.

A share of thirty thousand German crowns, the annual profits accruing
from the sale of three thousand human beings kidnapped in the interior,
renders every native of Tajura a man of competent independence.  It is
not, therefore, surprising that the usual rates of transport hire, added
to a knowledge of the exigencies of the Embassy, should have produced in
this avaricious, but indolence-loving race, no particular desire to
bestir themselves.  All are camel-owners to a greater or less extent;
but the presence of so many interested parties tended not a little to
increase the difficulties inseparable from dealings with so listless and
dilatory a set of savages--it being of course requisite to consult the
advantage of all, to which, as might be conjectured, all are most
feelingly alive.  The ashes of ancient feuds were still smoking on the
arrival of the British; and notwithstanding that it was matter of
notoriety that the amount disbursed at the time of departure for Shoa,
would be diminished in the exact ratio of the delay experienced--and
although, to judge from the surface, affairs looked prosperous enough
towards the speedy completion of carriage, there was ever an adverse
under-current setting; and the apathy of the savage feeding upon
listless delays, the party were doomed for a weary fortnight to endure
the merciless heat of the Tajura sun, whose tardy departure was followed
by a close muggy atmosphere, only occasionally alleviated by the
bursting of a thunder-storm over the peak of Jebel Goodah, and to be
perpetually deceived by the falsest promises, without being able to
discover where to lay the blame.  Bribes were lavished, increased hire
acceded to, and camels repeatedly brought into the town; but day after
day found the dupes to Danakil knavery still seated like shipwrecked
mariners upon the shore, gazing in helpless melancholy at endless bales
which strewed the strand, as if washed up by the waves of the fickle
ocean.

During this tedious detention, which, as the sun shone fiercer and the
close nights grew hotter with the rapidly advancing season, waxed daily
more irksome and insupportable, and even threatened to arrest the
journey altogether, the most conflicting accounts were received from
various interested parties, of the actual extent of the Sultan's
jurisdiction, averred by himself to have no limits nearer than the
frontier of Efat.  His revenues were ascertained to be restricted to two
hundred head of oxen, camels, sheep, and goats, paid annually by the
adjacent Danakil tribes, and it was certain that he enjoyed
circumscribed prerogatives, based upon ancient usage; but although
nothing is done or undertaken, without his concurrence duly obtained, he
possesses no discretion to punish disobedience of his will, and is
precluded from acting in the most trivial matter without the consent in
full conclave, of the majority of the chiefs.  Possessing little or no
power over his nominal subjects, he is merely a puppet, looked up to by
the wild tribes as the head of the principal family--infirmity and utter
imbecility of character rendering His Highness at the same time, little
better than a laughing-stock.

Faithless and rapacious, his insatiable avarice induced him to take
every extortionate advantage of the helpless party at his mercy, whilst
his tottering sway debarred him the power of reserving to himself the
exclusive right of pillage.  Private as well as public _kalams_ were
daily held for hours at the sacred threshold of the mosque, during which
new schemes of villainy and plunder were devised; and date leaves were
indolently plaited by a host of apathetic legislators, as the propriety
of permitting the departure inland of the Christian Kafirs was fully
discussed and deliberated over with all the vicious bigotry of the
Moslem zealot.

In order to ascertain how far fraud and impertinence might be carried
with impunity, a deputation of the artful elders beleaguered the
pavilion during the dead of night, to complain, in no measured terms,
that certain of the followers, regardless of orders, had been seen
endeavouring, with beads and trinkets, to betray the virtue of females
who drew water at the well--a tale which proved, on due inquiry
instituted, to be, like other Danakil asseverations, devoid of the
slightest truth or foundation.  Not even a paltry water skin was to be
purchased from a schoolboy under the disbursement of a silver _fuloos_,
value four sterling shillings; and a courier, who had, at three times
the established charge, been furnished on the security of the high and
mighty Sultan, to convey to Ankober a letter advising the King of Shoa
of the advent of the Embassy, was, after being three entire days and
nights in possession of his ill-gotten wealth, discovered to be still
snug within his mat-house, in the bosom of his family.

The letter in question had fixed the day of departure, and had been
written in the most public manner before the assembled chiefs, in order,
if possible, to counteract in some measure the tissue of underplots
hourly developing, and to demonstrate to the Danakil capacity, that,
whether camels were forthcoming or not, the journey would positively be
undertaken; and the nefarious detention of the document, after the
receipt of such exorbitant hire, being perfectly in keeping with the
outrageously unprincipled and underhand treatment experienced from the
first moment of arrival, the Sultan was at last plainly informed that
further shuffling and falsehood would avail him nothing; since, if
carriage were not immediately furnished in accordance with the plausible
agreement concluded, the heavy baggage would be reshipped for Cape Aden,
and the party would advance in defiance of opposition, with ten camels
that had been brought by sea from Zeyla, by the nephews of Sheikh
Shermarki.  Mohammad Ali, too, was now heart and hand in the cause, and
his jealous rival, on receipt of this unpleasant intimation, began
plainly enough to perceive that his guests were in right earnest, and
that the golden opportunity of filling his coffers was passing rapidly
away.

The royal salute, fired alternately from the decks of the brig and the
schooner, each tricked out in all her colours, with gay signal flags in
honour of the natal day of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen,
enveloped the town during forty minutes in a dense white smoke,
accompanied by a most unpleasant smell of gunpowder; and during the
entire day the beach in front of the British encampment wore the
semblance of a disturbed ant-hill.  European and native--master and
servant--the latter from every nation under the sun, Arab, Persian,
Nubian, Armenian, Egyptian, Syrian, Greek, and Portuguese,--all in a
state of most active bustle, were selecting light baggage for the
approaching departure; whilst crowds of oily savages, squatted on their
hams, looked on in smiling apathy at the heaps of valuable commodities
that were tossing about the sands.  Twenty-one British officers
subsequently sate down to dinner in the crimson pavilion, and the health
of Queen Victoria having been given with nine times nine, another salute
bursting from the sides of the vessels of war, shook the frail town to
its foundations, and re-echoed long and loud among the mountain-glens--
flights of rockets ascending at short intervals to illumine the dark
sky.

The deafening din of the 32 pound stern chaser of the "Constance," which
pointed directly towards the royal abode, proved too much for the nerves
of the timid Sultan; and no sooner had the lights been extinguished,
than his spectral figure, which ever shunned the day, glided into the
tent unannounced, and ghostlike, muttered the agreeable intelligence
that His Highness, after consulting the horoscope, and ascertaining
beyond all doubt that the journey would prove propitious--a fact not
previously determined--had come to the resolution, wise though late, of
supplying the desired carriage without further delay, and deputing his
own son as a safeguard through the tribes--services for which the
apparition felt confident of receiving a suitable reward.  The voice of
the chieftains had become unanimous.  At the last of a long succession
of meetings convened for the purpose of taking the affair into full
consideration, Abdool Rahman, the Kazi, in his capacity of lawgiver, had
risen from his seat in the assembly, and ably demonstrated to his
mat-weaving audience, why all animosities and heart-burnings must be
sunk in the general object of making money, and getting rid as
expeditiously as possible of a party of Kafirs, whose guns, unshotted,
threatened the destruction of the mosque of the true believer, and the
total demolition of Tajura.  The Fatheh, being the first chapter of the
holy Koran, was duly read, and the Danakil conclave with one voice
vociferated a loud Ameen, even so let it be!

Volume One, Chapter X.

LONG ADIEU TO THE UNPRINCIPLED SULTAN.

From this eventful epoch each sultry day did indeed bring a numerical
accession to the beasts of burthen collected in the town; but they were
owned of many and self-willed proprietors; were, generally speaking, of
the most feeble description, melancholy contrasts to the gigantic and
herculean dromedary of Egypt and Arabia; and no trifling delay was still
in store through their arrival from distant pastures bare-backed, which
involved the necessity of making up new furniture for the march.  The
Dankali saddle is fortunately a simple contrivance; a mat composed of
plaited date leaves thrown over the hump, supporting four sticks lashed
together in couples, and kept clear of the spinal process by means of
two rollers as pads, having been proved by centuries of experience to be
not more light than efficient.  Accoutrements completed, and camels
ready for the march, other provoking excuses for delay were not wanting,
to fill, even to overflowing, the measure of annoyance.  The demise of a
nephew of the Sultan--the protracted funeral obsequies of the deceased--
and the almost nightly abstraction of one or more hired camels by the
lurking Bedouin, all contributed their mite.  At length however no
further pretext could be devised, and nine loads being actually in
motion towards Ambabo, the first halting ground on the road to the
kingdom of Shoa, the schooner "Constance," getting under weigh, stood up
the bay of Tajura, and cast anchor off the incipient camp, of which the
position was denoted by a tall cluster of palms.

Endless objections being now provokingly raised to the shape, size, and
weight of the boxes to be transported, it next became requisite to
reduce the dimensions of the greater number, in the progress of which
operation it was discovered that the hurry of transhipment at Aden had
resulted in the substitution of several dozens of choice marasquino, for
a similar number of cases, of equal size, freighted with round shot for
the galloper-guns.  The work in hand was one of no ordinary labour and
difficulty; and, after all, its completion proved insufficient to
satisfy the parties.  One blockhead complained that his load was heavier
than his neighbour's, who had wisely risen earlier in the morning to
make his selection; another, that his case, although confessedly light,
was not of convenient size; one was too long, another not long enough, a
third too deep, and a fourth too loosely packed.  From earliest dawn,
until final close of day, on a sandy beach, under a broiling sun, was
this torment continued without intermission, until the 30th of May,
when, by dint of coaxing, menacing, and bribing, every article had been
removed saving an unwieldy hand-organ, at which every camel-owner had
shaken his wig in turn, and a few stand of arms which had been removed
from wooden cases, and repacked in mats and tarpaulins.  A great hulking
savage finally proposed to carry these latter, upon condition of their
being transversely divided with a saw to suit the backs of his wretched
hip-galled camels.  "You are a tall man," quoth Aboo Bekr drolly,
"suppose we shorten you by the legs?"

"No, no," cried the barbarian, "I'm flesh and blood, and shall be
spoiled."

"So will the contents of these cases, you offspring of an ass," retorted
the old pilot, "if you divide them."

The almost insurmountable difficulties thus experienced in obtaining
carriage, but now happily overcome, had so far delayed the advance of
the Embassy, as to oblige it to cross the Tehama during the height of
the fiery and unwholesome blast which, during the months of June and
July, sweeps over that waterless tract from the south-west; and had
moreover rendered it impossible to reach Abyssinia before the setting-in
of the annual heavy rains, when the river Hawash becomes impassable for
weeks together.  Independently of the natural apathy of the camel-owning
population, the fact of the season of all intercourse with the interior,
by Kafilah, having already passed away, rendered every one averse, under
any consideration of gain, to so hazardous a journey.  Grain was to be
carried for the consumption of horses and mules during the passage of
arid regions, where, during the hot season, neither vegetation nor water
exists; and the wells and pools having notoriously failed in every part
of the road, during three consecutive seasons of unusual drought, it was
necessary to entertain a large proportion of transport for a supply of
water sufficient to last both man and beast for two and three days at a
time; whilst, neither grass nor green food remaining near the sea-shore,
the hundred and seventy camels now forming the caravan, had been
individually assembled from various grazing grounds, many miles distant
in the interior.

A sufficient number of water-skins had fortunately been purchased at
exorbitant prices to complete the equipment, together with mules for the
conveyance of the European escort and artillery; and the greedy Sultan,
besides receiving the lion's share of the profits on all, had sold his
own riding beast for three times its worth in solid silver.  But the
forage brought over from Aden being long since consumed, the whole were
fed upon dates, and to the latest moment the greatest difficulty
continued to exist in regard to followers.  The services of neither
Dankali, Bedouin, nor Somauli, were obtainable at whatever wages; and
the whole of the long train of live stock was consequently to be
attended by a few worthless horse-keepers, enlisted at Aden, aided by a
very limited number of volunteers from the shipping, whose indifferent
characters gave ample promise of their subsequent misdeeds.

On the departure of the last load, a general begging commenced on a
grand scale, on the part of all who flattered themselves that they had
in the most remote manner been so fortunate as to render assistance
during the protracted sojourn of the Kafirs.  Many, whose claims were
far from being apparent, after confessing themselves satisfied _in
propriis personis_, modestly urged demands on behalf of their still more
worthless neighbours; and in order to have any chance of passing in
safety to the mountains with so long a line of camels, it was only
prudent to propitiate each and all of this predatory hosts of locusts,
before entering upon their lawless country.

With a feeling of pleasure akin to that experienced by Gil Blas, when he
escaped from the robbers' cave, the party at length bade adieu to
Tajura.  Of all the various classes and denominations of men who inhabit
the terrestrial globe, the half-civilised savages peopling this
sea-port, are perhaps the most thoroughly odious and detestable.  They
have ingeniously contrived to lose every virtue wherewith the rude
tribes to which they pertain, may once have been adorned; and having
acquired nothing in exchange, save the vices of their more refined
neighbours, the scale of abject degradation to which they are now
reduced, can hardly descend lower.  Under this sweeping and very just
condemnation, the impotent Sultan, Mohammad ibn Mohammad, stands
pre-eminently in relief; and the old miser's rapacity continuing unsated
up to the very latest moment, he clutched his long staff betwixt his
skinny fingers, and hobbled forth from his den, resolved to squeeze yet
another hundred dollars as a parting memento from his British victims.
The European escort were in the act of mounting the mules already
harnessed to the galloper-gun, which he had vainly persuaded himself
could never be transported from the coast, since no camel-owner
consented to take it, and repeated attempts that he had witnessed to
yoke a pair of oxen to the limbers had proved unsuccessful, even after
their stubborn noses were pierced.  But mule harness had been ably
manufactured to meet the exigency, and when his lustreless eyes beheld
the party in horse artillery order, firmly seated in their saddles, and
moving along the strand towards Ambabo--forgetting the vile errand upon
which he had come, he involuntarily exclaimed, "In the name of Allah and
the holy Prophet, whither are those fellows going?" "_Raheen el
Habesh_," "to Abyssinia," was the laconic reply that fell upon his
astounded ears as the whips cracked merrily in succession; and His
Highness was long after seen, still leaning on his slender crutch, and
staring in idiotic vacancy after the departing cavalcade, as it
disappeared under a cloud of dust from before his leaden gaze.

Volume One, Chapter XI.

INIQUITOUS PROCEEDINGS AT AMBABO, AND UNDERSTANDING WITH THE RAS EL
KAFILAH.

The tall masts of the schooner of war, raking above the belt of dwarf
jungle that skirts the tortuous coast, served as a beacon to the new
camp, the distance of which from the town of Tajura was less than four
miles.  A narrow footpath wound along the burning sands, across numerous
water-courses from the impending mountain range of trachyte and
porphyry, whose wooded base, thickly clothed with mimosa and _euphorbia
antiquorum_, harboured swine, pigmy antelope, and guinea-fowl in
abundance.  Many large trees, uprooted by the wintry torrent, had been
swept far out to sea, where in derision of the waves that buffet their
dilapidated, stag-horn looking arms, they will long ride safely at
anchor.  The pelican of the wilderness soiled through the tossing surf,
and files of Bedouin damsels, in greasy leathern petticoats, bending
beneath a load of fuel from the adjacent hamlets, traversed the sultry
strand; whilst a long train of wretched children, with streaming
elf-like locks, who had been kidnapped in the unexplored interior,
wended their weary way with a slave caravan, towards the sea-port,
whence they were to be sold into foreign bondage.

An avenue through the trees presently revealed the white tent, occupying
a sequestered nook on the course of a mountain stream near its junction
with the shore.  Here horses and mules were doing their utmost, by
diligently cropping the scanty tufts of sun-burnt grass, to repair their
recent long abstinence from forage, whilst the abbreviated tails of
those which had been improved by mutilation, formed the jest of a group
of grinning savages.  Clumps of lofty fan palms, and date trees loaded
with ripe orange-coloured fruit, still screened from view the village of
Ambabo, the straggling Gothic roofed wigwams composing which have the
same waggon-like appearance as the huts of Tajura,--a similar style of
architecture extending even to the unostentatious mosque, alone
distinguishable from the surrounding edifices, by uncarved minarets of
wood.

Greasy ragamuffins still intruding, here continued their teasing
persecutions, and Mohammad Mohammad, the son, though not the heir to the
throne of the Sultan, having been specially appointed by his
disreputable sire to the important post of reporter and spy,
unceremoniously occupied one of the chairs, to the exclusion of the
lawful proprietor during the entire day.  He however proved useful in so
far that he was versed in the chronicle of Ambabo.  The Nakhuda of one
of his uncle's buggalows having contrived a quarrel with a member of the
tribe Hassoba, one of the manifold subdivisions of the Danakil, the man
threw the gauntlet of defiance by cutting off the prow of the boat.
Meeting shortly afterwards in deadly conflict, the insulted mariner slew
his antagonist on the spot, and took refuge in the hills, until, tired
of long concealment, and believing the affair to be consigned to
oblivion, he ventured to settle with his family at Ambabo, and thus
founded the present village; but after some years of repose, he was
discovered by the relatives of the slain, and, as usual in all blood
feuds, ultimately assassinated.  Occupying a site proverbially
unhealthy, and scourged during the rains by insupportable clouds of
musquitoes, the miserable hamlet is but thinly peopled, and the Sheikh
being on far from amicable terms with the authorities of Tajura, it is
likely soon to be abandoned in favour of some more eligible location.

A red savage, falsely representing himself to be one of the household of
his Christian Majesty of Shoa, arrived during the afternoon from
Ankober, with letters for Aden, and having safely deposited his packet
on board the "Constance," was readily induced to return whence he came,
with the Embassy.  Deeni ibn Hamed, a liar of the first magnitude, but
the only Dankali who had voluntarily attached himself to the fortunes of
the party, conceiving the arrival of this courier to afford an opening
for the exercise of his talents which ought on no account to be
neglected, immediately proceeded to tax his lively ingenuity in
disclosing the contents of a document which he pretended had been
received from Sahela Selassie by the old ruffian from whose clutches his
audience had just thankfully escaped; and the mass of gratuitous
falsehoods that he contrived to string together with an unblushing
front, must be admitted to reflect ample credit upon his fertile
invention.

Lying appeared in fact to be the chosen occupation of this youthful
warrior, who, however, unlike the mass of his compatriots, did possess
some redeeming qualities, though they were by no means so conspicuous as
his scars.  The insuperable aversion to veracity which he evinced on
every occasion, renders it difficult to determine what degree of credit
may be attached to the tragic tale that he was pleased to connect with a
deep gash over the temple, which distorted his vision; and if not
received in a less honourable _rencontre_ than he pretended, affords
another to the ten thousand instances on record of the savage rancour
with which blood feuds are prosecuted.  "My maternal uncle, and a native
of Zeyla," said Deeni, "becoming embroiled, mutually unsheathed their
creeses in mortal strife, fought desperately, and died.  The brother of
the latter sought my life in revenge, as being the nearest of kin; but
after receiving this slash upon my forehead, and another on my arm,
which I shall also carry to the grave, I closed, stabbed the Somauli
villain to the heart with this good creese, and, glory be to God I
divided his windpipe with his own sword."

Profiting by the amiable example of the illustrious ruler of Tajura, the
Sheikh of Ambabo, a most notable extortioner, resolved to put his chum
to a sum of ready money beyond a shadow of doubt, placed a strong
Bedouin guard over the only well; and although he had every reason to be
satisfied with the success of his nefarious schemes, he did not possess
sufficient gratitude to prevent the commission of a robbery during the
night, which might have proved more serious than it did.  Solace under
all misfortunes and annoyances was, however, found in the arrival of
Mohammad Ali on the 31st, with a welcome accession of camels for the
carriage of water, which rendered certain the prospect of departure on
the morrow, it having been distinctly promised by the Sultan, in return
for a handsome pecuniary consideration, that his brother Izhak, who had
been unanimously appointed Ras el Kafilah, his son, his nephew, and
seven other persons of undoubted influence on the road, should be in
readiness without fail, to escort the Embassy on the 1st of June, and
that the reward of their services should be paid, _ad valorem_, upon
safe arrival within the kingdom of Shoa.

Three hours after midnight, the galloper-gun, fired within the limits of
the British camp as a summons to the drowsy camel-drivers to be up and
doing, was echoed, according to previous agreement, by the long stern
chaser of the "Constance,"--a signal to the "Euphrates," still anchored
off Tajura, to thunder a farewell salute as the day dawned.  The work of
loading was merrily commenced--the tent went down--and camel after camel
moved off towards Dullool; when, on the departure of the last string, it
was observed with dismay that the ground was still strewed with baggage,
for which carriage had unquestionably been paid and entertained, but for
which none was forthcoming.  The greasy proprietors were, after some
search, discovered below the bushes, engaged in the operation of jerking
mutton,--a process sufficiently nauseous in itself to repel any close
advance; but persuasion and threats proved alike unavailing.  Some had
already sent their camels to graze at a distance; others insolently
expressed their intention of doing so after the completion of their
interesting work, and by far the greater number would vouchsafe no
explanation whatever.  At length the provoking riddle was solved by the
arrival of a peremptory message from the Sultan, naming the price of the
attendance of his brother with the promised escort, and modestly
requesting that the amount might forthwith be disbursed, or the bargain
must be considered null and void!

In this awkward dilemma, one of the party was immediately despatched to
create a diversion among the Philistines, and to remonstrate against so
gross a breach of good faith; whilst the residue, awaiting his tardy
return, passed the sultry day beneath the mock shelter afforded by a low
date bush, shifting position with the deceitful shadow, which, before
any further tidings were received of the delinquent old Sultan and his
ungovernable myrmidons, was cast full on the eastern side.  At length
the anxiously straining eye was relieved by the appearance of the
messenger on his way back.  After a world of trouble, he had succeeded
in hunting out some of the elders, who, however, would only consent to
accompany him on the payment of every stuiver of the demand made in the
morning, and, quietly possessed of the dollars, they had thought proper
to detain the escort.

Izhak, backed by Ibrahim Shehem, the most renowned warrior in the next
ten tribes, sat as orator on the occasion.  The demeanour of the Ras
bordered closely on the insolent.  A heavy load of impudence could be
detected under his broad pudding face; and his desire to be impertinent
was favoured in no small degree by the presence of heaps of valuable
baggage lying at his mercy upon the ground.  The deputation was received
quite as coldly as their dishonest and most provoking behaviour
demanded; a silence of several minutes affording to each, leisure to
pick out his curly locks, and cool himself a little, the whole having
walked out in the broiling sun, and become considerably excited withal.
Distant inquiries were at length instituted relative to the august
health of the Sultan and the royal family, which were stiffly responded
to after the current Dankali fashion, "Hamdu-lillah," "thanks be unto
God!"

The conference then opened with a bluster concerning the movement of the
Kafilah from Ambabo without the presence, order, or consent of the Ras,
who, after sneering at the attempt as a most unprecedented proceeding,
and indulging in a very gratuitous _tirade_ against Mohammad Ali, whom
he styled in derision "the supplier of water," and was anxious to make
appear the only culprit on the occasion, added, in conclusion, that his
own being "a house of mourning," he had given up his intention of
proceeding to Abyssinia, and had finally resolved to wash his hands of
the business.

He was gravely answered that the caravan had started upon express orders
given in consequence of a distinct understanding and pledge, purchased
the preceding day of the Sultan and himself.  He was reminded that every
hire and remuneration for camels, guides, and escort, exorbitant though
they were, had been paid in full at Tajura; and was distinctly informed
that if the terms of the agreement were not fully complied with, ere the
night fell, the property of the British Government would be left on the
ground, where it then lay, whilst the Embassy proceeded to Dullool, off
which place the "Constance" had already anchored, reshipped all the
baggage that had been sent to the advance camp, and set sail for Aden.

It was further added, that as the consequences of this step would rest
upon the head of those who had entered into an express engagement, upon
receipt of whatever terms they had demanded as the price of their
services, it should be borne in mind that further offensive and
unprincipled demonstrations might terminate in unpleasant results.

As the interpreter proceeded to unfold this high-toned remonstrance,
Izhak was seen to fidget uneasily upon his hams, whilst he sought to
conceal his agitation by tracing figures on the sand; and, as the last
intimation fell upon his ear, seizing his sandal, he relieved his
excited feelings by shovelling a pointed stick through the very centre
of the leather.  But the swaggering air which he had assumed had now
entirely disappeared, and, after a hurried whispering consultation with
his confederates, he declared that he had been toiling day and night in
the service of the English; that he was perfectly ready to perform every
thing required of him, and that, notwithstanding the recent calamity
with which his family had been visited, and the dangerous illness of his
mother, he would escort the Embassy in person, with trustworthy
colleagues; that he would be responsible for all the property left at
Ambabo, and only petition for two days' grace to put his house in order
before repairing to Dullool.  This point being tardily accorded, he rose
with Ali Shermarki, who had ridden in as mediator during the heat of the
conference, and each offering his hand, in earnest of the matter being
finally and amicably concluded in full accordance with the original
stipulations of the covenant, set out on his return to Tajura.

Volume One, Chapter XII.

DULLOOL--THE RAS UNPLEASANTLY REMINDED OF HIS PLEDGE--SAGALLO AND
WARELISSAN.

Izhak's absent camels, which had been kept close at hand pending the
issue of this stormy debate, being now brought in, the ground was
speedily cleared of the remaining baggage; and satisfied with the
specious assurance of the Ras el Kafilah, that he would on no account
tarry beyond nightfall of the following day, the party, relieved from
their anxiety, mounted after five o'clock, and galloped seven miles
along the sea-beach to the camp at Dullool,--the loose sand being so
perforated and undermined in every part by the hermit crab, as to render
the sieve-like road truly treacherous and unpleasant.

The grassy nook occupied by the tent was situated at the abutment of a
spur from the wooded Jebel Goodah, evidently of volcanic origin, which
gradually diminishes in height, until it terminates, one hundred yards
from the shore, in a thick jungle of tamarisk and acacia, the former
covered with salt crystals.  Hornblende, in blocks, was scattered along
the beach, and, wherever decomposed, it yielded fine glittering black
sand, so heated under the noontide sun as to burn the naked foot.  The
movable camp of a horde of roving Bedouin shepherds, who, with very
slender habitations, possess no fixed abode, was erected near the wells;
and a quarrel with the followers, respecting the precious element,
having already led to the drawing of creeses, silver was again in
requisition to allay the impending storm.

The heat on the 2nd of June was almost insupportable; but the sultry day
proved one of greater quiet than had fallen to the lot of the Embassy
since its first landing.  Late in the evening, when a cool sea-breeze
had set in, Ali Shermarki rode into camp, and delivered a letter which
had been slipped into his hand by the Sultan, appealing against the
hardship of being left without remuneration for his diligent services,
praying that his old heart might be made glad, and hoping that all might
meet again ere death should call them--a wish responded to by no single
individual of the British party.

Neither Izhak nor any of his followers made their appearance,
notwithstanding that the redemption of the solemn promise passed was
anxiously watched until midnight.  At gun-fire the next morning,
however, the arrival of the whole being reported, orders were issued to
strike the tent, a measure which was doggedly opposed by the Ras el
Kafilah, whose brow again darkened as he declared his resolution not to
stir from Dullool until three of his camels, which were said to have
strayed, should be recovered; and deaf alike to remonstrance or
entreaty, he finally withdrew to a distance, taking his seat in sullen
mood beneath a tree.

The schooner had meanwhile fished her anchor, and was now getting under
weigh for the purpose of standing up within range of the next halting
ground.  The mules were harnessed to the gun, and the tent and baggage
packed.  Ali Shermarki was deputed to acquaint Izhak with these facts,
and to intimate firmly, that unless the order to load were given without
another moment's delay, minute guns would be fired as a signal to bring
up the brig from Tajura, when the promise made yesterday by the English
would be found more binding than those of the Danakil had hitherto
proved.  This menace had the desired effect, and after three hours of
needless detention, the party commenced its third hot march along the
sea-beach, whence the hills gradually recede.  Bedouin goat-herds
occupied many wells of fresh water, which were denoted by clumps of date
trees entwined by flowering convolvuli, whose matted tendrils fix the
movable sands of the shore; and late in the forenoon the camp was formed
at the pool of Sagallo, only three miles from the former ground, but
affording the last supply of water to be obtained for thirty more.

An extensive and beautiful prospect of the western portion of the Bay of
Tajura had now opened, bound in on all sides by a zone of precipitous
mountains, in which the gate leading into Goobut el Kharab was
distinctly marked by a low black point, extending from the northern
shore.  The schooner's services were volunteered to admit of a nearer
inspection of the "basin of foulness;" but no sooner had she stood out
to sea than signal guns fired from the camp announced the arrival of
another packet from Shoa.  The courier had been forty-four days on the
journey, and the tidings he brought respecting the road, although highly
satisfactory, added yet another instance to the many, of the small
reliance that can be placed on information derived from the Danakil,
who, even when disinterested, can rarely indeed be induced to utter a
word of truth.

The strong party feeling entertained towards Mohammad Ali by the
magnates of Tajura, now vented itself in divers evil-minded and
malicious hints, insinuating the defection of the absentee, who had been
unavoidably detained by business, some hours after the last of the
sea-port heroes had joined.  "Where now is your friend Ali Mohammad?"
"Where is the man who was to supply water on the road?" were the
taunting interrogatories from the mouths of many; but come the son of
Ali Abi did, to the confusion of his slanderers, long ere the sun had
set, bringing secret intelligence that he had sent to engage an escort
from his own tribe; and the whole party being now at last assembled, it
was resolved in full conclave, that as not a drop of water could be
procured for three stages in advance, the entire of the next day should
be devoted to filling up the skins, which done, the caravan should
resume its march by night--a manoeuvre that savoured strongly of a
design to favour the clandestine return to Tajura of certain of the
escort, who had still domestic affairs to settle.

Thus far the conduct of the son of the Rookhba chief had formed a
notable contrast to the proceedings of his backbiters.  Whilst Izhak and
his stubborn partisans had positively declined to move according to
their agreement, unless a further most extravagant and unconscionable
sum were paid in advance for their anticipated services, and had
altogether assumed a bullying tone, coupled with a most impertinent and
overbearing demeanour, this scion of a savage house that holds in its
hands the avenues betwixt Shoa and Tajura, and could at pleasure cut off
communication with the coast, had never applied for aught save a
trifling sum for the present maintenance of his family, and since the
first _eclaircissement_, had, to the best of his ability, striven to
render himself useful and agreeable to the party about to pass through
his country.

A most unprofitable discussion, which was prolonged until eleven the
following night, had for its object to persuade the transmission of
baggage in advance to the Salt Lake, in consequence of the carried
supply of water being, after all, considered insufficient for three
days' consumption.  But the proposal was negatived upon prudent grounds,
the honesty of the intentions by which it had been dictated, seeming at
best, extremely questionable, and no one feeling disposed to trust the
faithless guides further than they could be seen, with property of
value.

Scarcely were the weary eyes of the party closed in sleep, than the long
32-pounder of the "Constance," proclaiming the midnight hour, sounded to
boot and saddle.  The Babel-like clamour of loading was at length
succeeded by a lull of voices, and the rumbling of the galloper wheels
over the loose shingle, was alone heard in the still calm of the night,
above the almost noiseless tread of the cushion-footed camels, which
formed an interminable line.  The road, lit by the full moon, shining
brightly overhead, lay for the first two or three miles along the beach,
and then, crossing numerous water-courses, struck over the southern
shoulder of Jebel Goodah, the distance from whose lofty peak each march
had reduced.

Blocks and boulders varying in size from an 18 pound shot, to that of
Ossa piled upon Pelion, aided by deep chasms, gullies, and waterways,
rendering the ascent one of equal toil and peril, cost the life of a
camel, which fell over a precipice and dislocated the spine; whereupon
the conscientious proprietor, disdaining to take further heed of the
load, abandoned it unscrupulously by the wayside.  Galeylafeo, a
singular and fearful chasm which was navigated in the first twilight,
did not exceed sixty feet in width; its gloomy, perpendicular walls of
columnar lava, towering one hundred and fifty feet overhead, and casting
a deep deceitful shadow over the broken channel, half a mile in extent.
Deeni, in his customary strain of amplification, had represented this
frightful pass to be entered through a trap-door, in order to clear
which it was necessary for a loaded camel to forget its staid demeanour,
and bound from rock to rock like a mountain kid.  The devil and all his
angels were represented to hold midnight orgies in one of the most
dismal of the many dark recesses; and the belief was fully confirmed by
the whooping of a colony of baboons, disturbed by the wheels of the
first piece of ordnance that had ever attempted the bumping passage.

Dawn disclosed the artillery mules in such wretched plight from their
fatiguing night's labour, that it was found necessary to unlimber the
gun, and place it with its carriage on the back of an Eesah camel of
Herculean strength, provided for the contingency by the foresight of
Mohammad Ali; and although little pleased during the imposition of its
novel burthen, the animal, rising without difficulty, moved freely along
at a stately gait.  The same uninteresting volcanic appearance
characterised the entire country to the table-land of Warelissan, a
distance of twelve miles.  Dreary and desolate, without a trace of
vegetation saving a few leafless acacias, there was no object to relieve
the gaze over the whole forbidding expanse.  In this barren unsightly
spot the radiation was early felt from the masses of black cindery rock,
which could not be touched with impunity.  The sand soil of the desert
reflecting the powerful beams of the sun, lent a fearful intensity to
the heat, whilst on every side the dust rose in clouds that at one
moment veiled the caravan from sight, and at the next left heads of
camels tossing in the inflamed atmosphere among the bright spear-blades
of the escort.  But on gaining the highest point, a redeeming prospect
was afforded in an unexpected and most extensive bird's eye view of the
estuary of Tajura, now visible in all its shining glory, from this, its
western boundary.  Stretching away for miles in placid beauty, its
figure was that of a gigantic hour-glass; and far below on its glassy
bosom were displayed the white sails of the friendly little schooner,
as, after safely navigating the dangerous and much-dreaded portals of
Scylla and Charybdis, never previously braved by any craft larger than a
jolly boat--bellying to the breeze, she beat gallantly up to the head of
Goobut el Kharab.

Volume One, Chapter XIII.

GLOOMY PASSAGE OF RAH EESAH, THE DESCENSUS AD INFEROS.

Although Warelissan proved nearly seventeen hundred feet above the level
of the blue water, a suffocating south-westerly wind, which blew
throughout the tedious day, rendered the heat more awfully oppressive
than at any preceding station.  The camp, unsheltered, occupied a naked
tract of table-land, some six miles in circumference, on the shoulder of
Jebel Goodah--its barren surface strewed with shining lava, and bleached
animal bones; sickly acacias of most puny growth, sparingly invested
with sun-burnt leaves, here and there struggling through the fissures,
as if to prove the utter sterility of the soil; whilst total absence of
water, and towering whirlwinds of dust, sand, and pebbles, raised by the
furnace-like puffs that came stealing over the desert landscape,
completed the discomfiture both of man and beast.

During the dead of night, when restless unrefreshing slumbers on the
heated ground had hushed the camp in all its quarters, the elders, in
great consternation, brought a report that the Bedouin war-hawks, who
nestle in the lap of the adjacent wild mountains, were collecting in the
neighbourhood with the design of making a sudden swoop upon the kafilah,
for which reason the European escort must be prepared for battle, and
muskets be discharged forthwith, to intimidate the lurking foe.  They
were informed, in reply, that all slept upon their arms, and were in
readiness; but Mohammad Ali came shortly afterwards to announce that
matters had been amicably adjusted with the aid of a few ells of blue
cloth; and under the care of a double sentry, the party slept on without
further disturbance until two in the morning, prior to which hour, the
moon, now on her wane, had not attained sufficient altitude to render
advance practicable.

The aid of her pale beams was indispensable, in consequence of the
existence of the yawning pass of Rah Eesah, not one hundred yards
distant from the encampment just abandoned, but till now unperceived.
It derives its appellation, as "the road of the Eesahs," from the fact
of this being the path usually chosen by that hostile portion of the
Somauli nation, on the occasions of their frequent forays into the
country of the Danakil, with whom, singularly enough, an outward
understanding subsists.  Its depths have proved the arena of many a
sanguinary contest, and are said, after each downpouring of the heavens,
to become totally impassable, until again cleared of the huge blocks of
stone, the detritus from the scarped cliffs, which so choke the bed of
the chasm, as to impede all progress.  The labour of removing these,
secures certain immunities to the wild pioneers, who levy a toll upon
every passing caravan, and who in this instance were propitiated, on
application, by the division of a bale of blue cotton calico, a
manufacture here esteemed beyond all price.

A deep zig-zagged rent in the plateaux, produced originally by some
grand convulsion of nature, and for ages the channel of escape to the
sea of the gathered waters from Jebel Goodah, winds like a mythological
dragon through the bowels of the earth, upwards of three miles to the
southward.  Masses of basalt of a dark burnt brown colour, are piled
perpendicularly on either side, like the solid walls of the impregnable
fortresses reared by the Cyclops of old; and rising from a very narrow
channel, strewed with blocks of stone, and huge fallen fragments of
rock, tower overhead to the height of five or six hundred feet.  One
perilous path affords barely sufficient width for a camel's tread, and
with a descensus of one foot and a half in every three, leads twisting
away into the gloomy depths below, dedicated to the son of Chaos and
Darkness, and now plunged in total obscurity.

It was a bright and cloudless night, and the scenery, as viewed by the
uncertain moonlight, cast at intervals in the windings of the road upon
the glittering spear-blades of the warriors, was wild and terrific.  The
frowning basaltic cliffs, not three hundred yards from summit to summit,
flung an impenetrable gloom over the greater portion of the frightful
chasm, until, as the moon rose higher in the clear vault of heaven, she
shone full upon huge shadowy masses, and gradually revealed the now dry
bed, which in the rainy season must often-times become a brief but
impetuous torrent.

No sound was heard save the voice of the camel-driver, coaxing his
stumbling beasts to proceed by the most endearing expressions.  In parts
where the passage seemed completely choked, the stepping from stone to
stone, accomplished with infinite difficulty, was followed by a drop
leap, which must have shaken every bone.  The gun was twice shifted to
the back of a spare camel, provided for the purpose; and how the
heavily-laden, the fall of one of which would have obstructed the way to
those that followed, kept their feet, is indeed subject of profound
astonishment.  All did come safely through, however, notwithstanding the
appearance of sundry wild Bedouins, whose weapons and matted locks
gleamed in the moonbeam, as their stealthy figures flitted in thin
tracery from crag to crag.  A dozen resolute spirits might have
successfully opposed the united party; but these hornets of the
mountains, offering no molestation, contented themselves with
reconnoitring the van and rear-guards from heights inaccessible through
their natural asperity, until the twilight warned them to retire to
their dens and hiding places; and ere the sun shone against the summits
of the broken cliffs, the straggling caravan had emerged in safety from
this dark descent to Eblis.

Goobut el Kharab, with the singular sugar-loaf islet of Good Ali,
shortly opened to view for the last time, across black sheets of lava,
hardened in their course to the sea, and already rotten near the water's
edge.  Many years have not elapsed since the Eesah made their latest
foray to the north of the pass, which has since borne their name; and
sweeping off immense booty in cattle, halted on their return at
Eyroladaba, above the head of the bay.  Under cover of the pitchy
darkness, five hundred Danakil warriors, passing silently through the
gloomy defile, fell suddenly in the dead of night upon the marauders,
when, in addition to the multitude slain by the spear and creese,
numbers in the panic created by the surprise, leapt in their flight over
the steep lava cliffs, and perished in the deep waters of the briny
basin.

The schooner, although riding safely at anchor near the western
extremity, was altogether concealed by precipitous walls that towered
above her raking masts, and kept the party in uncertainty of her
arrival.  Crossing the lone valley of Marmoriso, a remnant of volcanic
action, rent and seamed with gaping fissures, the road turned over a
large basaltic cone, which had brought fearful devastation upon the
whole surrounding country, and here one solitary gazelle browsed on
stubble-like vegetation scorched to a uniform brown.  Skirting the base
of a barren range, covered with heaps of lava blocks, and its foot
ornamented with many artificial piles, marking deeds of blood, the lofty
conical peak of Jebel Seearo rose presently to sight, and not long
afterwards the far-famed Lake Assal, surrounded by dancing mirage, was
seen sparkling at its base.

The first glimpse of the strange phenomenon, although curious, was far
from pleasing.  An elliptical basin, seven miles in its transverse axis,
half filled with smooth water of the deepest caerulean blue, and half
with a solid sheet of glittering snow-white salt, the offspring of
evaporation--girded on three sides by huge hot-looking mountains, which
dip their bases into the very bowl, and on the fourth by crude
half-formed rocks of lava, broken and divided by the most unintelligible
chasms,--it presented the appearance of a spoiled, or at least of a very
unfinished piece of work.  Bereft alike of vegetation and of animal
life, the appearance of the wilderness of land and stagnant water, over
which a gloomy silence prevailed, and which seemed a temple for ages
consecrated to drought, desolation, and sterility, is calculated to
depress the spirit of every beholder.  No sound broke on the ear; not a
ripple played upon the water; the molten surface of the lake, like
burnished steel, lay unruffled by a breeze; the fierce sky was without a
cloud, and the angry sun, like a ball of metal at a white heat, rode
triumphant in a full blaze of noontide refulgence, which in sickening
glare was darted back on the straining vision of the fainting wayfarer,
by the hot sulphury mountains that encircled the still, hollow, basin.
A white foam on the shelving shore of the dense water, did contrive for
a brief moment to deceive the eye with an appearance of motion and
fluidity; but the spot, on more attentive observation, ever remained
unchanged--a crystallised efflorescence.

As the tedious road wound on over basalt, basaltic lava, and amygdaloid,
the sun, waxing momentarily more intensely powerful, was reflected with
destructive and stifling fervour from slates of snow-white sea-limestone
borne on their tops.  Still elevated far above the level of the ocean, a
number of fossil shells, of species now extinct, were discovered; a deep
cleft by the wayside, presenting the unequivocal appearance of the lower
crater of a volcano, situated on the high basaltic range above, whence
the lava stream had been disgorged through apertures burst in the rocks,
but which had re-closed after the violence of the eruption had subsided.

Dafari, a wild broken chasm at some distance from the road, usually
contains abundance of rain-water in its rocky pool, but having already
been long drained to the dregs, it offered no temptation to halt.
Another most severe and trying declivity had therefore to be overcome,
ere the long and sultry march was at an end.  It descended by craggy
precipices many hundred feet below the level of the sea, to the small
close sandy plain of Mooya, on the borders of the Lake--a positive
_Jehannam_, where the gallant captain of the "Constance" [Lieutenant
Wilmot Christopher, I N] had already been some hours ensconced under the
leafless branches of one poor scrubby thorn, which afforded the only
screen against the stifling blast of the sirocco, and the merciless rays
of the refulgent orb overhead.

Adyli, a deep mysterious cavern at the further extremity of the plain,
is believed by the credulous to be the shaft leading to a subterranean
gallery which extends to the head of Goobut el Kharab.  Deeni, most
expert and systematic of liars, even went so far as to assert that he
had seen through it the waters of the bay, although he admitted it to be
the abode of "gins and efreets," whose voices are heard throughout the
night, and who carry off the unwary traveller to devour him without
remorse.  The latest instance on record was of one Shehem, who was
compelled by the weariness of his camel to fall behind the caravan, and,
when sought by his comrades, was nowhere to be found, notwithstanding
that his spear and shield had remained untouched.  No tidings of the
missing man having been obtained to the present hour, he is believed by
his disconsolate friends to have furnished a meal to the gins in Adyli;
but it seems not improbable that some better clue to his fate might be
afforded by the Adrusi, an outcast clan of the Debeni, acknowledging no
chief, though recognising in some respects the authority of the Sultan
of Tajura, and who wander over the country for evil, from Sagallo to the
Great Salt Lake.

Foul-mouthed vampires and ghouls were alone wanting to complete the
horrors of this accursed spot, which, from its desolate position, might
have been believed the last stage in the habitable world.  A close
mephitic stench, impeding respiration, arose from the saline exhalations
of the stagnant lake.  A frightful glare from the white salt and
limestone hillocks threatened destruction to the vision; and a sickening
heaviness in the loaded atmosphere, was enhanced rather than alleviated
by the fiery breath of the parching north-westerly wind, which blew
without any intermission during the entire day.  The air was inflamed,
the sky sparkled, and columns of burning sand, which at quick intervals
towered high into the dazzling atmosphere, became so illumined as to
appear like tall pillars of fire.  Crowds of horses, mules, and fetid
camels, tormented to madness by the dire persecutions of the poisonous
gad-fly, flocked recklessly with an instinctive dread of the climate, to
share the only bush; and obstinately disputing with their heels the
slender shelter it afforded, compelled several of the party to seek
refuge in noisome caves formed along the foot of the range by fallen
masses of volcanic rock, which had become heated to a temperature seven
times in excess of a potter's kiln, and fairly baked up the marrow in
the bones.  Verily! it was "an evil place," that lake of salt: it was
"no place of seed, nor of figs, nor yet of vines; no, nor even of
pomegranates; neither was there any water to drink."

Volume One, Chapter XIV.

FEARFUL SUFFERINGS IN THE PANDEMONIUM OF BAHR ASSAL.

In this unventilated and diabolical hollow, dreadful indeed were the
sufferings in store both for man and beast.  Not a drop of fresh water
existed within many miles; and, notwithstanding that every human
precaution had been taken to secure a supply, by means of skins carried
upon camels, the very great extent of most impracticable country to be
traversed, which had unavoidably led to the detention of nearly all,
added to the difficulty of restraining a multitude maddened by the
tortures of burning thirst, rendered the provision quite insufficient;
and during the whole of this appalling day, with the mercury in the
thermometer standing at 126 degrees under the shade of cloaks and
umbrellas--in a suffocating Pandemonium, depressed five hundred and
seventy feet below the ocean, where no zephyr fanned the fevered skin,
and where the glare arising from the sea of white salt was most painful
to the eyes; where the furnace-like vapour exhaled, almost choking
respiration, created an indomitable thirst, and not the smallest shade
or shelter existed, save such as was afforded, in cruel mockery, by the
stunted boughs of the solitary leafless acacia, or, worse still, by
black blocks of heated lava, it was only practicable, during twelve
tedious hours, to supply to each of the party two quarts of the most
mephitic brick-dust-coloured fluid, which the direst necessity could
alone have forced down the parched throat, and which, after all, far
from alleviating thirst, served materially to augment its insupportable
horrors.

It is true that since leaving the shores of India, the party had
gradually been in training towards a disregard of dirty water--a
circumstance of rather fortunate occurrence.  On board a ship of any
description the fluid is seldom very clean, or very plentiful.  At Cape
Aden there was little perceptible difference betwixt the sea-water and
the land water.  At Tajura the beverage obtainable was far from being
improved in quality by the taint of the new skins in which it was
transferred from the only well; and now, in the very heart of the
scorching Tehama, when a copious draught of _aqua pura_ seemed
absolutely indispensable every five minutes, to secure further existence
upon earth, the detestable mixture that was at long intervals most
parsimoniously produced, was the very acme of abomination.  Fresh hides
stripped from the rank he-goat, besmeared inside as well as out with old
tallow and strong bark tan, filled from an impure well at Sagallo,
tossed, tumbled, and shaken during two entire nights on a camel's back,
and brewed during the same number of intervening days under a strong
distilling heat--poured out an amalgamation of pottage of which the
individual ingredients of goat's hair, rancid mutton fat, astringent
bark, and putrid water, were not to be distinguished.  It might be smelt
at the distance of twenty yards, yet all, native and European, were
struggling and quarrelling for a taste of the recipe.  The crest-fallen
mules, who had not moistened their cracked lips during two entire days,
crowding around the bush, thrust their hot noses into the faces of their
masters, in reproachful intimation of their desire to participate in the
filthy but tantalising decoction; and deterred with difficulty from
draining the last dregs, they ran frantically with open mouths to seek
mitigation of their sufferings at the deceptive waters of the briny
lake, which, like those of Goobut el Kharab, were so intensely salt, as
to create smarting of the lips if tasted.

Slowly flapped the leaden wings of Time on that dismal day.  Each weary
hour brought a grievous accession, but no alleviation, to the fearful
torments endured.  The stagnation of the atmosphere continued
undiminished; the pangs of thirst increased, but no water arrived; and
the sun's despotic dominion on the meridian, appeared to know no
termination.  At four o'clock, when the heat was nothing abated,
distressing intelligence was received that one of the seamen, who during
the preceding night had accompanied the captain of the schooner-of-war
from Goobut el Kharab, and had unfortunately lost his way, could nowhere
be found--the gunner, with six men, having long painfully searched the
country side for their lost messmate, but to no purpose; Abroo, the son
of whom old Aboo Bekr was justly proud, and who was indeed the flower of
his tribe, immediately volunteered to go in quest of the missing sailor,
and he subsequently returned with the cheering intelligence that his
efforts had been crowned with success.  Overwhelmed by heat and thirst,
the poor fellow, unable to drag his exhausted limbs further, had crept
for shelter into a fissure of the heated lava, where he had soon sunk
into a state of insensibility.  Water, and the use of a lancet, with
which the young midshipman who heroically accompanied the exploring
party had been provided, restored suspended animation sufficiently to
admit of his patient being conveyed on board the "Constance" alive; but,
alas! he never reached Tajura; neither did one of the brave tars who
sought their lost comrade under the fierce rays of the sun, nor indeed
did any of the adventurous expedition, escape without feeling, in after
severe illness, the unwholesome influence upon the human constitution of
that waste and howling wilderness.

But the longest day must close at last, and the great luminary had at
length run his fiery and tyrannical course.  String after string of
loaded camels, wearied with the passage of the rugged defile of Rah
Eesah, were with infinite difficulty urged down the last steep
declivity, and at long intervals, as the shadows lengthened, made their
tardy appearance upon the desert plain; those carrying water, tents, and
the greater portion of the provisions most required, being nevertheless
still in the rear when the implacable orb went down, shorn of his last
fierce ray.  The drooping spirits of all now rose with the prospect of
speedy departure from so fearful a spot.  The commander of the friendly
schooner, which had proved of such inestimable service, but whose
protecting guns were at length to be withdrawn, shortly set out on his
return to the vessel with the last despatches from the Embassy, after
bidding its members a final farewell; and in order to obtain water, any
further deprivation of which must have involved the dissolution of the
whole party, no less than to escape from the pestilential exhalations of
the desolate lake, which, as well during the night as during the day,
yielded up a blast like that curling from a smith's forge--withering to
the human frame--it was resolved as an unavoidable alternative, to leave
the baggage to its fate, and to the tender mercies of guides and
camel-drivers, pushing forward as expeditiously as possible to
Goongoonteh, a cleft in the mountains that bound the opposite shore,
wherein water was known to be abundant.  Pursuant to this determination,
the European escort, with the servants, followers, horses, and mules,
were held in readiness to march so soon as the moon should rise above
the gloomy lava hills, sufficiently to admit of the path being traced
which leads beyond the accursed precincts of a spot, fitly likened by
the Danakil to the infernal regions.

Dismal, deadly, and forbidding, but deeply interesting in a geological
point of view, its overwhelming and paralysing heat precluded all
possibility of minute examination, and thus researches were of necessity
confined to the general character of the place.  Latitude, longitude,
and level were however accurately determined [These will be found in the
Appendix, Number One], and many were the theories ventured, to account
for so unusual a phenomenon.  Obviously the result of earthquake and
volcanic eruption--a chaos vomited into existence by

"Th' infuriate hill that shoots the pillar'd flame,"

Dame Nature must indeed have been in a most afflicting throe to have
given birth to a progeny so monstrous; and there being no locality to
which the most vivid fancy could assign aught that ever bore the name of
wealth or human population, little doubt can exist that the sea must
have been repelled far from its former boundaries.  The oviform figure
of the bowl, hemmed in on three sides by volcanic mountains, and on the
fourth by sheets of lava, would at the first glance indicate the site of
an extensive crater, whose cone having fallen into a subterranean abyss,
had given rise to the singular appearance witnessed.  But it is a far
more probable hypothesis that the Bahr Assal, now a dead sea, formed at
some very remote period a continuation of the Gulf of Tajura, and was
separated from Goobut el Kharab by a stream of lava six miles in
breadth, subsequently upheaved by subterranean action, and now forming a
barrier, which, from its point of greatest elevation, where the traces
of many craters still exist, gradually slopes eastward towards the deep
waters of the bay, and westward into the basin of the Salt Lake.  Whilst
no soundings are found in the estuary of Tajura, Goobut el Kharab gives
one hundred and fifteen fathoms, or six hundred and ninety feet; and
premising the depression of the lake to have been formerly correspondent
therewith, one hundred and twenty feet may be assumed as its present
depth.  To this it has been reduced by the great annual evaporation that
must take place--an evaporation decreasing every year as the salt
solution becomes more intensely concentrated, and evinced by the saline
incrustation on the surface no less than by a horizontal efflorescence,
in strata, at a considerable height on the face of the circumjacent
rocks.

In the lapse of years, should the present order of things continue
undisturbed from below, the water win probably disappear altogether,
leaving a field of rock salt, which, when covered in by the debris
washed down from the adjacent mountains, will form an extensive depot
for the supply of Danakil generations yet unborn; and the shocks of
earthquakes being still occasionally felt in the neighbourhood, it seems
not improbable--to carry the speculation still further--that Goobut el
Kharab, divided only by a narrow channel from the Bay of Tajura, will,
under subterranean influence, be, in due process of time, converted into
a salt lake, in no material respect dissimilar from the Bahr Assal--
another worthy type of the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Volume One, Chapter XV.

DISMAL NIGHT-MARCH ALONG THE INHOSPITABLE SHORES OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.

Scarcely had the moon dipped her first flickering beam into the
unruffled surface of the oval lake, and lighted the bluff cliffs for
some hours previously shrouded in gloomy obscurity, than a loud war-cry
from the adjacent heights echoed the assembly to arms, and the shrill
blast of the Adaiel conch summoned all to the rescue.  Abandoning his
occupation, each stalwart warrior seized spear and buckler, which had
been laid aside whilst he aided in the task of reloading the camels for
the approaching night-march, and with respondent yells rushed towards
the spot whence the alarm proceeded.  The Europeans, springing from
their broken slumbers on the parched sands, stood to their arms.  A long
interval of silence and suspense succeeded, which was at last relieved
by the return of Mohammad Ali, one of whose beasts had unfortunately
slidden with its burden over a steep precipice, when the water-skins
bursting incontinently, had scattered the filthy but precious contents
over the thirsty soil--an irreparable catastrophe which had occasioned
the call for assistance, believed by all to indicate a hostile gathering
of the wild Bedouin clans.

Of two roads which lead to Goongoonteh from the shores of the dreary
Bahr Assal, one skirts the margin of the lake by a route utterly
destitute of fresh water; whilst the other, although somewhat more
circuitous, conducts over high lava banks stretching some distance
inland to Haliksitan, and past the small well of Hanlefanta, where the
drained pitcher of the fainting wayfarer may be refilled.  On finally
quitting the bivouac under the scraggy boughs of the dwarf acacia, where
the tedious and most trying day had been endured--which each of the
half-stifled party did with an inward prayer that it might never fall to
his lot to seek their treacherous shelter more--a fierce dispute arose
amongst the leaders of the caravan as to which path should be adopted.
"What matters it," urged the intolerant Mohammadan from Shoa, who had
accidentally been found starving at Ambabo, and been since duly fed by
the embassy--"what matters it if all these Christian dogs should happen
to expire of thirst?  Lead the Kafirs by the lower road, or, _Allahu
akbar_, God is most powerful, if the waters of the well prove low, what
is to become of the mules of the Faithful?"

But the breast of the son of Ali Abi fortunately warmed to a more humane
and charitable feeling than the stony heart of the "red man."  With his
hand upon the hilt of his creese, he swore aloud upon the sacred Koran
to take the upper path, and stoutly led the way, in defiance of all,
after Izhak and the ruthless bigots in his train had actually entered
upon a route, which the event proved must have involved the destruction
of all less inured than the savage to the hardships of the waste
wilderness.

'Twas midnight when the thirsty party commenced the steep ascent of the
ridge of volcanic hills which frown above the south-eastern boundary of
the fiery lake.  The searching north-east wind had scarcely diminished
in its parching fierceness, and in hot suffocating gusts swept fitfully
over the broad glittering expanse of water and salt whereon the moon
shone brightly--each deadly puff succeeded by the stillness that
foretells a tropical hurricane--an absolute absence even of the smallest
ruffling of the close atmosphere.  Around, the prospect was wild,
gloomy, and unearthly, beetling basaltic cones and jagged slabs of
shattered larva--the children of some mighty trouble--forming scenery
the most shadowy and extravagant.  A chaos of ruined churches and
cathedrals, _eedgahs_, towers, monuments, and minarets, like the ruins
of a demolished world, appeared to have been confusedly tossed together
by the same volcanic throes, that when the earth was in labour, had
produced the phenomenon below; and they shot their dilapidated spires
into the molten vault of heaven, in a fantastic medley, which, under so
uncertain a light, bewildered and perplexed the heated brain.  The path,
winding along the crest of the ridge, over sheets of broken lava, was
rarely of more than sufficient width to admit of progress in single
file; and the livelong hours, each seeming in itself a century, were
spent in scrambling up the face of steep rugged precipices, where the
moon gleamed upon the bleaching skeleton of some camel that had proved
unequal to the task--thence again to descend at the imminent peril of
life and limb, into yawning chasms and dark abysses, the forbidding
vestiges of bygone volcanic agency.

The horrors of that dismal night set the efforts of description at
defiance.  An unlimited supply of water in prospect, at the distance of
only sixteen miles, had for the brief moment buoyed up the drooping
spirit which tenanted each way-worn frame; and when an exhausted mule
was unable to totter further, his rider contrived manfully to breast the
steep hill on foot.  But owing to the long fasting and privation endured
by all, the limbs of the weaker soon refused the task, and after the
first two miles, they dropped fast in the rear.

Fanned by the fiery blast of the midnight sirocco, the cry for water,
uttered feebly and with difficulty by numbers of parched throats, now
became incessant; and the supply of that precious element brought for
the whole party falling short of one gallon and a half, it was not long
to be answered.  A tiny sip of diluted vinegar for a moment assuaging
the burning thirst which raged in the vitals, and consumed some of the
more down-hearted, again raised their drooping souls; but its effects
were transient, and after struggling a few steps, overwhelmed, they sunk
again, with husky voice declaring their days to be numbered, and their
resolution to rise up no more.  Dogs incontinently expired upon the
road; horses and mules that once lay down, being unable from exhaustion
to rally, were reluctantly abandoned to their fate; whilst the
lion-hearted soldier, who had braved death at the cannon's mouth,
subdued and unmanned by thirst, finally abandoning his resolution, lay
gasping by the wayside, and heedless of the exhortation of his officers,
hailed approaching dissolution with delight, as bringing the termination
of tortures which were not to be endured.

Whilst many of the escort and followers were thus unavoidably left
stretched with open mouths along the road, in a state of utter
insensibility, and apparently yielding up the ghost, others, pressing on
to arrive at water, became bewildered in the intricate mazes of the wide
wilderness, and recovered it with the utmost difficulty.  As another day
dawned, and the round red sun again rose in wrath over the Lake of Salt,
towards the hateful shores of which the tortuous path was fast tending,
the courage of all who had hitherto home up against fatigue and anxiety
began to flag.  A dimness came before the drowsy eyes, giddiness seized
the brain, and the prospect ever held out by the guides, of quenching
thirst immediately in advance, seeming like the tantalising delusions of
a dream, had well nigh lost its magical effect; when, as the spirits of
the most sanguine fainted within them, a wild Bedouin was perceived,
like a delivering angel from above, hurrying forward with a large skin
filled with muddy water.  This most well-timed supply, obtained by
Mohammad Ali from the small pool at Hanlefanta, of which, with the
promised guard of his own tribe, by whom he had been met, he had taken
forcible possession in defiance of the impotent threats of the ruthless
"red man," was sent to the rear.  It admitted of a sufficient quantity
being poured over the face and down the parched throat, to revive every
prostrate and perishing sufferer; and at a late hour, ghastly, haggard,
and exhausted, like men who had escaped from the jaws of death, the
whole had contrived to straggle into a camp, which, but for the
foresight and firmness of the son of Ali Abi, few individuals indeed of
the whole party would have reached alive.

A low range of limestone hillocks, interspersed with strange masses of
coral, and marked by a pillar like that of Lot, encloses the well of
Hanlefanta, where each mule obtained a shield full of water.  From the
glittering shores of the broad lake, the road crosses the saline
incrustation, which extends about two miles to the opposite brink.
Soiled and mossy near the margin, the dull crystallised salt appears to
rest upon an earthy bottom; but it soon becomes lustrous and of a purer
colour, and floating on the surface of the dense water, like a rough
coarse sheet of ice, irregularly cracked, is crusted with a white
yielding efflorescence, resembling snow which has been thawed and
refrozen, but which still, as here, with a crisp sound, receives the
impress of the foot.  A well trodden path extends through the prismatic
colours of the rainbow, by the longitudinal axis of the ellipse, to the
northeastern extremity of the gigantic bowl, whence the purest salt is
obtainable in the vicinity of several cold springs, said to cast up
large pebbles on their jet, through the ethereal blue water.

At some distance from the beach was a caravan of Bedouin salt-diggers,
busily loading their camels for the markets of Aussa and Abyssinia,
where it forms on article of extensive traffic and barter.  Two other
basins of a similar stamp, but inferior extent, which exist at no great
distance to the northward, are styled "Ullool" and "Dus."  The first of
these producing salt of most exquisite lustre, is preferred by the
Mudaito tribes, from whose capital Aussa, it is not more remote than
Doba, as they term the Bahr Assal, the right to frequent which is
asserted as an exclusive privilege by the Danakil, who for centuries
have actually held the monopoly undisputed.  Transferred in bulk in long
narrow mat bags, wrought of the date-leaf, it is exchanged for slaves
and grain, and not only forms, as in other climes, one of the chief
necessaries of life, but possesses a specific value for the rock salt of
the north, which, cut into rectangular blocks, passes as a circulating
medium.

A second low belt of hills, gypsum and anhydrite, succeeded by limestone
overstrewed with basaltic boulders, forms the western bank of the molten
sea, and opens into a mountain ravine.  Taking its source at Allooli,
the highest point of the Gollo range, this torrent strives to disembogue
into the extremity of the lake, although its waters seldom arrive so
far, save during the rainy season.  The high basaltic cliffs that hem in
the pebbly channel, approximating in the upper course as they increase
rapidly in altitude, form a narrow waist, where the first running stream
that had greeted the eye of the pilgrims since leaving the shores of
Asia, trickled onwards, leaving bright limpid pools, surrounded by
brilliant sward.

Bowers, for ever green, enlivened by the melodious warbling of the
feathered creation, and the serene and temperate air of the verdant
meadows of Elysium, were absent from this blessed spot, but it was
entered with feelings allied for the moment to escape from the horrors
of purgatory to the gates of Paradise; and under the shade cast by the
overhanging cliffs, which still warded off the ardent rays of the
ascending sun, it was with thankful hearts that the exhausted party,
after the terrors of such a night, turned their backs upon the deadly
waters of the stagnant lake, to quaff at the delicious rivulet of
Goongoonteh an unlimited quantity of cool though brackish fluid.

Here terminated the dreary passage of the dire Tehama--an iron-bound
waste, which, at this inauspicious season of the year, opposes
difficulties almost overwhelming in the path of the traveller.  Setting
aside the total absence of water and forage throughout a burning tract
of fifty miles--its manifold intricate mountain passes, barely wide
enough to admit the transit of a loaded camel, the bitter animosity of
the wild bloodthirsty tribes by which they are infested, and the uniform
badness of the road, if road it may be termed, everywhere beset with the
huge jagged blocks of lava, and intersected by perilous acclivities and
descents--it is no exaggeration to state, that the stifling sirocco
which sweeps across the unwholesome salt flat during the hotter months
of the year, could not fail, within eight and forty hours, to destroy
the hardiest European adventurer.  Some idea of the temperature of this
terrible region may be derived from the fact of fifty pounds of well
packed spermaceti candles, having, during the short journey from Tajura,
been so completely melted out of the box as to be reduced to a mere
bundle of wicks.  Even the Danakil, who from early boyhood have been
accustomed to traverse the burning lava of the Tehama, never speak of it
but in conjunction with the devouring element, of whose properties it
partakes so liberally, and when alluding to the Lake of Salt, invariably
designate it "Fire."

Volume One, Chapter XVI.

AFFLICTING CATASTROPHE AT GOONGOONTEH.

Goongoonteh, a deep gloomy zig-zagged fissure, of very straitened
dimensions, is hemmed in by craggy lava and basaltic walls, intersected
by dykes of porphyry, augitic greenstone and pistacite, with decomposed
sulphate of iron, all combining to impart a strangely variegated
appearance.  Scattered and inclined in various directions, although
towering almost perpendicularly, they terminate abruptly in a rude pile
of rocks and lulls, through a narrow aperture in which the path to the
next halting ground at Allooli, where the torrent takes its source,
strikes off at an angle of 90 degrees.

Huge prostrate blocks of porphyry and basalt, which have been launched
from the impending scarps, and now reduce the channel to this narrow
passage, are in places so heaped and jammed together by some mighty
agency, as to form spacious and commodious caverns.  In the rainy season
especially, these doubtless prove of wonderful convenience to the
wayfarer; and no tent arriving until late the following day, the
re-assembled party were fain to have recourse to them for shelter
against the fierce hot blast from the Salt Lake, which, unremitting in
its dire persecutions, now blew directly up the ravine.  But the rocks
soon became too hot to be touched with impunity, and the oblique rays of
the sun, after he had passed the meridian, darting through every
aperture, the caves were shortly converted into positive ovens, in which
the heat, if possible, was even more intolerable than ever.  Unlike
former stations, however, there was, in this close unventilated chasm, a
luxurious supply of water to be obtained from the living rill which
murmured past the entrance, and although raised to the temperature of a
thermal spring by the direct influence of the solar rays, and withal
somewhat brackish to the taste, it was far from being pronounced
unpalatable.

Notwithstanding that the neighbourhood afforded neither the smallest
particle of forage nor of fuel, it became necessary, in consequence of
the non-arrival of one half of the camels, no less than from the
exhaustion of many of the party, to halt a day in the hot unhealthy
gully; and this delay afforded to the treacherous creese of the lurking
Bedouin an opportunity of accomplishing that which had only been
threatened by drought and famine.  The guides objecting strongly to the
occupation of the caves after nightfall, on account of the many
marauding parties of Eesah and Mudaito, by whom the wady is infested,
every one, as a measure of precaution, slept in the open air among the
baggage, half a mile lower down the ravine, where the caravan had
halted.  The dry sandy bed of the stream was here narrow, and the
cliffs--broken for a short distance on either side into hillocks of
large distinct boulders--again resumed their consistency after an
interval of one hundred yards, and enclosed the camp in a deep gloom.

The straitened figure of the bivouac rendered it impossible to make
arrangements with much regularity in view to defence.  The horses were
picketted in the centre of the ravine.  The European escort occupied a
position betwixt them and the northern side, and the scanty beds of the
officers of the party were spread close to the southern bank.  A strong
picket of the Danakil was placed a little distance in advance; and, in
addition to the numerous other native guards in various quarters, the
usual precaution was observed of mounting a European sentry, whose beat
extended the length of the front of the encampment.  Old Izhak slept
close to the beds of the embassy, and, evidently in a state of
considerable trepidation, solaced himself until a late hour by
recounting bloody tales of murder and assassination, perpetrated, within
his knowledge, by the mountain _Buddoos_ haunting the ravine of
Goongoonteh, which, being the high road to the Salt Lake, forms the
resort of numerous evil disposed ruffians, who are ever on the prowl to
cut throats, and to do mischief.

The first night, although awfully oppressive from the heat exhaled from
the baked ground, and the absence of even the smallest zephyr, passed
quietly enough; and after another grilling day, which seemed to have no
termination, spent within the caverns, the same nocturnal arrangement as
before was observed with undiminished precaution.  An hour before
midnight a sudden and violent sirocco scoured the wady, the shower of
dust and pebbles raised by its hot blast, being followed by a few heavy
drops of rain, with a calm, still as the sleep of death.  The moon rose
shortly afterwards, and about two o'clock a wild Irish yell, which
startled the whole party from their fitful slumbers, was followed by a
rush of men, and a clatter of hoofs, towards the beds of the Embassy.
Every man sprang instinctively on his feet, seized a gun, of which two
or three lay loaded beside each, and standing on his pillow with weapon
cocked, prepared for the reception of the unseen assailants.  Fortunate
was it that no luckless savage, whether friend or foe, followed in the
disorderly retreat, or consequences the most appalling must inevitably
have ensued; but the white legs of half-naked and unarmed artillerymen
having passed at speed, were followed only by a crush of horses and
mules that had burst from their pickets.  So complete was the panic
caused by a sudden start from deep sleep to witness the realisation of
the murderous tales of midnight assassination which had been poured into
their ears, that the flying soldiery, who in the battle field had seen
comrades fell thick around them, and witnessed death in a thousand
terrific forms, were rallied with difficulty.  But a panic is of short
duration if officers perform their duty, and the word "Halt!" acted like
magic upon the bewildered senses of the survivors, who, falling in,
formed line behind the rifles.

Hurrying to the spot which they had occupied, a melancholy and
distressing sight presented itself.  A sergeant and a corporal lay
weltering in the blood with which their scanty beds were deeply stained,
and both were in the last agonies of death.  One had been struck with a
creese in the carotid artery immediately below the ear, and the other
stabbed through the heart; whilst speechless beside their mangled bodies
was stretched a Portuguese follower, with a frightful gash across the
abdomen, whence the intestines were protruding.  Aroused in all
probability during this act of cold-blooded murder, and attempting to
give the alarm, he had received a fatal slash as the dastards retreated;
but almost instantaneous death had followed each previous blow of the
creese, which, whilst the back of the sentinel was turned, had been
dealt with mortal and unerring precision.

Two human figures being perceived at the moment the alarm was first
raised, crossing the lower gorge of the ravine, and absconding towards
the hills which bounded the further extremity of the camp, were promptly
pursued by Mohammad Ali and his band of followers, who had seized spear
and shield with the utmost alacrity; but although the moon shone bright,
and the stars twinkled in the clear firmament, the broken and stony
nature of the ground facilitated the escape of the miscreants under the
deep shadow cast by the overhanging mountains, where objects could not
be distinguished.

This afflicting catastrophe gave birth in the breast of all to a by no
means unnatural feeling of distrust towards the escort engaged on the
sea-coast, not only as to their ability, but also as to their intention
to afford protection.  The European party had lain down in full and
entire confidence, only to be aroused by the perpetration of this most
diabolical and fiendish deed; and although those who had been so
fortunate as to escape might, now that they had become aware of the
existing peril, defend their own lives, yet such an alternative,
involving the abandonment of all the government property in charge, was
far from being enviable.  Upon after investigation, however, it appeared
probable, as well from the evil character borne by the gloomy ravine, as
from the numberless murders known to be annually committed under similar
circumstances of wanton atrocity amongst the native kafilahs _en route_,
that a party of the Eesah Somauli, inhabitants of the opposite coast of
Goobut el Kharab, but who, to gratify an insatiate thirst for human
blood, are in the habit of making frequent incursions into the country
of the Danakil, had seized the opportunity afforded by the absence of
the sentry at the further extremity of his beat, to steal unperceived
down the inumbrated bank of the hollow, and perpetrate the dastardly and
cold-blooded outrage.

No attempt to plunder appeared as an excuse for the Satanic crime, and
the only object doubtless was the acquisition of that barbarous
estimation and distinction which is only to be arrived at through deeds
of assassination and blood.  For every victim, sleeping or waking, that
falls under the murderous knife of one of these fiends in human form, he
is entitled to display a white ostrich plume in the woolly hair, to wear
on the arm an additional bracelet of copper, and to adorn the hilt of
his reeking creese with yet another stud of silver or pewter--his
reputation for prowess and for bravery rising amongst his clansmen in
proportion to the atrocity of the attendant circumstances.  At perpetual
strife with the Danakil, although the chiefs of the tribes are on
outward terms of friendship, and even of alliance, no opportunity is
lost of retaliating upon the mountain Bedouin--every fresh hostility
creating a new blood feud, and each life taken on either side, being
revenged two-fold, _ad infinitum_.

Ere the day dawned the mangled bodies of the dead, now stiff and stark,
were consigned by their sorrowing comrades to rude but compact
receptacles of boulder stones--untimely tombs constructed by the native
escort, who had voluntarily addressed themselves to the task.  And a
short prayer, suited to the melancholy occasion, having been repeated as
the mortal remains of each gallant fellow, enveloped in a blood-stained
winding sheet, were lowered to their wild resting-place, three volleys
of musketry, paying the soldier's last tribute, rang among the dark
recesses of the ravine, when the hurried obsequies were concluded by
scaling the entrance to the cemeteries, in which, however, it is not
probable that the dastardly sons of Satan--still doubtless watching with
savage satisfaction from some inaccessible cranny--long suffered their
victims to sleep.

In the grave-like calm of the night, under the pale light of the wan
moon, which only partially illumined the funereal crags that hemmed in
the dreary chasm, and rose in gloomy sadness over the vaults of the
departed, the scene was mournful and impressive.  Mohammad Ali, Izhak,
and Hajji Kasim, with all their retainers, appeared deeply touched by
the fatal occurrences that had so thinned the ranks of a party for whose
lives they had made themselves responsible; but they referred the event
to fate and to the Almighty fiat, adding that, although they were unable
to restore the dead to life, or undo that which by the will of Heaven
had been done, their own eyes should never close in sleep so long as
danger was to be apprehended from the dreaded Eesah, whose only honour
and wealth consists in the number of foul butcheries with which their
consciences are stained, and whom even savages concur in representing as
sanguinary and ferocious monsters, "fearing neither God nor Devil."

Volume One, Chapter XVII.

THE STRICKEN FOLLOWER DIES--CAIRNS OF THE MURDERED--ALLOOLI AND BEDI
KURROOF.

It had been intended to march at break of day to Allooli, the source of
Wady Goongoonteh; but the absence of several of the camels, which had
gone astray during the nocturnal confusion, caused delay in this den of
iniquity until ten o'clock.  The altered deportment of the chiefs
meanwhile tended materially to banish from the mind suspicion of
treachery.  Heretofore, with the single exception of Mohammad Ali, all
had been cold, unfriendly, or insulting; but from the moment of the late
catastrophe their manner was visibly changed, and the anxiety evinced
for the safety of the survivors under their charge was unremitting.
They formed a circle round the party whensoever seated, and not a single
white face was for a moment suffered to wander beyond their sight
unattended by a clump of spears.

The wound of the unfortunate Portuguese had been pronounced mortal, and
his dissolution was hourly expected; but life still glimmering in the
socket, he lingered on with fearful groans, although speechless, and too
nearly insensible to be aware of what had passed.  Placed upon a litter,
arranged as comfortably as circumstances would permit, the attempt was
made to convey him to the next ground, but the rough motion of the camel
doubtless hastened the termination of his sufferings; and the wretched
man breathing his last ere he had journeyed many miles from the scene of
his misfortunes, was interred under a date tree by the road-side, in a
grave ready prepared for his reception.

The last rains having washed away an artificial bank of stones which had
formerly facilitated the ascent of the difficult and dangerous passage
leading from Goongoonteh into the Wady Kelloo--as the upper course is
denominated--a delay of two hours was at first starting experienced in
the bed of the torrent, during which all were on the alert.  Two huge
pointed rocks abutting on opposite angles of the acute zig-zag, reduced
it to a traversed waist, so narrow, that room for the load to pass was
only afforded when the long-legged dromedary swung its unwieldy carcass
alternately from side to side--the steepness of the acclivity rendering
it very frequently necessary to perform this inconvenient evolution upon
the knees.  Many became jammed, and were unladen before they could
regain an erect position; whilst others were, with infinite difficulty,
by the united efforts of a dozen drivers, who manned the legs and tail,
saved from being launched with their burthens over the steep side of the
descent, which consisted of a treacherous pile of loose rubbish.

To the surprise of every spectator the train passed through the defile
without any material accident, and thence proceeded to pick their steps
among the rocks, pools, and fissures, which abound in every mountain
torrent whose course is short and precipitous.  Flanked by perpendicular
sheets of basalt and porphyry, of unwholesome sulphury appearance,
beneath which many deep pools of cool water had collected, the tortuous
road was at intervals enlivened by clumps of the _doom_ palm, environed
by patches of refreshing green turf--sights from which the eye had long
been estranged.  Nine miles of gradual ascent brought the caravan safely
to the encamping ground at the head of the stream--a swamp surrounded by
waving palms and verdant rushes, occupying high table-land, and
affording abundance of green forage to the famished cattle.  Most
fortunately the sky had proved cloudy, or the march, performed during
the hottest hours of the day, would indeed have been terrific.

Hence to Sagallo, the dismal country is in the exclusive occupation of a
wandering race of the Danakil, who, notwithstanding that the Sultan of
Tajura claims the sovereignty of the entire waste, only acknowledge his
impotent authority during their occasional temporary sojourn among the
huts of that sea-port.  The guides asserted, with many imprecations,
that from time immemorial few kafilahs had ever halted at Allooli
without losing one or more of its members by the Adrusi creeses, or by
those of the Eesah; and on the bank opposite to the shady clump of
_doom_ palms, under whose canopy the residue of the day was passed,
numerous cairns, consisting of circular piles of stone, similar to those
left at Goongoonteh to commemorate the outrage of the preceding night,
stood memorials of the dark deeds that had been perpetrated.

During about three years the road from Abyssinia to the sea-coast was
completely closed by hordes of these ruffian outcasts, who continued
their murderous depredations on every passer-by, until Loheita, the
present Akil of the Debeni, a young, daring, and warlike chieftain,
succeeding to the rule on the demise of his father, routed the banditti
after a severe struggle, and re-opened the route.  The Wady Kelloo is,
however, still permanently infested by parties of wild Bedouins, who
skulk about the rocky passes: lie in wait for stragglers from the
caravan: assassinate all who fall into their ruthless clutches: and,
when time permits, further gratify their savage propensities, by
mangling and mutilating the corpse.

"See how the cowardly scoundrels marked me," exclaimed the fiery old
warrior Ibrahim Shehem Abli, drawing aside his checked kilt, and
displaying sundry frightful seams, which had doubtless been the work of
a sharp knife.  "Behold these tokens of Eesah steel upon my thigh; I
received them in this wild wady; but, by Allah, I had a life for every
one of them.  We have a blood feud now, and it behoves all who are not
weary of the world, to look well to their own throats."

Lurking bandits excepted, who prowl about like the midnight wolf, the
Adaiel tribes, although sufficiently barbarous and quarrelsome by
nature, are fortunately in a great measure restrained from deeds of
ferocity by the certain consequences of spilling blood.  None are
anxious to involve their family or tribe in a mortal feud, nor would any
warrior, incurring the almost inevitable consequences of a two-fold
retribution, find support from his clansmen, unless sufficient cause
could be shown; and thus, even in the most lawless states of society,
are checks imposed by absolute necessity, which prove almost as powerful
as the more civilised legal restraint upon the human passions.

Although Allooli was represented to be even more perilous than
Goongoonteh, it possessed, in point of locality, immense superiority;
and every advantage that could be devised, was taken of its capabilities
for defence.  The baggage, formed in a compact circle on an open naked
plain, was surrounded by a line of camels, and the mules and horses were
placed in the centre next to the beds of the party.  Guards and
sentinels patrolled under an officer of the watch; and at the
solicitation of the Ras el Kafilah, who was exceedingly anxious to avoid
the inconvenient consequences of a blood feud, a musket was discharged
every hour at the relief of sentries, in order to intimate to the
evil-minded that all within the breastwork were not asleep.

Notwithstanding the presence, in the immediate neighbourhood, for
several days previously, of a large band of Eesah, the hot night passed
without any alarm.  The non-arrival, until long after daybreak, of the
camels lost at Goongoonteh, added to the length of the next march,
obliging the abandonment of the intention entertained, to speed beyond
the pale of this site of assassination, the party halted on the 10th.
Allooli stands two hundred and twenty-eight feet above the sea, and
although intensely hot, and its waters saline, it proved a paradise when
compared with every preceding station.  Here animal life was once more
abundant.  A horde of pastoral savages, who from time to time appeared
on the adjacent heights, were made acquainted with the effect of rifle
bullets, by the slaughter from the tent door of sundry gazelles that
visited the swamp; and the venison afforded a most seasonable accession
to the empty larder, which was further replenished from the trees
overhead, whose fan-like leaves gave shelter to a beautiful variety of
the wood pigeon.

Shortly after midnight the march was resumed by the moon's light over a
succession of small barren terraces, confined by conical and rounded
hills.  In the lone valley of Henraddee Dowar, which opens into the wide
level plain of Gurguddee, there stood by the wayside a vast pile of
loose stones, half concealed among the tall jaundice-looking flowers of
the senna plant.  Towards this spot ensued a general race on the part of
escort and camel-drivers, who each added a pebble whilst repeating the
Arabic auguration, "_Nauzu billahi mina Shaytani r rajim_."--"Let us
flee for refuge to God from Satan the stoned."  A tragic legend was
attached to the cairn, which, from the dimensions attained, must have
dated from a remote epoch.  A hoary old man, accused in days long gone
of incestuous intercourse with his own daughter, was arraigned before a
tribunal of his assembled tribe, and, being fully convicted, was on this
spot stoned to death, together with his fair partner in guilt.
Throughout Syria and Palestine it is to this day the practice of all who
pass the mounds raised over those who die in crime, and whose memory it
is intended to dishonour, thus to contribute a stone, as well with a
view to perpetuate the monument, as to shield themselves from evil by
manifesting the detestation entertained of the infamy commemorated.

Gurguddee, eight miles in length, and stretching on either hand to the
far horizon, is bounded by steep mountain ranges, whence an alluvial
deposit washed down by the rains, presented over the whole of the level
plain a surface of cracked and hardened mud, like that of a
recently-dried morass.  From the southern side, where the clayey tract
is thickly clothed with stunted tamarisk and _spartium_, a road strikes
up the valley in a north-westerly direction to the Mudaito town of
Aussa, distant some three days' journey for a caravan.  As the day
dawned, the steeple necks of a troop of ostriches were perceived nodding
in the landscape, as the gigantic birds kicked the dust behind their
heavy heels; and a herd of graceful gazelles were seen scouring towards
a belt of stony hillocks which skirted the dry pebbly bed of a river,
that expends its waters on the sun-dried plain.  Ascending this stream,
in which were a few stagnant pools of bitter unpalatable water, a human
figure was detected skulking behind some thick green tamarisks by which
they were overshadowed.  But on being perseveringly hunted down by
Mohammad Ali and his wild myrmidons, the prisoner proved to be a Debeni
in quest of truant camels--his attempt at concealment having, according
to his own account, arisen from the appearance of so many mounted
cavaliers, whom he had mistaken for a foraging party of the Eesah, and
was naturally desirous of eluding.

The caravan halted early at Bedi Kurroof, after a march of sixteen
miles, and the camp was formed on a stony eminence of basalt and lava,
affording neither tree nor shade.  A day of fierce heat succeeded.
There was no forage for the cattle; the water was of the most brackish
description; and the spot being of old infested by Bedouins, the party
passed a restless and watchful night.

A legend of blood too was attached to this wild bivouac, as to most
others on the road, and thus it was related.  One of the young men of a
Danakil caravan returning from Abyssinia, fatigued by the hot journey,
lay down to rest his weary limbs beneath the shadow of a rock, near
which the tent of the Embassy now stood.  It was yet broad daylight, but
a band of lurking Eesah presently pounced upon the wayfarer, like the
eagle on its prey, and, ere he could resume his weapons, had stabbed him
to the heart.  The dying groans of the murdered man being heard by his
comrades, a number of warriors started in hot pursuit of the flying
assassins, and after a severe chase, succeeded in capturing the whole
gang.  Two were immediately speared to death upon the principle of two
drops of blood for one; and the remaining miscreants, four in number,
having been stripped of their clothes and arms, were kicked forth out of
the place.

"The Eesah of these lulls," continued the narrator of this tale, as, by
the light of the blazing watch-fire, he fashioned a rude wooden bolster
for the preservation of his greasy peruke during approaching slumbers,
"are perfect _Shaytans_.  Outcasts from their tribe, bands of ten or
more here wander up and down like wild beasts, cutting the throats of
all they meet, whether infidels or true believers--not for the sake of
gain or plunder, but purely to gratify an innate propensity to murder.
The monsters train for these blood forays upon raw flesh and marrow,
and, well anointed with sheep's-tail fat, can travel day and night,
during the hottest season, without suffering from fatigue.  _Allahu
akbar_! but they are devils incarnate!"

"Who has seen the Eesah, who has heard the Eesah?" wildly challenged
Mohammad ibn Izhak, starting upon his feet, and clashing his now
finished bolster against his buckler, as he concluded this harangue.
"Who has seen the Eesah, who has heard the Eesah?" shouted a dozen
voices in various quarters of the extended camp.  "Uncover your shields,
uncover your shields!  Count well their spears, that not a man of them
escape!"

"We have not seen them, we have not heard them," responded the patroles
on duty.  "No Eesah are here.  Sleep on in peace!"

Volume One, Chapter XVIII.

TERRITORIES OF THE DANAKIL DEBENI--SUGGADERA, MURRAH, DUDDEE, AND
GOBAAD.

Some hours before dawn on the 12th, the kafilah was again loaded and in
motion across a low belt of stony eminences which gradually descend to
the Kori Wady, a long water-course, varying in width from two to four
hundred yards.  Threading the moist channel of this stream, where the
foot often absolutely left an impression on the sand, and passing the
watering pool of Leile, the road ascended a deep valley to the halting
ground at Suggadera, in the country of the Danakil Debeni.  The entire
borders were flanked by dwarf palms and drooping tamarisk, bounded by
low hills with cliffs of conglomerate and sandstone, which disclosed
dykes of porphyry at an acute angle.  Flocks of goats, diligently
browsing on the fat pods which fall at this season from the acacia, were
tended by ancient Bedouin crones in greasy leathern petticoats, who
plaited mats of the split date-leaf; whilst groups of men, women, and
children, lining the eminences at every turn, watched the progress of
the stranger party.

A pastoral race, and subsisting chiefly upon the fermented juice of the
palm, and upon the milk derived from numerous flocks of sheep and goats,
or from a few breeding camels, the Debeni, a division of the Danakil,
are during certain months of the year engaged in the transportation of
salt from the deadly Bahr Assal to the Mudaito town of Aussa, where it
is bartered for grain.  Architecture affords no term applicable to a
structure of any kind inferior to a hut or hovel, or it might with
propriety be applied to the base jumble of rough stone and shavings of
the date stalk, tenanted by these nomade savages, who are divided into
clans, and have no fixed habitations.  Nevertheless there was something
cheering in the aspect even of these frail edifices, the first human
tenement which had greeted the eye since leaving the sea-coast, now
ninety miles distant.  Bare, desolate, and fiery, the entire intervening
tract, although infested by the lurking robber and the midnight
assassin, may be pronounced in all its sultry parts, utterly unfitted
for the location of man.

Water of rather an improved description was obtained at Suggadera, under
basaltic rock, stained green by carbonate of copper.  But not a particle
of forage was to be had; and the heat, reflected from a pebbly hill
beneath which the tent was erected, brought the mercury in the
thermometer to 118 degrees, during the greater portion of the day; and
the evil appearance of the place, surrounded by gloomy hills cast into
the deepest shadow, led to the maintenance of a vigilant watch during
the dark night.

Although disturbed at the early hour of 2 a.m., and denied further
repose save on the bare ground, the loss of a camel, which was not
recovered until late, so far retarded advance, that only four miles were
achieved on the 13th.  The road continued to wind with a gentle ascent
along the bed of the Wady Kori, the hills gradually diminishing in
apparent height until they merged into the elevated plain of Murrah,
which exhibited pebbles of pink quartz, with a few scanty tufts of
sweet-scented grass, yellow and withered.  Here, at the distance of two
miles from a puddle of dirty rain-water, in defiance of the impotent Ras
el Kafilah, the camel-drivers, who studiously avoid trees and the
vicinity of a pool, resolved to halt, as being a place after their own
hearts.

In the dry water-course just left, the chirruping of some solitary
hermit bird, and the bursting bud of a certain dwarf shrub which clothed
the borders, agreeably reminded the traveller of more favoured climes.
But most completely was the illusion dispelled by the forbidding aspect
of the sultry plain of Murrah.  Monotonous fields strewn with black
boulders, glaring in the sun, distressed the gaze wheresoever it was
turned--each cindery mass seeming as though it had been showered down
during a violent eruption of some neighbouring volcano; although, on
nearer inspection, it proved to be the time-worn fragment of an
extensive lava sheet.  The bare stony plain was decorated with numerous
cairns, marking deeds of treachery and blood; and at the distance of
twenty miles rose a lofty range of hot table-land, behind which the
Abyssinian river Hawash is lost in the great lake at Aussa.

The presence at the watering-place of a host of wild Bedouins, whose
appearance was far from prepossessing, again induced the cautious elders
to anticipate an attack; and the camp occupying a very unfavourable
position for warlike operations, no little difficulty was experienced in
making defensive dispositions.  A gloomy black hill threw its
impenetrable shadow immediately in front; and on the flank, a pile of
half-ruined sheepfolds, constructed of blocks of lava, afforded
extensive concealment.  The night however passed away without any alarm,
and the intense heat of the day giving place to a somewhat cooler
atmosphere, admitted of sleep by turns in some comfort--parties of the
Danakil escort contriving by chanting their wild war-chorus, to keep
their heavy eyes longer open than usual.

An hour after midnight the loading commenced, and the steep rocky hill
having been surmounted by a path strewed with loose stones, a terrace of
slow ascent, presenting the same dreary appearance of rocks and lava
boulders, continued during the residue of the moon's reign.  At break of
day, however, the aspect of the country began rapidly to improve.
Gaining the higher and more salubrious level of Gulamo, the bare sterile
land, strewed with black blocks of lava which tore the feet with their
jagged edges, was fast giving place to sandy plains covered with dry
yellow grass--a most welcome prospect for the exhausted cattle.
Heretofore, saving in the wadys, no tree had been seen except small
stunted leafless acacias, few and far between, and scarcely deserving of
the name.  Several small ravines were now choked with continuous groves,
and a mountain stream termed Chekaito, which rises in the country of the
Eesah, and in the rainy season disembogues into the lake at Aussa, was
thickly clothed on both sides with green belts of tamarisk, wild caper,
and other wood, overhung with creeping parasites, and affording food and
shelter to birds.  The pensile nests of the long-tailed loxia depended
from the boughs; and whilst the stems, covered with drift to the height
of fifteen feet, gave evidence of a headlong course during the rains,
water, even at this season, was here and there to be obtained.

Heaps of loose stones thrown carelessly together, mark in almost every
direction the spot where the victim lies who has been cut off by some
cold-blooded miscreant--melancholy monuments connected each with a tale
of assassination.  But on the banks of the Chekaito many acres of ground
are covered with stones of memorial, such as were raised over Absalom,
and over Achan the king of Ai, each surrounded by a circular cordon
which bears the stamp of high antiquity, and has evidently witnessed the
passage of ages.  These sepulchres are said to cover the bones of the
heroes who fell in a battle fought on the spot at the period that the
country was first wrested from the shepherds.  "Hai," the designation of
the spot itself, is applied also to the entire surrounding district,
which is stated to have been formerly peopled by the Gittereza, a
gigantic pastoral race, who, under the chief Sango, were at enmity with
all the surrounding tribes, but are now extinct.

After five times crossing the serpentine bed to the point of junction
with the Sagulli, where ostriches cropped the grass around numerous
deserted sheep-pens, the caravan finally halted at Duddee, no great
distance from Ramudele.  For days together the pilgrimage had led across
dreary and desolate wastes, and through sterile ravines where no verdure
relieved the eye, no melody broke upon the ear, and so few living
creatures were to be seen, that the unwonted appearance of a solitary
butterfly which had become bewildered in the desert, was duly hailed as
an event.  The general character is that of a stern wilderness, parched
by the intolerable heat of a vertical sun blazing in fierce refulgence
over the naked landscape, of which the chief varieties consist in
immense plains of dry cracked mud, or in barren rocks towering towards
an unclouded and burning sky.  The utter sterility of the soil is rather
marked than alleviated by occasional sickly plants of most puny growth,
and by the scanty verdure of the few valleys wherein water is to be
found, generally in a state of stagnation.  But at Duddee, forage and
fuel were abundant.  The water obtained by digging in the channel of the
stream was no longer brackish.  The heat, although the thermometer rose
to 110 degrees, was infinitely more endurable than it had hitherto
proved; and the insatiable thirst by which all had been incessantly
tormented on the lower ground, had well nigh disappeared.

A march of twelve miles over a succession of grassy plains, untenanted
by man or beast, but presenting the first cone of the termites that had
been seen, brought the party on the 15th to the enclosed valley of
Gobaad, a thousand and fifty-seven feet above the ocean.  Volcanic
ashes, jasper, chalcedony, and quartz, strewed the sandy route, low
volcanic ridges, of comparatively recent formation, intersecting the
landscape from west to east.  The encamping ground, among heaps of hard
gravel, near which water was good and plentiful, had only two years
previously formed the scene of the discomfiture of the Ras el Kafilah
and his party, who had been plundered of all they possessed by two
hundred and fifty mounted Eesah.  The recollection of the disaster being
green in his memory, he had, before leaving Duddee, donned his folio
Koran, in the place of a duodecimo edition which previously graced his
shoulder.  This was a not-to-be-mistaken sign of "_khouf fee_" [i.e.
There is danger to be apprehended] and with a terror-stricken face he
now came to intimate, that the presence of a band of these lawless
ruffians in the opposite hills, together with a gathering of the Mudaito
at the neighbouring pools of Sabala and Dagateli, leaving no sort of
doubt upon his mind of a meditated attack during the night, it behoved
every man to be more than usually on the alert.

The equanimity of the brother of the Sultan of Tajura was somewhat
disturbed at the assurance in reply to this exhortation, that the
Danakil camel-owners were the thieves most to be dreaded, their dirty
and dishonest fingers being unhesitatingly thrust into the bags of rice
and dates, whensoever opportunity proved favourable; and that the hired
escort, whose business it was to prevent this malappropriation of the
property of the Embassy, far from assisting to keep watch, left the duty
to be performed by the Europeans, and invariably went to sleep on their
posts.

"Not one of them shall close his eyes to-night, at all events," grumbled
the Ras.  "I shall myself superintend the business, and see to the
safety of the camp; for, by the life of the Prophet, this is an evil
spot!"

As the red sun went down there was certainly a considerable display of
erect spears; but their number gradually diminished as the night closed
in; and when the ten o'clock sentry was relieved, Izhak was snoring
aloud, according to his wont, whilst each doughty warrior lay fast
asleep, with his greasy head upon his shield, and his broad lance in the
precise position that it assumed, when it fell from the relaxed grasp of
the slumberer.

Volume One, Chapter XIX.

INTERVIEW WITH THE OGRE.

Loheita ibn Ibrahim, Makobunto, Akil, or chief of the Debeni and a
section of the Eesah, asserting supremacy over Gobaad, as a portion of
his princely dominions, which extend from the Great Salt Lake to
Ramudele, a messenger had, immediately upon the arrival of the caravan,
been despatched to his encampment in the neighbourhood, to invite the
hero to the tent; and the peaceful night passed, having inspired the
leader of the alarmist party with new confidence, the non-arrival of the
expected visitor was made an excuse for halting the following day.

Attended by a numerous and disreputable retinue, dragging as a gift an
obstinate old he-goat, the potent savage, whose exploit of clearing the
high road of the restless marauders, who long obstructed the passage of
kafilahs, has already been noticed in terms of commendation, sauntered
carelessly in during the early hours of the forenoon.  Not one whit
better clad than the ragged and greasy ruffians in his train, he was yet
distinguished by weapons of a superior order--the shaft of his spear,
which resembled a weaver's beam, being mounted below the broad
glittering blade with rings of brass and copper, whilst the hilt and
scabbard of a truly formidable creese were embellished in like
ostentatious fashion.  The wearer's aristocratic air, and look of wild
determination, were well in unison with the reputation he had acquired
as a warrior chief.  Long raven locks floated like eagle's feathers over
a bony and stalwart frame.  A pair of large sinewy arms, terminated in
fingers tipped with nails akin to bird's claws, and the general form and
figure of the puissant Makobunto, brought forcibly to mind the Ogre in
the nursery tale, who breakfasted on nought save the flesh of tender
innocents, and was cut short in his career of cannibalism by Jack the
Giant-killer.  A mighty man of valour, and presiding over a numerous
clan of fierce and savage warriors, he is feared and respected by all
the country round, and seemed to be right well aware of his consequence
upon the road.

For some reason of his own, which he did not think proper to divulge,
the audience was deferred until dusk, when the warrior stalked
consequentially into the tent, and deposited himself between the arms of
a chair placed for his reception, with as much dignity and
self-possession as if he had never in his life been seated upon the
ground.  Although his covering was restricted to a very dirty cotton
cloth, he wrapped himself in the impenetrable mantle of silence, and,
comprehending no Arabic, gave ear to all the compliments that were
translated for his edification into the Dankali tongue, with the most
perfect indifference and mental abstraction; until, having swallowed a
sufficiency of hot coffee, and stuffed his nostrils with a becoming
modicum of Regent's mixture, he deigned to lay aside a portion of his
reserve, and in slow, measured language, vouchsafed a brief detail of
the energetic measures that had been adopted at his behest, towards the
recovery of certain horses sent by his ally, the King of Shoa, to Her
Britannic Majesty, and which had, by some unfortunate chance, been
stolen in their transit through Gobaad: adding, that he would impart to
the Embassy the boon of his protection, and in earnest thereof might
probably condescend the favour of his countenance a few stages in
advance.

Izhak with his compeers sate in gloomy silence during the entire
conference, evidently annoyed at the good understanding that subsisted
betwixt his rival Mohammad Ali, and the illustrious guest.  The presents
designed for the propitiation of the Ogre having been duly transferred,
were eagerly clutched and hastily conveyed beneath his buckler, or below
the ample folds of his greasy garb, as being far too choice for the
prying eyes of attendants; and after sitting another half hour in
taciturn dignity, the prince of savages rose deliberately from his
chair, and, loaded with broad-cloth and trinkets, walked away as he had
come, without condescending to pay attention to, or say a parting
syllable to any one.

The extraordinary hour chosen for this curious audience, had obviously
been dictated by a desire to conceal from the covetous gaze of the wild
spirits around him, the tribute which he had reasonably calculated upon
receiving from the British pilgrims, on the occasion of their transit
through his territories; for, in truth, it must be confessed that the
social state of these savages does not by any means betray that
primitive simplicity so lauded and extolled by Rousseau.  Rude
barbarians they are, saturated with Moslem intolerance as with mutton
fat; and although they tend their flocks in the parched valley after the
most approved Arcadian fashion, yet the persons of even the boldest
chiefs are not always secure: and however poets may have embroidered the
subject with the flowers of their fancy, there is not to be found one
individual of the whole community, who would hesitate to cut a throat
for the sake of the last remaining button on a waistcoat.

Betwixt savage and civilised existence there yawns a wide gulf.  The
savage man and the civilised man, although descended from a common
parent, can scarcely be said to belong to the same stock of humanity,
and he who has been pronounced the only true man, the lordly lord of the
wilderness, might here more appropriately be designated a devil
incarnate.  An interesting trait in the children of nature was witnessed
on the occasion of the slaughter of the rank buck goat presented to the
Embassy by Loheita ibn Ibrahim.  No sooner had the razor-like creese
been drawn across the throat, with the concomitant ejaculation,
"_Bismillahi rahmani rahim_,"--"in the name of God, the compassionate,
the merciful,"--than a savage threw himself upon the expiring animal;
and having, vampire-like, quaffed as much of the hot flowing blood as he
could obtain, besmeared his greasy features with the residue, and wiped
them on the still quivering carcass.  No tiger could have acted in more
ferocious guise, or displayed a greater relish for the tide of life.

This had been a day of feasting and carousal; for both Izhak and the son
of the Rookhba chief had likewise received sheep, and the slaughter of
each had been followed by a general tussle for the possession of the
caul.  For the purpose of larding the head this is a prize infinitely
preferred even to the tail, which appendage in the Adel sheep is so
copiously furnished, that the animal is said to be capable of subsisting
an entire year upon the absorption of its own fat, without tasting
water.  It was truly delightful to witness the process of greasing the
poll at the hands of the Danakil barber.  The fat having been melted
down in a wooden bowl, the operator, removing his quid, and placing it
in a secure position behind the left ear, proceeded to suck up copious
mouthfuls of the liquid, which were then sputtered over the frizzled wig
of a comrade, who, with mantle drawn before his eyes to exclude stray
portions of tallow, remained squatted on his haunches, the very picture
of patience.  The bowl exhausted, the operator carefully collects the
suet that has so creamed around his chaps as to render him inarticulate;
and having duly smeared the same over the filthy garment of him to whom
it in equity belongs, proceeds, with a skewer, to put the last finishing
touch to his work, which, as the lard congealed, has gradually assumed
the desired aspect of a fine full-blown cauliflower.

The Dankali who has prevailed over his foe, adorns his cranium with a
perfect frost of tallow, dons a leopard-skin decorated with monkey tails
three times in excess of the highest bashaw in the Ottoman empire, and
tricks himself out with feathers in all the variety of savage fancy, the
lobe of his ear being pierced for the reception of pewter rings, which
denote the number of his victories achieved.  Many warriors thus
distinguished had strolled in during the day; for there had been an
onslaught upon the Eesah, who, among other recent atrocities, had only
the preceding week ripped up six pregnant Debeni females.  The same
wearisome string of enquiries on the part of each member of the kafilah,
were responded to in the same cold monotonous drawl, and then bandied
back by the new arrival--apathy and indifference pervading the features
of both parties throughout the endless mechanical repetitions of
"_Wogerri_?" and "_Wogerri maani_?"

To Gobaad, from the shores of Lake Abhibbab, which is formed by the
waters drained from Abyssinia, it is said to be one easy day's journey
for the pedestrian.  Amongst other Mudaito visitors from its borders,
there came one of the Galeyla, an outcast from his clan, who bore
amongst his fellows the reputation of being a _veritable_ cannibal.
This villain became at once the cynosure of every eye, and stood
confessed the vilest of the vile.  A coil of putrid entrails which
encircled his neck had been distended with mutton fat into the figure of
monstrous sausages; and the shaggy mane of a filthy hyena, that he had
destroyed and devoured the preceding day, being twined in a becoming
wreath around his dark brow, mingled wildly with his dishevelled locks.
Under the gaze of so great a crowd, his calm repose was calculated to
elicit the highest admiration; and fully sensible of his own merit, the
man-eater endured the scrutiny of the curious populace with an air of
conscious dignity, which was scarcely disturbed when the temerity of the
more juvenile spectators called imperatively for the interference of his
heavy mace.

It is difficult to comprehend the motives which may have induced this
worthy to venture thus rashly among his bitterest foes; but the nature
of the terms occasionally subsisting between the Mudaito and the Danakil
are not more singularly anomalous than those that bind the Danakil and
the Eesah, over a portion of which latter Loheita ibn Ibrahim exercises
nominal supremacy.  Making common cause, and assisting each other
against the Mudaito, international hostilities are nevertheless almost
unceasing; and mutual interest, added to the aversion entertained to the
perpetuation of blood feuds, affords perhaps the only substantial
argument for their temporary cessation.

Of three chieftains who take the title of Ougass, and whose authority is
in some sort acknowledged by the Eesah, the principal is Ougass Robiley,
who resides with the Gidderboosi, south of Zeyla.  Hoossain ibn Fara,
the next in order, is related by marriage to the Makobunto of the
Debeni, and asserts influence from the Reahmoosa tribe of Somauli,
bordering on Goobut el Kharab, to Kore Koragureet, within thirty miles
of Zeyla, where commences the country of the Hebrowal--thence south to
the limits of the Galla territory, and north-west to Killulloo.  Here it
is bounded by Errur, the residence of the old sheikh of the Woema, and
by the independent Mohammadan principality of Hurrur, whose Ameer
annually confers upon each Eesah chief a conical skull cap and turban,
in recognition of his alliance.

Not a cloud blotted the sparkling vault overhead, which now blazed out
in a perfect galaxy of light, engirdled by the luminous zone of the
milky way.  Attention was early directed to its beauties by the shower
of meteors that in rapid succession shot through the innumerable host of
heaven, and temporarily eclipsed their brilliancy.  The night was
already somewhat advanced when Loheita sent to demand a private audience
upon two points of vital importance; and Mohammad Ali being the agent
employed, no time was lost in arranging the desired interview.  "My
beard is troublesome," whispered the Ogre in a most mysterious tone,
after he had been some minutes seated in silence; "my tough beard is not
readily trimmed with a creese, and a razor would therefore have been
desirable."  A first-rate Savigny was immediately placed within his
grasp.  "And, secondly," he continued, trying the keen edge upon the
largest of his formidable talons, "my sister, who is far advanced in her
pregnancy, has lately rejected food--mutton, beef, every thing in fact
has been offered, and equally loathed.  Now I am desirous of trying
whether she might not fancy a bag of dates."

Volume One, Chapter XX.

SHOWING HOW THE OGRE ACQUITTED HIMSELF AT GOOTABELLA.

Many and tragic were the tales narrated of the prowess of the Ogre when
the hot blood of youth boiled in his warrior veins.  The first feat of
his early days, ascribed to the year of the great comet, is still green
in every recollection; and as it was recounted by Ibrahim Shehem, so was
it vouched for by those of the Danakil braves, who during the recital
crowded around the watch-fire at Gobaad.

The grey-bearded elders had sate for many nights in deep consultation,
and the chicken-hearted of the Debeni had exhausted all the usual
epithets upon the countless number of the foe, and the consequences of
rash and fool-hardy adventure, when the youthful chief raised his manly
form in the circle, and his brawny proportions seemed to dilate into
colossal stature in the dimness of the evening mist.

"Listen to my words," he exclaimed, "for they are the sentiments of my
heart.  Children of Loheita, hearken to the voice of your leader!  Has
the spirit of the foul hare entered into the breast of the warrior?  Is
the shield no longer to clash, nor the broad spear to glitter in the
valley of Gobaad?  Are the Debeni tamely to suffer their wives and their
daughters to be carried into captivity, their flocks and their herds to
be swept off, their wells to be taken possession of, and their very name
made the scorn and the laughing-stock of the dastardly Mudaito, without
one struggle to prevent it?  Dust be upon my head if the brave sons of
the desert should thus root themselves in a quiet spot, like the
withered and dying acacia, without a single thorn to avenge an insult!
Rouse ye, my children, for in the name of the most holy Prophet I will
even dare the danger of the war; and ignominy sully the fame of him who
shall suffer his chief to mingle singly in the strife."

Reseating his sinewy form upon the rock, Loheita covered his face in the
folds of his garment, and in anxious silence awaited the result of this
appeal.  But the chord of feeling had been struck by a master hand.  A
low murmur of voices was quickly followed by the deep hum of approbation
accompanying the confused clatter of the bucklers, and the elders,
rising simultaneously, proclaimed, "It is the voice and the will of the
Most High.  Even so let it be!"  The erect spears sank with one accord
to the ground, and the stern "Ameen" of the assembled tribe, rolled
ominously amongst the surrounding cliffs.

For some days after this harangue, the Debeni maintained a peaceable
demeanour: but it was now the still, treacherous calm which precedes the
hurricane.  The Galeyla Mudaito, who had already possessed themselves of
all the choicest grazing grounds in the neighbourhood, and completely
closed the caravan route from Abyssinia to the sea-coast, meanwhile
continued their depredations with impunity; one subdivision of the tribe
settling in the small valley of Gootabella, where they erected permanent
habitations, and boasted of their unmolested vicinity to the graves of
the ancestors of Loheita.

The Galeyla subdivision of the great nation of Mudaito had rendered
itself more particularly obnoxious by its aggressions.  Many were the
young men of Gobaad who had fallen under their sharp knives.  Scornful
taunts were ever rife upon the tips of their insulting tongues; and few
indeed of the huts in the valley had not at some period sent forth the
voice of wailing and lamentation for captive maids or for harried
flocks.  But the day of dire retribution was fast speeding on.  The wane
of the moon was the appointed signal of rendezvous to the heretofore
slothful tribe; and as the darkness of the unlit night shrouded the
valley and the hill, all those members of the clan whose spirit had not
been utterly quelled by the frequent disasters experienced at the hand
of the sanguinary invader, mustered around their youthful chief.

Silently, like the descending wreath of snow, the files of warriors
poured in from every quarter of his extensive though distracted domain.
The nation had responded to the call of its leader; and the wrinkled
brow, and the full oily cheek: the thin sinewy shank of the veteran, and
the graceful form of the untried but aspiring stripling, were soon
mingled together.  The sun set upon a busy scene in the lone valley of
Gobaad.  Two thousand savages, enjoying the rude feast that had been
amply provided for their wants, were engaged in close whispering
consultation on the coming strife; and wrought to a pitch of frenzy by
the spirit-stirring words of their warlike chief, no less than by the
exhortations of his wily emissaries, who ever and anon mixed with the
carousing groups, to feed their panting passions against the hereditary
foe, each warrior firmly clenched his teeth in dread determination,
whilst he whetted his sharp weapon to the keenest edge upon the nearest
stone.

As the fire blazed brightly upon shield, and spear, and stalwart frame,
Loheita moved forth in front of his enclosure, buckled for the fray.
His active form was fully revealed by the fitful flame; and a dark smile
played for the moment over his stern visage, as his followers, rising
with one accord, unsheathed their murderous creeses, and, bursting into
a loud murmur of applause, swore by the Sacred volume that the steel
should that night reek in the hot blood of the accursed Mudaito.

Placing himself at the head of his animated retainers, the chief now led
the advancing van, and the tramp of the eager savage fell light over the
steep mountain and the boundless plain.  Deep darkness was esteemed of
small account by these children of the desert, who, like the course of
the falling thunderbolt, held on their progress in the true direction.
Starting as the dense phalanx advanced, the timid gazelle scoured in
terror over the valley, and the prowling lion yielded the path to men
who were now in a mood not less desperate than his own.

The last rocky defile gained, a deep impenetrable gloom pervaded the
scene.  The very stars were hid under a partial mist, and naught gave
token of the habitation or the presence of man, save at intervals the
disturbed bleat of captive Debeni flocks.  "They were ours once,"
scornfully muttered the chief betwixt his closed teeth, "and Wullah! if
there be faith in the sharp steel of a true believer, they shall this
night return to their pastures."

"All know the valley of Gootabella," observed the narrator, "closely
hemmed in on three sides by towering cliffs, over one perpendicular rock
at the neck of which, the river Chekaito, leaping, extends its sandy bed
throughout the entire centre, so that ten resolute spirits might defend
the only outlet against countless legions.  None save the sons of asses
would have pitched their tents in that spot; but the Galeyla were
overweeningly conceited and vain of their exploits, and held in utter
contempt the dispossessed proprietors of the soil, whom they had
hitherto so easily despoiled."

No timely note of alarm announced the approach of danger; and the
noiseless step of the foe gliding unheard round the devoted hamlet, it
was encompassed on every side.  Infuriate warriors in appalling silence
beleaguered the narrow aperture of each matted wigwam.  The recollection
of captive and murdered relatives, of burning huts and harried flocks,
entered deep into the stern soul of each grim assailant; and as the edge
of the naked creese was passed cautiously along the finger, a prayer was
breathed on high to the throne of the Eternal Avenger.

The unsuspecting inmates of every abode were hushed in deep repose.  The
spear lay entangled in the folds of the scattered garments, the shield
had been cast idly in the corner, and the warrior, surrounded by his
wives and little ones, was wrapped in peaceful rest, such as he was wont
to enjoy when lulled by the gentle murmur of the breaking waves of the
Bahr el Shub, in his own far distant land.

The suffocating fumes of smoke soon stole upon the sense of the drowsy
slumberers; the crackling of flames aroused all abruptly from their
dreams of security, and the lurid glare that enveloped the blazing
hamlet caused each affrighted inmate to rush to the door, where the
crooked steel, driven by the hand of desperate revenge, was sheathed in
many a bare bosom.

Sudden, electric, and complete was the surprise, and vain were the
efforts of the unarmed warrior.  Loheita raged through the scene like
the demon of the angry element, and each follower ruthlessly strove to
emulate his example.  A dozen spear-blades transfixed the body of every
fugitive.  Two thousand of the foe fell during the murderous onslaught;
and in that fearful night all ancient injuries were well washed out in
the warm blood of the Mudaito.

The pent-up wrath of the savage, like the checked waters of an impetuous
mountain torrent, bursting all bounds, careered along without restraint.
Mockery and insult were bandied back to the frantic screams of the
women, as their tender babes were barbarously pitched into the hissing
flame; and the red sun rose above the beetling crags to witness a
frightful scene of carnage and desolation.

Flocks and herds had burst from their folds, and betaken themselves to
the wilderness.  Scorched and mangled bodies thickly strewed the ground,
or lay half consumed among the smouldering embers of the pile.  The
groans of the dying mingled with the bitter wailing of captive females
bereft of husband and offspring; and the chief surrounded by his
exulting host sat in grim triumph beside the dense column of smoke,
which with an eddying flame ascended high into the vault of heaven from
the black and burning monument to Debeni vengeance.

A deep fissure in the bowels of the hill had given refuge to a
determined few who had sought safety within its rocky sides: but the
keen eye was not long in discovering the track of the fugitives; and the
insatiate chieftain, speeding upon the trail, tore from the aperture the
thorns and overhanging shrubs, and dashed into the cave with spear and
buckler.  The only resistance made during the foray was in this last
stronghold; and Loheita received a deep wound on the breast, the scar of
which will be borne to his grave.  Desperation nerved the limbs of the
surviving Galeyla, who, well knowing that no quarter would be granted,
sullenly fought on with the few weapons they had snatched up in their
hurried flight; but all died in the unequal strife upon the spot where
they had taken their last stand.

Crowned with brilliant success, the return of the dauntless young chief
from his first expedition was swelled by troops of captive maids and by
the pillaged herds of years.  But the triumph had been achieved with no
trifling loss to his clan.  The bodies of thirteen braves, borne by
their comrades upon green branches of the palm, closed the order of
march, and the war-chorus pealed wildly among the rocks as the
victorious host poured back through the valley of Gobaad.

A burst of savage acclamation, which rose shrill and high in the
noontide heat from the assembled population, was succeeded by a solemn
pause as the dread tidings were imparted to the relatives of the fallen.
A path was cleared through the now hushed and silent phalanx, whilst
muffled females, beating their bare breasts, passed towards the biers
between the open ranks.  The boldest and the bravest had been untimely
cut off; and their widows, throwing themselves upon the lifeless bodies,
indulged for a season in the most piercing shrieks and extravagant
grief.  But the deep loud chaunt of the elders, "It is the decree of the
Most High," drowned the hysterical sobs of the bereaved; and the host
again moved on in boisterous mirth to indulge, after the successful
foray, according to the bent of their inclinations, and prepare for a
series of achievements, which have since cleared the surrounding plains.

To this day none but the boldest dare, after nightfall, to enter the
valley of skulls.  The moans of the Galeyla warriors who fell in the
affray are heard amidst the funereal sighing of the wind; the plaintive
song of the Bedouin maid still chronicles the event; and long will be
remembered in the red house of Mudaito the night of the massacre of
Gootabella.

Volume One, Chapter XXI.

SANKUL, AND SUGGAGEDAN.  DAWAYLAKA AND AMADOO IN THE LIMITS OF THE
GALEYLA MUDAITO.

Ascending by an extremely bad road the broken range to the southward,
which commands a fine prospect over the valley of Gobaad, the kafilah
reached Sankul on the 17th.  It forms the focus of several small dales
converging from the table-land, and shut in from all breeze by the
surrounding steep black cliffs of basalt, passing into hornblende.  A
small cave near the encamping ground was occupied by a colony of
industrious bees, and at the only well, flocks of the diminutive
black-faced Berbera sheep were drinking from a trough formed of an
ox-hide stretched between four stakes, to which the water was
transferred in gourds by greasy Bedouin shepherdesses.  The evening was
passed in perpetual wrangling with these matrons during the operation of
filling up the water-skins; and sad presage was afforded of a coming day
of drought, which the exhausted and sinking cattle of the caravan were
hourly waxing less able to endure.

The next march led over the high table-land of Hood Ali, a stony level
thickly studded with dry grass, and extending in one monotonous plateau
far as the eye could reach.  The fetid carrion-flower here presented its
globular purple blossoms among the crevices, and a singular medicinal
plant, termed Lab-lubba, was detected by the keen eye of a savage who
had before evinced a latent taste for botanical studies.  The usual
encamping ground at Arabdera was found to be pre-occupied by a nomade
tribe of Bedouin goat-herds, who monopolised the scanty water.
Descending the range, therefore, the bluff brow of which commanded an
extensive prospect over the wide level valley of Dullool, the kafilah
halted at Suggagedan.  This arid spot in the strand-like waste was
covered with masses of lava and with blocks of basalt from the adjacent
hills.  It was parched by a burning atmosphere, and afforded no water
whatever--calamities which resulted in the abandonment of a horse and
two of the mules that were no longer able to bear up against thirst and
fatigue; whilst many others now dragged their weary limbs with
difficulty, and seemed but too well disposed to follow the example.

Dullool is one thousand two hundred and twenty-eight feet above the
level of the sea--a perfect flat, covered with alluvial deposit, and
studded with extensive tracts of coarse dry grass in tufts, among which,
as the almost interminable string of camels crossed the following
morning, both ostriches and gazelles were descried.  It is bounded by a
bold mountain range, and the further extremity of the plain, towards the
foot of Jebel Marie, is perfectly bare, stretching away to the westward,
in one uninterrupted sheet of hard compact mud, which imparts the aspect
of the Runn of Cutch.  A herd of wild asses, precisely similar to those
found on the Indian salt desert, materially enhanced the resemblance;
and the sun, which had now attained considerable altitude, casting his
rays in a full blaze over the naked plain, called up the dancing mirage
that was alone wanting to complete the picture.

On this level expanse, which terminates in a _cul-de-sac_, shut in by
high basaltic walls, inaccessible either to man or beast, the Adaiel
affect to ride down the wild ass, upon lean mules forsooth, and to rip
up the quarry with their creeses.  There had been much vain-glorious
talking upon this head, but it ended, like every Danakil boast, in
nothing.  The hawk-eye of the Ogre detected an out-lying mare among the
ravines at the foot of the range, and he dashed off the road with such
lightning speed, that the animal narrowly escaped being hemmed into a
corner; but once on the broad desert, and she tossed her arched neck,
kicked up her wanton heels, and laughed at the absurd efforts of her
impotent pursuers.

Loose stones again strewed the approach to the Marie range, which is of
trap formation, of a slaty texture, stained with red iron oxide, and
intersected by veins of iron clay.  A breach in the hills, here about a
thousand or twelve hundred feet high, formed a steep sloping ridge of
lava rocks, containing quantities of carbonate of lime, disposed in
rhomboids and hexagonal sheets.  In this nook, surrounded by a thick
jungle of acacia, were sundry basins filled with clear water, to which
the solar rays had not penetrated.  They afforded most refreshing
draughts; and the skins having been replenished, the encampment was
formed at Dawaylaka, a full mile beyond.  Marie is not a word of either
Arabic or Dankali derivation; whence it seems not improbable that this
bold range of hills may in days of yore have been named by some wanderer
from the West.

A fine fresh morning succeeded to a very sultry night, passed upon the
hard hot stones; and at break of day, the cattle having been taken to
the pools, where, at so early an hour, they would drink but little, the
skins were again replenished, and the caravan pursued its march to
Oomergooloof, which can boast of no water at any season.  Of two roads,
the lower, but more level, was adopted, in consequence of the exhaustion
of the beasts of burthen.  It led across a dry desert plain of six
miles, over which the delusion of mirage was complete.  Covering the
valley far as the eye could reach, to the foot of the hills which rise
abruptly on all sides, it imparted the appearance of an extensive bay,
shut in by projecting headlands--a still calm lake, so unmoved by the
wind that every cliff was most distinctly reflected on the mirror of its
glassy bosom.

Approaching from a higher level, a ripple played upon the surface of the
visionary water; and the vapour being too subtle to screen
irregularities of the ground, the aqueous expanse soon became gradually
disunited, until it ultimately vanished altogether.  The scene, cool and
pleasant whilst it endured, formed a striking contrast to the baked
alluvial desert under foot, destitute of even a vestige of vegetation,
but over which was wafted a zephyr as unlooked-for as refreshing.
Thrown in a particular way, and on certain atoms, rays of light produce
illusions to the vision which are often embodied after the likeness of
objects most deeply dwelling in the imagination.  Thus it was that the
character of the headlands of Dullool, square and perpendicular,
together with an islet riding like a ship at her cable in the centre of
the molten basin, aided the striking similarity of names in the
respective neighbourhoods, to bring vividly before the eyes of all, the
apparition of the bay of Goobut el Kharab.

Immediately opposite to Oomergooloof is a projecting spur from Jebel
Oobnoo, a lofty range visible to the westward; and this divides the
plain into two valleys, whereof the southern-most is denominated Wady
Arfa.  The Marie range here towers overhead, steep and precipitous, to
the height of about nine hundred feet; stupendous masses of rock which
have been detached from the summit, and strew the entire base,
corroborating the assertion of the Danakil that earthquakes are
frequently felt in the vicinity.  Nomade tribes with their families and
flocks, having settled at the wells which exist at a distance, had
compelled the gentler portion of the Libyan creation to resort to
regions more blest with water; and not even a desert-loving gazelle was
espied during the march of twelve miles.

Ibrahim Shehem Abli had long viewed with the eye of bigoted disapproval,
the attentions paid by one of the Mohammadan followers to two canine
companions of the party, pets that had survived the passage of the fiery
Tehama, but whose feet had become so lacerated by the hot lava boulders
as to incapacitate them from walking.  Quilp--for so the offending
Moslem was styled from his striking resemblance to that notable
character--was in the act of extricating his wire-haired charge from the
panniers wherein they travelled, when the irascible little warrior
approached, and, drawing his trenchant blade, swore with a dreadful
anathema to exterminate him on the spot.  "Dog, and father of dogs," he
exclaimed, seizing the dismayed mortal by the throat, "beware how thou
again defilest thy fingers with those accursed curs, or by the beard of
the Prophet I will sever thy gullet as one who has brought foul
discredit upon the faith."  Then relaxing his grasp, and sheathing his
creese with a horizontal flourish, he threw himself into the attitude of
a slaughtered victim, and closed the significant lecture by mimicry of
the gurgle heard in a divided windpipe, whence the tide of life is
welling.

Several herds of cattle pertaining to the Issehiraba Mudaito, grazed in
the neighbourhood; and these were said to derive their supply of water
from pools formed by a cluster of hot sulphureous springs at the further
extremity of the plain, which, with a loud noise, rise bubbling from the
earth at a boiling temperature.  Possessing marvellous medicinal
properties, they are believed to be a panacea for every malady: but the
tribe not being on terms with the Danakil, these thermal wells could not
be visited, neither could water be obtained either for man or beast.  A
few Mudaito females, with their children, strolled into the camp to sell
sheep, and stare at the Feringees; but the Ras el Kafilah would scarcely
permit them to be spoken to, and was in a nervous fidget until they
departed.  Avowing that these greasy dames had come for no other purpose
than to spy out the nakedness of the land, and that the creeses of their
liege lords would prove troublesome during the night, he strictly
interdicted all wandering beyond camp limits, and insisted upon the
discharge of several volleys of musketry in addition to the cartridge
expended at guard-mounting, and at every relief of sentries.

The sky having become gradually overcast towards evening, a deluge,
equally to be desired and dreaded, was deemed close at hand, but the
threatening appearance passed off with the hot blast of the Shimal,
accompanied by a cloud of dust, and followed by a close oppressive
night.  Skirting the Marie range to a tract thickly strewed with rounded
masses of lava and basalt, the detritus from the adjacent hills, the
road now wound over a volcanic ridge which divides the valley of Dullool
from that of Amadoo, running exactly parallel to it.  In this latter the
caravan halted on the 21st, about a mile from a large pool of
rain-water, occupying a rocky nook formed by huge blocks of basalt.  The
stagnant green fluid was far more palatable than it looked, although
troubled by a legion of homed cattle, asses, goats, and sheep, the
property of the Galeyla Mudaito, who were encamped in great force in the
neighbourhood, and looked what they are said to be--most desperate
villains.

Altogether it was a bustling scene.  Herdsmen shouted in every direction
to their kine, whose sinister glances and lowered heads proclaimed their
dislike of the white intruders; flocks of Somauli sheep, with
incommodiously overgrown tails, swam about like otters to cool their
heated skins; numbers of Bedouin damsels, after laving their own greasy
persons, replenished their dirty water-skins; and one wrinkled old hag,
in direct breach of the Moslem prejudice against "man's friend," was
absolutely detected in the act of cleansing the rough coat of her own
pet-dog.

This pastoral scene of savage life, where the peaceful occupation of the
shepherd contrasted strangely with the presence of spear and buckler,
was about mid-day exchanged for the tent.  A crowd of listless, tattooed
savages, bearing very indifferent characters for honesty, soon swaggered
in to see what they could pick up, and presently waxed so passing
insolent that it was deemed prudent to intimidate them by a display of
rifle-practice.  Emboldened by numbers, they had begun to question old
Izhak regarding his right to conduct strangers through the country
without the permission, first duly obtained, of the "lords of the soil;"
but seeing the stones fly about in splinters at two hundred and fifty
yards they were not long in decamping, and gave no further annoyance.
The Galeyla tribe of Mudaito, which still boasts of the most expert and
notorious thieves in the country, is, as might be conjectured, on no
very amicable terms with the Danakil; and the very severe chastisement
it received at the hands of Loheita ibn Ibrahim sufficiently accounted
for the sudden desertion of the unattended Ogre, who donned his
seven-league boots, and strode back to his castle from Dawaylaka, after
he had pledged himself to accompany the party to the borders of the
territory occupied by Mohammad Ali's clan.

From Amadoo, Aussa was represented to be only one day's journey for a
swift mule, and two for a caravan of laden camels, the road branching
off across Wady Arfa, and over the Jebel Oobnoo range, by which the
extensive valley is bounded.  At this point, moreover, had ceased the
pretended influence of Mohammad ibn Mohammad, Sultan of Tajura, the
utter futility of propitiating whom had long been sufficiently apparent.
Although in the eyes of the uninitiated it was no difficult matter to
invest this avaricious imbecile with supreme authority over a fiery
desolate tract, in most parts obviously unfitted for human location, his
own immediate retainers did not now conceal that Mirsa Dukhan, and the
Gollo mountains near the Salt Lake, bound even his nominal jurisdiction.
He is in fact Sultan of the sultry strand whereon his frail tenement is
erected; for the few lawless wanderers beyond, over whom he would assert
supremacy, are universally thieves and murderers, who disdain all fixed
abode, disclaim all mortal control, and acknowledge their own unbridled
inclinations as their only master.

Volume One, Chapter XXII.

RED HOUSE OF MUDAITO--CHRONICLE OF THE CONQUEST OF AUSSA.

Distinguished like the houses of York and Lancaster by their respective
colours, "the white house" of Debenik-Woema, composed of various Adaiel
clans, who in time of need rally under one standard, is banded against
the Assa-himera, "the red house" of the Mudaito, with the same bitter
feud and animosity which spread desolation through the fair domains of
England, and poured out the best blood of her heroic sons.  Well would
it be for the cause of humanity were these savage combatants animated
also with the same noble and chivalrous feelings which in days of yore
reigned paramount in the breast of the British knight, and met together
only in the open field of honourable contest.  But the case is widely
different indeed; and under whatever circumstances the hated and
hereditary foe may here be discovered, the unarmed bosom of the lone,
sleeping, or unsuspecting wanderer, rarely fails to prove a sheath for
the murderous knife of the assassin.

Aussa, formerly an important town, was, less than a century ago, the
capital and principal seat of the united tribes of Mudaito, who extend
thence to Ras Billool, and are represented to be countless as the hairs
of a Danakil head.  Regarded as the seat of wisdom and learning, and
governed in the latter days of its strength by Yoosuf Ali ibn Ajdahis, a
brave and martial sultan, whose armoury boasted of many matchlocks, and
of several small pieces of cannon, it long flourished in powerful
independence--a bright spot of beauty in a waste of barrenness.  But the
sun of its prosperity at length set; and the predatory hostilities long
exercised towards the various united tribes of Adaiel, leading to a
general invasion on the part of the Ado-himera, the prince was slain,
the stronghold of the "red house" sacked, and its garrison put to the
sword: nor in these degenerate days is this once important place more
than an extensive encampment, whereat is held a perpetual fair,
frequented by all the tribes of Danakil, Eesah, Somauli, and Mudaito.

The site of Aussa, a wide-stretching valley, described to be from eight
to ten days' journey across for a caravan, is hemmed in by lofty
mountains, and fertilised in all its extended quarters by the Lakes
Guraaid, Abhibbab, Hilloo, and Dugod--the first situated a little to the
eastward of the town, and the last by far the largest of the four.
These vast stagnant basins in the plain receive the Abyssinian waters of
the Hawash and its tributaries, in addition to the contributions of all
the streams from Jebel Oobnoo and other collateral ranges--the abundance
of fluid thus lost upon volcanic formation, so enriching the soil as to
enable this district to produce wheat, juwarree, barley, Indian com,
pepper, and tobacco, in quantities sufficient for the supply of the
entire coast.

The Hawash may be conjectured to have experienced interruption in its
course to the Bahr Assal and Bay of Tajura, at the same period that
volcanic agency divided the waters of the great Salt Lake from Goobut el
Kharab.  Miles around the wonted boundaries of each lagoon now become
annually inundated during the spreading of the great freshes; and, as
the floods, carried off by absorption and evaporation, again recede, the
soil is covered with a fertilising sediment--a fat alluvial deposit,
which with little labour yields an ample return.  Even the lazy and
listless Danakil, who neither sows nor reaps elsewhere, is here induced
to turn agriculturist; but not a single acre of ground in any direction
is to be found under the plough from the sea even to the mountains of
Abyssinia--a distance exceeding three hundred and fifty miles.

Pastoral as well as agricultural pursuits engage the population of
Aussa; but whilst the cultivating portion of the inhabitants are
permanent residents on the soil, the shepherds are annually driven away
by the gad-fly, which attacks the flocks from the setting-in of the
rainy season until the termination of the fast of Ramzan, when the
waters have again subsided, and the herdsman, descending from the
mountains, returns to his occupation in the valley.  An extensive
commercial intercourse is moreover carried on with Tajura.  Salt from
the Bahr Assal, blue calico, which is in high demand for the caps
universally worn by the married Bedouin females, zinc, pewter, and brass
or copper wire, used both for personal ornament, and for the decoration
of weapons, are bartered for the produce of the luxuriant soil--some few
caravans crossing the Hawash, and pursuing their journey along the
western bank to Dowwe, on the frontier of the Wollo Galla, in order to
purchase slaves; or striking into the main road at Amadoo, and so
prosecuting their way to Shoa for a similar purpose.

Mudaito tribes occupy the entire plain of Aussa, but they are now
divided into five distinct nations.  The Assa-himera are under the rule
of Humferi, a descendant of the ancient house of Ajdahis, who preserves
the empty title of Sultan, and resides at the decayed capital.  Eastward
are the Isse-hiraba, governed by Das Ali, an independent chief, and the
Galeyla, under Daamer Ibrahim; south are the Dar, who own allegiance to
Akil Digger Myargi; and west are the ferocious Koorha, under the sway of
Yoosuf Aboo Bekr, who, also with the title of Akil, resides at Alta, and
wages war indiscriminately on both Assa-himera and Debenik-Woema.

South-westward of the valley of Aussa are the independent Adaiel tribes
Hurruk Bodaito, over whom presides Gobuz Elincha, a powerful chieftain,
who has espoused Leni, daughter of Birru Lubo, the Prince of Argobba,
and through whose territories lies the high caravan route to Dowwe, with
which the traffic is considerable.  On the north, the Mudaito are
bounded by the distinct nation styled Hirto, under the rule of Yingool
Ali--Mohammadans, deriving their origin from the Arab invaders of the
seventh century, and speaking a language not very dissimilar from the
Adaiel, who claim the same descent.

Aussa is still the abode of all the Uleemas, Aukal, and learned doctors,
for whom the Mudaito have ever been renowned, but the present government
is singularly constituted.  The aged Sultan Humferi, son of Yoosuf Ali
ibn Ajdahis, has retained with his high-sounding title the mere shadow
of authority, which is in truth vested in Mohammad Ali, the vicegerent
of the Debenik-Woema, appointed by general suffrage from Tajura.
Residing at Kulloo, and ruling with an iron hand, he admits of little
interference; and, in all cases where disputes between the "red" and
"white" houses of the proprietors of the soil and their invaders,
terminate fatally to the latter, takes two lives for one, according to
the immemorial observance in blood feuds.

Ameer Sulaam, the Wuzir of the Mudaito, is head of all the sages, and he
is aided in the administration of justice by Hurrur Hassan, Teeoh, and
Berbera or "Pepper" Ali, the latter so styled from the volubility of his
sarcastic tongue.  This triumvirate of venerable sheikhs, whose wisdom
and learning is reputed to be _kum el bahr_, "profound as the sea," is
referred to on all occasions where knotty points are at issue, whether
amongst the Ado-himera or Mudaito; and even the Sultan of Tajura was on
a late occasion held bound to abide by their arbitration, relative to
the projected marriage of his son to a bride from another clan of the
"white house," a measure which was resisted, and which he was desirous
of enforcing.  Yet a transit duty of fifty per cent, is levied by
Mohammad ibn Mohammad upon all exports made by the Mudaito, whereas ten
per cent, only is exacted from the numerous Danakil tribes.

"A large Arab force from Zeyla," observed Ibrahim Shehem Abli, who was
well versed in the chronicles of Aussa, "was induced to join the
Debenik-Woema in their invasion of the predatory Mudaito hordes; and
overtures of capitulation having been made by Yoosuf Ali ibn Ajdahis,
they were thrown off their guard.  During the night the Woema, who knew
with what villains they had to deal, bivouacked upon the heights of
Dugodlee and Hy Tunkoma, where they rested safely enough.  But the
blockheads of Arabs choosing to sleep in the plain, the garrison took
advantage of their folly to make a _goom_: and so cleverly was it
managed, that by Allah! they succeeded in drawing their creeses across
the throats of all save one."

Nothing intimidated by this reverse, and joined by fresh allies from the
coast, the Woema were not long in renewing the attack; and the whole of
the Adaiel tribes who rally under the standard of "the white house,"
making common cause, the Mudaito sustained a murderous defeat, when
their stronghold, which had maintained its integrity unimpaired for so
many centuries, fell at last into the hands of their hereditary foe.

A long term of years elapsed, but the hearts of the scions of the "red
house" still rankled under this disaster; and, bent upon retaliation,
the assembled clans, designing to plunder the now decayed sea-port
whence their Arab invaders had been furnished, made a rapid inroad into
the country of the Eesah Somauli.  Unprepared, the tribe fled before the
host in dismay, but presently recovering from the panic created by the
sudden burst of war, rallied in great numbers, fell furiously upon the
foe, and left not one marauding Mudaito alive to tell the issue of the
disastrous day.  The "great battle," as this signal rout is still
termed, was about three years ago fought within sight of Zeyla, on the
plains of Takoosha, now white with the skeletons of a tribe.

"Brave men are these Mudaito," continued the old warrior, playing
carelessly with the hilt of his creese, which was seldom suffered to
repose quietly in his girdle; "but they are not to be compared with us.
_Hamdu-lillah_, `Praise be unto the Lord,' I slew their sheikh with my
own hand; and here is the identical scratch that I received in the
scuffle.  As for the Eesah," he concluded, "with their childish bows and
arrows, they are sad cowards.  One Dankali spear is an over-match for
fifty of their best marksmen in a fair fight; and I have myself dealt
single-handed with six, although the villains came like thieves in the
dark."

Ibrahim Shehem was requested to reconcile this character with the issue
of the great battle just recounted, wherein the despised tribe had so
signalised itself.  "That," quoth he of Tajura, "was a dastardly
surprise; and _Wullah_, had I been the invader with a handful of Danakil
spearmen, there would have been another tale to tell."

Bas Ali, late sheikh of the cultivating portion of the Aussa population,
some years since made an attempt to restore the exclusive rule to the
Mudaito, and to this end headed a conspiracy sworn upon the Koran to
plough the field no more until the head of the Woema vicegerent should
be exalted upon a pole at the city gate, and his body have been cast out
to the hyaenas.  He was however waylaid and assassinated by Ibrahim
Shehem Abli, who received a wound in the cheek.  The numerous scars
which adorned the diminutive person of this hero proclaimed him to have
made one in many an affray; and, if his own account might be believed,
all were honourably gained.  Nevertheless the singular aversion that he
displayed to passing certain watering-places in brood daylight, and his
skulking port at Amadoo more especially, had tended not a little to
confirm the disparaging anecdotes maliciously narrated by his
compatriots, relative to the mode in which some of these much-prized
distinctions had been acquired.

The veteran Ali Arab had sat in gloomy silence during the early part of
the conversation, but his light wicker cap started to the apex of his
bald crown as he rose in wrath at the last vaunting words of the son of
the Debeni.  "Heed not the empty boast of that braggart," he exclaimed,
with boiling indignation, forgetting his wonted taciturnity--"Brave as
the lion's whelp are the hardy children of Yemen, and but for the
cowardly desertion of their false allies there would have been a
different issue to the fell night at Aussa.  Do the Woema to this hour
not pay tribute to Zeyla in acknowledgment of the assistance rendered?
The event was written in the sealed volume of Fate.  The decree of the
Almighty was fulfilled.  But lest you should have believed the
disparaging statements of this vain-glorious scorner, I will even
recount the misfortunes of a campaign fraught with sad disaster to my
kindred."

Uttering these words, he led the way to his enclosure, reared of bales
of the most costly wares which had been committed to his tried
integrity; and there, seated upon the rich shawls of Cachemire, or upon
the choicest manufactures of the British loom, the party, provided each
with a tiny cup of most potent coffee, gave ear in silence to the old
man's tale, which in the two ensuing chapters shall be presented in the
form that would appear best calculated to afford a picture of warfare in
the Desert.

Volume One, Chapter XXIII.

ARAB MARCH OVER THE TEHAMA.

All was bustle and confusion in the small sea-port town of Zeyla.
Camels were screaming as the well-filled sacks were tied tightly upon
the saddles.  The idle portion of the population had assembled to admire
the pride and pomp of war.  Women were running to and fro with more than
usual briskness, to deliver some forgotten package to a body of men who
stood under arms in the market-place; and crowds streamed to join the
group through the narrow bazaar, which had been lit up for the occasion,
whence arose a confused hum of higgling and barter, as each last want
was supplied by the merciless Hindoo trader, on the credit of a
successful return from the foray.

A motley diversity prevailed in the age, dress, arms, accoutrements, and
bearing of the assembled party; but the turban and the checked kilt, the
frequency of the long, ornamented matchlock, and the thousand
strange-fashioned leathern pouches and pockets, dangling from every part
of the person, proclaimed the presence of a body of warriors of the
Faithful.  And more than sufficient for the sultry climate was the
cumbrous attire of the foreign mercenaries.  Every colour of the rainbow
had been appropriated to their full varied vestments.  Red, and yellow,
and green, surmounted the dark elf-like locks of the soldiers of Yemen;
knives and long heavy swords glittered in their rich shawl waist-cloths;
and the national cloak of Arabia, clasped across the tawny breast,
floated gaily over each stalwart frame.

Numerous mules stood ready saddled in the busy square, and many were the
long provident bags and water-skins strapped behind each high wooden
cantle.  The band had not been engaged to act as cavalry, but Arab
troops are somewhat self-willed as to their tactics and style of
movement, and at no time relish interference in any of those little
private arrangements which they can afford for their personal comfort.

The grey eye and the grisly beard of the veteran from Hejaz, and the
fierce glance and the long raven hair of the inhabitant of Medina, were
exhibited together under the light of a blazing fire; and it might have
been observed that the strongest current of female attention set towards
the spot where the youth were collected, hammering the hard bullets down
their rusty matchlocks.

"God is great!"--ejaculated a gaily-bedecked stripling, as he added an
extra pinch of powder, for good luck, to the handful already poured into
his long culverin.  "Bring me alien, that he may feel the hands of the
mighty, and _Inshallah_! if the leader of the expedition be of my mind,
we shall not return empty-handed to have our beards laughed at by these
fat kafirs from Hinde.  Better were it to quaff at once the waters of
immortality.  But alas!  Amru! the star was little on the ascendant
when, forsaking the pleasant terraces and the cypress-waisted damsels of
Mocha, thy stupid head dreamt of receiving two piastres a day from the
treasury of the Sheriffe, or of being cooped up with infidels in a
perfect _Jehannam_ upon earth."

This speech was received with considerable applause, for the Reis Amru
was well liked by his comrades in arms.  Jokes passed freely among the
youth, who were all in high good humour at being released from the dull
stupidity of a hot garrison; and each talked gaily of his future deeds
of prowess, although as yet nothing had transpired as to the nature or
object of the enterprise.

But the veterans were crowded together in a mass, and their scowling
downcast looks betokened little satisfaction in the coming march.  A
one-eyed ancient, who had witnessed as many fights as the remaining
locks upon his wrinkled head, was employed in grinding a notch from his
long sweeping sword, whilst he ever and anon gave vent to his spleen and
displeasure.  "No good can ever come of intercourse with these
unbelieving savages," growled the old man to a fellow gambler.  "The
skulking sons of the Debeni have been in close conference with the Ameer
for the greater part of the day; and the youth Osman is not the leader
to conduct a party of the Faithful among the deserts and the hills of
this parched land.  Blood will flow from the veins of these hot-headed
striplings, crimson as the cloth which flaunts above their head-gear.
Aye, and the dream of the last night can be now easily interpreted.
Listen to me," he muttered, in lower accents: "I dreamt of the pleasant
lands of Saba, and saw the sparkling waters flowing over the bright
green turf.  The tribe of my fathers had assembled together, and the
`hail, welcome, may your arrival be happy,' came soothingly to my
wearied ear; but an impassable gulf yawned at my feet, and the cold
touch of the dread Azrail startled me from my slumbers.  Nevertheless if
we be fated to perish by the hand of the savage, it shall never be said
that old Kasim Ali was the man to oppose his destiny."

In good sooth the authorities had been sued for assistance by their
friends the Woema; and as immunities, and privileges, and certain
percentage upon all slave caravans, were the inducements artfully held
out by the sagacious tribe, the proffered alliance had been eagerly
accepted.  The Woema deputation departed at sunset, after the
ratification of the treaty; and a few of their scouts were alone left to
serve as guides through a country hitherto untraversed by any Arab
inhabitant of Zeyla.

Three quarters of the entire garrison were ordered for immediate duty.
Gunpowder, balls, and coffee, had been handed out during the afternoon,
together with a promise of arrears of pay on return; and as the moon
raised her broad disk above the still expanse of the Indian Ocean, the
party remained grouped as above related, awaiting in the market-place
the arrival of their leader.

The impatient Osman, accompanied by the Ameer and all the holy men of
the town, shortly relieved them from suspense.  His scarlet _abba_
floated over his shoulders, and the gold of his headdress sparkled in
the beams of the pale orb, as he placed himself at the head of the party
to receive the "Salaam Aleikum" of his officers.

The young chief had lately arrived from the opposite coast to take the
military command, but his proud and reserved bearing had gained neither
the respect nor the good-will of his inferiors.  Stories were whispered
about that an evil star presided over his destiny, and that the settled
gloom on his swarthy brow was caused by the continued tissue of ill luck
which had hitherto blasted his every aspiration after fame.

His quick ear had caught the murmurings of the discontented.  "Dread not
events unknown," he exclaimed as he cast a withering glance over the
group.  "Be not down-hearted, for the fountain of the water of life is
involved in obscurity.  Defile not the spring of hope with the dust of
despondency, for, praise be to God! the creator of the universe, if ye
walk even into the dens of the lion or the pard, they will not tear you
save on the destined day."

Then raising his voice Osman shouted aloud, "_Seero_," move on in the
name of the Prophet.  "May Allah be with you!  May Allah watch over
you!" solemnly chanted the chief moola as he waved the holy book in the
air.  The troops poured through the gateway, and sweeping slowly, like a
thick cloud, along the face of the plain, were soon lost in the darkness
of the desert.

There be always some ardent spirits to raise the drooping mass; and in
the commencement of a march, as in the beginning of life, even the most
down-hearted feel a spark of hope as to the happy result.  But after the
first burst of enthusiasm was expended, and the troops were fairly
launched into the lone waste, the loose discourse and the merry laugh
gradually failed, and in sad and gloomy silence they trod on for hours,
sinking in the deep hot sand, or stumbling among the black blocks of
lava which were thickly strewed over this tract of fire.

The ominous bird of night flitted from left to right and hooted
mournfully from a bare tree, as the gallant train swept past the last
watering-place in the Wady of Takoosha; and many a "_wullah_" was poured
forth, as the herds of antelope bounded along the same evil and
portentous track, as if pursued by the exulting demon of destruction.
"Man proposes but God disposes," muttered those whose secret misgivings
were heightened by these prognostics: the heart of the bravest quailed
under the accumulation of unlucky omens, and all felt for the moment,
that they were doomed men.

Little order prevailed along the motley line.  Mounted on his mule and
wrapped in his own dark thoughts, Osman led the van, and a group of
light-limbed Woema who clustered round the chief, pointed out the
direction of march.  No vestige was there of a pathway, and the dark
ravine and the lone hill were passed in weary succession, as each camel,
and mule, and man on foot, struggled along during many hours of the hot
night.  A few pools of standing water left by a providential shower of
rain were at length selected as the first halting-place, and, worn out
and dispirited, the sons of Yemen, piling their heavy fire-arms, sank to
sleep upon the bare ground.

The tract of country extending from the coast to Ramudele is a bare and
joyless desert, where water is to be met with only at long intervals,
where little food is to be procured either for man or beast, and where
the heat is like the breath of the glass furnace.  But Arabs are
accustomed to the arid regions of their own stony land, and as they feed
like famished wolves when food is to be obtained, they can, like those
gaunt animals, endure the extremity of fasting.  The morning sun roused
the party to renovated strength; and as the news spread through the camp
that the rich town of Aussa was the object of the enterprise, and that a
large force of the Woema had assembled to cooperate in the attack, no
bounds were set upon the extravagant bravadoes uttered.  Amru, as he
strutted along with his turban placed jauntily upon his head, declared
that even the gardens of Mocha and their rose-scented _houris_ might be
improved by a man of taste, if provided with the requisite means; whilst
the grumbling old Kasim and his compeers, cheering up for the moment,
commenced a calculation as to the probable gain to be derived from
sundry captives, with which on their return they had resolved to fill
the market.

But although a degree of hilarity had been thus restored throughout the
host, the black cloud still hung over the brow of its leader.  No
friendly footing was established with his followers; no word of
encouragement proceeded from his lips.  Orders and arrangements were
given in the cold, calm tone of desperation, and a feeling of coming
evil shook each sturdy frame, as he strode in moody silence to his
accustomed station in the line of march.

For seven weary days did they manfully toil through the blank dreary
desert, where Nature had spread wide her plains of barrenness, and where
the image of utter desolation was but seldom disturbed by the appearance
either of man or of vegetation.  The heat of the day caused the lips to
peel.  The poisonous wind dried the marrow in the bone; and at rare
intervals indeed, some tiny encampment of the wandering _Buddoo_ alone
cheered the site of the stagnant pool.  A few camels dotted the unbroken
expanse of the forbidding plain, and here and there a withered acacia
threw her thorny limbs wildly into the hot atmosphere.

The camp of the Woema was pitched at Ramudele, and fer on either hand as
the eye could compass, stretched along the low belt of bushes which mark
the course of the river Chekaito.  A confused mass of fragile mats, and
animals, and human beings, lay huddled together.  From the midst of the
disorderly array arose a thick forest of broad-headed spears; and as the
men clustered in hundreds to greet the arrival of their allies, the
ferocity of their appearance elicited universal applause.  The
indomitable spirit of savage independence shone in their dark lustrous
eyes, and their lank, but well-moulded figures were surmounted by the
white ostrich feather drooping gracefully over the matted hair, the
token of bloody prowess in the fight.

In barbarous profusion an ample entertainment stood ready prepared.
Large messes of meat and dishes of melted ghee were smoking in every
quarter of the camp; and after the welcome had been received from every
hand, Osman retired with the sheiks of the tribe to their temporary
domicile, leaving the Arab host to resign themselves to enjoyment, and
to rest after their long and weary march over the frightful Tehama.

Volume One, Chapter XXIV.

MASSACRE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED.

Feasting and amusement wiled away the hours until the appointed day,
when the necessary reinforcements having joined, the entire force moved
hurriedly off towards the unsuspecting object of attack.

On the third morning of their march the hills of Dugodlee were crossed,
and the smiling valley of Aussa was seen peacefully stretched at the
feet of the invaders.  Nothing could exceed the beauty of this oasis in
the desert, so strangely expanded between two gigantic mountains; the
crest of the one frowning black, broken, and abrupt, whilst the other
rises in steep but gradual turfy acclivity to the very summit, whence
rich indeed was the wide prospect displayed.

Green fields extended far as the eye could see.  Flocks quietly ranged
among the grassy nooks, and four lakes, unruffled by a breeze, reflected
back the Iris rays of the morning sun upon the broken sides of the
wooded lulls.  Hemmed in by fantastic ranges, the river Hawash threaded
the upper portion of the long valley like a cord of silver, and rushing
into the broad expanse of Lake Hilloo, at length found rest for its
troubled waters in the deep, mysterious basin, from which no visible
stream adds its tribute to the blue ocean.

The city of Aussa was pleasantly situated on the upper extremity of the
lake, and its low, conical, thatched roofs were half concealed among the
towering verdure of the shadowy trees.  As the host crowned the opposite
hill, herds of beasts, and crowds of human beings, streamed from every
side through the stout hedge of thorns that encircled the wall, and the
voice of the muezzin rising faintly from the distant mosque, summoned
the inhabitants to prayer in this most unlooked-for tribulation.

Confident of success, and exulting in their own numbers, and in the
potent fire-arms of five hundred bearded allies, the savage host rushed
whooping down the hill, their spears erect, and their souls hungry for
the prey.  But no shout responded from the silent town of the Mudaito,
and no weapon glittered in its defence.  Already had the Woema formed in
serried lines, and already were the eyes and the shields of the warriors
agitated by those portentous revolutions which are the prelude to the
fatal rush, when a portion of the thorn fence was quietly drawn aside,
and a band of aged men stepped upon the intermediate plain.  A green
branch waved in their unarmed hands, and their venerable white beards
flowed nearly to their girdles.  The sages of Aussa, whose wisdom was
"as the depths of the sea," and who engrossed all the learning and
holiness of the land, were there congregated together.  The prejudice of
the savage was aroused, and the presence of men acknowledged, to whom
every dispute among the tribes had hitherto been referred, and whose
decisions had been always most implicitly received.  The cause of
complaint, and the hope of plunder, were for the moment almost
forgotten, and every spear sank to the ground as sheikhs and akils
advanced to the front to receive the message from the beleaguered city.

Assuming the posture of earnest entreaty, the elders of the Mudaito were
not sparing of their oily words:--"All ancient differences should be
fully adjusted, and the Woema should depart to their own tents, loaded
with the richest produce of Aussa as a free gift of its elders; but the
great conference could not be held until the morrow; the chief, Yoosuf
Ali, was absent, and a swift messenger could scarcely reach him before
nightfall.  Would the Woema meanwhile destroy the seat of learning and
of religion?  Would the sons brandish the gory spear where their fathers
were wont to fall prostrate in prayer?  If camels had been stolen, the
thieves should be delivered over to punishment, and every point of
dispute should be most satisfactorily arranged."

The chiefs of the Woema withdrew in order to deliberate apart, and
divers were the opinions given in the ensuing discussion.  The fiery
Arab urged an immediate attack, now that the enemy were unprepared and
fully given into the hand of the spoiler; but the words of mercy at
length prevailed, and the terms having been acceded to, the wily elders,
as they took their departure, displayed features lighted with a grim
smile of inward satisfaction.

High raged the storm in the camp of the invading chiefs.  Expressions of
contempt were bandied back upon the term of coward, with which Osman had
taunted the Adel conclave.  Swords and creeses were drawn, and stout
adherents were not wanting with spear and matchlock to support their
respective leaders.  The veteran Sheikh nevertheless contrived to still
the troubled waters.  Commanding his clan to draw back, and be at rest,
he succeeded in convincing the Arab that _he_ was not to be forgotten in
the forthcoming division of the spoil.  Finally the parties separated in
sullen mood--the Woema to ascend the hills of Hy Tunkoma, where they had
resolved to rest among the rocky caverns, whereas the fearless sons of
Arabia remained upon the open plain on which the angry dispute had taken
place.

Meanwhile the town was in a state of hot fermentation.  The few warriors
who were accidentally at home, inflamed by the speeches of their
respected elders, prepared quietly for the most desperate resistance.
Swift-footed messengers stole out ever and anon through various cuts and
passages in the hedge, with orders to call to the rescue every member of
the tribe; and the most fearful denunciations were prepared for any who
should refuse aid in this the day of national distress.  Onwards over
hill and dale sped the untiring scout.  At his warning voice the
shepherd left his flock, and the hunter stayed his successful chase.
Sheikhs and akils seized spear and shield, and with all disposable force
obeyed the hasty summons.  Every encampment joined its quota to the fast
swelling host, now streaming towards the valley of the deep waters; and
long ere the moon raised her pale disk above the hills, full
communication had been held with the city, and every arrangement was
thoroughly matured for the attack.

Blinded by the feint of abject submission, the doomed body of Arabs had
encamped upon the open plain.  Little order or arrangement could be
observed, and not a symptom was there of military vigilance.  No
watchful sentry paced his steady beat, nor had any disposition been
attempted for safety or for defence.  All had bivouacked on the spot
where they happened to be standing, and after their appetites had been
sufficiently appeased, the lazy partisans lay grouped together with
their long pipes, talking over the pleasant hopes of the morrow, or
uttering the scornful taunt on the coward folly of their infatuated
allies.  The song and the keen joke of their distant country occupied
the first hours of the evening, and then the greater portion sank to
rest upon the green sward.

But the slumbers of many were of a disturbed and fitful nature; and at
midnight old Kasim Ali, whose advice, though ungraciously given, was
generally attended to, repaired to the light pall under which reposed
his leader.  Osman was still awake, and after listening to the words of
the veteran, who predicted coming evil, the first orders were given.
Guards having collected under arms, matches were lit, and some
preparation attempted for defence.  But the warning voice had come too
late.  The Mudaito host, crouching warily upon the ground, had glided
like serpents along the dark plain till they had gained the requisite
distance for the onset; and as if starting from the very bowels of the
earth, a countless array showed suddenly a bristling front, not one
hundred yards from the encampment.

Short was the time allowed to awaken the drowsy soldiery.  A hurried
exclamation from the chief to stand like men, and a feeble cry from his
followers in reply, was succeeded by the rush of the savages.  Forward
they came, carrying their broad spears erect, whilst their black
ferocious eyes gleamed at the thoughts of blood, like the fiery orbs of
the basilisk.  A volley from the matchlocks only checked their progress
for a moment; and as the firing ceased, there arose to heaven a wild
unearthly yell, which was closely followed by the fierce shouts of men
in contention, and by all the sounds of terror, confusion, and despair.

No walls or enclosures were there in that naked plain, or the sons of
Ishmael, who well understand their defence, might have fought on more
equal terms; but overwhelmed by masses of the reckless foe, and hemmed
in on every side by ten times their own number, the struggle was but the
effort of individual desperation.  Dropping shots had continued for some
time in all quarters of the straggling encampment, and Mudaito spear
still clashed heavily upon Arab scimitar, when the war-cry of the Woema
rose pealing among the cliffs.  As the tramp of their footsteps was
heard descending to the plain, a short respite was allowed.  The
assailants withdrew from the murderous onslaught, and the fainting
hearts of the survivors again bounded with hopes of life.  But transient
indeed were their expectations of succour and assistance.  The wary eye
of the Woema had scanned, even in that uncertain light, the overpowering
masses of the foe that crowded the plain; and suddenly wheeling round
the shoulder of the hill, they disappeared like a wreath of the morning
mist.

The Mudaito meanwhile, like hungry wolves, hemming in the devoted party,
awaited only the dawn of day to complete its destruction.  But the
remnant of the Arabs who had escaped now first found leisure to close
their ranks; and, taking up a position at the foot of the isolated Jebel
Gurmah, they resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible.  Osman,
wounded and bleeding, was still alive; himself, with Kasim Ali and about
fifty men, being all that survived of the gallant five hundred who had
marched from Zeyla.  The excruciating pangs of thirst were added to the
tortures of creese and spear-wound: and in this, their last extremity,
the solemn prayer arose to the Prophet of the Faithful, as of men whose
hours were numbered.

As the day broke, Kasim volunteered to carry a message of capitulation
to the savage army; and reposing full confidence in the white cloth
waving in the hand of the veteran, each anxious eye was strained in the
direction of his footsteps.  Received in moody silence by the Mudaito
band, a ferocious savage was about to drive a spear-blade through his
unflinching breast, when the son of the Sheikh bounded suddenly to his
side, and warding off the descending shaft, seized the hand of the old
man, kissed it with every reverence, and addressed a few words to the
tribe.  In days gone by the youth Boorhan had been saved under the
creese by the son of Yemen, and gratitude, rarely found in the savage,
now paid her outstanding debt.

The veteran's overtures of surrender having been received, he turned
again towards his comrades, but a fearful sight fell on his sickening
gaze.  Two large bodies of the enemy had in the interim stolen round the
hill, and clustering upon the very edge, were already swarming unseen to
the last attack.  Vain were his frantic gestures to direct the attention
of his doomed comrades to the coming storm; he was seized and pinioned
in the iron grasp of a multitude, and the succeeding rush was as the
burst of the overcharged thunder-cloud.

And feeble was the defence made by men weary, and thirsty, and
unprepared.  With an appalling whoop, the triumphant savages soon joined
the ranks of their sheikh, and not one turbaned head remained visible
above the wide plain.  All had found a gory pillow in a far distant
land.  Creese and matchlock, mingled together, plentifully strewed the
ground; and clutched in the cold hand of each grim warrior, lay the long
Arab sword, dripping to the hilt in the blood of the assailant.

The acacia still throws her scanty shade over the bones that whiten on
the scene of this conflict.  Although of the same persuasion as the
invaders, the men of Aussa could neither forgive their most unprovoked
attack, nor consign to a quiet resting-place the remains of the true
believers.  The severe loss they too had sustained, still keeps the
wound festering, for well indeed in that fatal night had been upheld the
character of the sturdy children of Yemen.  Taken by surprise and at
every disadvantage, each had fought on fiercely to the last; and
although broken matchlocks and rent shields dangle in the mosques as
trophies of their defeat, many a Mudaito mother long bewailed the loss
of a beloved son, and many a bereaved widow mourned the absence of her
liege lord, who returned not from the valley of the deep waters of
Aussa.

Volume One, Chapter XXV.

FIALU, A DEN OF THIEVES IN THE WOEMA TERRITORIES.  BARURUDDA AND
KILLULLOO.

After a march of three miles on the 22nd, over a stony table-land
thickly strewed with the never-ending basaltic boulders, the caravan
entered the territory of the Danakil tribe Woema, under the uncle and
father of Mohammad Ali.  A desolate hollow passed on the way, which
appeared in the rainy season to form an extensive pond, was enlivened by
four bee-hive-shaped wigwams, placed as usual on the site where large
hot stones were most abundant, and tenanted by goat-herds, whose
numerous flocks were being driven forth to graze by the Bedouin females.
Their supply of water is derived from a sequestered pool, occupying a
deep narrow precipitous ravine, which abounds in the Hyrax, and boasts
of a few trees not dissimilar from the Casuarina.  Bearing the euphonous
title of Korandudda, this gully wound at the foot of the high terrace
selected for the encampment--another right dreary plain, covered with
volcanic pebbles, among which the dry yellow grass peeped out in scanty
tufts.

No traveller through the bleak barren country of the Adaiel can fail to
appreciate the simile of "the shadow of a rock in a weary land;" for a
tree is indeed a rare phenomenon--and when a few leafless branches do
greet the eye, they are studiously shunned, upon the same principle that
induces the savage to eschew the immediate vicinity of water.  A few
straggling acacias occupied the valley of Fialoo, half a mile to the
southward, which is the usual encamping ground, and here were large
herds of cattle, eccentrically marked and brindled, and glorying in
superb horns raking gracefully from the brow.  A fat ox was purchased
without difficulty, together with a supply of fresh milk, which, if not
improved by confinement in a greasy skin bag, proved nevertheless an
extraordinary luxury.

One of the retainers of Mohammad Ali was now despatched to acquaint Ali
Abi of the arrival of the kafilah.  It had all along been promised that
after entering the territories of the old Sheikh, every danger was to
cease, but the goal now gained, the country proved to be a perfect nest
of hornets.  The thieving propensities of the Galeyla Mudaito having
been lately exercised upon the Woema, it had been resolved to inflict
summary chastisement, and rag-a-muffins were collecting from all
quarters, preparatory to a "_goom_."  From morning till night the camp
and tent were unceasingly thronged with scowling knaves, amongst whom
were several of the Eesah--their heads decorated with white ostrich
plumes in token of having recently slain an antagonist in single combat,
or more probably murdered some sleeping victim.

Towards evening a gang of the Abli, whose chieftain is appropriately
surnamed Jeroaa, or "the thief," made a desperate attempt to carry off
the best horse, upon which they had strongly set their affections; but
the rogues were fortunately observed by the lynx-eyed Kakoo, henchman to
Mohammad Ali, just in time to admit of the animal being recovered.  The
war-cry caused all to fly to their arms; blows were exchanged without
any blood being spilled, although one of the Woema shields was
perforated by a well-launched spear; and the ringleader of the
horse-stealing gang, who had thus narrowly escaped a mortal feud, having
been secured to a tree, was by his own tribe severely castigated on the
spot.

A dense cloud of dust rolling along from the north-eastward, closed the
day.  Revolving within its own circumference, and advancing on a spiral
axis, it burst in full force in the very centre of the camp.  The tent
fell on the first outpouring of its wrath, and the consistency being so
dense as to render it impossible to keep the eyes open, the party were
fain to take refuge beneath tarpaulins, and stretched upon the ground,
to listen with quick and difficult respiration, until the whirlwind had
expended its violence among chairs, tables, and bottles.  A few drops of
rain ushered in the night which was passed by a newly-entertained
Bedouin guard in carousing upon the choice dates of the Embassy, a bag
of which had been unceremoniously put in requisition by the Ras, "in
order to keep the savages in good humour," or, in other words, to save
them the trouble of stealing it; and the musket announcing relief of
sentries was discontinued by request of the same authority, lest the
smell of gunpowder might have a prejudicial effect upon the voracious
appetites of the savages.

Before dawn the chief of the nomade tribe Hy Somauli arriving with a
hungry and dissatisfied retinue, a halt was proclaimed, to the end that
they also might be fed, pacified, and propitiated.  The potentate was
duly introduced by Izhak as a most particular friend, who had journeyed
a long way for the express purpose of making the acquaintance of his
English charge; and a deep sense of the honour conferred having been
expressed, it was ascertained that the secondary object of the visit was
to inquire by whose authority so formidable a party of foreigners were
being smuggled through the country, and how it happened that they were
suffered to build houses wheresoever they thought proper?--this last
allusion having reference to the tent, which had again been pitched, and
was very sapiently conjectured to be a permanent edifice.

The "Kafir Feringees" therefore continued to be objects of undiminished
curiosity during the whole also of this sultry day; a greasy disorderly
rabble, which occupied the tent from an early hour, being continually
reinforced by parties weary of the debate held immediately outside,
which lasted until the going down of the sun.  Each new visitor, after
staring sufficiently at the white faces, invariably exclaimed "Nubeeo,"
"Holy Prophet," a mark of undisguised disapprobation, which was further
elicited by every occurrence that did not exactly coincide with his nice
ideas of propriety, such as eating with a fork, keeping the head cool
under a hat instead of under a pound of sheeps' tail fat, or blowing the
nose with a handkerchief in lieu of with the fingers.  Paws were
nevertheless incessantly thrust in at every door, accompanied by
reiterations of the Dankali verb "to give," used in the imperative mood;
the never-ending din of "Ba, Ba," being uncoupled with any noun
designative of the commodity required--a proof that he who demanded was
a ready recipient for any spare article that might be forthcoming.

A long and tedious palaver, in which voices occasionally ran extremely
high, at length terminated in a general uprising of the senators.  Izhak
was seen curling his scanty side locks in token of victory.  The chief
had become satisfied of the temporary nature of the tenement inhabited
by the "Christian dogs," after one or two of the savages had thrust a
spear-blade through the canvass; and the malcontents having to a man
been sufficiently crammed with dates, coffee, and tobacco, finally took
their departure, chuckling at the success of the foray, and having
ingeniously contrived to turn their time to account by stealing one of
the mules.

Many significant glances had been exchanged over portions of the baggage
that had unavoidably been exposed; but a night of redoubled vigilance
was cut short by a summons to relinquish sleep and bedding at two in the
morning, and a march of sixteen miles over a vast alluvial flat
conducted past the Bedouin station of Ulwulli to Barurudda, on the plain
of Kellali.  The road led along the base of the low range of Jebel
Eesah, through abundance of coarse grass concealing lava pieces and
volcanic detritus, the prospect being bounded by distant blue mountains
towering to the peak of Kuffal Ali.  A _korhaan_ rose at intervals, wild
and noisy as his chattering kindred in the south, but few other signs of
animated nature enlivened the long sultry march.  In the grey of the
morning, a solitary Bedouin horseman ambled past with some message to
the savages at Amadoo, and from him was obtained the disagreeable
intelligence, which subsequently proved too true, that not a drop of
water existed over the whole of the wide plain within a day's journey,
and that the station beyond was thronged with tribes, collected with
their flocks and herds from all the country round, at this, the oasis.

After a hot dusty day the sky was again overcast, and sufficient rain
fell to render every one wet and uncomfortable, without filling the
pools, or checking the dire persecutions of a host of cattle ticks,
which covered every part of the ground.  Absence of water led to another
midnight march, and the moon affording little light, the road was for
some time lost, though eventually recovered by the sagacity of a female
slave of Mohammad Ali's, when all the lords of the creation were at
fault.  This damsel, who always led the foremost string of camels, was
one of those frolicsome productions of Nature, which the wanton dame
pawns on the world in her most laughing moods, and the appearance of her
daughter could scarcely fail to elicit the mirth of the most sedate
beholder.  A small round bullet head, furnished with a well-greased mop,
and a pair of moist brilliant eyes, formed the apex of a figure, which,
in all other respects, was that of the concentrated amazon, exhibiting a
system of globes both before and behind, agitated by a tremulous
vibration as the short fat legs imparted progressive motion.  A blue
kerchief tied jauntily over the head--ponderous wooden ear-rings,
fashioned on the model of Chubb's largest lock--a necklace of white
beads, and a greasy leathern apron slung about the unwieldy hips without
any remarkable regard to decency--set off the corpulent charms of the
good-natured Hasseinee, the exhibition of whose monstrous eccentricities
in Europe, must infallibly have ensured a fortune to the showman.

The road continued to skirt the low Eesah range for several miles [see
Note 1] to the termination of the plain, which becomes gradually shut in
by rounded hills enclosing a dell choked with low thorns, and tenanted
by the _galla-fiela_ [i.e. camel-goat], a strange species of antelope,
having a long raking neck, which imparted the appearance of a lama in
miniature.  As the day broke, flocks and herds were observed advancing
from every quarter towards a common focus, and on gaining the brow of
the last hill overhanging the halting ground, a confused lowing of
beeves and bleating of sheep arose from the deep ravine below, whilst
the mountain sides were streaked with numberless white lines of cattle
and goats descending towards the water.

Arriving at the Wady Killulloo, a most busy scene presented itself.
Owing to the general want of water elsewhere throughout the country,
vast numbers of flocks and herds had assembled from far and wide, and
they were tended by picturesque members of all the principal tribes of
Danakil composing the Debenik-Woema, as well as from the Eesah, the
Mudaito, and their subordinate subdivisions.  Dogs lay basking on the
grassy bank beside their lounging masters; women, screaming to the
utmost of their shrill voices, filled up their water-skins with an
ink-black fluid stirred to the consistency of mire, and redolent of
pollution; thousands of sheep, oxen, and goats, assembled in dense
masses in and around the dark, deep, pools, were undergoing separation
by their respective owners, before being driven to pasture; and, with
the long files that ascended and descended the mountain side in every
direction, imparted the bustling appearance of a great cattle fair.

The temporary mat huts of all these nomade visitors who boasted of
habitations were erected at a distance on the table-land to the
south-westward of this important wady, which occupies a rugged rocky
chasm opening upon the Kellali plain, and, receiving the drainage of all
the southern portion of the Oobnoo range, disembogues during the rainy
season into the lake at Aussa.  Even during this, the hottest portion of
the year, when the entire country elsewhere is dry, its rocky pools
embedded in soft limestone, tainted with sulphuretted hydrogen, and
abounding in rushes and crocodiles, afford an inexhaustible supply,
without which the flocks and herds of the entire arid districts by which
it is surrounded, could not exist.

To it the horses and mules of the Embassy were indebted for a new lease
of life, short though it proved to many.  Two of the former and eleven
of the latter had already been left to the hyaenas, in addition to the
animal feloniously abstracted by the Hy Somauli, of the recovery of
which Mohammad Ali affected to be sanguine.  But although the pleasure
of another meeting with the robber chief, whereupon he rested his
delusive hopes, was shortly realised, and brought with it a train of
concomitant inconvenience, no mule was ever restored.  Not one of these
petty Adaiel tribes are subject to that abject despotism which controls
the turbulent spirits of the more powerful African nations, and, bad as
absolute power must ever be acknowledged, often tends to their ultimate
improvement.  The influence of a chieftain is here little more than
nominal.  All affairs are decided in council by a majority of voices;
and, were it not for the fact, that, save during the existence of a
common danger, no component member of his clan works for other than
individual advantage, the wild and lawless community over whom he
affects to preside, might in all respects be appropriately designated a
republic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note 1.  The reader who may not feel thoroughly satiated with miles and
furlongs, as embodied in this narrative, is referred to the Appendix,
where they will be found detailed in a tabular form.

Volume One, Chapter XXVI.

OMINOUS DEBATES AND INTOLERABLE DELAYS AT THE HALF-WAY STAGE.

The second knot in the string of the tedious journey had been unloosed
by arrival at Killulloo, which is considered exactly half-way from the
sea-coast to the frontier of Abyssinia.  But although the worst portion
of the road was now behind, the Embassy was destined to waste many days
of existence in this vile spot, amidst annoying debates and discussions,
most trying to the patience, which threatened to terminate so
unpleasantly as well nigh to result in the abandonment of the baggage,
as affording the only prospect left of ever reaching the destination.

From the very first moment of arrival, Izhak, whose sole object ever
appeared to be to render himself disagreeable, devoted his talents and
energies to the establishment of a misunderstanding, upon the frivolous
grounds of Mohammad Ali having been suffered to distribute a small
quantity of tobacco, in order to get rid of some passing unpleasant
visitors.  "Who gave _that man_ tobacco?" he captiously vociferated,
bouncing into the tent as soon as it had been pitched; "this is a piece
of interference with my prerogatives as Ras el Kafilah, which cannot be
borne."  And the explanation afforded not proving at all to his
satisfaction, he roundly declared his determination of resenting the
insult by throwing up the charge, and returning with all his paid
retainers to Tajura.

Mohammad Ali being now in the heart of his own country, and having
rendered himself extremely useful on the road, whilst his venerable
rival had been idle, seemed resolved to assert his claim to a share in
the conduct of the caravan.  Izhak as unflinchingly maintained his
resolution, as brother to the Sultan of Tajura--a point whereon he
greatly piqued himself--to hold the reins exclusively in his own hands,
or to decamp with the camels; and the Embassy, avowing themselves to be
merely travellers through the country, desirous of conciliating all
parties, and of interfering with none, maintained the strictest
neutrality, and declined mixing at all in the dispute.

It was already dusk when a visit was received from the three principal
persons of the countless multitudes assembled.  These were Ibrahim ibn
Hameido, Akil of the Hy Somauli, whose dominion extends from Ramudele to
Suggagedan; and the uncle and father of Mohammad Ali--to wit, Wayess ibn
Hagaio, who divides with his brother Hagaio Lad the government of the
Dermela, the Woema, the Rookhba, and the Midgan, collectively extending
from Suggagedan to Waramilli--and Hajji Ali Mohammad, a hoary patriarch
of most venerable appearance, commonly styled Ali Abi.  As tokens of
good-will they brought oxen, sheep, and bags of sour milk; but, owing to
an obvious disinclination on the part of Izhak and his sulky colleagues
to promote conversation, the interview was extremely stiff; and dates,
coffee, and snuff having been duly handed round, the illustrious
visitors, signifying an intention of discussing certain topics of
importance which had yet to be adjusted, abruptly departed after the
polished fashion of the country, without going through the ceremony of
taking leave of their entertainers.

A vast concourse of armed natives, members of all the various tribes
assembled, had in the meantime convened immediately on the outskirts of
the camp, where they continued during the whole night in a violent
altercation, which periodical supplies of dates and tobacco proved quite
inadequate to allay.  The discussion was shared by Izhak and by Mohammad
Ali, with their respective partisans and retainers, and it continued
during the whole of the next day; meanwhile the tent being perpetually
thronged with thieves and idlers, who purloined whatever fell in their
way, and contrived frequent broils amongst themselves which led to the
drawing of creeses in the very centre of the encampment.

Throughout the whole of the ensuing night, and part of the day
following, the wrangling among the tribes continued with little
abatement or intermission, the litigants occasionally breaking into
small parties, to hold private _kalams_, and after much mysterious
whispering, again resuming their seats in the general assembly.  The
question of precedence between the elders, already adverted to, and the
propriety of suffering so large a party of armed Franks to proceed into
Abyssinia, formed the principal subjects of discussion; and the
prevailing opinion on the latter question was, that all ought to be
compelled to return, if not to be put to death, as unbelievers whose
presence boded evil.

But the opportunity was also taken of arbitrating old feuds and
squabbles.  Elopements were investigated and arranged, and all disputes
and quarrels of a private nature fully dilated upon and digested.
Hundreds of ruffians thus sate from the rising up of the sun to the
going down of the same, and throughout the livelong night, formed in a
wide circle; the chiefs and men of consequence in the centre, and the
venerable Ali Abi, with thin floating snow-white locks, and highly
ornamented weapons, seated as president of the council.  During the
lengthy discussion of each case, every spear stood erect in the hand of
the warrior; and on the decision being promulgated, the bright blades
were lowered with one accord, a portion of the Koran was repeated, and
at the termination of every verse, a general hum succeeding, the
concurrence of all parties was chanted in a deep stern _Ameen_!

Killulloo being the great mart between the Bedouin tribes and the
passing caravans, where the produce of their flocks is bartered for blue
calico and other imports in demand, the news of the arrival of so large
a party caused an inpouring from every quarter, and each day presented
at the rendezvous some new group of exacting chiefs to be propitiated,
with a fresh train of thieving followers to be fed and kept in good
humour.  Every greasy scoundrel possessed a vote in the congress,
together with the inclination to render himself obnoxious, and the
ability to add his humble mite towards the irksome detention; and it
therefore became requisite to court popularity, and to canvass public
favour as sedulously as at a general election for a seat in parliament.

Ever and anon, a great noise and clamour, and the rushing, spear in
hand, of all the idlers to one point, proclaimed a gentle passage of
arms among the savages, of which, nine times out of ten, a woman was the
subject--some gay Lothario having been recognised among the crowd by an
injured husband.  But no sooner had the cold steel fleshed from the
scabbard, than the bullies were secured by the bystanders, and being
perfectly _au fait_ at the business, they were easily restrained from
doing each other any grievous bodily harm.  In one scuffle indeed, a
hot-headed fool who had with singular want of discretion engaged in a
quarrel at too great a distance from his companions, got his thick wig
somewhat unpleasantly shaved to the skull a hand's breadth or more--a
fortunate occurrence indeed as it turned out, since the sight of blood
had the instantaneous effect of closing the senatorial proceedings of
the great conclave, which had been all night sitting in deliberation, so
that its members were yawning in a state of considerable exhaustion and
owlish stupefaction.  Tolo, the quarrelsome little warrior who thus
suddenly adjourned the sessions, lost three of his front teeth by the
hands of the husband whom he had injured in more ways than one--but he
retained possession of the inconstant lady, and publicly pledged
himself, that on his way back from Habesh he would take measures which
should set the matter at rest for ever.

The arrival from Shoa of a slave caravan in charge of the son of Abdool
Rahman Sowahil, Kazi of Tajura, added still further to the assembly in
the persons of several hundred unfortunate children of all ages, who
sought shelter from the fierce rays of the sun beneath the scanty trees
which dotted the rugged basaltic valley of Killulloo, or lay huddled
together beneath the hot shadow of an impending columnar rock.  Each
carried a small gourd as a water flagon, and, although generally in good
spirits, some idea of the sufferings in store for these hapless beings
could be formed by those who had just achieved the lower portion of the
perilous and formidable road.

"Have all my children arrived in safety?" inquired a corpulent old
slave-merchant who brought up the rear, tenderly accosting his mistress
elect, and chucking her playfully under the chin, as she flew to hold
the bridle of his mule; "are all my children well?" "_Humdu-lillah_,"
was the reply of the coy damsel, a really beautiful Christian from
Gurague, with long raven tresses, and a very pensive expression, who had
been compelled to profess Islamism.  Honoured with the caresses of her
flit and bigoted purchaser, the poor girl had been made responsible for
a drove consisting of three score little sister slaves, all
distinguished like herself by a tassel of green beads in the braided
hair, and who were now about to be counted by their "father."

The son of the Kazi having brought letters from Abyssinia, was shortly
introduced by Hajji Kasim, own cousin to Izhak, and by far the most
reasonable of the Tajura party.  Being in the course of conversation
quietly interrogated touching the cause of the Ras el Kafilah's
continued irritation, he turned at once to his companion, and solemnly
adjured him by the beard of the Prophet to answer conscientiously the
following questions.  "A head is ahead, is it not, all the world over?"

"Of course," responded the descendant of the chief justice, "there can
be no disputing that fact."

"A tail, too, is a tail, or I am much mistaken," continued the logician,
pursuing his thesis,--and this axiom was also unhesitatingly admitted as
beyond all controversy.  "Well, then," resumed Kasim, whose intellects
had been sharpened by a pilgrimage to the shrine at Medina; "no Kafilah
can possess two heads; and so long as Ali Mohammad, who is in fact the
tail, continues these underhand attempts to usurp the authority vested
in the brother of the Sultan of Tajura, our acknowledged head, matters
can never go on smoothly."

The old man was quietly reminded that the raw tobacco, which had given
rise to so much heart-burning, bickering, and dispute, was the sole
property of the British party, and that, with every deference to Izhak's
supreme authority, some control might with propriety be conceded to the
owners over their own wares; but that as to any interference in the
quarrel for the Ras el Kafilah-ship, the thing was clearly impossible--
the business having already been fully discussed and arranged with due
Danakil patience, by the Sultan, in some twenty tedious conferences with
the camel-owners and chiefs of Tajura.  Izhak, who had been listening to
this conversation with a dark scowl upon his brow, now entered as if by
accident, twirling his scanty locks, and beaming with smiles; proof of
his restoration to good humour being immediately afforded in the
extension of his right hand, not to perform the usual ceremony of
reconciliation, but in view to the palm being filled with a sufficiency
of Dr Ruddiman's Irish blackguard, to admit of indulgence in his
favourite recreation.

Hopes were now reasonably entertained of an amicable adjustment, the
real cause of dispute having meanwhile been traced to a jealousy
respecting the reward which it was conjectured the leader of the caravan
would receive at the hands of His Majesty of Shoa.  Mohammad Ali had
already been privately satisfied upon this point; and Izhak, in order to
strengthen his own claim, falsely asserted himself to have received by
the Kazi's son a letter from Sahela Selassie, appointing the Sultan of
Tajura to the charge of all his European friends who might desire to
visit Southern Abyssinia.  But the congress still sat as usual.  The
dispute arranged to-night was renewed at morning's dawn, as though it
had never formed the subject of deliberation; and at a period when the
near approach of rain in the higher regions, and the consequent flooding
of the Hawash, rendered every hour one of the utmost importance, not the
slightest prospect of departure could be discovered, beyond the
oft-repeated assurance, as often followed by disappointment--"_Bad bokra
Inshallah_," "If it please God, the day after to-morrow."

Volume One, Chapter XXVII.

PERSECUTIONS OF THE GATHERED CLANS--PARTING INTERVIEW WITH THE
AVARICIOUS CHIEFTAINS.

Throughout this period of irksome detention, the thermometer stood daily
at 112 degrees, and the temperature of the small tent, already
sufficiently oppressive, was rendered doubly unbearable by the unceasing
obtrusions of the wild, dirty, unmannerly rabble who filled the ravine.
Imperiously demanding, not suing for snuff, beads, and tobacco, with
paper whereon to write charms and spells for defence against evil
spirits, swarms forced in their greasy persons from the first dawn of
day to the mounting of the guard at night.  Treating the pale-faced
proprietors with the most marked insult and contumely, they spat upon
the beds, excluded both air and light, and tainted the already close
atmosphere with every abominable smell.  Not one of the greasy crowd
could be persuaded that the "cloth house," as the tent was denominated,
had not been each day re-erected solely for his individual use and
accommodation.  Many attempted with their creeses to curtail the much
coveted blue calico with which it was lined, and one lank ruffian, who
was detected leisurely searching for a peg whereon to hang the skin and
entrails of a newly killed he-goat, wrought himself into a positive fury
on being civilly apprised that he must look for shambles elsewhere.

Neither on the part of those composing the caravan was much privacy
allowed during the sultry day, when seclusion was so highly desirable.
Here, as throughout the march, offensive camel-drivers obtruded
themselves without any regard either to time or season; occupying the
chairs, composing themselves to sleep in groups upon the beds or on the
table; and, whilst they picked their ears and teeth with the pens, or
employed the knives in the pleasing operation of paring their filthy
talons, spitting without remorse wheresoever they listed.  Hating and
despising a Frank with all the zeal of the bigot, they yet insisted upon
shaking hands, on each intrusion, with the most scrupulous attention to
Danakil etiquette, and with unhesitating alacrity devoured the biscuits
and swallowed the coffee of the "Christian dogs."

The despotic arrangements enforced by the Ras el Kafilah, although
doubtless materially conducive to his own personal convenience, and to
that of his unaccommodating followers, were moreover far from enhancing
the comfort of the Embassy.  Boxes and bales, after having been
unceremoniously dashed upon the ground, in utter disregard of
remonstrance or of the fragile nature of the contents, had on this
occasion, as on the termination of each march, been piled in a circle,
each component heap consisting of three sides of a square, which, with
the addition of a few mats thrown over the top, formed a habitation
fully as commodious as a Dankali is ever accustomed to.  Any attempt to
disturb the economy of these tenements, by referring to the boxes
employed in their construction, being regarded as an act of premeditated
injury and insult, was stoutly resisted; and as no portion of the
baggage once removed to the tent, was ever received again without a
battle, the materials of comfort or occupation were very rarely
obtainable.  In the selection of his load at Tajura, every self-willed
driver had suited his individual inclinations, and as no persuasion
could now induce him to deposit any portion in a spot where it might be
under surveillance, the provisions, placed beyond the reach of their
owners, but accessible to every hungry knave, were perpetually pilfered
and purloined.

Universal somnolency on the part of the hired guard, had rendered two
European sentries and an officer of the watch indispensable throughout
the journey; and in such a nest of robbers as Killulloo, the precaution
was more than ever requisite.  In a fine climate, with a manly foe in
front, a night watch is far from being a disagreeable duty.  Here it was
beyond all things annoying.  Pacing up and down over the same re-trodden
ground, to keep the heavy eyelids on the stretch, in order to prevent
the prowling Bedouin from pilfering a bag of dates, or to detect the
lurking assassin, who in the dark creeps like a wild beast to perpetrate
his dastardly deed, is but a sorry business; and it was rendered more
particularly hateful from the rank offensive steam, which arose thick
and hot from the small circle in which the beds were spread.  Stifling
exudations from the fetid mouths of one hundred and seventy camels that
fed on the most disgusting rubbish, filled the suffocating atmosphere,
which was impregnated with atoms still more vile from the rancid
sheep's-tail fat, wherewith every Dankali is so liberally besmeared.

Among the motley races congregated at this crowded watering-place, were
the endless tribes of Adaiel, with broad-headed spear and shield of high
antiquity--the coast Somauli, armed with light lance and diminutive
wrinkled buckler, scarcely larger than a biscuit--and his much-dreaded
Eesah brother, carrying a long stout bow of the ancient form, with the
double bend, and a quiver of poisoned arrows slung by a lion's tail.
These latter were by far the most conspicuous, as well as the most
agreeable figures.  Their togas, although not less filthy than those of
their neighbours, were thrown more gracefully over the brawny shoulder;
their picturesque weapons were borne with an ease that habit can alone
impart; and, notwithstanding that the white trophy floated over their
raven locks in token of bloody deeds, nearly all boasted of laughing,
intelligent, and far from unpleasing countenances--a delightful relief
at all events from the scowling downcast look of the exacting, perverse,
and impracticable Danakil.

The Woema, deeming unlawful the use of the bow in their own persons,
maintain upwards of one hundred Somauli archers, originally prisoners of
war, who, although naturalised among their conquerors, retain their own
language, and never intermarry.  The hunting portion of the Eesah tribe,
who are designated "Bone," usually carry a rude bamboo flute, the wild
plaintive cadence of which is believed to charm the ostrich.  Their
hair, with the aid of suet, is often dressed in the figure of the
"pudding" worn by children during their first lessons in the art of
walking; and deeply graven on the forehead of each are to be seen the
masonic square and compasses.

Universally skilled in woodcraft, the ferocious subjects of ibn Fara may
be styled a nation of hunters, many being proprietors of trained
ostriches, which graze during the day with the flocks in the open plain,
and have their legs hobbled at night, to preclude wandering.  These
gigantic birds are employed with great success in stalking wild animals,
a trained donkey being also in constant use--lashed below the belly of
which, the archer is carried among the unsuspecting herd, when his
arrows, poisoned with the milk of the _euphorbia antiquorum_, deal death
on every side.

It is to the skill of these wild Nimrods that the Danakil are chiefly
indebted for their shields, which are manufactured of the thick hide of
the oryx, here styled the Baeza.  Two bucklers of a foot or eighteen
inches in diameter, fetching each four _tobes_ of blue calico, value two
dollars, are obtained from the animal's fore hand; and from the hind
quarters are cut others of smaller dimensions, such as are in use among
the pastoral Somauli.  Ostrich feathers are also principally obtained
from the Eesah; the unsullied plumes, when stripped from the
fleet-footed bird, being deposited for the convenience of carriage, in
portions of the gullet cut to the proper length.  The process pursued by
these children of the desert in the preparation of smaller fowls for the
table, if not strictly in accordance with the directions of Dr
Kitchener, can, at all events, claim ingenuity.  From some superstitious
motive, the feet are chopped off with the creese, and the carcase,
undivested of the entrails, having been incased in wet clay, is thrust
into a hot fire; on removal whence the feathers are left adhering to the
paste, and in culinary phraseology, "the bird is done."

Crowds of Bedouin shepherdesses, and females belonging to all the
various nomade tribes, were likewise assembled in the Killulloo ravine,
and the cry of "_wurkut, wurkut_!" "paper, paper!" was incessant on the
part of the softer sex, who, with a licence unknown and a freedom
unenjoyed by the daughters of Eve in other Mohammadan countries, were
unremitting in their attendance and flirtations, without exciting the
jealousy of their lords.  From the lips of these damsels, "_Mahisse,
Mahisseni!"  "Manina teni_?"  "Good morrow!"  "How do you do?" came not
disagreeably; and trinkets such as they loved, being civilly solicited,
instead of imperiously demanded, the applicants were rarely
unsuccessful.

Amongst those who boasted of the most feminine and attractive
appearance, were the fair partner and sister of Mohammad Ali--their
wedded and single state being as usual distinguishable, from the coif of
blue calico which marks the wife, and by the long uncovered plaited
locks of the maid.  Assembling with many of the frail sisterhood at the
door of the tent, where numbers were usually lounging in careless
attitudes, they one day demanded that the palm of beauty might be
awarded.  Unwilling to throw the apple of discord, the mirror was placed
in their hands, that the coquettes might judge for themselves; and after
each in succession had started involuntarily at the sight of her own
greasy charms, and had defended the individual features whereof she was
mistress, to the utmost of her eloquence and ability, the verdict was
finally found in favour of the virgin daughter of the venerable old
sheikh.

Although the majority of the slaves imported with the caravan from
Abyssinia were of tender years, and many of them extremely pretty, they
did not excite that interest which might have been anticipated.
Children accustomed to sorry fare and to harsh treatment in their own
country, they had very readily adapted themselves to the will of their
new masters, whose obvious interest it was to keep them fat and in good
spirits.  With few exceptions, all were merry and light-hearted.
Recovered from the fatigues of the long march, there was nothing but
dancing, singing, and romping; and although many wore an air of
melancholy, which forms a national characteristic, the little victims to
a traffic so opposed to every principle of humanity, might rather have
been conjectured to be proceeding on a party of pleasure, than bending
their steps for ever from their native land.

A very limited number of Shankelas and a few natives of Zingero
excepted, the whole consisted of Christians and Heathens from Gurague,
whence are obtained the "red Ethiopians" so much-prized in Arabia.
Kidnapping has consequently been there carried to an extent so frightful
as to impart the name of the unhappy province as a designation for
slaves generally.  Nearly all of both sexes, however, had already become
passive converts to the Mohammadan faith, and under the encouraging eye
of the bigoted drivers, oaths by the false Prophet resounded through the
camp.  Nine-tenths were females, varying in age from six to thirteen
years, and all were clad alike in dirty cotton smocks of Abyssinian
manufacture, adorned in some instances with cuffs of blue calico.  Their
long dark tresses, elaborately greased, were plaited into thin cords
with tassels at the extremity, and interwoven about the head with a band
of coloured thread, to which was suspended a distinguishing cluster of
cowrie shells.  Bead necklaces, pewter ear-rings, bracelets, and
anklets, decorated the persons of the prettiest; and these ornaments,
forming the stock in hand of the trader, are invariably resumed on each
bargain effected, in order to be transferred to some victim hereafter to
be purchased.

Each slave was provided with a cruse of water, and had walked the entire
distance accomplished from the heart of Africa, with an endurance that
in children especially of such tender years was truly surprising.  A
very few only, who had become weary or footsore, had been mounted on
mules or camels, or provided with ox-hide sandals, which in some measure
protected their tender feet against the sharp lava boulders.  The males,
chiefly boys, had been entrusted with the charge of camels, and required
no compulsion to render themselves useful; and of the females, some, who
boasted personal charms, occupied the position of temporary mistresses.
Four large handfuls of parched grain, comprising a mixture of wheat,
maize, millet, and gram, formed the daily food of each; and under the
charge of the most intelligent, the respective droves slept huddled
together on mats spread upon the ground.  Some surly old drivers or
wanton youths there were, who appeared to prefer the application of the
whip to the more gentle persuasion of words; but in the trifling
punishment inflicted there was nothing to remind the spectator of the
horrors of slavery as witnessed in the western world.

Few caravans ever traverse the deadly Adel plains without losing some
slaves at least by the sultriness of the climate, or by the wanton spear
of the adjacent hordes.  Three of the fat merchant's children had been
murdered shortly after leaving Abyssinia, and at his instigation a foray
was now concerting among the united warriors of the two caravans, having
for its object the destruction of the neighbouring Wurboro Galla, whose
families were to be swept into captivity.  In this unprovoked slave-hunt
the Embassy were strongly urged to take part, but positively refusing
the aid of British muskets in furtherance of any such object, the
project was finally abandoned, more especially when a huge, brawny
Shankela, the property of the Kazi's son, was one morning discovered to
have effected his escape during the night, doubtless with the design of
carrying to the unsuspecting tribe a timely intimation of the gathering
storm.

Ominous _kalams_ meanwhile went on as usual, and fresh reinforcements
arrived to take share therein.  Villains of every degree continued to
slide in as if hung upon wires, to stand cross-legged within the door of
the tent until their curiosity was satisfied, and then to assume a seat
in the congress.  Hajji Abdallah and Elmi, the nephews of Ali Shermarki,
listening by turns, brought hourly reports of the progress making
towards final adjustment, and "_Bokra, Inshallah_!"  "To-morrow, God
willing!" the now undeviating reply to every interrogatory relative to
departure, had become a perfect by-word in every mouth.  At length, on
the 28th, it was pompously announced by the Ras el Kafilah that every
point at issue had _bona fide_ been satisfactorily arranged--that the
water-skins were to be filled in the evening before the flocks and herds
should return from pasture to trouble the pools--and that the journey
was positively to be resumed betimes on the morrow.

Upon this welcome assurance the three potent chieftains already named
were again received, though with closed doors at their own request, in
order that each might be invested with a turban and an honorary mantle
of scarlet broad-cloth, as rewards of their villainy.  A most difficult
point of etiquette had now to be overcome.  The Akil of the Hy Somauli,
whose liege subjects had abstracted the mule from Fialoo, was the bosom
friend and partisan of Izhak, whilst the illustrious personages who sat
in regal dignity on either side were near and dear relatives of Mohammad
Ali; and the rivals respectively watching with jealous eye every act
that could be construed into favour or partiality, would infallibly have
fired at any preference shown in the presentation of these enviable
distinctions from the British Government.  The presents were therefore
placed on a table immediately opposite to the respective parties, and
thence simultaneously launched with the same arm into the laps of the
confronted recipients; when each bundle, even to the envelope, being
found the exact counterpart of the others, no grounds for jealousy or
heart-burning could be devised.

Misfortune had during this interim overtaken the "Sahib el bayzah," the
imp whose acquaintance was formed in the harbour of Tajura.  Detected in
the mischievous dissemination of evil tales respecting his clansmen, and
in circulating others of an equally discreditable tendency, purely the
fruit of his own fertile invention, affecting the throng at Killulloo,
he had been taken to task by Abroo ibn Aboo Bekr, upon whom he drew his
creese without further ado.  The bloodthirsty little savage, who had not
numbered his fourteenth year, being seized, was tied to a tree, and most
severely chastised.  His passionate cries and shrieks under the lash had
reached the tent during the interview now happily terminated, and no
sooner was he taken down than he came blubbering to lodge his complaint.
No satisfactory reply being elicited, the precocious youth unsheathed
his knife, with which he viciously went through the form of
disembowelling a prostrate foe.  His feelings thus relieved, he dried
his eyes, and, with a significant toss of the head, remarked as he
walked away, "'Tis of no consequence, `_maphish_,' no importance
whatever; but by the grace of God I shall cut the throat of that cousin
of mine, before I am many days older!"

Volume One, Chapter XXVIII.

RENEWAL OF DEBATES BY IBRAHIM SHEHEM ABLI, SURNAMED "THE DEVIL"--FINAL
ESCAPE TO WARAMILLI.

Affairs nevertheless began now to assume a more desperate appearance
than ever.  The night of this day of good tidings setting-in with a
storm of dust, followed by a heavy fall of rain, a party of Bedouins
scoured unperceived through the camp, and in spite of every precaution
swept off many articles of trifling value.  Amongst the booty was a tub
of sugar-candy, which, on the hue and cry being raised, the rogues were
fain to abandon, together with the bedding of one of the escort.  An
incessant bombardment of large stones was kept up during the whole night
from the thick underwood in the vicinity, directed as well against the
sentries on duty, who paced the same weary ground for the ten thousandth
time, as against the position occupied by the sleepers, one of whom,
having emerged for a moment from the tarpaulin which the rain had
rendered indispensable, received a severe contusion.

Mohammad Ali, in a state of evident alarm, came as soon as the shower
had abated to say that there existed no prospect of the march being
resumed in accordance with the solemn promise of the Ras el Kafilah; and
that feeling longer unable to answer for the lives of the party amongst
such a congregation of lawless ruffians, he was desirous of conducting
to Shoa on horseback all who felt so disposed, leaving the heavy baggage
to be secured by his father as far as circumstances would admit.  Should
matters unfortunately reach the decided crisis which there seemed every
reason to apprehend, the son of Ali Abi was clearly the staff whereon to
rely, his intercourse with Europeans having rendered his manners more
frank and ingenuous than those of his selfish and shuffling rivals; but
although _kalams_ and altercations had again commenced, a sense of duty
for the present precluded the adoption of his project.

Morning of the 29th dawned upon no preparations for departure, and a
fresh source of detention was indeed found to have arisen from a new
claim for precedence put in by Ibrahim Shehem, the litigious member of
the tribe Abli, which ranks in the Danakil nation next to that of Adali,
to which the brother of the reigning Sultan belongs.  Another tedious
day of insult and debate ensued; but the question was at length disposed
of by the congress, who decided the fiery little warrior to hold place
second to Izhak in the conduct of the kafilah, to the exclusion of
Mohammad Ali, through whose tribe the party were now to pass.

Again it was announced with due formality that all matters at issue were
peaceably and satisfactorily arranged, and several bales of blue calico,
with quantities of snuff, tobacco, and dates, having been distributed
among the weary disputants, they were finally induced to disperse, each
carrying his _tobe_ folded in triangular form, and stuck, as if in
triumph of his plunder, like a placard, at the end of a slit stick.
Ibrahim ibn Hameido, Akil of the Hy Somauli, left at his departure a
clump of twenty bold spearmen to escort the Embassy to the banks of the
Hawash; and, after shaking hands with each of the European party, to the
benediction "_Fee aman illah_," bade the whole "_Tarik is sulama_" God
speed upon the road.

Ibrahim Shehem Abli, appropriately surnamed by his compatriots
"Shaytan," or "The Evil One," carried a great soul under a very
diminutive person; and being a perfect Roostum in his own estimation,
was one of those who honoured the humble tent of the Embassy with a much
larger share of his presence than could have been desired.  No sooner
was it pitched than the consequential little man strutted in as if by
previous invitation, and, with an air that left no doubt as to the side
on which he considered the obligation to lay, spread his mat in the
least convenient position that could have been selected to the lawful
proprietors of the interior.  By virtue of a claim which it had
heretofore been difficult to understand, he considered himself entitled
to the receipt of rations in addition to the handsome pecuniary
remuneration extorted at Tajura, and to keep him out of mischief, he had
daily obtained in common with the Ras el Kafilah two large handfuls of
rice.

Elated by his recent advancement, he this evening, after sleeping some
hours on the table, suddenly bounced upon his legs, and assuming an
attitude of mortal defiance, which his contemptible presence rendered
truly diverting, exclaimed with the most exaggerated want of courtesy,
"You Franks don't know who I am, or you would treat me with more
respect.  I am Ibrahim Shehem Abli, who slew the chief of the Mudaito in
single combat, and"--placing the hand of one of his audience in a
frightful chasm of the skull, which afforded ample room for three
fingers and a half--"here is the wound I received upon that occasion.
Do you conceive that I can always consent to receive the paltry pittance
of rice with which I have hitherto been put off?  Double the quantity
immediately, and see that I have my proper share of dates and coffee
too, or by the head of the Prophet we shall not long continue on our
present friendly terms."

An Arab of desperate fortunes, the ancestor of this pugnacious little
hero, is said to have concealed himself, clothed in white robes, among
the spreading branches of a tree; and his partisans having induced the
simple-minded villagers to repair to the spot in the dusk of evening,
the intruder, on being discovered, was accosted deferentially as a
spirit.  Revealing himself under the character of a great Arabian
warrior, who had shun his thousands in the battle, the man of valour was
entreated to descend, and become one of the tribe; but to this he would
by no means consent until a pledge had been passed to recognise him as
its chief, and assign as his own the whole extent of country visible
from his elevated perch, which done, he was pleased to alight, and
became the father of Braves.  'Tis well for his posterity that the
experiment had not been made in a later day, or the cotton robe would
have been stripped from the shoulder of the warrior, and a lifeless
trunk been left beneath the tree to mark the interview.

Throughout the sojourn of the Embassy at Killulloo, Izhak had
peremptorily insisted upon the tent being struck at sunset, lest the
display of so much white and blue cloth might excite the cupidity of the
Bedouins, and the preparations making to carry this despotic order into
effect, may perhaps have been the means of ruffling the never very
placid temper of his now second in command.  The aversion of the Ras el
Kafilah to any thing like a habitable structure being well understood,
the unhoused party amused itself at his expense, by the erection of
stone walls of considerable extent, as a shelter during the coming night
of rain.  "In the name of Allah," he exclaimed, blustering up to the
spot, and kicking over a portion of the fabric with the pointed toe of
the very sandal that had suffered so severely during the disagreeable
debate at Ambabo,--"in the name of Allah and his Prophet, what is the
meaning of all this?  We shall have our throats cut to a man if you
people persist in this folly: there will be no rain to-night!"

But the rain did fall in torrents, notwithstanding the assurance of the
Ras; and although the ravine was now comparatively clear of ragamuffins,
stones continued to rattle at intervals against the awning erected for
the shelter of the European sentries.  That portion of the party off
duty, steamed, after an hour's drenching, under thick heavy tarpaulins,
whilst the fluid glided unheeded over the sleeping persons of the paid
escort, who were well-greased and oiled, like wild ducks prepared for a
long flight.

On the last day of the month, after nearly a week's tedious detention in
an insalubrious and soul-depressing spot, surrounded by black basaltic
rocks, where little forage could be obtained, where water, although
abundant, was extremely bad, and where the persecutions of prying
savages, from whom there was no escape, were unceasing, the Embassy was
again permitted to resume its march.  Every hour had seemed an age, and
"_Galla gassetoi_," the well-known cry to load, had therefore never been
listened to with more heartfelt delight.  Until after the rear of the
string of camels left the ground, and Izhak was fairly seated on his
mule, it was scarcely possible to believe that some fresh cause of
detention would not be discovered; but the debates were at last over,
and the litigants, weary of raising new objections, suffered their
victims to advance in peace.

The road wound up the Killulloo Wady, and thence over a barren rise
strewed with obsidian, and with stones, the common pest of the country,
to Waramilli.  An interesting sight was presented in the line of march
of a tribe proceeding in quest of water to the northward--a long line of
dromedaries, homed cattle, oxen, sheep, and goats, interspersed by women
and children, scantily clad in leathern petticoats, and laden with the
rude date matting of portable wigwams, or the still ruder implements of
household gear.  Whilst the females thus bore heavy burdens slung across
their breasts or led the files of camels, upon which rocked the long,
raking, ship-like ribs of the dismantled cabin, the lazy lords sauntered
ungallantly along, encumbered with naught save the equipment of spear
and buckler, the ferocious aspect of all giving ample presage of the
intentions entertained towards any party less formidable than
themselves.

Total absence of water on the route usually pursued had determined the
Ras el Kafilah, after much discussion and deliberation, to adopt the
lower and shorter road, which, in consequence of the frequent forays of
the Galla, had been for some years closed to caravans.  But
notwithstanding that so much invaluable time had been lost at Killulloo
under such provoking circumstances, and that the march finally made
thence fell short of seven miles, he again persisted in halting, thus
affording to Hajji Ali Mohammad and Wayess ibn Hagaio an opportunity of
rejoining with a party of troublesome Bedouins.  The renewed
discussions, which did not fail to follow this influx of savages,
together with the artful assurances given of the danger to be
apprehended on the road selected, had nearly prevailed upon the unstable
Izhak to take the kafilah back to Killulloo, for the purpose of
proceeding by the upper road; but Ibrahim Shehem Abli, stepping forward
in his new capacity, drew his creese, and performing sundry
not-to-be-mistaken gestures, swore vehemently upon the sacred Koran to
rip up the belly of the very first blockhead who should attempt a
retrograde step--his object doubtless being to thwart the views of
Mohammad Ali, whose tribe, occupying the upper ground, would derive
advantage from the transit of the Embassy by that quarter.

Waramilli is the usual encamping ground of a section of the Gibdosa
Adaiel, but their place was fortunately empty.  Completely environed by
low hills, it proved insufferably hot; and no water was obtainable
nearer than Wady Killulloo, now distant more than two miles from the
bivouac; but the party were in some measure reconciled to detention in
this spot by the arrival from Tajura of a special messenger, bringing
letters which bore very recent dates.  Nevertheless the Dankali to whose
hands the packet had first been consigned had nearly perished from
intense heat and want of water in his attempt to pass the Salt Lake; and
being compelled to relinquish the journey, had returned to the sea-port
nearer dead than alive.

Petty thefts without end were committed by the lawless rabble who had
followed the caravan and located themselves in the immediate
neighbourhood.  Ibrahim Shehem Abli, totally regardless of the character
due to his exaltation, was detected in the very act of drawing a cloth
with his foot over a pair of pistols, whilst he cleverly held the
proprietor in conversation.  His design was to obtain a reward for their
restitution,--a trick in common practice by the camel-drivers and hired
escort; and this was by no means the first exhibition of his own
knavery.  But it was some consolation to perceive that, although the
Franks were of course the principal sufferers, depredations were not
altogether restricted to their property.  Numerous shields and cloths
were abstracted from too confident Danakil; the Ras el Kafilah's sandals
were purloined; and at the going down of the sun, a proclamation went
forth through Ibrahim Burhanto, the common camp-crier, that Wayess ibn
Hagaio, Akil of the Woema, having lost his spear, all parties possessing
knowledge of the nefarious transaction were required to give information
of the same to the proprietor, as they hoped to prosper!

Volume One, Chapter XXIX.

NAGA KOOMI--MEINHA-TOLLI--MADERA-DUBBA, AND SULTELLI.

Two windy nights, during which it blew a perfect hurricane, were passed
in unabated vigilance, owing to the number of ruffians lurking about the
broken ground, the waters whereof tumble in the rainy season into the
rugged chasm of Killulloo.  At an early hour on the 2nd of July, a voice
went through the camp, summoning the slothful camel-drivers to bestir
themselves; and the incessant growling of their disturbed beasts, which
arose in various keys of dissatisfaction from every part of the circle,
followed by drowsy Danakil imprecations, and by the merciless
dismantling of huts, to the destruction of bales and boxes, presently
announced that the work of loading had duly commenced.

A march of fifteen miles over a country more level than usual, though
sufficiently rough and stony withal, led through the Doomi valley to
Naga Koomi.  An abutting prong of land, under which the road wound, was
adorned with a cluster of bee-hive-shaped huts styled Koriddra, and at
its base the _Balsamodendron Myrrha_ grew abundantly, the aromatic
branches famishing every savage in the caravan with a new tooth-brush,
to be carried in the scabbard of the creese.  The encampment occupied a
wide, dreary plain, bounded by the high mountain range of Jebel Feeoh;
and although water was said to exist in the neighbourhood, it proved too
distant to be accessible.

The Ras el Kafilah, at whose hands the Franks experienced about the same
amount of respect and tolerance as a rich Jew in the days of Coeur de
Lion, here imperiously demanded daily rations of rice and dates for the
band of spearmen left as an escort by the Akil of the Hy Somauli; and on
being informed that this very unreasonable request could not be complied
with, in consequence of the tedious delays on the road having reduced
the supplies so low as to be barely sufficient to last to Abyssinia, his
brow became suddenly overcast, he relapsed into his wonted ill-humour,
rejected a tendered sheep with indignation, and flung out of the tent in
a passion.

It rained heavily during the greater part of the night, and an early
summons to rise found the party again drenched to the skin.  The
inclement weather had not by any means tended to restore Izhak to
smiles; and his mats having proved quite insufficient to preserve him
from full participation in the pleasures of the nocturnal bath, the
effect upon his temper was but too manifest.  "Don't whistle, don't
whistle!" he exclaimed with a sneer to one of his charge, who was so
amusing himself within hearing; "what are you whistling for?  I have
loaded the camels under a prayer from the sacred Koran, and you are
doing your best to break the spell, and call up gins by your whistling.
`_La illah illallah, wo Mohammad rasul illah_;'" "there is no God but
God, and Mohammad is the Prophet of God."

"_Fein tero_?  In the name of the three kaliphs where are you going to?"
again vociferated the testy old man, in a terrible passion, to the same
luckless individual, who, with a loaded rifle in his hand, had now left
the road in pursuit of an antelope. "`_Taal henna_!'  `Come back, will
you!'  _Wullah_! you'll be getting your throat cut presently by the
Buddoos, and then I shall be asked what has become of you.  Can't you
keep the road?  This ugly defile is named `the place of lions,' and one
of them will be eating you anon."

Another march of fifteen miles brought the caravan to Meinha-tolli,
where some hollows had been filled by the recent heavy fall of rain; but
large droves of horned cattle having soiled in them, the muddy water was
so strongly tainted as to be barely drinkable under any disguise.  The
country throughout bears signs of violent volcanic eruption of later
times, which has covered one portion with lava, and another with ashes
and cinders.  At the outset the road led over the usual basaltic ground,
strewed with fragments of obsidian, but after crossing Arnoot, a deep
ravine choked with refreshing green bushes, in which the exhausted
beasts obtained a most welcome supply of muddy water, the stony valleys
gave place to sandy plains, clothed with short yellow grass, and
intersected by low ranges of hills.

One wide level expanse, termed Azoroo, stretching at the foot of the
peaked mountain Aiulloo, was pointed out in the distance as the scene of
a signal victory gained about six years since by the Woema over their
predatory foes the Mudaito.  The bones of upwards of three thousand of
the combatants which now whiten the sands, have caused the desertion of
the best road by the superstitious Danakil.  With the escort were many
warriors who had taken part in this engagement, and they described the
conflict, which commenced in a night attack, to have raged, spear to
spear, and shield to shield, throughout the entire of the following day,
towards the close of which the "red house" was routed.

As usual, in the evening we sent for a sheep from our flock, but the Ras
el Kafilah stoutly asserted that the whole had been transferred to
himself for consumption by the escort of Hy Somauli, and although
eventually compelled to relinquish one, he did so with an extremely bad
grace.  Thunder and lightning, with severe squalls and heavy rain, again
closed the day--and great confusion and discomfort was occasioned by a
sudden whirl of wind, followed by the fall upon the party, of the
saturated tent, from the wet folds of which escape was not easily
effected.  A dreary night succeeded.  The watery moon shed but a dull
and flitting light over the drenched camp; and the pacing officer of the
watch, after an hour's exposure to the pitiless hurricane, calling up
his relief, threw himself with aching bones upon the inundated bed.

"Did I not tell you what would be the consequence of your abominable
whistling," grumbled old Izhak, the first thing in the morning; "old Ali
Arab is too sick to be moved, and one of my best camels has strayed,
Allah knows where."  The rope with which the legs of the lost animal had
been fettered, was meanwhile rolled betwixt his hands, and sundry
cabalistic words having been muttered whilst the Devil was dislodged by
the process of spitting upon the cord at the termination of each spell,
it was finally delivered over to the Dankali about to be sent on the
quest, and he presently returned successful.

Ahmed Mohammad, the messenger who had been despatched from Tajura with
an Arabic letter for Sahela Selassie, requesting assistance on the road,
returned during this delay.  He had passed the night in a Bedouin
encampment, the proximity of which had been betrayed by the barking of
dogs at each discharge of the musket when the sentinel was relieved.
The courier brought advices to the Embassy, and native letters for Izhak
and Mohammad Ali.  Owing to the jealousy of the frontier officers of
Efat, he had been subjected to many days of needless detention, during
which the king had led a distant military expedition; and although
compliments and assurances of welcome were not wanting, they were
coupled with the unsatisfactory intelligence that the party must trust
entirely to its own resources, as in the absence of His Majesty, no
assistance whatever could be rendered.

The rainy season having now fairly set in, it was believed that the
pools on the upper road would furnish a sufficient supply of water, and
the course was accordingly shaped towards it.  Emerging upon the
extensive plain of Merihan, bounded to the westward by the lofty peaked
range of Feeoh, the route skirted the Bundoora hills, thickly clothed
with grass, and varying in height from six hundred to a thousand feet.
Wayess, the chief of the Woema, formerly held his head-quarters in this
neighbourhood, at Hagaio-dera-dubba; but the Eesah Somauli making
frequent inroads, and at last sweeping off all the cattle of the tribe,
it was abandoned.  The hill ranges on both sides have sent lava streams
almost to the middle of the plain, but generally it is covered with a
fine light-coloured soil, strewn with volcanic ashes and small fragments
of obsidian--the grass, improved by the recent showers, having partially
acquired a greenish tint.  A singular detached hill composed of
fresh-water limestone, contained a few impressions of small spiral
shells, whilst the surrounding rocks exhibit the usual cellular basalt.

No one could conceive that the rugged arid wastes whereon he trod, had
ever in themselves been either productive or populous.  Saving the
labours of the termites, exhibited in endless mounds of vast dimensions,
no monument of industry redeems the inhospitable landscape; yet these
measureless plains, no less than the barren mountain ranges so lately
traversed, did formerly, as now they might, afford hordes of hardy
soldiers, that under a bold leader, such as the mighty Graan, who in the
sixteenth century unfurled the banner of the impostor, and at the head
of a countless army overran and nearly destroyed the Ethiopic empire,
were admirably adapted to possess themselves of the more fertile plains
and provinces adjoining.  Whatever may have been the virtues and
endowments of these olden warriors, their posterity, like the dwellings
they inhabit, are sufficiently rude and degenerate.

Wady Bundoora, clothed in a thicket of verdant bushes, had been selected
as the halting ground, and its appearance promised a copious supply of
water; but every pool proved dry, and the march was therefore continued
to Madera-dubba--a second and similar ravine, which was confidently
expected to afford the desired element.  Disappointment was however
again in store, and the rain not having extended thus far, the usual
reservoirs were referred to in vain.  Worse than all, information was
here received that not a drop of water would be found at the next
station; whilst, owing to the wear and tear of skins, added to the too
confident anticipations indulged, barely a sufficient supply for even
one day accompanied the kafilah.

It had been determined under these untoward circumstances, to move on at
midnight; but after an insufferably hot day, rain again interfered.
Unfortunately it did not fall in sufficient quantities to be of much
utility; a few pints caught in tarpaulins, which, with all available
utensils, were placed for the reception of the precious fluid, proving
very inadequate to the wants of the thirsty party.  At 3 a.m. the
caravan advanced down the valley, with cool refreshing weather, and a
fine moon shining brightly overhead.  From the summit of a tumulus of
black lava, marking the point where the undulations of the Bundoora
hills trend towards the mountains of the Ittoo Galla, an extensive view
was obtained with the dawning day, over a country bearing the most
extraordinary volcanic character--huge craters on the one hand towering
to the clouds, whilst on the other sank the wide valley of Kordeite,
through which lay the high road to the desolate plains of Errur.

A few pools of muddy rain-water by the wayside were eagerly drained by
the sinking cattle, but a deep ravine, bordered with green trees and
bushes, was explored to no purpose; and after crossing the fine open
plain of Eyroluf, abounding in gazelles and swine, the road led round
the base of a remarkable cone, styled Jebel Helmund, which had long been
in view.  Isolated, and four hundred feet in height, with a crater
opening to the north-eastward, which would seem at no very remote period
to have discontinued its eruption, it is surrounded by a broad belt of
lava, some three miles in diameter.  This has formed towards the plain a
black scarped wall, rising from fifteen to twenty feet, of which the
wooded crevices teemed with quail, partridges, and guinea-fowl, and were
said to be so many great dens of lions.

The sultry afternoon was already far advanced, when the weary eye was
refreshed by a glimpse of the verdant plain of Sultelli, a perfectly
level expanse, so ingeniously overgrown with pale green vegetation as to
furnish an exact representation of a wide lake covered with floating
duckweed, around which numerous camels were busily browsing on the rank
herbage.  During the greater part of the year, this plain presents one
vast and delightful sheet of water; but the fairy form of the
light-footed gazelle was presently seen bounding over the delusive
surface, and although clothed throughout with the most tantalising
verdure, it yet proved perfectly dry.  The camels were milch females,
capable of subsisting for days, and even for weeks together, without
drinking, whilst their milk serves to quench the thirst of their
unwashed Bedouin attendants.  Beedur, the chief of a section of the
Debeni, who resides in this spot during the rainy season, had long since
decamped with his clan to more distant pastures.

Every hollow in the rich black soil abounding with shells, was vainly
explored; and after a seventeen mile march, the party, weary and
thirsty, were fain to encamp on the opposite side, and giving up the
search as fruitless, to rest satisfied with the nauseous contents of
water-skins filled at the putrid pools of Meinha-tolli--a second, and if
possible, a worse edition of the impurities brewed at the Salt Lake.
Both amongst men and cattle the utmost distress prevailed.  A
suffocating blast blew incessantly, heat the most intense was reflected
from the adjacent black rocks; and nearly all of the horses and mules
were so completely exhausted that there appeared no prospect of dragging
them other sixteen miles to the nearest reservoir.

But towards midnight the beneficent flood-gates of Heaven were
providentially opened, and a violent storm bursting over the camp, in
less than half an hour filled every ravine and hollow to overflowing,
and afforded a plentiful and truly seasonable, although transient,
supply.  Tearing up their pickets from the saturated soil, the dying
animals thrust into the turbid stream that rolled through the encampment
their hot noses, which for two entire days and nights had been strangers
to moisture, and filled their sunken flanks almost to bursting.
Cackling troops of guinea-fowl flocked to the pools from the adjacent
heights.  Embankments were thrown up, and wells excavated; and European,
Danakil, and camp-follower--Christian, Moslem, and Hindoo--all drenched
to the skin, falling together upon their knees in the posture of
thanksgiving, sucked down the first copious draught of palatable water
that had been enjoyed since leaving Fialoo.

Volume One, Chapter XXX.

FIELD OF EXTINCT VOLCANOES.  OASIS OF YOOR ERAIN MAROO.

Singular and interesting indeed is the wild scenery in the vicinity of
the treacherous oasis of Sultelli.  A field of extinct volcanic cones,
vomited forth out of the entrails, of the earth, and encircled each by a
black belt of vitrified lava, environs it on three sides; and of these,
Mount Abida, three thousand feet in height, whose yawning cup, enveloped
in clouds, stretches some two and half miles in diameter, would seem to
be the parent.  Beyond, the still loftier crater of Aiulloo, the ancient
landmark of the now decayed empire of Ethiopia, is visible in dim
perspective; and looming hazily in the extreme distance, the great blue
Abyssinian range towards which the steps of the toil-worn wayfarers were
directed--now for the first time visible--arose in towering grandeur to
the skies.

Overwhelmed by violent subterranean convulsion and commotion, which,
reversing the order of things, has again and again altered the former
appearance, the face of the country for miles around the base of the
larger volcanoes, presents one sheet of lava.  Activity would not appear
to have extended much beyond the immediate neighbourhood of each; but
there is a connection between the whole cluster visible in small lava
streams and a vast quantity of volcanic debris, converted into humus, in
the adjacent valleys.  Yet it is by no means apparent that these alone
have contributed to form the present surface, the south-eastern side of
the field terminating in much older formation of wacke.  Neither would
any one of the craters appear to have very lately poured out the fiery
stream.  Ibrahim Shehem Abli indeed deposed with an oath to having seen
Father Abida in flames about twelve years previously; but, on further
investigation, there seemed reason to believe that the conflagration he
witnessed must have been confined to the long grass with which portions
of the steep sides are clothed.

The well-timed deluge of rain which fell during the night had been so
eagerly drunk by the thirsty desert, that when the morning dawned the
only traces of the storm were presented in numberless channels left by
the torrent, with here and there a muddy pool, around which the
guinea-fowl were still rallying in clamorous troops.  Every portion of
the road having been saturated, and rendered far too heavy for the jaded
camels, advance was of necessity delayed until noon, by which time they
had become sufficiently dry to admit of the resumption of the journey.
A bare alluvial plain, skirting the base of the Koomi range, led to a
few acacia trees of larger growth than had heretofore been seen.  They
occupied a hollow styled Ras Mittur, which is the point of union of the
two roads from Killulloo, and hence the caravan struck off across a
grassy plain, abounding in herds of graceful _mhorr_.  The course
followed the eastern border of the field of truncated cones; and in the
fresh green hue of the bushes with which the cindery tract is studded,
was afforded abundant proof of the fertility of its decomposed lava.

Passing a cluster of Bedouin huts, whose inmates were watching their
grazing herds of milch camels, the road next threaded a narrow belt of
verdant jungle.  This suddenly opened into the wide plain of Moolu,
studded in every direction with flocks of sheep and goats, assembled
from all parts of the country round; and in a deep hollow in the very
centre lay the attraction--the oasis of Yoor Erain Maroo, a noble sheet
of water surrounded by a belt of hillocks, and measuring during even
this season of drought, a full mile in diameter.  It was indeed a sight
most refreshing to the eye.  Troops of waterfowl of various plumage
sailed over its glassy surface.  Birds chattered amongst the autumnal
branches of the numerous trees, whose tall stems, half immersed, rose
thickly in the centre, and the cool waters of the basin afforded to the
weary and travel-stained pilgrims the first unlimited supply of pure
liquid that had been revelled in since bidding adieu to the shores of
India.

In so sultry a land, where, throughout the desert and forbidding plain.
Nature has dispensed the first necessary of life with a most niggard
hand, those pools which have not a constant supply of running water soon
become adulterated by various decompositions of organic and inorganic
matter.  Wacke cannot resist any long exposure, and hence fluid in
contact with it imbibes oxide of iron and muriate of soda; whilst flocks
and herds, corrupting the element in a still more offensive manner, not
only impart a fetid taste and smell, but stir up the deposited mud,
which emits a volume of sulphuretted hydrogen.  Yoor Erain Maroo was
free from all these impurities, and its reservoir affords a
never-failing supply; but the surrounding country is said during the wet
season to be extremely unhealthy, violent storms and incessant rain
compelling the shepherds to abandon the plains and wadies, and retreat
with their flocks to the neighbouring mountains.

From Waramilli to Moolu, the country is chiefly occupied by the
sub-tribes of Debeni, under the chiefs Beedur and Boo Bekr Sumbhool, the
latter of whom usually resides at Hamoosa, and the former at Doomi or
Sultelli.  Although not always to be trusted, these wanderers appear
under a friendly garb; but the lion-hearted guides and escort, with
Izhak at their head, had, from the first moment of leaving Killulloo,
been doing their utmost to impress upon the minds of their audience the
extreme danger to be apprehended on this portion of the road, from the
various wild hordes now adjacent, whom they painted as perfect
dare-devils.

"The Galla are pagans," quoth Ibrahim Shehem Abli with a bigoted sneer,
"and, uncircumcised knaves that they are, never heard either of Allah or
the Holy Prophet; and as for the Mudaito, although nominally Moslems,
they have little more religion than their infidel neighbours.  But wait
until I get an opportunity," he added, with a caper and a sardonic grin,
as he unsheathed his creese for the purpose of going through the figure
of disembowelment, "only wait until I find an opportunity, and,
_Inshallah_, we shall square accounts."

Many were the harrowing tales that had been called to mind by the first
loom of the Abyssinian mountains, touching the toil-worn traveller, who,
having surmounted all the perils and privations of the road, and arrived
within sight of the promised land, had been cut off at the very last
step towards the goal.  Perpetual strife is waged betwixt the Galla and
Mudaito, and the plain of Moolu forming a sort of neutral ground between
the countries inhabited by the rival clans, it proves one continual
scene of foray and bloodshed.  The heathen, watching like hawks from the
tops of trees and eminences, pounce, whenever opportunity offers, upon
the flocks and herds of the true believers: retaliation is not slow to
follow, and thus the feud is well and incessantly sustained.

During the latter part of the march, the Ras el Kafilah was nearly
thrown into hysterics by the sudden desertion of one of his charge, who,
in defiance of the thraldom, which rendered all more like prisoners than
freemen, had made up his mind to dine that night upon venison, and had
accordingly taken up arms against the alluring herds of sleek and timid
antelope that, with white discs on their cruppers, bounded in all
directions before the advancing string of camels.  Repeated
interrogatories of "_Fein toro_?" "whither are you going?" were launched
in a commanding tone of voice after the truant, without eliciting the
smallest attention or reply.  A shot was fired--a fat buck fell--and the
successful Nimrod, dismounting, proceeded to secure the spoils; an
operation which brought from their occupation in the adjacent pasture,
two ancient Bedouin crones in wrinkles and leathern aprons, to be
spectators of the dissection.

Izhak was old and captious, and not seeing very clearly, the apparition
was too much for his shattered nerves.  "Allah, Allah!" he peevishly
exclaimed, seizing his broad-headed spear from the hand of his henchman,
and violently kicking the flanks of his jaded mule towards the spot;
"merciful Providence, what childish folly is this?  Is the commander a
babe that he thus trifles with the safety of the caravan?  I did fancy
that he possessed some sense, but this is positively the act of a
madman.  Look at those Buddoos, they will cut his throat immediately,
and then we shall have a pretty blood feud, involving the lives of half
a dozen Danakil."

Despite of all the twaddling old blockhead could do to prevent it, the
haunch was nevertheless brought in, and its appearance hailed with
considerable delight.  But it might almost as well have been abandoned
to the vultures of the air, since the Persian cook, who had taken alarm
at the menace extended to Quilp in the prosecution of his kennel duties,
peremptorily refused to convert the venison into _kababs_, upon the
grounds that the knife of the true believer had not passed across the
throat of the victim.

"Whose dog is Hajji Abdallah Kurmani?" he exclaimed in tones that might
have been believed to issue from a dilapidated bagpipe; "whose dog is
he, I repeat," throwing the haunch upon the ground, "that he should be
invited to deal with any such abomination?  Allah and his Prophet defend
us, but the Hajji would as soon think of polluting himself with the
touch of the unclean beast."

This spirited public declaration was by the Moslem audience received
with the rapturous applause it claimed; and the worthy pilgrim, fairly
carried away by the over-boiling of his virtuous indignation, was
actually proceeding to wreak his last vengeance upon the venison, when
arbitrary measures were adopted, which resulted in the imposition of
twenty-four hours' fast in excess of the many inflicted by the apostle
whose shrine he had visited at the holy city.

Now the Hajji bore a striking personal resemblance to Hudibras, and like
that hero, regarded discretion as being the better part of valour.
Since the melancholy disaster at Goongoonteh, he had encumbered himself
with a musket and a modicum of cartridges; but even by his warmest
admirers it must be confessed that there had never in his demeanour been
observed the slightest indication of a design to throw himself away by
rash exposure.  Entertaining the highest respect for himself, the
prudent son of Iran was rarely heard to speak of Hajji Abdallah save in
the respectful third person singular.  The words of Ibrahim Shehem had
sunk deep into his soul, and after the affair of the venison, it was not
a little diverting to hear him, in his wonted croaking accents,
apostrophise the folly and the infatuation which had prompted him to
brave the wilds of unexplored Africa.

"Hajji Abdallah was never taxed with lack of common sense," he exclaimed
musingly in self-reproach.  "Allah knows there be many greater
blockheads in this sublunary world than his servant the Hajji.  Is it
not wonderful that the chief cook to Khwajah Mohammad Rahim Khan
Shirazi, and master, too, of recipes for no fewer than nine-and-thirty
pilaos, should have proven himself such an ass, such a son of a burnt
father, as voluntarily to get in the way of abuse for refusing to
_kabab_ unhallowed meat which died without the knife or the Bismillah;
and, worse still, in the way of having his own throat divided every
minute of each day and night by these bloodthirsty infidels?  `_La houl
willah koowut illah billah ali ul-azeem_,' `there is no power nor virtue
save in God.'  What true believer in the fair province of Kurman would
ever have suspected Hajji Abdallah of bringing his beard to so vile a
market?"

Volume One, Chapter XXXI.

MENACE OF THE DAR MUDAITO.  MOOLU ZUGHIR, AND BURDUDDA.

Boo Bekr Sumbhool and Datah Mohammad, co-chiefs of that section of the
Debeni styled Sidi Habroo, shortly sneaked into the camp at the head of
an appropriate retinue of ruffians, and having been duly propitiated
with tobacco and blue calico, deputed a son of the latter to represent
the tribe, as an earnest of the black mail having been levied.  Mohammad
Ali proposed under these circumstances to halt a day, both in order to
profit by the first opportunity enjoyed of purifying raiment, and, which
was of still higher importance, to refresh the way-worn beasts.  But the
Ras was in such dire alarm of the Bedouins and Galla, that he had been
with the utmost difficulty prevailed upon to encamp near the water, and
no persuasion could now elicit his consent to tarry.  Columns of smoke
which arose high and dense from the country in advance, did not tend to
diminish his apprehensions.  A shadowy human figure stealing along the
summit of the gloomy cliffs which overhung the camp, redoubled his
mental perturbation; and anathematising Moolu as the most dangerous nest
of thieves and cut-throats along the entire road, he would that minute
have resumed the march in the dead of night, had not heavy rain
compelled him to bite his nails until a late hour the following
forenoon, by which time the camel furniture had become dry.

But the event proved that there were on this occasion some grounds for
uneasiness.  During the process of loading, three mounted Mudaito
scouts, wild-looking beings, rode into camp in a suspicious manner; and
immediately after moving out of the bed of the hollow, whence the road
led over an extensive plain covered with low shrubby undergrowth, the
Ras el Kafilah, who momentarily waxed more fidgety and excited, called a
general halt, and assumed his shield and brass-mounted spear.

"Look well to your weapons," he observed with a truly
commander-in-chief-like delivery, "and let all the proprietors of
fire-arms lead the van with myself.  Two thousand of the Dar Mudaito are
out on a foray against the Galla of the neighbouring hills, and I have
received certain intelligence that they purpose this day to fall upon
the caravan.  May Allah protect his servants in the coming strife!"

Suitable defensive preparations were made without delay, and the camels
formed ten deep to admit of the whole line being enfiladed by rifle
balls; whilst the Danakil and Hy Somauli escort, with loins girded for
the fight, brought up the rear.  Scarcely had these arrangements been
completed, when a band of fifty warriors were descried advancing in a
compact body over the brow of an adjacent eminence.  Carrying their
round bucklers on the left arm, and bristling their bright spears, they
pressed rapidly towards the front of the line, "on hostile deeds
intent."  Out to meet them sprang the fiery little champion Ibrahim
Shehem, who panted to flesh his creese in the body of another Mudaito,
and twenty stout warriors, casting off their upper garments to give
freedom to their limbs, were not far behind him.  The caravan remained
motionless to watch the event, and the formidable line of rifles fronted
the foe, who no sooner perceived the muzzles bearing directly on their
phalanx, than they lowered their spears to demand a parley, and
described themselves to be _en route_ from Jebel Abida to join their
clansmen, who were gathering at the waters of Maroo, preparatory to a
"_goom_" or onslaught, upon their hereditary enemies, the Alla and Ittoo
Galla.

The march was resumed immediately upon this banditti passing quietly to
the rear, and Ibrahim Shehem Abli relapsed into his wonted composure;
but the foot-prints of several other parties being shortly afterwards
discovered, the beaten track was abandoned altogether, in order, if
possible, to avoid meeting the marauders in number, when the plunder of
so rich a caravan would doubtless have been essayed.  An advance guard
reconnoitred the country round from the summits of trees and termite
cones, which alone admitted of an uninterrupted view over the thick
verdant bushes that clothed the entire face of the plain.  These were
interspersed with rich yellow grass, swarming with antelope, hares,
bustard, and florikin; whilst fine cedar-like camel-thorns stretched
their long arms over troops of pintadoes, coveys of partridges, and
spur-fowl.  Not a trigger was suffered to be drawn, lest the report
should attract to the spot the much-dreaded Mudaito; but although
hundreds of warriors might have been ambushed in the dense covert
unperceived, it was safely traversed without further hostile
demonstration; and the country becoming gradually more and more open,
the view extended to the fine peaked range near Afrubba, inhabited by
the Ittoo Galla--war-hawks of the mountains, who are distinguished for
their sanguinary ferocity.

A cloud of dust in the extreme distance being believed to prognosticate
a rush of these wild horsemen, the caravan was again halted ere it had
proceeded far over the open plain; but the magnifying powers of a pocket
telescope converting the objects of alarm into a troop of scudding
ostriches, Izhak's confidence once more returned.  The residue of the
march lay over cracked and blackened soil, from which the vegetation had
been burnt the preceding day, the embers still smouldering in various
directions, although the columns of smoke had ceased to ascend.

Neither fuel nor water could be discovered at the ground selected for
the bivouac, but a small supply of the latter requisite was obtained on
the way, from a muddy brook trickling over the charred surface of the
soil, and filling the gaping cracks and crevices on its progress towards
the lower ground.  This strange phenomenon arose from the wady at Moolu
Zughir, near Afrubba, some miles to the southward, having been filled to
overflowing by the recent heavy rain.  Moolu Tani, or "the other Moolu,"
afforded a most alluring spot of bright green vegetation just sprouting
from the rich soil which here abounds, and among it the cattle
luxuriated until dark.  Sundry invocations were now performed with
horrid yells, to enable one of the savages to divine the coming of rain;
but a night passed in vigilance by sentinels posted on ant-hills, which
afforded an uninterrupted view over the surrounding plain, gave place to
dawn without any molestation from thunder-storm, Galla, or Mudaito.

Betimes in the morning the march was resumed across an alluvial plain,
which a few days later in the season would probably have presented a
swamp impassable to camels; but no difficulties were now experienced,
and the caravan passed merrily on towards a conspicuous barn-shaped
hill, which had been visible for many miles.  At its base, among sundry
other cairns, stood a mound of loose stones encircled by a thorn fence,
and almost concealed under the forest of withered boughs that decked
every part.  Beneath this grotto reposed the sainted bones of Othman, a
celebrated Tukhaiel sheikh of days long gone.  Amidst prayers and
ejaculations in honour of the departed, according to the custom still
prevalent in the southern parts of continental Europe, each warrior of
the Bedouin escort first in order, and then the drivers as they passed,
having previously plucked from some adjacent tree a branch of verdant
mistletoe, adorned the venerated pile; and long ere the arrival of the
last camel, it had exchanged its sober autumnal garb for the bright
green mantle of spring.

Picturesque clumps of magnificent camel-thorns of ancient growth here
studded the face of the landscape, and, covered with golden blossoms,
perfumed the entire atmosphere.  The myrrh tree flourished on the
hill-side, and the "_garsee_" was first found under a load of fruit
resembling the "_leechee_."  The bright crimson pulp possesses an
agreeable acidity, and the kernel that it envelopes pleases the Danakil
in a mess of sheep's-tail fat.  No wood had hitherto been seen
sufficiently dense to invite the elephant; but in this covert the giant
evidently existed; and the oryx, appropriately styled "_Aboo el
kuroon_," "the father of horns," ranged in considerable numbers; the
half-devoured carcase of one which had been slain the preceding night,
attesting the presence also of the "king of beasts."

The agility of the Adaiel in reclaiming a refractory camel, although
often witnessed with admiration, had never been more prominently
exhibited than during this march.  One of the most skittish and
unmanageable animals of the whole hundred and seventy, had very
judiciously been selected by Izhak for a large chest containing medical
stores, and the halter was usually held by a gentle slave girl, whom it
was the delight of the Sahib el Bayzah to cuff and maltreat.  Taking a
sudden whim into its head, the restive beast, after the performance of
sundry preliminary plunges to ascertain if the load were firm, dashed
off the road, galloped over the feeble maid, and, smashing her
water-gourd into a thousand fragments, roaring and bellowing, pursued
its headlong career across the stony plain.  Phials and bottles were
undergoing a most destructive discipline, when a fleet-footed savage,
who was in hot pursuit, and had already twice turned the fugitive,
darting across its orbit, abruptly terminated these gratuitous and
uncouth gambols by a sudden twitch of the nose-rope, which brought
owner, dromedary, and medicine-chest simultaneously to the earth, with a
crash that sounded ominously enough, although not the slightest injury
was sustained by either.

Meanwhile the caravan had reached Burdudda, where a large pool of dirty
rain-water extended strong inducements to encamp, and again led to a
violent altercation between the authorities.  Apprehensive of
misunderstandings with the Bedouin shepherds in the vicinity, Izhak had
sapiently resolved to proceed some miles further to a waterless station,
whilst Mohammad Ali, insisting that the kafilah should halt, commenced
the work of unloading.  The camels of either party were for some time
divided; but the Ras, after trying the stratagem of advance without
shaking his rival's resolution, finally yielded up the point with a bad
grace, and all set up their staff.

The outline of the highlands of Abyssinia, which had been first
indistinctly visible from Sultelli, now stood out in bold relief; and to
the southward the view was bounded by the lofty hills of the Afrubba,
Farsa, and Azboti Galla, where coffee grows wild in abundance.  An
intermediate extensive prospect is obtained over the thickly-wooded
Moolu plain, stretching some thirty miles in the direction of Errur.
This latter is the residence of the old sheikh Hajji Ali Mohammad, and
the head-quarters of the Debeni, who take hereditary share in the waters
of the valley with their brethren the Woema.  It forms, moreover, a
place of resort for every wandering vagabond in the surrounding country
who possesses a sheep, a goat, or an ox, or has the ability and the
inclination to assert his privilege of erecting a temporary cabin; and
thus the recurrence of each season of drought, compelling the
abandonment of less favoured pastures, pours in its migratory swarm to
swell the more permanent muster upon the sultry plains of Errur, and to
create the strife inseparable from a gathering of these lawless hordes.

Volume One, Chapter XXXII.

A TALE OF THE PLAINS OF ERRUR.

Aylia was the comeliest of the dark-eyed daughters of the desert.
Sixteen tropical summers had already ripened a form modelled in that
exquisite perfection which nature is wont to bestow upon her wildest
works, and the native symmetry of the sylph-like maid was yet
unblemished by any of those barbarous improvements wherein her nation
delight.  Her sparkling eye, fringed with long silken lashes, in
brilliancy eclipsed the pet gazelle that ever bounded by her side; and
the graceful gambols of the sportive fawn would seem to have been
inspired by the fairy footstep of its blooming mistress.  Luxuriant hair
fell in elf-like tresses over her ebon shoulder.  Teeth of ivory
whiteness were revealed by a radiant smile that ever played over her
animated features; and few indeed of her virgin charms were veiled under
the folds of the slender drapery that belongs to the Bedouin
shepherdess.

[Note 1.  The following narrative, recounted by one of the Woema escort,
although necessarily enlarged, is as strictly literal as the embodiment
of the subject would admit; and it will convey to the English reader a
better picture of life in the desert than could be painted in a less
connected form.]

The maid tended her father's flocks in the vale of Errur, which forms a
constant scene of predatory incursion on the part of the ruthless
savages that hover round the border.  When least expected, the Galla
war-hawks of the adjacent mountains were wont to stoop from their rocky
fastnesses, and to sweep away the riches of the Woema.  The treacherous
Eesah, although ready to extend the hand which should have denoted
friendship, was nothing loath to the appropriation of other men's
chattels; and throughout all the nomade Adel hordes, whose tents were
erected during the more sultry months, the feud and the desultory
skirmish favoured the inroads of the foe.  Amongst the surrounding
clans, even her own tribe was not notorious for its honesty, and by
frequent depredations abroad, it invited the foray of reprisal.  Thus
the brawl and the mortal encounter would follow the stillness of
indolent existence with a rapidity not less startling than frequent, and
none knew what the next hour might bring forth.

But fear had no place in the breast of the daughter of old Ali.  Nursed
in the lap of strife, the Bedouin blood of her roving sire coursed
through her young veins, and she pursued her Arcadian occupation beneath
the spreading boughs of the venerable acacia, chanting to her gazelle
the wild ditty that revealed the thraldom of her heart, or listening to
the bleat of her black-faced lambs from the Hejaz.  Often had the shrill
war-whoop rung through the wild valley, and the rush of the gathering
warriors who flew to answer the summons, arrested her plaintive song,
but only lately had it caused her to spring to her feet with a bosom
throbbing audibly; and now she would sigh as she sank again upon the
smooth bank that formed her favourite seat, for the swain for whom her
soft eyes had been strained across the flickering desert was not among
the number of those that had swept past, and she knew not why, nor
whither he had gone.

Many were the ardent suitors who had wooed the hand of the blooming
Aylia, and often-times had she been sought from her avaricious father,
who viewed the still expanding attractions of his daughter as a certain
source of increase to his ill-gotten and idolised wealth.  None,
however, had yet been able to produce the price set upon the damsel's
charms, neither had any possessed an advocate in her eloquence.  Her
heart had already been tacitly relinquished, but her hand she knew to be
in the gift of her sire, and therefore not her own to bestow.

Ambeesa it was who had silently gained this ascendancy over the green
affections of the maid.  The milch goats of Irripa, his mother, were by
her driven daily to pasture, and his wigwam was within spear's throw of
her own.  The twain had known each other from earliest infancy, for they
came upon the world's stage in the self-same hour.  They had feasted and
they had played together as children; and now that their young hearts
had become entwined, it was his wont to accompany the nymph into the
vale, where they would hold converse the livelong day.  The vapid
language of the savage admits of but a limited embodiment of the softer
passions; but the simple courtship of the uncultivated was ably
sustained.  Aylia felt the force of her charms when she saw the warrior
grasp the spear and the shield, without which no Bedouin ever crosses
the threshold of his cabin--in order that he might chase the fawn that
she had coveted; or when he drew water from the well in her gourd, to
replenish again and again the ox-hide that formed a drinking trough for
her thirsty flock.  And Ambeesa felt himself amply rewarded when the
slender fingers of the blooming girl decked his hair with the aromatic
herbs that she had plucked in the wild meadow, or she counted over the
ewes that they were shortly to possess in common.

Ambeesa was ever in the foremost rank when the spear was thrown over the
shoulder of the brave; and successful in every foray, he had won wealth
as well as fame.  None appeared more frequently in the many-tailed
leopard spoils which form the garb of victory; and the white feather
always floated above his raven locks.  But his father having been
treacherously murdered by the Eesah, a blood feud clung to the old man's
sole descendant; and it formed to him a source of self-reproach, that
although he had for years dogged the footsteps of the assassin, the
opportunity had never yet occurred when he might wash out the stain!  A
skulker amongst his clansmen at a distant oasis, the cowardly savage had
profited of his deep cunning to baffle the creese of the avenger; and he
still vaunted his trophy of blood without any account of its acquisition
having been required.

But the day of reckoning and of retribution was now nigh at hand.  The
mother of Ambeesa had counted out the dowry demanded of any who should
espouse young Aylia, and had claimed the girl as her daughter-in-law
elect.  At the sight of the beeves and the fat rams and the trinkets and
the trumpery cloths, the sole remaining eye of the old sheikh glistened
with a lustre that it had not known for years; but his haughty soul
could ill brook the thought of his daughter being wedded to one whose
father's death thus rested unavenged.  "Get thee hence, young man," he
exclaimed sternly, shaking his silvered locks, after a short inward
conflict with his avarice--"Get thee hence, nor show thy face again
within my doors as a suitor until thou hast appeased the spirit of thy
murdered sire.  The blood of him to whom thou art indebted for existence
crieth aloud to thee for vengeance; and _Wullahi_, until the grave of
Hassan shall have been soaked by thy hands, thou shalt not talk to Ali
of his daughter."

Ambeesa sought not his dark mistress, but snatching the spear and
buckler which had been carefully deposited in a corner of the cabin,
stalked forth without uttering a syllable.  Passing his own hut in
mental abstraction, he took the road to the brook, and throwing himself
upon his face, drew a deep draught to allay the fever that consumed him.
Then whetting his brass-mounted creese to the keenest edge upon a
smooth stone, he muttered a dread oath betwixt his clenched teeth, and
strode moodily across the sandy plain.

The great annual fair had already assembled at the sea-port of Berbera,
and tribes from all parts of the country were flocking thither with
their motley wares.  The curious stalls of the fat Banians from India
were thronged from morning until night with barbarians from the adjacent
districts, who brought peltries and drags to be exchanged; and the
clamour of haggling and barter was hourly increased by the arrival of
some new caravan of toil-worn pedlars from the more remote depths of the
interior, each laden with an accession of rich merchandise to be
converted into baubles and blue calico at a clear net profit to the
specious Hindoo of two hundred per cent.  Myrrh, ivory, and gum-arabic;
civet, frankincense, and ostrich feathers, were piled in every corner of
his booth; and the tearing of ells of Nile stuff and Surat cloth, and
the counting out of porcelain beads, was incessant so long as the
daylight lasted.  Withered beldames, with cracked penny-trumpet voices,
were meanwhile actively employed in the erection of new edifices; and
more and more camels were ever pouring towards the scene of primitive
commerce, loaded with the long elastic ribs, and the coarse date matting
which form the skeleton and shell of the nomade's wigwam.

It was dusk when Ambeesa entered the long centre street of this busy
scene.  He had journeyed many days alone and on foot, and his mantle and
his arms and his lofty brow were alike deeply stained with the
disguising dust of the desert.  A gang of _Bones_, with a stalking
ostrich, driving before them sundry asses laden with the spoils of the
chase, arrived at the same moment from the opposite direction.  Rude
parchment-covered quivers, well stocked with poisoned shafts, hung
negligently by their side, suspended by the tufted tail of a lion, and
with their classic bows over their wiry shoulders, the gypsey votaries
of Diana advanced swearing and blaspheming towards the Eesah quarter of
the straggling encampment.

The light which gleamed through the black goat-hair awning of a Gurague
slave-merchant, fell upon the features of the wild party as it passed;
and Ambeesa's heart beat high with exultation when, in the person of one
whose matted locks were decorated with a dirty ostrich plume, he fancied
he could recognise the very foe of whom he was in search.  The archer
was in truth a most truculent-looking knave--one who, if his visage did
not strangely belie him, might have been the perpetrator of any given
atrocity.  The tail fat of four Berbera rams encrusted his head in a
perfect helmet of tallow, and the putrid entrails of the antelope he had
last slain, were slung in noisome coils about his neck, to the pollution
of the atmosphere he breathed.  His repulsive front displayed through
the accumulated filth of forty years a perfect maze of mystic figures in
tattooed relief, on which were imbedded amulets stitched in greasy
leather; and the distended lobes of his enormous ears were so loaded
with pewter rings, that not another could have been squeezed in.  A gap,
consequent upon the loss of five front teeth in a recent brawl, made
room for a quid of no ordinary dimensions.  Two small sunken blear eyes,
which appeared to work upon a swivel, squinted alternately, as the
inflamed balls were revealed by turns according to the employment of the
wearer's sinister vision; and on his meagre sunken cheek yawned a seam
five inches in length, which precisely corresponded with a gash known to
have been inflicted by the youth's father during a certain moonless
night at Errur, when a stab in the back had aroused the veteran from
deep sleep to his mortal struggle.

"Stay you here, Moosa," quoth one of the bowmen, addressing this
captivating hero, as they stopped before the doorway of an unfinished
cabin at no great distance beyond the rover's pall,--"tarry you here,
and _Inshallah_, we'll turn out these lazy wenches to unload the asses."

The name had not been lost upon Ambeesa, who, like all of his bigot
creed, placed the firmest reliance in fate.  He had sworn never to
return until he should have given the body of Moosa to the wild beasts,
where the vultures might pick out his eyes.  The object of his weary
journey was by the interference of destiny in his favour, already within
his clutches.  He who murdered his sire was assuredly alone with him in
a dark lane, and Aylia was without doubt his own!

"_Wogerri maani, wogerri maani, wogerri maani_" repeated the Woema
coldly, as he extended his open hand towards the doomed victim in token
of amity.  "_Wogerri, wogerri, wogerri_," carelessly returned the savage
thus accosted, at the same time passing his greasy fingers mechanically
over the palm presented.  The same triple salutation again reiterated,
was thrice returned; and it gradually dwindled away to an assenting "_um
hum_," in itself fully as frigid as the wearisome repetitions of inquiry
had been deeply treacherous.

Moosa stooped to shake the pebbles from his dilapidated sandal.  His
bare back was towards the Woema, for his garment had fallen from his
brawny shoulder.  It was enough.  Muttering through his closed teeth an
inaudible invocation to Allah, Ambeesa suddenly drew his creese, plunged
the razor-edged blade to the very hilt into the yielding spine of his
unsuspecting foe, tore the vaunting white feather from his greasy locks,
spumed the prostrate carcase with his foot, spat upon the unseemly
features now distorted in the agonies of death, and fled into the
wilderness.

Months had elapsed, and the festive season had now returned at which the
Bedouins annually celebrate their weddings.  Many a dark-eyed damsel had
been led by her happy swain to the nuptial wigwam, when a gayer
procession than usual was to be seen passing up the centre street of the
encampment at Gaiel.  Eight wrinkled matrons led, brandishing swords and
creeses with truly Amazonian gestures, whilst they danced to a wild song
in which all joined chorus to the dissonant thumping of a kettle-drum.
The charms of the maiden bride who followed, and had been long
betrothed, were screened from vulgar gaze beneath a canopy of blue
calico, home by a party of the village belles, splendid with porcelain
jewellery and grease--their arms, like those of the sister Graces,
entwining each other's waists; whilst every idle blackguard that could
be mustered, swelled the nuptial train.  At intervals, the music of the
tambourine gave place to a shrill vocal solo, when the nymphs pirouetted
in a mazy circle; and the procession, after thus parading through the
hamlet, was preceded on its return by a party of dirty urchins bearing
the dower in ornamented baskets woven of the wiry leaf of the palm.
Massive ear-rings of brass and copper were amongst the treasures, and
the much-prized, though far from becoming coif of blue calico which
forms the badge of the wedded wife, had not been forgotten.

Aylia was still the fairest of all the daughters of her tribe, and
Ambeesa ever the foremost when the spear was thrown over the shoulder of
the warrior.  Happiness and content reigned in the rude hut.  No harsh
word had ruffled the existence of the young pair, and the stranger never
passed the door without the ready draught of milk being proffered, or
the kind word exchanged.  But in accordance with the barbarous usage of
the Adel Bedouin, the wife was to remain an inmate of her father's
dwelling, until she should have become the mother of three children.

'Twas mid-day in the sultry summer months, and the fiery sun poured his
fiercest rays from his meridian throne.  No human eye was able to endure
the broad glare that pervaded the vast sandy plain of Errur, which at
intervals was scoured by towering whirlwinds, imparting the aspect of a
manufacturing town with its huge steam-engines at work.  All animate
nature shrank under the scorching heat, which had even curled the few
scanty tufts of withered vegetation.  The stillness of death pervaded a
desolate scene over which floated the treacherous mirage.  Not a
creature moved, and no sound was heard save the roar of the angry
whirlwind tearing every thing before it, as it swept in reckless wrath
across the encampment, eliciting while it raged among the frail mat
tenements of the location--unroofing some and filling others with dust
and pebbles--a curse from the drowsy savage whose rest it had disturbed.

Suddenly a shrill cry arose in the distance, the well-known tocsin for
the assembly of the men-at-arms.  Electrical in its effect, every
slumberer started to his feet, and each hut, which had for hours been
silent as the tomb, poured forth its warrior, armed and ready for the
fight.  On the verge of the plain was descried a band of the Alla Galla
driving off a troop of camels, and with the points of their spears
goading the awkward animals to a grotesque gallop.  Their remoteness,
and the unnatural speed to which they had been urged, imparted, through
the medium of the mirage, the appearance of dismembered animals flying
in portions through the deceptive atmosphere.  Now a head attached to a
long neck was separated from the body, and elevated many feet above its
proper place; and now animated legs of exaggerated length could alone be
perceived flitting fast over the sultry desert.  Unattached tails danced
in the quivering vapour, and the entire distance was alive with
fragments of men and dromedaries, which seemed to have been hurled
through the air by the bursting of an exploded mine.

Galla and Woema, pursuer and pursued, scoured for some hours over the
sandy waste; and it was near sunset when the pagan marauders were
overtaken on the confines of their own territories.  A sharp conflict
ensued; and two on each side having fallen, the booty was retaken, and
the unbelievers put to flight by the sons of the Faithful.

From the door of her father's wigwam Aylia watched with inward
misgivings the return of the victors; and as she saw the bodies of the
fallen borne upon the shoulders of their comrades, her young heart
throbbed audibly, for her newly-wedded husband was one of those who had
gone forth.  As her straining gaze fell upon the still gory corse of him
she loved, a flood of hot tears dimmed her lustrous eyes, and uttering a
piercing shriek, she sank senseless at the threshold.  Roused again to
life, the bereaved girl filled the hut with her doleful cries, and
shriek succeeded shriek as she bewailed her fallen condition.  Death
would indeed have been almost preferable to the lot accorded by her
destiny.  The property brought at his marriage by the deceased was
resumed by his grasping relatives, and the late light-hearted wife
became once again a slave under the roof of her avaricious parent, there
to lead a life of drudgery until another wealthy suitor should pay the
dower fixed upon her charms.  But the light elastic step was gone, by
which Aylia had erst been distinguished above all the Woema maidens.
The full black orbs had lost their wonted lustre, and the radiant smile
no longer beamed over her faded features.  The orphan pledge of her
first love clung to a widowed breast, and the heart that beat beneath
was broken by the untimely fate of the brave youth Ambeesa.

Volume One, Chapter XXXIII.

THE ONE-EYED FAMILY.  HAO, AND FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE HAWASH.

The Arab chieftain of the Foudthli, of whom flying parties still infest
the deserts of Aden, is renowned for the possession of two thumbs upon
the dexter hand--a proud distinction by which his ancestors have been
recognised from time immemorial.  Sheikh Oomer Buttoo ibn Ali, akil of
the Tukhaiel, who occupy the country from the oasis of Yoor Erain Maroo
to Hao, a few miles eastward of the Hawash, glories in the loss of the
sinister eye; and he is reputed to have forfeited it by an hereditary
visitation, which through every generation has disfigured his ancestors
in like manner--no single head of the illustrious line having been known
to possess two eyes!  This venerable Polyphemus visited the camp after
dark, attended by his hopeful son and heir, who has already qualified
for the succession; and after receiving each a piece of blue calico in
the clandestine manner which these savages prefer to a more orthodox
public presentation, they slunk away, well satisfied with their booty.

A group of slatternly females belonging to the Ittoo Galla had sauntered
carelessly into camp with ox-hides for sale, and tobacco, the produce of
their own high lulls; and their abrupt departure as the evening shades
drew on, had led to suspicions anent the object of their visit.  At the
going down of the sun therefore a caution was promulgated by the Ras,
enjoining a vigilant look out for Galla and wild beasts; and his
earnestness might almost have led to the anticipation of a rush of wild
equestrians through the encampment, or a charge of hungry lions from the
adjacent gloomy thicket, before the termination of the first watch.  But
the cry of "wolf!" had been too often dinned into every ear; and
although both elders and escort had sworn that this night at least
should be one of wakefulness, no surprise was elicited by the
disappearance of their bushy heads, one after the other, beneath the
mats--an example which was speedily followed by all the Europeans off
duty, as the rain began again to tumble in torrents,

"Et veterem in limo ranae cecinere querelam."

The fear of attracting the "Buddoo," as the much-dreaded marauders of
every class were generically designated, still invariably brought an
order which there was no gainsaying, to strike and pack the tent before
sunset, however threatening the aspect of the weather.  But the
despotism of the Ras was light in comparison with the tyranny exercised
by his unaccommodating train.  At whatever hour of the night the
arbitrary mandate to load might be promulgated, it was required that the
bedding of the whole party should forthwith be delivered at the quarters
of the arrogant driver to whom it pertained, since he declined making
his camel walk to the spot.  Moreover the delay of a few minutes was
sufficient to condemn it to be left on the ground, notwithstanding that
preparations often occupied two hours, which might as well have been
devoted to rest; and this wanton curtailment of sleep was doubly felt
after the heavy nocturnal duty that devolved upon all.

The route on the 9th led across the flat of Halik-diggi Kabir, a
continuation of the Moolu plain, extending from the Azboti and Ittoo
ranges to the mountains Aiulloo and Abida.  Twelve miles in breadth, it
presents one monotonous alluvial level, treeless, but thickly covered
with grass, interspersed with dwarf shrubs, and enlivened by herds of
the elegant _mhorr_, amongst which the secretary bird occasionally
strutted in native dignity.  Baezas and zebras, too, were descried on
the hills which bound the flat; and a luckless leopard being detected in
the act of stealing across the expanse, the savage group pursued like
demons from every quarter, and having presently hooted and hunted the
terrified animal into a bush, transfixed his carcass incontinently with
thirty spears.

The whole landscape was alive during this animated scene, which scarcely
occupied a minute; and in due process of time the panting warriors
rejoined the caravan, their necks, spears, and shields adorned with
strips of the victim's tail, whilst he who by dint of superior wind and
fleetness had drawn the first blood, was by his comrades publicly
invested with the spotted spoils that he had won.  The appearance of the
party on their return, accompanied by a stray horseman who had
fortuitously joined in the chase, gave birth in the bosom of the Ras to
an apprehension that the Ittoo Galla were descending upon the caravan.
The ranks were accordingly closed, and the Europeans again took post on
the flank to be assailed, until a nearer approach revealed in the savage
band the features of friends.

A descent of thirty feet over a narrow tongue of land, led into the
valley of Halik-diggi Zughir, styled by the Adaiel the Great Hawash--its
breadth being about two and a half miles, and the bed a perfect level,
covered with fine grass, on which grazed a troop of wild asses.  Bounded
throughout the serpentine progress by parallel banks of corresponding
height and appearance, the hollow would seem to extend from the
mountains of the Ittoo Galla north to the Aiulloo volcano.  It wears the
aspect of having been once the channel of a considerable stream--that of
the Hawash perhaps, which river may not improbably have been diverted
into its present course at the period when the extensive volcanic tract
around Mount Abida was in a state of activity, and when subterranean
influence must have caused extraordinary revolutions in the entire
aspect of the country.

Here occurred the last specimen seen of the Kurbeta, the myrrh-bearing
tree [Balsamodendron Myrrha], of which two varieties are found
abundantly over all the barren hill-sides, from the Doomi valley to the
borders of the Hawash.  That producing the better description of the gum
resin, is a dwarf shrub, with deeply serrated crisp leaves of a dull
green; whereas the other, yielding a substance more like balm than
myrrh, attains a height of ten feet, and has bright shining leaves.
From any bruise or incision inflicted, the "_hofali_" flows copiously in
the form of a milky juice, possessing a perceptible acidity, which
either evaporates or becomes chemically changed when the gum forms.
Left ungathered, it becomes hard with the loss of the volatile oil, and
thus crumbles away; but if the wound be cleared frequently, a very large
quantity may be collected during the seasons, which occur in January
when the buds appear after the first rain, and again when the seeds are
ripe, in March.

Three ounces of the finest myrrh and one of dross, may thus be obtained
during the year, and the secreting vessels lying immediately under the
epidermis, a very slight bend in a branch makes it flow freely.  The
wandering shepherds either tear off one of the lower limbs, or so bruise
the stem with a heavy stone as to retard the growth of the tree; but
every new sprout is spontaneously covered with gum, although in a
somewhat more fluid state.  Repeated injuries in the same spot lead to
the formation of an ever-filling cavity, and

"The mirrhe sweete bleeding in the bitter wounde,"

is transferred by each passer-by to the hollow boss of his shield, to be
exchanged for a handful of tobacco with the next slave-dealer met on the
caravan road.  But the Danakil are not altogether ignorant of the
virtues of the drug, and invariably recommended it for those of the
horses that were unable to proceed from heat and exhaustion.

It has been seen that from Yoor Erain Maroo, an accession to the escort
was received in the person of the hopeful son of Datah Mohammad,
co-chief of the Sidi Habroo.  This insatiable vagabond, a worthy scion
of his stock, had received from the hand of Nature an aspect that could
only have belonged to a finished cut-throat.  Deeply scarred with the
small-pox, his bloated half-shaven muzzle peered through a tangled web
of grease-clotted hair, like a drowsy owl out of an ivy bush.  He
presented a truly striking picture of man in the natural state.
Although never without a new quid in his mouth, and another half
masticated behind either ear, he passed hours of each day in importuning
for more "_timboo_" of which he was the most passionate admirer; and it
was his undeviating rule never to pass a white face without repeating in
an authoritative tone the trisyllable "_Irreboot_" in token of his
determination to add still farther to his stock in hand of yam-needles,
which already outnumbered the quills of the porcupine.

Firmly persuaded that every mule with the party had been purchased for
his especial riding, and equally convinced that his presence was
indispensable to the general safety, he appropriated the very first that
came within his reach, changing it as often as he thought proper, and
never leaving it without a galled back.  If not a professor of
equitation, he was at all events devoted to the science, and it was with
a fiendish scowl indeed that while crossing Halik-diggi Zughir he
received an order to dismount from a steed which he had selected out of
the drove for the purpose of riding down an oryx.  "_Tuwwaddee_!"
"attend," he mumbled sulkily as he thrust away the animal with the butt
of his spear,--"_Tuwwaddee_!  I am a great man's son, and have no
intention of walking.  If I am not to have a horse, you may even settle
as best you can with my father's Bedouins."

Mules, horses, and camels, in considerable numbers, were abandoned
before the termination of this tedious and sultry march--fatigue, want
of water, and lack of forage, having reduced all to such positive
skeletons that they walked with difficulty.  Ascending three successive
terraces, each of fifty feet elevation, the road finally wound into the
confined and waterless valley of Hao, famous for the number of parties
that have at various times been surprised and cut up by the neighbouring
Galla--

  "For, with hot rapine fir'd, ensuiguin'd man
  Is here become the lion of the plain,
  And worse."

Not a month had elapsed since three ill-starred individuals of a Tajura
caravan, impatient to satisfy burning thirst, hurrying in advance of the
main body, were cut off by a band of Galla horsemen, who had lain
concealed behind the rocks immediately above the present encamping
ground, and who, after mutilating the bodies, bore off their barbarous
trophies in triumph.  The dale hard by had only two nights previously to
the arrival of the present party, formed the scene of a skirmish between
the Ittoo and the inhabitants of the plain, when the bodies of twenty of
the former and nine of the latter were left to the vultures and hyaenas.
Every hill and valley in this direction could, in fact, tell its
individual tale of bloodshed and slaughter.  The wild barbarians keep a
constant look out to pounce upon any wanderers weaker than themselves,
and few are the natives to be seen who bear not on their persons some
indelible mark of hand to hand combat.

Fatigued by the long march, the Danakil were all fast asleep within
their temporary sheds, a few of the drivers excepted, who tended their
browsing camels among the adjacent thorns.  In an instant the whole
valley rang with the cry to assemble at arms, and inconceivable was the
confusion that ensued.  Many of the escort, only half awake, in rushing
forth overthrew portions of their dens upon others who were still
inside.  Warrior clashed against warrior, shield against shield.  The
rocky hill-side was presently a living mass of half-clad savages,
panting up the steep acclivity, when a few Galla scouts, whose sudden
appearance on the plain had caused the alarm, were perceived mounting
their steeds; and, understanding themselves to be the objects of these
warlike preparations, they precipitately sped their way.

From the summit of the height was obtained an exhilarating prospect over
the dark lone valley of the long-looked-for Hawash.  The course of the
shining river was marked by a dense belt of trees and verdure, which
stretches towards the base of the great mountain range, whereof the
cloud-capped cone that frowns over the capital of Shoa forms the most
conspicuous feature.  Although still far distant, the ultimate
destination of the Embassy seemed almost to have been gained; and none
had an idea of the length of time that must elapse ere his foot should
press the soil of Ankober.  A day of intense heat was as usual followed
by a heavy fall of rain, which, owing to the unaccommodating arrangement
again peremptorily exacted, of striking the tent at sunset, thoroughly
drenched the whole party; but before finally drawing the mat over his
sleepy head, the Ras el Kafilah mounted a cone which stood in the centre
of the compact circle, and proclaimed in a loud voice to all, a night of
light sleep and watchfulness.

Volume One, Chapter XXXIV.

PASSAGE OF THE HAWASH.

Numerous were the apprehensions now in agitation relative to the state
of the formidable river in advance, whose shallow stream so easily
forded during the season of drought, was not unreasonably conjectured to
be swollen by the recent rains.  Second of the rivers of Abyssinia, and
rising in the very heart of Ethiopia, at an elevation of eight thousand
feet above the sea, which it never reaches, the Hawash is fed at long
intervals by niggard tributaries from the high bulwarks of Shoa and
Efat, and flows like a great artery through the arid and inhospitable
plains of the Adaiel, green and wooded throughout its long course, until
finally absorbed in the lagoons at Aussa; and the canopy of fleecy
clouds, which, as the day dawned, hung thick and heavy over the lofty
blue peaks beyond, gave sad presage of the deluge that was pouring
between the verdant banks from the higher regions of its source.

Passing along the face of the murderous hill, which is of wacke
formation, the road descended by several sloping terraces, to the level
valley through which the river winds.  At first thinly wooded, the soil
was covered with tall rank grass, which, in consequence of the perpetual
incursions of the Galla, grew in all its native luxuriance, uncropped
whether by flock or herd.  But as the path wound on, gum-bearing acacias
and other forest trees increased both in size and number--the jungle and
undergrowth, teeming with guinea-fowl, which rose clamorously at every
step, waxed thicker and thicker--groves of waving tamarisk, ringing to
the voice of the bell-bird, flanked every open glade, whereon lay traces
of recent inundation; and the noble trees which towered above them from
the banks of the Hawash, gave evidence in their shattered branches of
the presence of the most ponderous of terrestrial mammalia.

Vegetation having here assumed a luxuriance known to none of the joyless
and unproductive regions hitherto traversed, it is with some difficulty
that the pilgrim, anxious to behold the rare phenomenon of a running
stream, forces his way through the dense thickets, which, until the foot
touches the very brink of the precipitous bank, so completely screen the
silent river from view, that its very existence might almost be
questioned.  But after a persevering struggle, further progress was at
length arrested by a deep volume of turbid water, covered with
drift-wood, which rolled at the rate of some three miles an hour,
between steep clayey walls twenty-five feet in height, bounding a mere
break through the mud and sand.  The breadth of the channel fell short
of sixty yards, and the flood was not yet at its maximum; but its depth
and violence, added to the broad belt of tamarisk and acacia, interlaced
by large creepers and parasites, which hems in both sides, promised to
offer much difficulty and delay in the coming passage.  Pensive willows
that drooped mournfully over the troubled current were festooned with
recent drift, hanging many feet above the level of the abrupt banks; and
this appearance, no less than the rubbish scattered over the borders,
fully proved the assertion of the natives that the water had recently
been out, to the overflowing of the adjacent flat country for many
miles.

The Hawash, here upwards of two thousand two hundred feet above the
ocean, forms in this direction the nominal boundary of the dominions of
the King of Shoa.  Izhak was therefore strongly urged to despatch a
courier in advance, who might apprise His Majesty of the near approach
of the British Embassy.  But from some latent and sinister motive of his
own, the proposal was again negatived, as it had before frequently been,
upon the grounds of the dangers to be apprehended on the road.  These,
according to his showing, rendered it impossible for a single messenger
to venture on so rash an undertaking, notwithstanding that Ahmed
Mohammad, the Dankali who had been the bearer of the letter despatched
to Shoa from Tajura, and who was still with the caravan, had so recently
passed twice in safety over this identical route.

As a measure of precaution against inundation, the camp was formed upon
the summit of a small stony eminence, considerably above high water
mark; and several armed Bedouins were presently lounging and prying
about the tent, to the great annoyance and discomfiture of the Ras el
Kafilah.  "Those fellows call themselves Debeni," he remarked, "and will
not commit murder wantonly, but the villains are thieves in grain, and
will steal whatsoever they can lay their hands upon.  They have no
business here."

Many energetic remonstrances touching the impropriety of the obtrusion,
produced not the smallest effect upon these obstinate savages; and
finding that they continued to laugh him to scorn, and to set his
boasted authority at defiance, the old man finally requested that a
musket might be fired over their heads--a measure which quickly brought
about the desired decampment.  The smell of gunpowder is intolerable to
every Dankali.  The bravest of the brave slide off with a growl and a
sulky look, if a gun be but touched in their presence; and an unexpected
discharge, as on this occasion, when a knot has collected, causes every
man to start upon his feet, and, with a muttered curse, to bring his
spear to the rest.

The residue of the day was devoted by the camel-drivers to the
preparation of rafts for the transport of the baggage, and the working
party was still at the river, when the Adaiel conch sounded to arms, and
the shrill war-whoop again summoned all to the rescue.  Great was the
confusion that ensued, and light-footed warriors were to be seen
scampering down every avenue, armed with spear and shield; but the cry
proved to have been raised in consequence of a disaster that had
befallen one of the camels.  Too lazy to loosen the cord which fettered
the fore legs of the animal, the stupid owner had driven it, thus
crippled, down the steep slippery bank to the water's edge, when, as
might have been anticipated, it was swept away by the strong current,
without being able to make one struggle for extrication.

At sun-down the caravan was closely-packed within a stout thorn fence,
serving as a partial protection against the wild beasts and plunderers
with which the dense thicket is infested--its endless depths being so
entangled and interwoven that no eye could penetrate the gloom.  The
moonless night was passed in extreme discomfort, owing to a deluge of
rain which commenced early, and fell incessantly for many hours.
Deafening thunder pealed in startling claps overhead, and broad sheets
of fire lighting up the entire face of the landscape at short intervals,
for a moment only disclosed the savage loneliness of the wild spot,
which was the next instant shrouded in pitchy darkness.

With the dawning day, preparations were commenced for crossing the river
on ten frail rafts which had already been launched--transverse layers of
drift-wood rudely-lashed together, being rendered sufficiently buoyant
by the addition of numerous inflated hides and water-skins, to support
two camel loads.  The sharp creeses of the Danakil had removed many of
the overtopping boughs, interlaced with creepers, which impeded transit
towards the point selected for the passage, and in the course of a few
hours every portion of the baggage had been deposited at the water's
edge.

Casting off his garments, Mohammad Ali, always the foremost in cases of
difficulty and danger, now seized the end of a rope betwixt his teeth,
and, plunging into the river, swam with it to the opposite bank, where
it was belayed, upon the principle of the flying bridge, to an
overhanging willow--a guy which connected it with each raft serving to
counteract the violence of the stream, which, in spite of the heavy
rain, had fallen upwards of a foot during the night.  Raiment was now
discarded by every Dankali, and the work commenced in right earnest, but
difficult and laborious indeed was the task before them.  The water
trickled over their greasy limbs until a late hour of the evening, and
the utmost exertions only succeeded in accomplishing the transfer of the
endless train to the western bank before nightfall, with the loss of
three beasts of burden drowned, and sundry firelocks sunk to the bottom.

This latter disaster arose from the spontaneous going to pieces of one
of the rudely-lashed rafts, when one of the clumsy followers became
entangled in the wreck, and but for the exertions of the son of Ali Abi
would inevitably have been lost.  The fair Hasseinee was amongst those
who were thus cast away in the middle of the deep waters; but hers was
not the person to sink, and floating like a Naiad on the surface, with
long raven locks streaming over her fat shoulders, the nymph appeared to
be in her native element, and was soon shaking her wet petticoat on the
opposite shore.

The baggage being of necessity divided, and the whole of the native
escort as well as the camel-drivers employed in loading and navigating
the rafts, it was deemed prudent, in addition to an ostentatious display
of rifles on both sides, to make liberal disbursements of blue calico,
in order to purchase the neutrality of the Bedouins, who infest the
borders of the river.  On the division of the party, some of the Adaiel
females being separated from their lords, a characteristic trait of
Ibrahim Shehem Abli was elicited by the proposal for solution of the old
riddle of the three jealous husbands, with their wives, who found on the
banks of a rapid stream which they were desirous of crossing, a boat
that would contain only three persons, whereas each felt unwilling to
abandon his fair partner to the mercy of the other.  After puzzling for
some time without being able to arrange the transit in a satisfactory
manner, "_Murhabba_!" he exclaimed; "had I been one of that same party,
I should soon have settled the difficulty by cutting the throats of the
two jealous rascals, and taking all their women to myself."

The stream of the Hawash being exceedingly thick and troubled, from the
distance it had rolled betwixt clayey banks, it was with much
satisfaction that a pond of wholesome water, styled _Dubbelli_, was
discovered, divided from the river by a narrow wooded neck of land, one
hundred and fifty yards across.  Steep shelving walls strewed with
shells and the _reliquiae_ of hippopotami, environed this singular
basin, which appeared to be fathomless, and to measure a mile and a half
in circumference.  Lofty trees, in a wintry dress, cast their deep
shadow over the brink; and whilst the stems of many were partially
immersed, the leafless branches of some were loaded with storks' nests,
and the shattered limbs of others presented tokens of the giant strength
of the elephant, no less than of the terrible wrath of lightning and
storm.

Corresponding tongues abutting from the opposite banks, divide the
expanse into two equal bays.  A group of wild Bedouins watered their
camels on the shore, and in the centre Behemoth rolled his unwieldy
carcase to the surface amid floating crocodiles--protruding his droll
snout, which glistened in slimy ugliness, to blow ever and anon a snort
that might be heard at the distance of a mile.  A two-ounce ball, duly
hardened with antimony, took effect in the skull of one of the boldest
with a crash that was not to be mistaken; but although the monster went
down, leaving a gallon of blood to denote the disaster that had befallen
him, he had temporarily disappeared; and by the incredulous Danakil the
assurance was received with a sneering shake of the head that his
carcass must infallibly be found floating in the morning.

Much difficulty had been experienced in bringing the horses and mules
across the river, and one obstinate donkey, but too well aware of its
inability to swim, having pointedly refused to take the water, was towed
over by main strength at the end of a rope.  Inflated skins kept the
animal afloat; but the stubborn head sinking below the surface, the poor
beast landed with sides distended almost to bursting by too copious
draughts of muddy water.  His master, an aged washerman from Hindostan,
loving Neddy as the apple of his eye, in the simplicity of his old
heart, adopted the prescription of some wag who had facetiously
recommended suspension by the heels, in order to try the ancient
discipline of the Humane Society for the recovery of drowned mortals.  A
fit of apoplexy was the result, and the donkey expired under the lancet.

Followed by the lamentations of the disconsolate owner, the carcass was
dragged some twenty yards beyond the limits of the encamping ground; and
no sooner had the dark night thrown a shroud over it, than the foul
scavengers of the forest assembled in numbers round the prey, and
regardless of a blazing watch-fire that had been kindled to avert the
visits of the monarch of the wilderness, commenced their revels with the
demoniacal laugh indicative of a right happy mood.  Whilst the rain
descended in pitiless torrents, a continual chuckle of the highest
merriment, which ran through all the various notes of a clear throat,
resounded afar amid the crunching of bones and munching of flesh--a
deeper growl from some larger beast of prey, now and then varying the
infernal harmony, to be followed by another ringing laugh as of a whole
legion of devils.  Vivid flashes of lightning played over the scene of
this midnight carnival; the violent snapping of branches in the adjacent
forest proclaimed the nocturnal foray of the elephant and hippopotamus;
the loud roar and the startling snort were neither wanting to complete
the concert of the wild Hawash, and long ere the morning dawned, the
place of the carcass knew it not, every vestige, even to the skull,
having found a sepulchre in the maw of "the laughing hyaena."

Volume One, Chapter XXXV.

WADI AZBOTI.  ARRIVAL OF A SPY FROM THE ABYSSINIAN MOUNTAINS.

"The Robi is _not_ dead," was the first falsehood that greeted the ear
when daylight had returned.  To have told the truth on this occasion
must have redounded to the personal advantage of the informant, but he
had nobly upheld the national character at the sacrifice of a handful of
his much-loved tobacco.  Repairing to the margin of the lake, the
freckled pink sides of a defunct hippopotamus were to be seen high above
the surface, as the distended carcass floated like a monstrous buoy at
anchor.  It had become entangled among the tall tamarisks that rose
through the shallow water near the brink, but hawsers were carried out
with all diligence, and with the aid of the rudder-like tail, the
Colossus was towed to shore, and landed among the mud under the
acclamations of the assembled caravan.

"Where the carcase is, there shall the eagles be gathered together."  A
formidable band of "Bones" were already squatted at a respectful
distance, to watch the progress of events, and no sooner had the teeth
been hewn out than they laid aside their bows and quivers, and having
stripped the thick hide from off the ribs, attacked the mountain of
flesh with the vigour of a South African horde.  Donkeys and women were
laden with incredible despatch, and staggering under huge flaps of meat,
the archers had soon left the scene of operations.  Two reservoirs, each
lying at the distance of a musket shot, had meanwhile been visited--the
one a sulphuric basin of considerable extent, the other a vast sheet of
water, embosomed in trees, dotted over with wood-clothed islets, and
teeming with hippopotami.  But this was neutral ground; and the fears of
the Danakil conjuring into existence a host of lurking foes, the period
allowed for investigation was brief.

Bidding adieu with light hearts to the muddy Hawash, the party resumed
its march so soon as the camel furniture had become sufficiently dry;
and skirting the Dubbelli lake, from the waters of which Behemoth blew a
parting salute, passed the Bedouin hamlet of Mulku-kuyu in the Dofah
district, to a fourth pond bearing the euphonous title of Ailabello.
Prettily situated in a secluded green hollow, and presenting about the
same circumference as its neighbour, below which it is considerably
depressed, this pool resembles a circular walled cistern, and is
obviously the basin of an old crater.  Its waters, alkaline, bitter, and
strongly sulphureous even to the smell, receive constant accessions from
a hot mineral well at the brink, and possessing the singular detergent
property of bleaching the filthiest cloth, many of the Danakil were for
once to be seen in flaunting white togas.  Thence the road lay over a
grassy plain, covered with volcanic sand and ashes, and shut in by cones
of trivial altitude, forming another field of extinct craters, many very
perfect, and each environed by its individual zone--whilst the
circumjacent country, embracing a diameter of eight miles, exhibited
through the superincumbent soil, tracts of jet black lava.

Apprehensions being entertained of the non-existence of pools at the
station suited for the encampment, still some miles in advance, a detour
was made from the main road to Ado, "the White Water," a very extensive
lake, at which the skins were replenished and the thirst of the animals
slaked.  A belt of high acacia jungle embosomed this noble expanse,
which exceeded two miles in diameter, the glassy surface in parts
verdant with sheets of the lotus in full flower, and literally covered
with aquatic fowls.  Geese, mallard, whistling teal, herons, and
flamingoes, with a new species of the _parra_, were screaming in all
directions as they winged their flight from the point invaded, where a
party of Bedouin shepherdesses deposed to having seen a troop of
elephants bathing not half an hour before--the numerous prints of their
colossal feet remaining in testimony, sunk fresh and heavy on the moist
sands.

Prior to crossing the Hawash, the only sheep observed were the _Ovis
aries laticaudata_, or Hejaz lamb, with sable head and neck, thick fatty
tail, and fleece composed of hair instead of wool.  This species had
now, to the westward of the river, given place to the larger Abyssinian
breed, with huge pendulous appendages of truly preposterous size,
encumbered with fat, and vibrating to the animal's progress.
Parti-coloured goats, armed with long wrinkled horns, still diversified
the flocks, which were uniformly attended by small dogs with foxlike
heads, spotted yellow and white, and evidently high in favour with their
dark mistresses.

Several of these females wore around the neck large tinkling brazen
bells, borrowed from the collar of an Abyssinian mule, and forming a
very suitable accompaniment to the massive fabrications of pewter and
copper which loaded their ears.  Their long black tresses were braided
into an infinity of streamers, each resembling the lash of a schoolboy's
whip, and various most ingenious tattooed devices scarred their arms,
temples, and bosoms.  By the beaux of the caravan, unqualified homage
was paid to certain coquettes, who carried milk jars curiously wrought
of palm leaves, and studded with manifold cowrie shells.  To the backs
of sundry weird harridans were strapped skins containing sour curds,
which attracted flies in the tens of millions usually seen around the
molasses at a Banian's stall.  No attempt was made to disturb those that
clustered in their blear-inflamed eyes; and the swarms collected about
the wrinkled comers of the mouth, were only put to flight when the hand
was applied to second the wonted exclamation of surprise at the
appearance of a white face, "_Nubbee Mohammadoo_!"

Numerous wigwams peeped through the extensive forest of aged
camel-thorns, which borders on Le Ado, and eventually debouches upon a
succession of barren plains covered with herds of antelope.  Two rough
stone enclosures by the wayside were surmounted by poles, from which
dangled the heads of as many lions, dilapidated by time, although still
enveloped in the skin, and said to have been speared on this spot many
years before by the Bedouins, who exalted these trophies in
commemoration of the deed.

Immediately beyond this point lay the encamping ground at Wady Azboti,
where numerous shallow pools had been filled by the recent rain, but
where the ill-starred cattle were compelled to content themselves with
water only, not a vestige of grass or green herb remaining in the
vicinity.  It had, in feet, now become a proverb, that these two
essential materials to existence could never be found in the Adel
wilderness in one and the same place.  Vast flights of locusts, which
had assisted to lay the country bare, still carrying desolation in their
progress, were shaping their destructive course towards Abyssinia.  They
quite darkened the air at the moment that the caravan halted; and a host
of voracious adjutants wheeled high above the dense cloud, at one moment
bursting with meteor-like velocity through the serried phalanx, and at
the next stalking over the field to fill their capacious maws with the
victims which their long scythe-fashioned pinions had swept
incontinently from the sky.

The groves around Azboti afforded a welcome supply of bustard,
partridges, and guinea-fowl, together with the mhorr, and pigmy
antelope; and on the return of the heavily-loaded Nimrods to the tent,
infinite diversion was found in the horror depicted on the physiognomy
of the warlike leader of the Hy Somauli band, whose old fashioned bob
wig, quaint gait, and antiquated comicalities, had justly invested him
with the sobriquet of "Doctor Syntax."  The professor of natural history
was as usual busily engaged in the preparation of cabinet specimens,
when the old oddity advanced to see what was going on; and as the bodies
of beetles and locusts were subjected to the process of toasting over
the fire, his droll features were distorted by lines which revealed
plainly enough an inward conviction entertained, that the operation was
none other than culinary, and that the hideous insects were to be eaten.

But the war-whoop, without which few days ever drew to a close, had
aroused the doctor from his cogitations; and at the head of his men he
was presently in hot pursuit of a band of ruffians, who had cleverly
contrived to drive off a camel pertaining to the kafilah.  Returning
with the booty after a long chase, the exploit was celebrated by the
war-dance, which for an hour kept the camp in a fierce uproar.  Formed
in a circle, the excited warriors crouched low to the ground as they
stomped _vis-a-vis_, and howled with the utmost fury.  Then rising with
one accord, they brandished their spears aloft, and vaulted frantically
in the air through a maze of intricate figures.  Next arrayed in line, a
brave sprung ever and anon to the front, and striding up and down with
mincing gait, went through strange gesticulations and contortions, as he
recited the prowess of the dan, and urged it to future deeds of valour--
the clash of spear and shield responding at every pause, whilst the wild
chorus pealed along the ranks.  Confusion now ensued: the band was
engaged in a pantomimic conflict.  Savage after savage, rolling his
eyeballs, sprang panther-like across the loins of his nearest neighbour,
and clinging fast with his beds, tightly clasped his erect opponent with
the muscles of his legs.  Creeses flashed brightly in the air; mock
wounds were inflicted, and the form of dividing the windpipe having been
duly gone through, long and loud arose, with the renewed dance,
triumphant strains of "_Awey birooah! awey birooah_!"  "I have slain my
foe!  I have slain my foe!"

Towards the close of the day, which was hot and muggy under the steam
that arose from the saturated soil, a Bedouin rode consequentially into
camp, and, after making his observations, departed even as he had come,
without deigning an explanation of any sort.  Attention was particularly
attracted to this prying stranger, from the circumstance of his grey
steed being branded on flank and wither with the Ethiopian sign of the
cross.  Delivering no message, although he was conjectured to be a
retainer of Wulasma Mohammad, the Abogaz or _custos_ of the frontier of
Efat, whose post was now not distant more than twenty miles, the
mysterious demeanour of this spy did not fail to strengthen a report,
which had long been in circulation among the mischievous Danakil that at
the court of Shoa, the British were far from being regarded in the light
of welcome visitors, and further, that an armed party was in readiness
to oppose entrance into the kingdom--a rumour which, however improbable,
was unfortunately further supported by the extraordinary and
unaccountable fact of no sort of recognition having, up to this period,
been vouchsafed by His Most Gracious Majesty the King.

Rising tier above tier to the supremely soaring peak of Mamrat, "the
Mother of Grace," with her domed head ever canopied in clouds, the lofty
mountains which fortify the royal dominions now shot like giant castles
from the sandy plain, the most conspicuous features in the landscape.
Volcanic impediments, such as had beset the heretofore weary path, had
at length finally ceased, but the glowing sulphur lulls of Sullala
reared their fantastic spires on the verge of the monotonous expanse;
and high among the more venerable witnesses to the history of the
troubled lowlands, the position of Ankober was discernible to the naked
eye, with the steep Chaka range stretching beyond at still greater
elevation.  The luxuriant verdure which clothed the rugged sides of the
nearer slopes, whilst it contrasted strongly with the aridity of the
barren tracts at their base, indicated the presence of the autumnal
rains; and hereof further evidence was afforded in the low grumbling of
frequent thunder, echoing like distant artillery among the serrated
summits, as the heavy black clouds at intervals drew their smoky mantle
across the scene, and veiled the monsters from sight.

The departure of the silent spy was followed by the arrival of a most
boisterous visitor from the highlands.  The hazy sun, shorn of his
bright beams, and looming a dull fiery globe in the dense mist, had no
sooner disappeared in wrath, than a furious whirlwind tore along the
desert plain, and during the gloomy twilight, the storm, which had been
cradled amid the mighty mountains, descended in desolation, like an
angry giant from his keep.

Black masses of cloud, rolling impetuously along the steep acclivities,
settled at length over the face of the waste, for a time shrouding the
very earth in its dark dank embrace, only to render more striking the
contrast to the dazzling light which in another moment had succeeded.
Brilliant corruscations blazed and scintillated in every quarter of the
fervid heavens, hissing and spluttering through the heavy fog, or
darting like fiery serpents along the surface of the ground--at one
instant awfully revealing the towering peaks that frowned far in the
distance--at the next flashing in a hot sulphury flame through the
centre of the encampment.

Meanwhile the deep roll of thunder continued without a moment's
intermission, the prolonged growl of each startling clap varying ever as
it receded in a fitful change of intonation; whilst the walling of the
blast, accompanied by the sharp rattle of hail, and the impetuous
descent of torrents of rain, completed the horrors of a tempest which,
now at its height, careered madly over the unbroken plain.  The soil had
soon swallowed the deluge to overflowing.  Muddy rivulets poured through
every quarter of the flooded bivouac; and the heavy tarpaulins, which
had afforded some temporary shelter, proving of little further avail,
the shivering but still watchful party were exposed during many dismal
hours that ensued to all the merciless fury of this unappeasable
hurricane.

Volume One, Chapter XXXVI.

VALLEY OF KOKAI--HOSTILITIES OF WULASMA MOHAMMAD.

A cool cloudy morning succeeding to this dreary, boisterous and
uncomfortable night, the caravan was in motion before sunrise across the
uninteresting plain of Azboti, in parts completely swamped, and covered
towards its borders with one interminable sheet of the aloe and
_lilium_, growing beneath spreading acacias upon a gravelly soil.  Then
commenced a belt of hummocks, formed by prominences abutting from the
high land of Abyssinia--a succession of hill and dale, thickly-wooded
with a variety of timber, and still clothed with an undergrowth of the
wild aloe, through which wary herds of Baeza threaded their way.  The
road soon entered the pebbly bed of a mountain stream, running easterly
between precipitous basaltic cliffs towards the Hawash; but although
such torrents of rain had fallen the preceding night, no water was
discovered in the wooded wady of Kokai, until reaching Dathara, nearly
thirteen miles from the last encampment, where the party partook of the
first crystal brook that had occurred during the entire weary journey
from the sea-coast.

Three thousand feet above the ocean, with an invigorating, breeze and a
cloudy sky, the climate of this principal pass into Southern Abyssinia,
was that of a fine summer's day in England, rather than of the middle of
July between the tropics.  Here for the first time during the
pilgrimage, the tent was erected under the shade of a wide-spreading
tamarind, which, among many other trees of noble growth, graced the
sequestered spot.  Above the surrounding foliage the long white roofs of
many of the royal magazines were visible, perched high on the blue
mountain side.  In the forked branches overhead were piled
haystack-looking nests of gigantic dimensions, thatched with every
attention to neatness and comfort--the small aperture left by the
feathered architect turned in every instance to the eastward, and
carefully secured from the weather; and perched on every twig, an
assemblage of strange birds displayed their gay glittering plumage, or
filled the cool air with melodious song.

But from the summit of an adjacent basaltic knoll, which was ascended
towards the close of day, there burst upon the delighted gaze a prospect
more than ever alluring of the Abyssinian Alps.  Hill rose above hill,
clothed in the most luxuriant and vigorous vegetation.  Mountain towered
over mountain in a smiling chaos of disorder; and the soaring peaks of
the most remote range threw their hoary heads, sparkling with a white
mantle of hail, far into the cold azure sky.  Villages and hamlets
embosomed in dark groves of evergreens were grouped in Arcadian repose.
Rich fields of every hue chequered the deep lone valley; and the sun,
bidding a diurnal farewell to his much-loved plains of the east, shot a
last stream of golden light, varied as the hues of the Iris, over the
mingled beauties of wild woodland scenery, and the labours of the
Christian husbandman.

No delegate with greetings from the Negoos awaiting the British Embassy,
and the frontier town of Farri, where caravans are received by His
Majesty's officers, being now only five miles distant, a letter was
prepared, of which Mohammad Ali volunteered to be the bearer.  In
signifying gracious acquiescence to this arrangement, the Ras el Kafilah
gravely intimated that the escort of Hy Somauli spearmen, famished at
Killulloo by Ibrahim ibn Hameido, declined permitting the departure of
the son of Ali Abi, until they should have received the sum at which
they were pleased to estimate their services.  Little reason existing to
be satisfied with the vigilance of this band of warriors, not one of the
component members whereof, Doctor Syntax inclusive, had adopted the plan
proposed by the poet for lengthening the days of existence by stealing a
few hours from the night, compliance to the full extent of the
exorbitant demand had previously been evaded.  But as Izhak, in whom the
truth was not, now falsely asserted and maintained that the Akil had
taken his personal security for the sum, and as it was obviously of the
last importance that arrival on the frontier should be timely reported,
the money was reluctantly paid, and the courier set forth on his
journey.

Rain was again ushering in the early hours of the night, when the
unpleasant intelligence arrived that a certain Wulasma Mohammad was the
delinquent, and that he had contrived effectually to thwart the
intentions of his royal master.  The king had commanded that his British
visitors should be received on the western bank of the Hawash by an
escort of honour.  Under the commander-in-chief of the body-guard, three
hundred matchlock-men had been for this purpose detached from the troops
on service with His Majesty, and had actually reached Farri, whence the
jealous Moslem had dared to send them back upon the ridiculous pretext
of being unable to obtain any tidings of the expected Franks.

This important functionary, in addition to his office of state-gaoler,
is the hereditary Abogaz of the Mohammadan population of Argobba on the
east of Shoa, and the nature of his government exalts him in the eyes of
all to the importance of a king.  With the title of Wulasma--a word of
uncertain derivation, known to Ludolf, the great historian of Abyssinia,
who styles the dignitary "Pro rex of Efat"--he possesses unbounded
influence over the frontier, his immediate duties being to preserve
amicable relations with the Adaiel occupying the plain of the Hawash,
and to protect kafilahs and merchants arriving from the independent
principality of Hurrur, or from the coast of Tajura.  His functions as
keeper of the state prison secure for him the respect of all.
Christians as well as Islams, who have the fear of a dungeon before
their eyes; and although numerous Abogasoch or Wulasmoch, governors of
small detached provinces, share his power, the name and influence of all
are dim under the light that glares from his loop-holed residence at
Goncho.

It is the invariable policy of the haughty Abogaz to assume the great
man to all travellers, since it is generally understood that through him
alone foreigners can be received and forwarded, or if necessary
presented to the Negoos.  This arrangement involves not only trouble,
but considerable expense.  His despotic Majesty claiming the prerogative
of franking every visitor through his territories, and a portion of the
attendant outlay falling upon the functionary who may be honoured with
the royal commands.

Openly opposed to European innovation, Mohammad particularly disliked
the advent of the British Embassy, and was obviously doing his utmost to
thwart the more liberal views of the crown, by treating the strangers
with disrespect.  The imperial order that an escort of matchlock-men
should for the first time cross the hill frontier, and proceed into the
plain of the Hawash, to do honour to the Christian guests, not only
rankled in his Moslem breast, but was calculated to interfere with his
resolution to preserve inviolate the avenues to the sea-coast.  His
intrigues had rendered abortive all attempts to communicate with the
Court; and whilst the approach of the Embassy was not reported until its
actual arrival at Dathara, his non-compliance with the order given had
resulted most prejudicially, the Danakil guides being now more than ever
unwilling to persuade themselves that the party would be welcome.

Preparations were making the following morning to continue the march to
Farri, when the burly functionary was seen pompously approaching with
measured step, followed by a retinue of many hundred armed followers,
whose shaven heads rose unturbaned above flowing white mantles.  Far
from announcing himself in the customary manner, he remained seated in
portentous dignity, beneath the shade of a venerable tamarind by the
road-side, until, every camel having been loaded, the caravan was moving
off the ground.  A peremptory message was then received through one of
his myrmidons, to the effect that he stood strictly charged with the
king's commands to suffer not one of the party to advance until the next
day, and that he was prepared to enforce the interdiction.  There seemed
little reason to doubt of this being a premeditated falsehood, as it
afterwards proved to be; but the Ras el Kafilah having heard the
injunction repeated in presence of the Wulasma Suleiman Moosa, Abogaz of
Channoo, as coming direct from His Majesty, timidly declined any
infringement, and again threw down the loads.

Condescending at length in moody sullenness to approach with his host of
retainers, the triumphant potentate, armed with the rosary, or chaplet
of one hundred beads, which denoted his intolerant faith, squeezed his
pursy figure into a chair, and composed himself with much apparent
satisfaction at the success that had attended his scheme of opposition.
A debauched, ill-favoured, bloated specimen of mortality, the lines of
intemperance were deeply graven on his truculent visage, which was at
once cunning, sinister, and forbidding.  But the party were not long
troubled with his obnoxious presence.  The reception he experienced,
although civil, was distant and studiously formal, and the sun, beating
in a full blaze upon his bald crown, rendered his position so extremely
untenable, that after stiffly murmuring replies to the customary
inquiries anent the health and well-being of his august master, he rose
unceremoniously, and abruptly withdrew.

Throughout this brief and very unbending interview, a brawny retainer
stood behind the chair, denuded to the waist.  In his right hand he
ostentatiously displayed the chief gaoler's sword of state--a short
heavy blade upon the model of the old Roman falchion, enclosed in a
scabbard of massive silver; and his left arm supported a buckler of
stiff bull's hide, elaborately emblazoned with crescents and brass
studs.  The benevolent and prepossessing aspect of the Wulasma Suleiman
Moosa, who occupied a second seat, offered a striking contrast to the
repulsive arrogance of his scowling colleague.  On his right side,
protruding upwards with the curve of a scorpion's tail, he wore a
semicircular weapon, also denominated a sword, though in fact more
nearly allied to a reaping-hook--a proud badge of office, with a fluted
tulip-shaped termination to the silver scabbard, which, according to the
wont of the despot, had been conferred on the occasion of his first
installation in office, but which ludicrously interfered with comfort in
an armchair.

During the residue of the day, the conduct of the state-gaoler was
perfectly in unison with his character and previous hostile proceedings.
He brought the white visitors neither presents nor supplies, according
to the rules of Abyssinian hospitality; and although made fully aware
that the camp was drained of provisions, prevented purchases by the
undue exercise of his influence and authority.  A pelting rain during
the night, from which his sleek person was defended by naught save the
pervious branches of a tamarind, had not tended to soften the
asperities, or to alleviate the sourness of his aspect, when the day
dawned; and it was only on finding the party prepared to advance at the
hazard of forcible opposition, that he finally yielded the point, and
betwixt his closed teeth muttered his grumbling consent to an
arrangement which he felt longer unable with prudence to oppose.  "The
English are a great nation," whispered the nephew of Ali Shermarki, as
he passed the haughty Abogaz, "and you had better take care to treat
them civilly.  _Wullahi_! one of their ships of war would carry this
kafilah over the water, and you and all your host of followers into the
bargain."

Volume One, Chapter XXXVII.

DINOMALI.  GREETINGS FROM THE NEGOOS AT FARRI, ON THE FRONTIER OF HIS
DOMINIONS.

Gradually ascending through a hilly and well-wooded country, still a
positive garden of the wild aloe, the road now led through a succession
of deep glades, which opened in turn upon verdant mountain scenery; and
at on early hour, after the first signs of cultivation had been afforded
in the truly grateful sight of ploughs turning up the soil, the tents
were erected on the open plain of Dinomali.

At this, the frontier station of Argobba, are levied the royal import
duties of ten per cent; and a scene of noise, bustle, and confusion did
not fail to ensue, such as is wont to attend the arrival of every
caravan.  In his character of collector-general of customs, the pompous
Wulasma took seat below a tree in the centre, whilst his myrmidons,
beleaguering every load the moment it was removed from the camel,
prevented all access on the part of the owner until scrutinising search
had been instituted by the secretary for the salt trade, and the
imperial scribes had, by a tedious process denominated writing,
completed an inventory of contents.  From time immemorial it had been
the law of the realm to regard the despotic ruler as the proprietor of
every moveable in the land; and it was not without many looks of
incredulity and amazement that the custom-house officers now received
the astounding intimation that they would touch the baggage of the
British Embassy at their peril.

Thus for the first time thwarted in their prerogative of forcing open
boxes, and inspecting the wares they contained, Debtera Tekla Zion and
his brother scribes were tempted to attribute the opposition offered to
the truth of a vague report already current, that a foreign king was
being smuggled into Abyssinia for evil.  And they were still standing in
mute astonishment, with idle ink-horns dangling from their hands, lost
in conjecture of the probable consequences involved by the unprecedented
interference exercised, when a message was received expressive of the
compliments and best wishes of Sahela Selassie.  Still at a distance
from Ankober, His Majesty had resolved, in order to hasten the interview
with his guests, to proceed at once to the capital, whither the English
were invited to repair with all possible expedition.

The arrival of this unlooked-for salutation, which was coupled with an
affirmative answer to a request previously made, that the presents in
charge of the Embassy might neither be interfered with, nor subjected to
the usual custom-house scrutiny when crossing the frontier, had the
effect of bringing to his senses the overbearing Wulasma; and, in
accordance with the king's instructions, oxen, sheep, bread, beer, and
hydromel were liberally supplied without another moment's demur.  But a
fresh source of delay and annoyance forthwith arose on the part of the
Ras el Kafilah, whose latent object being to transfer the charge of
Danakil caravans from the hands of the corpulent and now civil gaoler to
those of Wulasma Suleiman Moosa, made the acceptance of supplies at the
hand of the former a pretext for throwing up his functions and setting
out to Ankober, exclaiming as he mounted his mule in a towering passion,
for the avowed purpose of laying his complaint at the footstool of the
throne, "Am not I the brother of the Sultan of Tajura?"

But the furious elder had not proceeded far on his adventurous journey,
ere his ears were saluted by repeated discharges of musketry,
accompanied by martial music and a solemn vocal chorus.  These served to
announce the advent of Ayto Katama, commander-in-chief of the imperial
body-guard, with the escort of honour consisting of three hundred
matchlock-men, who were to have received the Embassy on the banks of the
Hawash.  The arrival of this important personage, whose schoolboyish
sallies ill became his years and high military functions, was speedily
followed by the appearance of Ayto Wolda Hana, governor of Ankober, and
first nobleman in the realm, also fraught with congratulations.  His
presence had the effect of recalling the irritated Ras to a sense of
duty; and no efficient carriage having been provided by the Abogaz, it
was finally arranged, after many difficulties, objections, and disputes,
that the baggage should be transported to Farri, other two miles in
advance, where Mohammadan porters could be obtained in sufficient
numbers to convey it to its final destination--the mountains in every
part being deemed quite inaccessible to the camel.

Although the distance from Farri did not exceed a mile, the lateness of
the hour at which this accommodation was vouchsafed, rendered it
impossible to carry the measure into effect until the following day.
The governor of Ankober meanwhile politely insisted upon charging
himself with the baggage, his officious zeal extending even to the
effects of private individuals, whereby much inconvenience was entailed.
But notwithstanding his garrulous protestations, and the presence of so
large a body of the royal troops, everything was finally left
unprotected; and, before his negligence was discovered, four of the
remaining mules had been stolen from their pickets by the marauders who
infest the neighbourhood.

Loaded for the thirty-fifth and last time with the baggage of the
British Embassy, the caravan, escorted by the detachment of Ayto Katama,
with flutes playing and muskets echoing, and the heads of the warriors
decorated with white plumes, in earnest of their bold exploits during
the late expedition, advanced on the afternoon of the 16th of July, to
Farri, the frontier town of the kingdom of Efat.  Clusters of
conical-roofed houses, covering the sloping sides of twin hills which
form a gorge wherein the royal dues are deposited, here presented the
first permanent habitations that had greeted the eye since leaving the
sea-coast; rude and ungainly, but right welcome signs of transition from
depopulated wastes to the abodes of man.

As well from the steepness of the rugged mountains of Abyssinia, which
towered overhead, as from the pinching climate of their wintry summits,
the camel becomes useless as a beast of burthen; and none being ever
taken beyond the frontier, many of the Wulasma's retinue now gazed at
the ungainly quadrupeds for the first time.  The "ship of the desert"
has been created for the especial benefit of sultry, arid, and waterless
plains, such as those now crossed, where no other domesticated animal
could long exist, but where, even under the most scorching radiation of
heat, when the skin peels from the parched lips of the pilgrim, and the
horizon beams as with the fires of an hundred volcanoes, the soft
lustrous eye of the patient dromedary loses not a jot of its wonted
brilliancy.  But numbers had been dreadfully wrung during the tedious
march, those especially which carried tent-poles and other unmanageable
burdens; and amongst others, two of the finest had sung under the weight
of the galloper-gun.  No sooner was the load now removed, than a swarm
of parasitic birds, with brilliant golden eyes, here for the first time
seen, swarmed around the galled part, and having dived into the gaping
wounds, without causing perceptible annoyance to the sufferer, became so
engrossed in the removal of ticks and maggots with their crimson bills,
that several were made prisoner with the hand.

Boxes and bales as they arrived were deposited within a stone enclosure
in the centre of the area; and the bloated Wulasma, again seated in
regal dignity beneath an ancient acacia, which threw its slender shade
over the heterogeneous pile, placing Ayto Wolda Hana upon his right
hand, with the aid of the royal scribes and their ink-horns commenced an
inventory _de novo_.  Vigorous attempts to force open the cases were
once more resisted, with complete success.  Earnest expostulations tried
in turn by the Moslem and the Christian, were alike unheeded; and amid
noise, clamour, and confusion, such as could ill be described, the
inquisitive functionaries were fain, as before, to content themselves
with a list of packages in the gross.  Rough conjectural estimates of
the number of muskets contained in each matted roll were however
clandestinely formed, by dint of squeezing and pinching; and these too
were committed to writing, as though fears were entertained lest the
king might now, in his own dominions, be defrauded of a portion of the
investment transported in safety thither from a distant land.

Hajji Mohammad, a respectable old slave-dealer in the suite of the
Abogaz, had during this interim obligingly undertaken to solve certain
puzzling geographical questions proposed, and with a staff was
methodically tracing on the sand, for the edification of his European
audience, the position of the Hawash in its upper course.  An insane old
Hassoba, long resident at Farri, whose head laboured under the effect of
sundry wounds received in youth, had unfortunately become violently
excited by too copious libations in honour of the safe arrival of his
clansmen.  To the annoyance of every one, he had been bawling
incessantly for many hours, and he presently staggered up to ascertain
if he could throw light upon the subject under discussion.

"What do you know about the Hawash?" he exclaimed, in a violent passion,
as the name of the lone river fell upon his ear--"Pray where did you
learn about the Hawash, or the Ittoo, or the Aroosi?"--and suiting the
action to the word, his cudgel rattled heavily over the crown of the
unoffending pilgrim to the shrine of the Prophet.  Nettled at this
unprovoked assault, the venerable man retorted with interest--blows
pattered thick and fast, a crowd collected, creeses were drawn, and the
friends of the respective parties felt themselves bound to interfere.
The belligerent Hajji was held to prevent his committing murder; and the
Adel geographer, as he walked reluctantly away, under a shower of
stones, turning frequently to breathe defiance to the object of his ire,
repeated with a sneer, "Here is the Hawash indeed: what the devil does
that old donkey know about the Hawash?"

Meanwhile arrived a special messenger, bearing reiterated compliments
from the Negoos, with a horse and a mule from the royal stud, attired in
the peculiar trappings and colours which in Shoa pertain solely to
Majesty.  The bridles and breastplates glittered with studs and bosses
of polished metal; gay embroidery in coloured worsted covered the
saddle-cloth of the mule, and a collection of silver chains, jingles,
and bells, encircled her neck.  At sight hereof women and girls
enveloped in blood-red shifts, who had thronged to the busy scene to
stare at the white strangers, at once burst into a loud scream of
acclamation.  A group of hooded widows, occupying an adjacent public
asylum, thrust their fingers into their ears, and joined in the clamour.
Escort and camel-drivers, now at their journey's end, had placed no
bounds to their hilarity.  A fat ox that had been promised was turned
loose among the spectators--pursued by fifty savages with gleaming
creeses--and ham-strung by a dexterous blow, which threw it bellowing to
the earth in the height of its mad career.  The rival clans of lean
curs, that are respectively quartered on the dung-heaps of the twin
hills, and suffer no intrusion into each other's domains, rushed to the
neutral ground, and forthwith commenced an indiscriminate engagement
over the garbage; and whilst Debtera Tekla Zion, still counting and
recounting, amended his long list with untiring perseverance, crowds of
porters and lounging visitors added the mite of their united voices to
the din, tumult, and intolerable uproar which continued until close of
day.

Predatory incursions of the Galla upon the Argobba frontier are
frequent, and not many weeks had passed away since six of the king's
liege subjects were murdered within the precincts of the encamping
ground.  In defiance of tempestuous weather, two European soldiers and
an officer had been on guard without shelter during every night of the
long and tedious march, and the sergeant of the escort had every hour
personally relieved the sentries: but the exposed position of the
baggage, added to the evil character borne by the spot, and the
experience already gained at Dinomali, still precluded the
discontinuance of watch and ward, whereof all were heartily weary.

In the dead of night an alarm caused all to spring from their couches on
the hard ground, and to stand prepared for the reception of an unseen
foe, whose approach was announced by the blast of some hideous war-horn.
Halters had been broken, and mules and horses were charging over the
tent ropes, nor was the real cause of the confusion discovered for some
minutes.  A thirsty dog, unacquainted with the artifice resorted to by
the fox that needed water, had recklessly thrust his mangy head so deep
into an earthen jar that he was unable to withdraw it, and rushing he
knew not whither, was giving vent through his strange proboscis to
fearful hollow groans, which might well have instilled terror into the
breast of the superstitious, and did not fail to elicit ceaseless howls
from the canine occupants of the dunghill.

The delinquent was shot, and order being at length restored, those who
were entitled to slumber again proceeded to avail themselves of the
privilege.  After pacing his beat some hours beyond the wonted period of
relief, the sentinel who mounted at midnight hailed the officer on duty.
Receiving no reply to the challenge, he approached the door of the
tent, and there, sad to relate, the first breach of discipline was
detected on the part of the guardian of the camp, who, worn out by
incessant vigils, was on this, his last watch, lying fast asleep upon
his post, with a pistol in each hand!

Volume One, Chapter XXXVIII.

A PARTING TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE INSCRIBED TO THE PEOPLE OF ADEL.

Tradition asserts that prior to the invasion of Graan, "the mighty Adel
monarch," who overran and dismembered once-powerful Ethiopia, the
eastern limit of the empire was Jebel Aiulloo, known to the Abyssinians
as Mount Azulo.  But although frequently invaded, no portion of the wide
plain of the Hawash has been reconquered, whether by Sahela Selassie, or
by his ancestors.  The relatives of certain of those in authority have
been made prisoners by treachery, and as hostages are held in close
durance by the king, but the boasted influence of the Abogaz is
principally supported by conciliation, and by the annual presentation of
cloths and specie to the various chiefs and elders--a measure having for
its object to preserve the avenues to the sea-coast and to the Bahr
Assal, whereon Shoa and Efat are almost entirely dependant for foreign
wares, and for salt, which the country does not produce.

The powerful independent chieftain of the principal section of Gibdosa,
who occupy the detached hill of Rasa, across the Robi river, northward
of Dinomali, is one of those in nominal alliance with the Negoos; but
his wild Moslems make constant predatory inroads upon the frontier of
Argobba, slaying Christians and Mohammadans of either sex, without any
compunction; and the policy of His Majesty prohibiting retaliation,
however aggravated the outrage, Anbassa Ali, or "the Lion," who like
Esau of old is said to be covered with hair from the crown of the head
even unto the sole of the foot, not unfrequently makes hostile
demonstrations in person, which require all the Wulasma's tact and
diplomatic cunning to avert.

From Hao, on the eastern side of the Hawash, to Farri, the intervening
tract, under the nominal jurisdiction of Mohammad Abogaz, is in
occupation of a mixed nomade population, not remarkable for their
honesty, and composed from numerous subdivisions of the Danakil, but
principally from the Burhanto or Adali, under ibn Hamed deen Hassan.
This latter, which takes Adaiel in the plural, is the clan of the
reigning Sultan of Tajura; and being in days of yore the most powerful
and important tribe in the nation, its name has been imparted to the
entire country, now corrupted into Adel.

In time of war with the adjacent Galla on the south, or when called upon
to repel the predatory invasions of the Mudaito, the tribes westward of
the Hawash assemble with the Tukhaiel, the Debeni, the Dermela, the
Rookhba, the Woema, and the Hy Somauli, the extent of whose respective
territories has already been defined.  These, with the Abli or Dinserra,
under Mohammad Ali, surnamed Jeroa, or "the Thief," which is the tribe
of Hamed Bunaito, present wuzir and heir-apparent to the throne of
Tajura--the Adaneito and Nakur, under Shehem Mulakoo--the Dondametta,
the Duttagoora, and the Hassoba, led respectively by Ahmed Kamil, Sheikh
Deeni, and Deeni ibn Ibrahim--collectively assume the title of
Debenik-Woema, _k_ being the Dankali conjunction.

Adalo bin Hamed, who leads a section of the Gibdosa encamped at Haode
and Dunne, occasionally unites with the Debenik-Woema in the time of
their need, but he is held virtually independent.  The fourth and last
section of the Debeni, under the authority of Mahmoodi, has its tents at
the isolated volcanic mountain of Fantali, southward of Dinomali, where
reside also the united Adaiel clans Uluaito, Muffa, and Eyrolasso, under
the great "brave" Lamullifan.

These tribes occupy the whole extent of country between Abyssinia and
Mirsa Raheita, near the entrance to the Red Sea, the head-quarters of
Roofa Boorhan, sheikh of a subdivision of the Duttagoora.  Thence they
stretch along the coast to the south-eastward, and from Goobut el
Kharab, between the parallels, bounded on the south by the Eesah and
other Somauli tribes, and flanked on the north by the Mudaito.

The Adaiel or Danakil population, which, including the Mudaito, extends
as far as Arkeeko, entitles itself Afer, and claims to be descended from
Arab invaders, who, in the seventh century of the Christian era, overran
and colonised the low tract which forms a zone between the Abyssinian
Alps and the coast of the Red Sea.  To a certain extent the northern
tribes are subject to the Nayib of Arkeeko, whose authority is
recognised in much the same proportion as that of the feeble Sultan of
Tajura by the southern clans; but although speaking the same language,
they can hardly be said to constitute a nation, being so widely
dispersed, that for many days together not a trace of man is to be
discovered over the joyless deserts which form the lot of his
inheritance, scorched by an ardent sun, and alive only with "moving
pillars of sand."

From time immemorial every individual has been his own king.  Each
marauding community is marked by a wild independence; and the free
spirit of the whole is to be traced in the rapine, discord, and
bloodshed which universally prevails.  Theirs is "an iron sky, and a
soil of brass," where the clouds drop little rain, and the earth yields
no vegetation.  It is no "land of rivers of water," nor have the "lines
fallen in pleasant places."  The desert stretches far on every side,
strewed with black boulders of heated lava, and enveloped by a glowing
atmosphere.  In this country of perfidy and vindictive ferocity, the
proprietors of the barren land murder every stranger who shall intrude;
and the common benefits of water are an object of perpetual contest.
Reprisal and revenge form the guiding maxim of all.  Monsters, not men,
their savage propensities are portrayed in a dark and baleful eye, and
the avenger of blood is closely dogging the footsteps of one half the
population.

As laziness is the chief source of African misery at large, so is it
with the Danakil in particular.  They possess that "conceit in their
misery" which induces them to despise the labours of the cultivator; and
such is the characteristic want of water, that, excepting at Aussa,
agriculture is unknown, even in its rudest form.  A pastoral, itinerant,
and belligerent people, divided into endless clans and ramifications,
under divers independent chieftains, their mode of living entitles them
to rank only one step in civilisation above the positive savage who
depends for daily subsistence upon the chase and upon the spontaneous
productions of nature.

Born to the spear, and bred in eternal strife with his predatory
neighbours, each lawless member of the straggling community inherits the
untameable spirit of the descendants of Ishmael; and it is made
subservient to all the worst vices and passions inherent in the
semi-barbarian.  In his very attitude and bearing there is that which
proclaims him in his own opinion Lord of the Universe, entitled to
enjoy, with a thankless heart, all that he is capable of enjoying.  No
favour claims his gratitude--nothing demands a thought beyond the
present moment.  Unlike the Arab Bedouin, he is too indolent and
improvident during seasons of plenty, to convert the produce of his
flocks and herds into a store against the coming day of drought and
famine.  Gorged to repletion, the residue is suffered to go to waste;
and so long as his belly is full, his licentiousness gratified, and he
has leisure to lounge about in listless idleness, the measure of his
happiness is complete, and the sun may rise and set without his
troubling his head as to the mode in which the day has been passed, or
how the next meal is to be provided.

Many of the Adaiel are extensive owners of camels, and deal largely in
slaves--a trade which yields three hundred per cent, with the least
possible risk or trouble to the merchant; but when not upon the journey
periodically undertaken to acquire the materials for this traffic, all
lead a life of indolence and gross sensuality--eating, sleeping, and
indulging in the baser passions, according to the bent of their vicious
inclinations.  Their delight is to be dirty and to be idle.  They wear
the same cloth without ablution until it fairly drops from the back; and
abhorring honest labour, whether agricultural or handicraft, pass the
day in drowsiness, or in the enjoyment of a quiet seat before the
hamlet, where the scandal of the community is retailed.  Basking in the
sun, and arranging their curly locks with the point of the skewer, they
here indulge in unlimited quantities of snuff, and mumble large rolls of
tobacco and ashes, which are so thrust betwixt the under lip and the
white teeth, as to impart the unseemly appearance of a growing wen, and
if temporarily removed are invariably deposited behind the left ear.  No
race of men in the world stink more offensively; but whilst polluting
the atmosphere with rancid tallow and putrid animal intestines, they
never condescend to approach a Christian without holding their own
noses!

Amongst the Danakil are to be found some of the most scowling,
ill-favoured, and hideous-looking savages in the universe, but the
features of the majority have an Arab cast which supports the legend of
their origin; and notwithstanding the influence exerted upon the
lineaments by passions uncontrolled, the expression of many is pleasing,
and even occasionally intellectual.  All are muscular and active, but
singularly scraggy and loosely knit, and to an easy shuffling gait is
added a national addiction to standing cross-legged.  Young as well as
old take infinite pains to disfigure the person, and thus to render it
ferocious in appearance.  Scars obtained in brawls and conflicts from
stones and cold steel are esteemed the highest ornaments, and the breast
and stomach are usually seamed with a mystic maze of rhombs and
reticulated triangles, produced by scarification with a sharp fragment
of obsidian, so as to resemble the plan of a fortified town of days gone
by.

The upper lip is denuded with the creese, and the scanty beard suffered
to flourish in curls along the cheeks and over the chin; whilst the
hair, coarse and long, saturated with grease and mutton fat from
infancy, and exposed during life to the fiercest sun, becomes crisped
into a thick curly mop, like a counsellor's wig, which is shaved behind
on a line between the ears, and constitutes the first great pride of the
proprietor.  The picking it out into a due spherical form affords
employment during his ample leisure, and the contemplation of its wild
perfection is the predominant object when the mirror is placed within
his grasp.  Baldness commences at an early age, and many of the ancient
dandies seek protection from the solar influence under sheep-skin
perukes of preposterous size, their artificial curls, in common with
those that are natural, displaying an ornamented wooden spike or bodkin,
which serves as a comb, and is often fancifully carved and provided with
two or even three prongs.

The operation of greasing this wig without the aid of the barber is
original.  A lump of raw fat, cut from the overgrown tail of the Berbera
sheep, having been some time masticated and mumbled, is expelled into
the hands, betwixt the palms of which it is reduced by rubbing to a
suitable consistency, and then transferred _en masse_ to the crown.
Exposure to the fierce rays of a tropical sun soon conveys the desired
nourishment to the roots of the hair.  A number of jets and brilliants,
which first adorn the periwig, are presently fried into oily shreds, and
the liquid tallow, adulterated with dirt, trickling in streams adown the
swarthy visage and over the neck, exhales the most sickening of odours.
All, however, cannot afford this luxury of the toilet, nor is it every
one who can resist the temptation of swallowing the dainty morsel when
once consigned to the mouth; and hence is seen many a poll of sun-burnt
hair, in colour and consistency resembling the housemaid's cobweb broom
which is quaintly denominated "the Pope's head."

The simple costume of the Bedouin consists of a piece of checked cloth
wrapped loosely about the loins, and descending to the knees so as to
resemble a kilt or short petticoat; whilst a cotton robe is thrown over
the shoulder after the manner of the Roman toga.  Miserly in
disposition, few outward ornaments grace his person, save an occasional
necklace of fat, and a few armlets and bracelets composed of potent
passages from the Koran either stitched in leather, or enveloped in
coloured thread.  A thong adorned with a metal button girds to the right
hip of old and young a creese two feet in length, the wooden hilt of
which is decorated with a pewter stud, whilst the scabbard is ornamented
with an aromatic sprig, employed as a tooth-brush, and masticated for
hours together.

Three inches broad in the blade, and possessing a truly murderous crook
in the centre, the creese is doubtless a most formidable weapon at close
quarters.  With it the Danakil builds his house; with it he slays the
animal, and flays the carcase.  It is his sword in battle, his knife at
the table, his razor at the toilet, his hatchet, and his nail-parer.  A
savage desirous of illustrating the most approved exercise, after
whetting the blade upon a stone, capers about describing a series of
flourishes and cuts, both under and over the shield, stabbing and
parrying to the right and to the left, until at length comes the last
grand touch of disembowelment, when a ripping motion is accompanied by a
bound into the air, and a howl of perfect satisfaction such as might be
conjectured to issue from the jaws of the glutted vampire.

The spear, which is seldom out of the hand of the Danakil, is some seven
feet in length, a shaft of tough close-grained wood called "_adepto_"
being heavily poised with metal at the butt, and topped by a blade from
ten to fifteen inches long, by three broad, reduced to as keen an edge
as constant scouring with sand and grease can impart.  Great aversion is
entertained to this weapon being stepped over, and its fall to the
ground, independently of the damage that might be sustained, is regarded
as an evil omen, and believed to destroy its power over the flesh and
blood of an enemy.  The spear of a chief only is mounted with bands of
brass and copper wire, but the points of all are graced alike with a
lump of sheep's-tail fat.  Although sometimes employed as a missive, the
pike exercise is more usually resorted to--the warrior stealing onward
in a crouching position, and springing suddenly with a yell and a
cat-like bound to transfix the body of his foe.  "None but a woman would
retain the spear in the hour of battle," quoth one of the braves--"the
creese is the hand to hand weapon!"

The shield, fashioned out of the stiff hide of the Baeza, or of the wild
buffalo, is a perfect circle, of from one to two feet in diameter, with
the rim turned outwards, and the centre convexed, for the purpose of
checking the flight or launch of the missive.  A button or boss which
forms the apex is usually adorned with some proud trophy of the chase,
in addition to the red beard of a he-goat, undeviatingly attached as a
charm.  A small bag, slung in the interior of the buckler, contains the
portable wealth of the proprietor, and a forked stick is annexed to the
hand strap, to admit of suspension to a tree.  Engaged, the warrior
keeps the shield in a continual revolving motion, in strict accordance
with the movement of the eyes, which in fierce and violent frenzy are
rolled in the sockets during the continuance of the conflict.

Cruel, bloodthirsty, and vindictive, the Danakil do not possess that
spirit of individual enterprise or chivalry, or that reckless disregard
of personal danger which, to certain races of men, imparts the stamp of
military habits; but a season of scarcity dooms every neighbouring tribe
whose pastures are more favoured than their own, to invasion, massacre,
and pillage.  A fiendish whoop is the signal for the gathering of the
clan; and, obedient to the call, each man at arms, grasping spear and
shield, abandons his wretched wigwam with truly savage alacrity.  His
fierce and untamed passions now riot uncontrolled, and those who during
the foray are guilty of the greatest enormities, strut about on return
amongst their fellows, bedecked with ostrich plumes, and other badges of
distinction, reciting each to some wild tune, the tale of his bloody
exploits.

Morose, and possessing little perception of the ridiculous, witticisms
and hilarity in conversation are restricted to the ribald jest; but
brawls are frequent, and the bivouac is often cheered by the wild chorus
selected from a choice collection breathing in every line
self-sufficiency and defiance to the foe.  Accompanied by savage
gestures and contortions--now menacing, now mincing, and now furious--
these strains are chanted during the livelong night with clear and
energetic throats, chiefly with the design of intimidating, by the noisy
clamour, any hostile party that may be lurking in the vicinity of the
encampment, intent either upon the requital of injuries done, or the
acquisition of fame by aggressions unprovoked.

Superstitious to the last degree, the itinerant Bedouin takes the field
arrayed in a panoply of amulets, designed as a defence against
witchcraft, and to be thrown towards the enemy in the hour of battle.  A
verse from the Koran, sewn up in leather, and hung about the neck,
secures him against all incorporeal enemies.  No whirlwind ever sweeps
across the path without being pursued by a dozen savages with drawn
creeses, who stab into the centre of the dusty column in order to drive
away the evil spirit that is believed to be riding on the blast.  All
have firm faith in the incarnation of the Devil, who is described as a
monster with perpendicular eyes, capable of rolling along the ground
with the rotatory motion of a ball; and Ibrahim Shehem Abli, a most
unblushing liar, and no less notable a necromancer than warrior,
confidently asserted his individual ability to raise seven hundred of
these demons for evil, during any moonlight night of the entire year.

The mosque and the muezzin have no existence in the interior, where
religion gradually shades away; and, unlike the people of Tajura, there
is here little external display of Islamism observable, save in the
bigoted detestation evinced towards those of every other than the
Mohammadan creed.  But although prostrations are wanting, and rosaries
are untold, the vagrants still preserve their knavish reputations
unblemished.  The white feather, which in Europe is the emblem of
cowardice, is appropriately placed in the head of these midnight
assassins, and the neighbouring tribes have not ill-portrayed the
national character in the assertion, that "the tongues of the Adaiel are
long for the express purpose of lying, that their arms are long but to
admit of their pilfering the property of others, and that their legs are
long in order that they may run away like poltroons in the day of danger
and retribution."

Volume One, Chapter XXXIX.

THE GENTLE ADAIEL, AND FAREWELL TO THEM.

  "Yet one kind kiss before we part,
  Drop a tear, and bid adieu."

To be the wife of a true believer, in whatever state of society, from
the most refined to the most barbarous, is to be cursed in the fullest
acceptation of the word.  But of the two extremes, many, if the choice
were given, would doubtless prefer the drudgery that falls to the lot of
the partner of the untaught savage, with all the manifold discomforts
attending precarious subsistence, to the immolation and seclusion, which
in civilised Mohammadan countries, is imposed upon the fairest of God's
works.  Taking no part with her lord in the concerns of this world--
taught to expect no participation in the happiness of that which is to
come--she is a prisoner kept to minister to the lusts of the flesh; and
the higher the state of cultivation--the more exalted the rank of the
captive--so much the more rigorous is the restraint imposed.

In the European acceptation of the term, small traces are here to be
found of the sentiment of love; and jealousy, when it does exist, would
seldom appear to arise from any regard for the object that has created
the feeling.  The Dankali female has contrived to retain her natural
right of liberty; and so long as the wife performs the labour required
at her hands, she is at full liberty to flirt unreproved, to the full
extent of her coquettish inclinations.  Upon Baileela devolves the task
of leading the foremost camel, or carrying the heavy burthen slung by a
sharp rope which passes across her breast.  She fetches water and wood,
prepares the milk, and boils the meat.  She it is who weaves mats of the
date-leaf for the use of her listless and indolent lord; tends his
flocks of sheep and goats, dismantles and erects his wigwam when
migrations are undertaken to distant pools and pastures; and, seated at
his feet, chases away the flies which disturb his repose beneath the
shade of the palm.  Here, however, the needle is monopolised by the
male, and he is sometimes to be seen industriously stitching a new
leathern petticoat for his hard-worked partner, who, conscious of the
fleeting nature of her charms, makes the utmost of her short lease; and
in the nature of her occupation finds ample opportunities for
indulgence.

The features of the Bedouin damsel, although degenerate, resemble those
of the Arabian mother, from whom she claims descent; and so close a
similarity pervades the community at large, that one mould would appear
to have been employed for every individual composing it.  Nature being
suffered to model her daughters according to her will, their figures
during a brief period are graceful; but feminine symmetry is soon
destroyed by the constant pressure of heavy loads against the chest, and
under the fiery heat of her native sands, the nymph is presently
transformed into the decrepit hag, with bent back and waddling gait.  A
short apron of bullock's hide, with frilled edges, is tied above the
hips with a broad band, the sport of every wanton whirlwind; but from
the waist upwards the person is unveiled.  A coif of blue calico covers
the head of those who have entered the conjugal state, whilst that of
the virgin is unattired; but the hair of all is arranged in an infinity
of elaborate plaits falling to the shoulders, and liberally greased.  So
are also sundry narrow bands of raw hide, which are usually tied above
the ankles by way of charms to strengthen the legs, and which,
contracting as they dry, sink deep below the surface of the part
compressed.

A petalled sprig, appearing to grow out of the waistband, ascends on
either side of the spine, in tattooed relief, resembling tambour work,
and diverging across the ribs, finishes in fancy circles around the
bosom according to the taste of the designer.  This is a constant
quantity, and the charms of many a belle are further heightened by
scarification--an angle to break the evenness of the smooth forehead, or
the arc of a circle to improve the dimple on the cheek, being favourite
devices.  From the ears of all who can afford personal ornament, depend
two conical drops wrought of thick brass wire spirally coiled, resting
on a curved iron base, and separated by two broad horizontal bands of
pewter.  When the wearer is in activity, the flapping of these cumbrous
metallic appendages is ridiculous enough, and the rattle may be heard to
a considerable distance as they come into violent collision with a
necklace composed of a medley of beads, bones, cowrie shells, jingles,
and amulets, strung in many rows upon a leathern collar embedded in dirt
and grease, and terminating in a large rhomb of pewter.  Bracelets and
anklets of the same metal are usual, and the ornament of a squalling
brat with inflamed weasel-like eyes slung over the back, is rarely
wanting to complete the figure--a jerk to the right or to the left
bringing it readily across the shoulder when occasion demands.

The Bedouin wigwam--a rectangle of eight feet in length by six broad,
and five high--is constructed of a succession of branches in couples,
curved before the fire, and lashed in the form of a lip-arch.  A mat
composed of date leaves forms the roof; and the whole fabric, wherein
the hand of no master builder is visible, is thus readily transferred
from place to place.  "_Omnia mea mecum fero_" should form the motto of
the wandering Dankali, whose only furniture consists of a tressel
hollowed at the top to serve as a pillow--a luxury restricted to the
male sex.  In the huts of the more wealthy, wooden platters and ladles
sometimes form part of the household gear, together with closely-woven
mat baskets to contain milk; but this beverage is more usually consigned
to a bag of sheep or goat skin--sun-dried flesh, grease, grain, and
water, being lodged also in similar receptacles.

Milk forms the principal diet of this Arcadian race; and they deride the
dwellers in cities for eating birds or fowls, declaring that the flesh
must have travelled upon four legs during life to be at all palatable.
An ancient camel, a buck goat, or a bull calf, is occasionally
slaughtered with a _Bismillah_, and the flesh not immediately consumed
cut into long thin collops, and dried in the sun to be stuffed again
into the skin for future use.  Meat is broiled among the embers upon
closely-packed pebbles, which prevents it coming into contact with the
ashes; and the master of the house, taking his seat upon the ground
beside a lump of raw liver, places a wedge-shaped stone under either
heel, in order to impart a slight inclination to the body, and thus
preserve the balance without personal exertion.  Picking the bones one
by one out of the fire, he seizes alternate mouthfuls of the grilled and
the raw flesh between the teeth, and with an upward motion of the
creese, divides them close to his nose.

It may be received as an axiom that no Bedouin will speak the truth,
although the doing so might prove to his obvious advantage.  He is not
only a liar by the force of rooted habit and example, but also upon
principle, and his oaths are simple matters of form.  The name of God is
invoked, and the Koran taken to witness, in falsehoods the most
palpable; and to have sworn with the last solemnity is far from being
regarded in the light of a binding obligation.  A stone having been cast
upon the earth, fire is quenched in water, and the adjuration repeated:
"May this body become petrified, and may Allah thus extinguish me if I
utter that which is not true!"

In conversation a portion of every sentence is invariably taken up by
the person addressed--the last word being generally considered
sufficient, or even an abbreviation to the final syllable.  The
salutation of the tribes, between whom little bond exists, beyond
identity of language, is a cold forbidding touch of the fingers, fully
indicative of the unfriendly sentiments of the heart.  All prey upon
each other, and every individual in whatever rank is by nature, as well
as by habit and inclination, an assassin.  None will hesitate to
mutilate or barbarously put to death any member of another clan whom he
may find at advantage, either sleeping or at a distance from succour--
the appetite for plunder, and the thirst for blood, inherent in the
breast, being quite sufficient to dictate every act of atrocity, and to
impel every dastardly outrage, that a savage can devise or commit.

Dwelling in a scene of aridity, hostility, and bloodshed, traversed by
barren chains bearing the impress of volcanic desolation, and cursed
with a soil rarely susceptible of cultivation, but still more rarely
cultivated, the hand of the roving Bedouin is against every man, and
every man's hand is against him.  The truth of the Scriptural prophecy
respecting the untameable descendants of Ishmael, here as elsewhere is
well maintained; nor were the words of the poet ever more truly
exemplified than in the hot weary wastes of the Adaiel--

  "Nothing save rapine, indolence, and guile,
  And woes on woes, a still revolving train.
  Whose horrid circle has made human life
  Than non-existence worse."

Arrogant, treacherous, and degraded barbarians, bound in the fetters of
idleness and superstition--dissemblers, whose every word is a lie, and
whose overbearing and unaccommodating disposition, grafted upon bigoted
intolerance, was displayed on every occasion to the personal discomfort
of those by whom they were paid and entertained--there was never
throughout the long, tedious, and trying journey, either on the part of
elders, escort, or camel-drivers, the slightest wish or effort, either
to honour or oblige; and it was only on occasions when fire-arms, which
they could not gainsay, might prove of service to themselves, that the
blubber lip did not swell in scorn at the Christian Kafirs, who were
sneered at even in conversation.  And these, too, were savages who
scarcely knew the use of bread, who rarely employed water for the
ablution of their filthy persons, and who kept their heads and bodies
floating in a perpetual sea of sheep's-tail fat.  On taking leave of the
tormenting fraternity at this the happy termination of a weary and
perilous pilgrimage, which had been performed without once taking off
the clothes, it may safely be averred that no member of the British
Embassy had ever passed so long a period with so large a party, without
desiring to make further acquaintance with at least one individual: but
the last touch of the cold palm was for once received with heartfelt
satisfaction, and each bade adieu to the whole community with an inward
hope that it might never fall to his evil lot to see their scowling
faces more.

Volume One, Chapter XL.

ASCENT OF THE ABYSSINIAN ALPS.

Having thus happily shaken the Adel dust from off the feet, and taken
affectionate leave of the greasy Danakil, it is not a little pleasant to
bid adieu also to their scorching plains of unblessed sterility.  Every
change in the soil and climate of Africa is in extremes, and barrenness
and unbounded fertility border on each other with a suddenness whereof
the denizens of temperate climes can form no conception.  As if by the
touch of the magician's wand, the scene now passes in an instant from
parched and arid wastes to the green and lovely highlands of Abyssinia,
presenting one sheet of rich and thriving cultivation.  Each fertile
knoll is crowned with its peaceful hamlet--each rural vale traversed by
its crystal brook, and teeming with herds and flocks.  The cool mountain
zephyr is redolent of eglantine and jasmine, and the soft green turf,
spangled with clover, daisies, and buttercups, yields at every step the
aromatic fragrance of the mint and thyme.

The baggage having at length been consigned to the shoulders of six
hundred grumbling Moslem porters, assembled by the royal fiat from the
adjacent villages, and who, now on the road, formed a line which
extended upwards of a mile, the Embassy, on the morning of the 17th,
commenced the ascent of the Abyssinian Alps.  Hitherto every officious
attendant functionary had exerted himself to the utmost to promote
delay, confusion, and annoyance; and each now exhorted the respective
members of the party to urge their jaded beasts to increased speed, and
hasten onwards over a rugged path which, in the toil-worn condition of
the majority, was not to be ascended without considerable difficulty.
The king was waxing impatient to behold the delighting things that had
been imported, an account of which, so far as the prying eyes of his
servants had been able to discern, had been duly transmitted to the
palace; and in order to celebrate the arrival of so great an accession
of wealth.  His Majesty's flutes once more poured out their melody, and
his warriors again chanted their wild notes among the hills, until far
out of hearing of the astonished population of Farri.

It was a cool and lovely morning, and a fresh invigorating breeze played
over the mountain side, on which, though less than ten degrees removed
from the equator, flourished the vegetation of northern climes.  The
rough and stony road wound on by a steep ascent over hill and dale--now
skirting the extreme verge of a precipitous cliff--now dipping into the
basin of some verdant hollow, whence, after traversing the pebbly course
of a murmuring brook, it suddenly emerged into a succession of shady
lanes, bounded by flowering hedge-rows.

The wild rose, the fern, the lantana, and the honeysuckle, smiled around
a succession of highly cultivated terraces, into which the entire range
was broken by banks supporting the soil; and on every eminence stood a
cluster of conically-thatched houses, environed by green hedges, and
partially embowered amid dark trees.  As the troop passed on, the
peasant abandoned his occupation in the field to gaze at the novel
procession; whilst merry groups of hooded women, decked in scarlet and
crimson, summoned by the renewal of martial strains, left their
avocations in the hut to welcome the king's guests with a shrill
_ziroleet_, which rang from every hamlet.  The leather petticoat of the
wandering shepherdess was no longer to be seen.  Birds warbled among the
leafy groves, and throughout the rich landscape reigned an air of peace
and plenty that could not fail to prove highly delightful after the
recent weary pilgrimage across the hot desert.

At various turns of the road the prospect was rugged, wild, and
beautiful.  Aigibbi, the first Christian village of Efat, was soon
revealed on the summit of a height, where, within an enclosure of
thorns, rest the remains of a traveller, who not long before had closed
his eyes on the threshold of the kingdom, a victim to the pestilential
sky of the lowlands.  Three principal ranges were next crossed in
succession, severally intersected by rivulets which are all tributary to
the Hawash, although the waters are for the most part absorbed before
they reach that stream.  Lastly, the view opened upon the wooded site of
Ankober, occupying a central position in a horse-shoe crescent of
mountains, still high above, which enclose a magnificent amphitheatre of
ten miles in diameter.  This is clothed throughout with a splendidly
varied and vigorous vegetation, and choked by minor abutments,
converging towards its gorge on the confines of the Adel plains.

Here the journey was for the present to terminate, and, thanks to
Abyssinian jealousy and suspicion, many days were yet to elapse ere the
remaining height should be climbed to the capital of Shoa, now distant
two hours' walk.  Three thousand feet above the level of Farri stands
the market-town of Alio Amba, upon the crest of a scarped prong formed
by the confluence of two mountain streams.  A Mohammadan population, not
exceeding one thousand souls, the inmates of two hundred and fifty
straggling houses, is chiefly composed of Adaiel, Argobba, and merchants
from Aussa and Hurrur; and among this motley community it had been
ordained that the Embassy should halt that night.

Ascending by a steep stony path to an open spot, on which the weekly
market is held, the escort fired a desultory salute; and whilst crowds
of both sexes flocked to behold the white strangers, forming a double
line, they indulged in the performance of the war-dance.  Relieved
occasionally by some of the younger braves who had earned distinctions
during the last campaign, a veteran capered before the ranks with a
drawn sword grasped between his teeth; and for the edification of the
bystanders the notes of a martial song were powerfully poured forth in
chorus from three hundred Christian throats.

The cone occupied by Alio Amba is only one of the thousand precipitous
eminences into which the entire mountain side is broken on its junction
with the plain.  Swollen and foaming, the intersecting torrents appeared
from the pinnacle like small threads of silver, twining and gliding far
below amid green bushes and verdant fields to the great outlet, whence
they escape to be soon lost on the desert sand.  Together with a
boundless prospect over the inhospitable tract beneath, countless
villages now met the eye upon the entire intervening mountain side, and
wherever the slope admitted of the plough being held, there cultivation
flourished.  Wheat, barley, Indian com, beans, peas, cotton, and oil
plant, throve luxuriantly around every hamlet--the regularly marked
fields mounting in terraces to the height of three or four thousand
feet, and becoming in their boundaries gradually more and more
indistinct, until totally lost on the shadowy green side of Mamrat, "The
Mother of Grace."

This towering peak, still shrouded in clouds when all was sunshine
below, is clothed with a dense forest of timber, and at an elevation of
some thirteen thousand feet above the sea, affords secure shelter to the
treasures of the monarch, which have been amassing since the
re-establishment of the kingdom, one hundred and fifty years since.
Loza forms the apex of the opposite side of the crescent, and perched on
its wooded summit is a monastery forming the temporary abode of Halloo
Mulakoot, heir-apparent to the throne of Shoa.  But by far the most
interesting feature in the stern landscape is a conical hill,
conspicuous from its isolated position, and rising amid dark groves of
pine-like juniper, from a lofty serrated ridge.  Hereon stands the
stronghold of Goncho, the residence of Wulasma Mohammad, constructed
over the state dungeon keep, in which, loaded with galling fetters, the
three younger brothers of a Christian king--victims to a barbarous
statute--have found a living tomb since the present accession, a period
of thirty years!

After much needless detention in the market-place, exposed to the
impertinent comments and rude gaze of the thronging populace, Ayto
Kalama Work, a tall raw-boned man with a loose scrambling gait and a
dead yellow eye, introduced himself as governor of the town.  He
condescended in person to conduct the British guests of his royal master
to a mansion which had once boasted of himself as a tenant, but was now
in the occupation of a fat old Moslem dame and her three daughters,
whose respective appellatives being duly translated, proved worthy the
days of Prince Cherry and Fairstar.  Eve, Sweet-limes, and Sunbeam, all
clothed alike in scarlet habiliments, vacated the premises with the
utmost alacrity, and many good-humoured smiles; but owing to the length
and difficulty of the road, that portion of the baggage most in request
did not arrive until midnight--when, through the officious interference
of Ayto Wolda Hana, whose garrulity had increased rather than abated, a
new inventory of effects in charge of each principal of a village was to
be penned by the royal scribe, and thus neither bedding nor food could
be obtained.

The edifice so ostentatiously allotted for the accommodation of the
party by him of the unpromising exterior, was of an elliptical form,
about thirty feet in length by eighteen in breadth, and surrounded on
every side by those tall rank weeds that delight to luxuriate in filth.
Two undressed stakes supported a tottering grass thatch.  Windows there
were none.  A long narrow aperture did duty for a door, and the walls,
which met the roof at a distance of ten feet from the ground, were of
the very worst description of wattle and dab--the former an assemblage
of rotten reeds, and the latter decayed by time in a sufficiency of
places to admit the light indispensable to a full development of the
dirt and misery within.

In the principal of two apartments, a circular excavation in the floor
surrounded by a parapet of clay, served as a stove.  Heavy slabs of
stone embedded in high mud pedestals, and used for grinding grain,
engrossed one corner, and in another were piled heaps of old bullock
hides in various stages of decomposition.  Very buggy-looking bedsteads,
equipped with a web of narrow thongs in lieu of cotton tape, assumed
that air of discomfort which a broken or ill-adapted leg is so prone to
impart.  The narrow necks of divers earthen urn-shaped vessels
containing mead, beer, and water, were stuffed with bunches of green
leaves.  Larger mud receptacles were filled with wheat, barley, and
beans; and huge lumps of raw beef, with sundry bullocks' heads, which
were promiscuously strewed about, garnished the floor, the beds, and the
walls, in every direction.

The inner chamber boasted the presence of mules and female slaves, who,
if judgment might be formed from the evil odours exhaled, were revelling
in the garbage of the shambles.  Constructed on the slope of a hill, the
floor of the edifice throughout was of the natural earth, and dipping at
least one foot below the level of the threshold, had never known the
presence of the housemaid's besom.  Equalling the filthiest Irish hovel
in dirt and discomfort, the cheerless abode could boast of no sleek
little pig, and of no pond covered with fat ducks, both being alike held
in abhorrence by the Jew-Christians of Shoa; and even the old hat was
wanting wherewith to cram the gaps through which whistled the keen
cutting blast of Alpine climes.

Fatigue soon closed the weary eyes; but the change in the atmosphere,
consequent upon the great elevation attained, presently interfered with
repose upon the damp bare floor.  Rain then set in with extreme
violence.  The water came tumbling through the manifold apertures in the
crazy walls and shattered roof, and having speedily flooded the sloping
court, poured over the threshold to deluge the floor with standing
pools.  Although the smoke of sodden wood, unable to escape, proved an
inconvenience scarcely to be borne, there was no dispensing with a fire;
and troops of fleas and sanguinary bugs, coursing over the body, by
their painful and poisonous attacks, might almost have caused a sigh for
the execrated plains of the Adaiel, which, with all their discomforts of
watch and ward, were at least free from the curse of vermin.

But the lingering day dawned at last, and with the tedious hours of a
cold and sleepless night the rain had also disappeared.  As the rising
sun shone against the lofty and now cloudless peaks, preparations were
made for continuing the journey to Ankober, in accordance with the royal
invitation; but Ayto Wolda Hana, whose presence ever betokened evil,
after wading through the compliments of the morning, proceeded with
unbending gravity to unfold the dismal tidings that the monarch had
altered his resolves.  His Majesty would tarry yet some days longer at
Debra Berhan, and in consequence graciously extended the option of
visiting the court there or resting at Alio Amba, pending his indefinite
arrival at the capital.

The difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of transporting the mass
of baggage to so great a distance, in such weather, and with very
inadequate means at command, rendered imperative the adoption of the
latter alternative.  Aytos Wolda Hana and Katama, with the whole of the
escort, meanwhile took their departure, to report orally the important
discoveries they had been able to make relative to the nature of the
presents designed for the throne, together with the particulars of the
quarrel betwixt Izhak and Mohammad Ali, and the respective pretension of
the rivals to the honour of having conducted the British visitors into
Abyssinia.

One of those mysterious boxes, the lading of which, unviolated by the
scrutinising scribes, remained hermetically sealed to the inquisitive
gaze of officious spies, had, before leaving Farri, been broken open
with the design of obtaining access to an indispensable portion of the
contents.  To this unfortunate necessity may possibly be ascribed the
sudden and unlooked-for alteration in the royal intentions.  In lieu of
ingots of gold were revealed to the astounded sight the leathern
buckets, linch-stocks, and tough ash staves pertaining to the
galloper-guns.  Words of derision burst from the mouth of every
disappointed spectator.  "These," exclaimed fifty vain-glorious lips at
once, "be but a poor people.  What is their nation when compared with
the Amhara; for behold in this trash, specimens of the offerings brought
from their boasted land to the footstool of the mightiest of monarchs!"

Volume One, Chapter XLI.

PROBATION AT ALIO AMBA.

Slowly passed the days of fog, and the nights of dire discomfort, during
the tedious detention which followed this unfortunate discovery.  From
the terrace commanding a boundless view over the desolate regions
traversed, the overflowing channel of the Hawash, and the lakes Le Ado
and Ailabello could each morning be perceived sparkling with increased
lustre, as their fast-filling basins glittered like sheets of burnished
silver under the rays of the rising sun.  The industrious fleas
continued their nocturnal persecutions, as if never to be sated with
European blood; and a constant succession of clouds, which ascended the
valley, drawing a grey cold curtain before the hoary head of Mamrat,
proclaimed, amid prolonged peals of thunder, the commencement of the
rainy season.

But each succeeding night and day brought no nearer prospect of release,
and the change in the imperial resolves were scarcely less frequent than
those which came over the towering face of the stronghold of his
subterranean treasure.  Remonstrances, penned with infinite labour and
difficulty, were responded by endearing messages, garbled at the
pleasure of those to whom they were confided; but the subtle excuse for
the further delay of the desired audience was never wanting, and
conjecture became exhausted in devising the true cause of the mortifying
indifference displayed to the rich presents from "beyond the great sea."

A desire on the part, of the despot to preserve due respect in the eyes
of his lieges, and perhaps also to imbue the minds of his foreign
visitors with a befitting sense of his importance, were the most
probable motives.  Under the existing disappointment, it afforded some
consolation to remember that embassies of old to Northern Abyssinia had
experienced similar treatment, and to know that delegates to Shoa from
the courts of Gondar and Tigre are never presented to the king until
weeks after their arrival--a custom originating probably in the more
kindly feeling of allowing rest to the way-worn traveller at the close
of a long and perilous journey, but perpetuated for less worthy
considerations.

At length there came a pressing invitation to visit the monarch at Debra
Berhan, coupled with an assurance that the Master of the Horse should be
in attendance to escort the party.  But no Master of the Horse was
forthcoming at the time appointed, and the following day brought a
pathetic billet from the palace--a tiny parchment scroll, enveloped in a
sheet of wax, breathing in its contents regret and disappointment.  "Son
of my house, my heart longed to behold you, and I believed that you
would come.  As you appeared not, I passed the day in distress, fearing
lest the waters should have carried you away, or that the mule had
fallen on the road.  I commanded Melkoo to wait and receive you, and to
conduct you to me; but when I hoped to see you arrive, you stayed out.
The mule returned; and when I inquired whither you were gone, they told
me that you were left.  I have committed the fault, in that I gave not
orders that they should go down, and bring you."

Meanwhile, the most vigorous attempts were made, on the part both of the
Wulasma and of Ayto Wolda Hana, to exercise exclusive control over the
baggage lodged at Alio Amba.  Locks were placed upon the latches, and
guards appointed over the doors of the houses wherein it was deposited--
fully as much care being taken to preclude access on the part of those
by whom it had been brought, as if His Christian Majesty had already
become the _bona fide_ proprietor.  Repeated orders on the subject,
obtained from the palace, were uniformly disregarded by the over-zealous
functionaries, and it was only by force of arms that the repositories
were finally burst open, and that charge of the contents could be
resumed.

Neither were the persecutions of the gaunt governor of the town among
the least of the evils to be endured, resulting as they did in
consequences the most inconvenient.  Specially appointed to entertain
and provide for the wants of the guests, he supplied at the royal
expense provisions alike inferior in quality and deficient in quantity,
taking care at the same time that the king's munificence should be in no
wise compromised by purchases, for these he clandestinely prevented.
His conduct might be traced to the same jealous feelings that pervaded
the breast of his colleagues in office.  In the despotic kingdom of
Shoa, the sovereign can alone purchase coloured cloth or choice goods;
and Ayto Kalama Work, who is entitled to a certain percentage upon all
imports, having formed a tolerably shrewd estimate of the contents of
the bales and boxes, believed that these would effectually clog the
market, and that his dues would be no longer forthcoming.  Resolved to
extend the most unequivocal proofs of his discontent, he was pleased to
assign to the surviving horses and mules of the foreigners a tract
destitute of pasturage--one mulberry coloured steed only being pampered,
because from size, colour, and appearance, it was assumed that he must
be intended for the king.  The continued drenching rain at night during
the later marches, with the intense heat and general absence of water
and forage throughout the whole pilgrimage, had sadly reduced the
original number.  Many more had dropped on the ascent from Farri, and of
those whose strength had enabled them to climb the more favoured
mountains of Abyssinia, the tails of one half were now presented as
evidences of their fate.

Among the very few incidents that occurred to break the monotony of the
probationary sojourn was the arrival of the "Lebashi," the hereditary
thief-catcher of the kingdom.  For several hours the little town was in
a state of confusion and dismay.  Burglary had been committed--divers
pieces of salt had been abstracted, and the appearance of the
police-officer was not one whit more agreeable to the innocent than to
the guilty.

A ring having been formed in the market-place by the crowded spectators,
the diviner introduced his accomplice, a stolid-looking lad, who seated
himself upon a bullock's hide with an air of deep resignation.  An
intoxicating drug was, under many incantations, extracted from a
mysterious leathern scrip, and thrown into a horn filled with new milk;
and this potation, aided by several hurried inhalations of a certain
narcotic, had the instantaneous effect of rendering the recipient
stupidly frantic.  Springing upon his feet, he dashed, foaming at the
mouth, among the rabble, and without any respect to age or sex, dealt
vigorously about him, until at length secured by a cord about the loins,
when he dragged his master round and round from street to street,
snuffling through the nose like a bear in the dark recesses of every
house, and leaving unscrutinised no hole or corner.

After scraping for a considerable time with his nails under the
foundation of a hut, wherein he suspected the delinquent to lurk, the
imp entered, sprang upon the back of the proprietor, and became totally
insensible.  The man was forthwith arraigned before a tribunal of
justice, at which Ayto Kalama Work presided; and although no evidence
could be adduced, and he swore repeatedly to his innocence by the life
of the king, he was sentenced by the just judges to pay forty pieces of
salt.  This fine was exactly double the amount alleged to have been
stolen, and one fourth became the perquisite of the Lebashi.

The services of the hereditary thief-catcher are in universal
requisition.  Should the property lost consist of live instead of dead
stock, it not unfrequently happens that the disciple remains torpid upon
the ground; when all parties concerned feel perfectly satisfied that the
animal has either strayed or been destroyed by wild beasts, and the
expenses attending the divination must be paid by the owner.  With the
design of testing the skill of the magician, the Negoos once upon a time
commanded his confidential page to secrete certain articles of wearing
apparel pertaining to the royal wardrobe, and after an investigation of
four days, the proper individual being selected with becoming formality,
the professional reputation of "him who catches" acquired a lustre which
has since remained untarnished.

Many a weary hour was passed in listening to tales of real or
counterfeit maladies, which were daily recounted in the hovel at Alio
Amba.  Witchcraft and the influence of the evil eye have firm possession
of the mind of every inhabitant, and sufficiently diverting were the
complaints laid to their door by those who sought amulets and talismans
at the hand of the foreigners.  A young Moslem damsel, whose fickle
swain had deserted her, could never gaze on the moon that her heart went
not pit-a-pat, whilst the tears streamed from her dark eyes; and a hoary
veteran with one foot in the grave sought the restoration of rhetorical
powers, which had formed the boast of his youth, but which had been
destroyed by the pernicious gaze of a rival.  "Of yore," quoth he who
introduced the patient, "this was a powerful orator; and when he lifted
up his voice in the assembly, men marvelled as he spoke; but now,
although his heart is still eloquent, his tongue is niggard of words."

Equally hopeless was the case of an unfortunate slave-dealer, who
crawled in search of relief to the abode of the king's guests.  A Galla
of the Ittoo tribe had undertaken the removal of severe rheumatism,
contracted on the road from Hurrur; to which end he administered a
powerful narcotic, which rendered the patient insensible.  Armed with a
sharp creese he then proceeded to cut and slash in every direction, from
the crown of the head to the sole of the foot; and when the mutilated
victim awoke to a sense of his melancholy condition, the ruthless
operator had disappeared.  Scarred and seamed in every part of his body,
he now presented the appearance of one who had been flayed alive, and
the skin had so contracted over the gaps whence the flesh had been
scooped, that, unless with extreme difficulty, he could neither eat,
drink, nor speak.  "My life is burdensome," groaned the miserable
picture of human calamity; "and it were better that I should die.  I
have bathed in the hot springs at Korari without deriving the slightest
relief.  You white men know every thing: give me something to heal me,
for the love of Allah!"

Volume One, Chapter XLII.

THE WEEKLY MARKET.

Surrounded by the myrmidons who collect the royal dues, Ayto Kalama Work
was every Friday morning to be seen seated beneath the scanty shelter of
an ancient acacia, which throws its withered arms over the centre of the
market-place.  On this day alone are purchases to be made, and the
inhabitants of the adjacent villages pouring from all quarters to lay in
their weekly supplies, a scene of unusual bustle and confusion animates
this otherwise most quiet and uninteresting location.

Shortly after daybreak, wares of every description are displayed under
the canopy of heaven, and crowds of both sexes flocking to the stall of
the vendor, the din of human voices is presently at its height.  Honey,
cotton, grain, and other articles of consumption, the produce of the
estate of the Amhara farmer, are exposed for sale or barter.  The
Dankali merchant exhibits his gay assortment of beads, metals, coloured
thread, and glass ware.  The wild Galla squats beside the produce of his
flocks, and the Moslem trader from the interior displays ostrich
feathers, or some other article of curiosity from the distant tribe.
Bales of cotton cloth, and bags of coffee from Caffa and Enarea, are
strewed in every direction.  Horses and mules in numbers are shown off
among the crowd to increase the turmoil; nor is even the wandering
Hebrew wanting to complete the scene of traffic, haggling, and barter,
which continues, without intermission, until a late hour in the
afternoon, when the village relapses again into its wonted six days of
quiet and repose.

Swathed and folded in dirty cotton cloth, behold in the cultivator of
the soil the original of the Egyptian mummy.  Greasy and offensive in
person and in habits, he moves cringingly to pay his tax to the governor
of the fair, who sits in conscious dignity upon a stone; and prostrating
himself with shoulders bared among the mud, the serf hands forth the
measure of grain from the leathern scrip, or scoops out the prescribed
meed of butter from the jar--the vassal token of permission enjoyed to
earn his bread by the unceasing hand of labour.  No spark of
intelligence illumines his dull features; not a trace of independence
can be discovered in his slouching gait; and the cumbrous robe with
which he is invested would indeed seem far better adapted for the quiet
resting-place in the tomb, than for the bustling avocations of stirring
life.

Here swaggers a valiant gun-man of the king's matchlock guard.  The
jealousy of the monarch forbids the removal of the primitive weapon from
the royal presence, but the white _herkoom_ feather floats in all the
pride of blood over clotted tufts moist with the beloved grease; and the
dark scowl and the lowering brow betoken the reckless cruelty which
stains the character of the band.  But the man is a poor slave, and his
degraded state has entirely destroyed the few traits of humanity which
might have smiled upon his nativity.

The surly Adaiel brushes past in insolent indifference to examine the
female slaves in the wicker hut of the rover from the south.  His
murderous creese ensures from the bystanders a high respect, which
frequent disasters in the low country has riveted on the heart of the
Amhara; and men turn in wonder to gaze upon the mortal who entertaineth
not a slavish adoration for the great monarch of Shoa.

Squatted beside his foreign wares and glittering beads, see the wily
huckster of Hurrur, with his turban and blue-checked kilt.  His
dealings, it is true, are of no very extensive amount, and salt, not
silver, is the medium of exchange; but there is still room for the
exercise of his knavery.  The countenance both of buyer and seller
exhibits an anxious and business-like expression, and the same noise and
confusion prevails regarding an extra twopence-halfpenny, as if the
transaction involved a shower of golden guineas.

The Christian women flit through the busy fair with eggs and poultry,
and other produce of the farm.  Their ill-favoured features are not
improved either by the eradication of the eyebrow, or by the bare shaven
crown dripping with rancid butter; and the dirty persons of all are
invariably shrouded in yet dirtier habiliments, from the tall masculine
damsel of sixteen summers, to the decrepit and wrinkled hag who in
cracked notes proclaims ever and anon, "_amole alliche bir_," "salt to
sell for silver."

The free and stately mien of the oriental female, and the light graceful
garment of the east, are alike wanting.  The heavy load is tied as upon
the back of the pack-horse, and the bent and broken figure of the Amhara
dame is debarred by the severe law of the despot from the decoration of
finery or costly ornament.  A huge bee-hive-shaped wig, elaborately
curled and frosted, and massive pewter buttons thrust through the lobe
of the ear, constitute her only pride; and nature, alas! has too often
withheld even the smallest portion of those feminine attractions which
in other climes form the charm of her sex.

The inhabitants of Argobba or Efat, under the control of the sinister
eye of the Wulasma, are followers of the false Prophet, and speak a
distinct language.  Little difference, however, is observable in the
external appearance of the males from that of the Amhara subject of the
empire; and it is not until the removal of the muffling cloth that the
rosary of bright-spotted beads is displayed in lieu of the dark blue
emblem of Christianity worn throughout Ethiopia.  The women, on the
other hand, are at once recognisable, no less by their Arab gypsy
features, than by their long braided tresses streaming ever the
shoulder, the ample smock of red cloth, dyed purple with accumulated
lard, and the nunlike hood of the same material, buttoned close under
the chin.

Fairer, more slender, and better favoured than their coarse Christian
sisters of the more alpine regions, they are still scarcely less greasy
and unattractive.  Loaded with amulets and beads, their belief is
proclaimed by the oft-repeated exclamation, "_Hamdu-lillah_!"  "Praise
be unto Allah!"--the courteous interrogatories of every passer-by, anent
health, rest, and welfare, being by the burly and masculine ladies of
Shoa, responded by the words "_Egzia behere maskin_!"  "Thanks be unto
God!"  Unrestricted by harem law they fidget about in every direction,
their great sparkling eyes peering through a mass of coal-black hair,
half concealed by the crimson cowl, and the large shining necklace of
amber reaching nearly to the waist.  But the hideous sack chemise veils
every feature of figure and personal beauty, and the naked hands and
feet are alone exhibited, both rather misshapen from hard work and undue
exposure to the climate.

The crowd makes way for a great Christian governor, probably from some
distant province near the Nile.  He is surrounded by a boisterous host
of armed attendants, and, like them, paddles with unshod feet through
the stiff black mire.  The capacious stomach, and the bright silver
sword with tulip scabbard, betoken high honour and command.  An ambling
mule tricked out in brass jingles and chains follows in his path; a long
taper wand towers above his shoulder; and his portly figure is
completely shrouded in the folds of a cotton robe, bedecked from end to
end with broad crimson stripes.  The garment might be improved by
ablution; but repose upon the hide of a bullock is no aid to purity of
apparel, and it is white in comparison with those of his unwashed
retinue.

The arrangement of his hair has occupied the entire morning, and the
steam of the fetid butter, which glistens among the minute curls,
pervades the entire atmosphere.  Muffled high above the chin, the eyes
and nose of the functionary are alone submitted to the vulgar gaze, and
as he halts for a moment to wonder at the unwonted sight of the Gyptzi
strangers, the bloodshot eye betrays the midnight debauch, and the
wrinkles of his turned-up nose, the scorn of the savage at the
difference of costume and complexion.  Approaching the acacia his
shoulders are temporarily bared to the pompous dignitary presiding over
the fair, who rising to receive him, returns the compliment, and there
ensues a tissue of inquiries unknown even to the code of Chesterfield.
Cantering over the tiny plain--a scanty level of an hundred yards--the
wild Galla enters the scene of confusion, his long tresses streaming in
the wind, and his garment blue with the grease of ages.  A jar of honey,
or a basket of butter, is lashed to the crupper of his high-peaked
saddle; the steed is lean and shaggy as the rider, and the snort and the
start from either proclaim undefined terror and amazement at the strange
sights, and the rugged rocks and precipices, unknown to the boundless
meadows of their own green land.

Dandies there are none, in aught of outward appearance, for the
arrangement of the hair is the only latitude allowed to the invention of
the would-be fop.  The cotton cloth in every degree of impurity, floats
over the swart shoulder both of noble and of serf.  Bare heads and naked
feet are the property of all, and the possession of the spear and shield
alone marks the difference of rank.  The chief scorns to carry a weapon
except during the foray or the fight, whereas his followers never leave
the threshold of their rude dwellings, without the lance in their hand,
and buckler on their arm.

The terror and abhorrence in which the low country and its attendant
dangers are held by the Abyssinian population, have placed nearly the
entire trade of Alio Amba in the hands of the Danakil, who are treated
by the monarch of Shoa with all deference and respect.  Caravans arrive
every month during the fair season from Aussa and Tajura, and the
traffic, considering the manifold drawbacks, may be said to be brisk and
profitable.  Numbers of foreign merchants, those of Hurrur especially,
whilst disposing of their goods, hold their temporary residence at the
market-town, the climate of which, many degrees warmer than the cold
summit of the range which towers two thousand feet above, proves far
more congenial to their taste and habits.

With the proceeds of foreign imported merchandise, human beings
kidnapped in the interior countries of Africa are purchased in the
adjacent slave mart of Abd el Russool.  These wretched victims are then
taken through the Amhara province of Giddem to the Wollo and Argobba
frontiers, some five days' journey to the north, and resold at a profit
of fifty per cent,--the sums realised being there invested in _amoles_,
or blocks of black salt, the size of a mower's whetstone.  Obtained
between Agame and the country of the Dankali, from a salt plain which
not only supplies all the Abyssinian markets, but many also far in the
interior of Africa, they pass as a currency, and, being bought on the
frontier at the rate of twenty-five for a German crown, are retailed in
Alio Amba at a profitable exchange.  A large investment of slaves is
finally purchased with the wealth thus laboriously amassed, and the
merchant returns to his native country to traffic in human flesh at the
sea-ports of Zeyla and Berbera, or on the opposite coast of Arabia--anon
to revisit Shoa with a fresh invoice of marketable wares.

Ever ravaged by war and violence, the unexplored regions of the interior
pour forth a continual supply of ill-starred victims of all ages to feed
the demand, and the hebdomadal parade in the market-place under the
ruthless Moslem monsters by whom they are imported, is sufficiently
harrowing to those unaccustomed to such revolting spectacles.  Examined
like cattle by the purchaser, the sullen Shankala fetches a price
proportioned to the muscular appearance of his giant frame; and the
child of tender years is valued according to the promise of future
development.  Even the shamefaced and slenderly-clad maiden is subjected
to every indignity, whilst the price of her charms is estimated
according to the regularity of her features, the symmetry of her budding
form, and the luxuriance of her braided locks; and when the silver has
rung in confirmation of the bargain, the last tie is dissolved which
could hold in any restraint the appetite of her savage possessor.

Volume One, Chapter XLIII.

THE PRINCIPALITY OF HURRUR.

Not many weeks had elapsed since certain substantial merchants of
Hurrur, after visiting the shrine at Medina, and making a long and
profitable sojourn in Alio Amba, had returned to their native land to
enjoy the honours attaching to their religious pilgrimage.  Slaves,
ivory, and precious gums had been disposed of to great advantage in
Arabia, and the proceeds invested in beads, berilles, and broad-cloth,
with which the enterprising traders landed at the maritime town of
Tajura.  Proceeding thence to Efat, they embarked their gains in slaves,
mules, and cotton cloths; and designing to pass the residue of their
days in ease and affluence, set out by way of Hurrur for the great
annual fair at Berbera.

In advance of the time, however, these luckless individuals had ventured
to speculate to their envious countrymen upon the advantage to be
derived from foreign traffic and the presence of the white man.  The
incautious word had caught the ear of Abdel Yonag, the wily chief of the
Hurrurhi, and letters were secretly despatched to his master the Ameer,
representing the wealthy hajjis to be men of turbulent and ambitious
views, who had devised dangerous innovations, and were plotting, with
the Adaiel, the monopoly of the commerce in slaves.  With hearts
bounding at the sight of their native minarets, and utterly unconscious
of the slander that had preceded them, the pilgrims entered the
_Isma-deen_ gate of the city; but ere return had been welcomed by wife
or child, they were hurried by the soldiery to the presence of the
despot, and, without even the mockery of a trial, were beaten to death
with huge maces of iron.

The independent principality of Hurrur is a spot yet unvisited by any
European, and is remarkable for its isolated position among the Pagan
and Mohammadan Galla, against whose continual inroads it has hitherto
contrived, with the aid of two hundred matchlock-men and a few archers,
to maintain its integrity.  The Alla, the Nooli, the Geeri, the Tarsoo,
the Babili, the Bursoo, the Burteera, and the Gooti, compass it on every
side, and making sudden descents, sweep the ripe crops from off the face
of the smiling land; but their efforts against the town have uniformly
proved unsuccessful, and caravans continue, in spite of hostilities, to
carry on a very considerable traffic through the Ittoo and Aroosi
tribes, with Shoa and the Somauli coast.

Originally founded and peopled by a colony of the sons of Yemen, the
town is described to be situated in a pleasant and well-watered valley,
surrounded by hills, and enjoying a cool and salubrious climate.  A wall
of mud and stone, six miles in circumference, with five fortified gates,
affords security to the entire population, whose houses, many of them
two-storied, are constructed of stone, whitewashed, and terraced.
Mosques and minarets are conspicuous in every street.  The matin voice
of the muezzin is regularly heard, and the Jama el Musjid is believed to
be the abode of guardian angels, who stretch the strong pinion of
protection over the heads of the Faithful.  "How could Hurrur have
triumphed thus long over the unbelievers," inquire the devout citizens,
"had Allah not extended his right arm to succour the followers of his
Prophet?"

Aboo Bekr, the reigning Ameer, has wielded the sceptre during the last
seven years, and pursuing the barbarous custom of Shoa, his brothers and
family are permanent inmates of subterranean dungeons, which for better
security are constructed immediately below the foundations of his own
palace.  Although cruel and vindictive, he is reputed a brave prince,
heading the foray in person, and taking the front in the battle field;
but suspicion of the stranger would seem to form the ruling feature of
his character, nor is this to be wondered at, since bloodshed and
aggression are known to have once marked the footstep of the intruder.

During the reign of Abd el Kurreem, uncle to the present Ameer, a large
body of Arabs from Mocha, instigated by a disgraced member of the
blood-royal, who had fled thither for safety, laid siege to the town,
and assisted by guns of small calibre, which are now mounted on the
walls, had nearly prevailed.  Again the guardian angels stretched their
white wings over the beleaguered city.  The magazine blew up and
destroyed numbers of the enemy, and their traitorous leader, who had
induced the attack by representing his countrymen to be infidels and
apostates from the true religion, falling into the hands of the
garrison, had his head exalted on a pole in the market-place, after the
brains had been dashed out with an iron club.  Death is now the portion
of every fool-hardy wanderer from the shores of Araby, and whilst the
Galla is compelled to relinquish his arms at the gate, every precaution
is taken to exclude from the land the foreigner of whatever nation.

In the features of the Hurrurhi is to be traced a strong resemblance to
those of the parent stock.  The costume consists of a checked kilt, a
creese, and a cotton toga; the display of a turban being restricted to
the Ameer, to the moolahs, and to those who have performed the
pilgrimage to the shrine of the Prophet.  Although distinct in itself,
the language bears a singular affinity to that of the Amhara, but Arabic
forms the written character.  Barter is the most usual system of
commerce, but the _mahaluk_, a small copper coin resembling the _dewani_
of Jiddah, is current in the realm.  Twenty-two of these go to a nominal
coin styled _ashrafi_, whereof forty are equivalent to the German crown.
It bears on the reverse the name of the reigning Prince, and on the
obverse the quotation from the Koran, "La _illah, illilah_!" "there is
none other God but Allah."

Around Hurrur the soil is rich, and extensively cultivated, especially
in coffee.  Two thousand bales of the finest quality are annually
exported into India and Arabia by the ports of Zeyla and Berbera, which
are visited thrice during the year by large caravans laden with ivory,
ostrich feathers, ghee, saffron, gums, and myrrh, which latter is
produced in great abundance.  Blue and white calico, Indian piece goods,
English prints, silks, and shawls, red cotton yam, silk thread, beads,
frankincense, copper wire, and zinc, are received in exchange, and a
transit duty of one _frazil_ of the latter metal is levied by the Ameer
on every slave passing through his dominions from the cold hills of his
brother of Shoa, where these commodities are bartered.

[The distance of Hurrur from Zeyla may be assumed at 150 miles
south-south-west and from Ankober, 190 miles East.]

Between Aboo Bekr and the Christian monarch the most friendly
intercourse subsists.  Letters continually pass and repass, and scarcely
a month elapses without the arrival of a caravan.  The chief of the Wurj
or merchants of Hurrur, standing specially appointed by the Ameer,
possesses absolute power to punish all offences, and adjust all disputes
amongst his own countrymen, who are not less fond of drawing the creese
than their Adaiel brethren.  Tullah, an inferior description of beer,
being brewed and swallowed in alarming quantities, brawls and scuffles
too frequently terminate the debauch in blood.  Should a Christian
subject of Shoa be slain, the offence is passed over in politic silence,
but when the reverse is the case, the worldly wealth of the sinning
Abyssinian is confiscated by the crown, and his person handed over to
the tender mercies of the Moslem savages.

The continual change of inhabitants, the excessive cheapness of
provisions, and the prevalent custom of hand-fasting for the visit, tend
little to improve the morality of the market-town.  The chains of the
convenient alliances formed, are by no means binding on either party,
and the sum of twopence-halfpenny is perfectly sufficient to support
during the week the trader and his temporary mate.  One hundred pieces
of salt are considered a large dowry; the nuptials are celebrated by
feasting and routing alone, and whilst the utmost indifference prevails
on the part of the husband, he loosens the matrimonial knot at pleasure,
by carrying his partner before the kazi, and thrice repeating the words,
"Woman, I thee divorce."

One fourth of the entire population of Alio Amba are Hurrurhi and
Danakil.  Of the worthies who accompanied the Embassy from Tajura, the
majority continued to reside at Farri and Channoo for the convenience of
foraging their camels, but flocking every Friday to the market, they
never failed to confer the pleasure of their society for a few hours.
Gubaiyo, the deputy-governor of the town, had been specially appointed
to the service of the foreigners, and whilst discharging his office of
spy with the most creditable diligence, he exercised with strict
impartiality his functions as door-keeper, enforcing, greatly to the
amazement of the independent Adaiel, the Abyssinian usage, which
precludes the invasion of visitors unless duly introduced.  The
obnoxious red man, whose iniquities had well nigh cost the lives of the
whole party at the Great Salt Lake, and who had now the impudence to
seek a reward for his services on the road, was the first who came under
the remorseless lash of the despotic bully; and it was a not less
cheering and delightful sight to behold the warm-blooded little warrior,
Ibrahim Shehem Abli, flying like a football down the steps leading from
the court-yard into the muddy lane, before the propulsive impetus of a
Christian toe, which presently sent the tyrannical Izhak bounding after
his colleague, with many a severe thwack from the wand of office,
ringing across his Moslem shoulders, as he vainly proclaimed himself own
brother to the reigning Sultan of Tajura.

Volume One, Chapter XLIV.

ESCAPE FROM THE MARKET-TOWN.

Abyssinian despots sully not their dignity by condescending to divulge
even the smallest design to the most confidential of their courtiers.
In elegant Amharic phraseology "the belly of the master is never known;"
and thus it occurred that had any possessed the inclination to predict
the probable period of detention, none could boast the ability.  A
fortnight rolled tardily away, and the burning curiosity of the savage
having meanwhile overcome the scruples dictated by state policy, it
became matter of public notoriety that the king had taken up his
residence at the adjacent palace of Machal-wans, where preparations were
actually in progress towards the long-desired audience.

The reappearance of the commander-in-chief of the body-guard, with the
escort of honour, was the first welcome sign of approaching release from
the vile market-town of Alio Amba; and the most illustrious peer of the
realm, attended by a junto of scribes, and a host of reluctant porters,
was not far behind him.  Penmanship being so extremely tedious a
process, it is not the court etiquette to endite letters when a verbal
communication will answer the purpose; and the visitors were accordingly
charged with abundant compliments, and with an invitation to behold the
royal person on the ensuing Sabbath, which had been pronounced by the
astrologers "a day of good omens."

"Tarry not by day, neither stay ye by night, for the heart of the father
longeth to see his children.  Hasten that he be not again disappointed."

But, unfortunately, the hour selected by the skill of "those who read
the stars" did not find approval in the sight of the guests; and in
order to gratify the royal impatience, it was therefore proposed that
the interview should take place one day earlier.  His Majesty, however,
laboured under the effects of _cosso_, a drug resorted to by all who
revel in raw diet; and feeling yet unequal to appear in public, it was
finally arranged that audience should be deferred until the Monday
following.  A fresh inventory of boxes was immediately commenced; and,
after much opposition, those intended for presentation to the throne
were separated, and sent off to await arrival at a hamlet distant two
miles from Machal-wans.

The next labour was to dismantle the structure of bales and packages
which during the detention at Alio Amba had been piled in view to the
economy of space, so as to admit of some of the party occupying the tier
next the roof, whilst others had slept in cabins formed below, or upon,
or underneath, the table.  But no sooner had the king's baggage departed
than the Wulasma came to announce that there were no more porters, and
that if any thing still remained it must be left behind.  Another battle
followed, and a war of words, which lasted a full hour and a half, was
again crowned with victory.

Ayto Kalama Work, who had been the chief instigator of this opposition,
is charged with manifold affairs.  Independent of his important duties
at the seat of his authority, where he is responsible for all tribute in
salt, in honey, and in specie, he is entrusted with the treasures lodged
in Ankober, Aramba, Debra Berhan, and Kondie, and is expected to be
present on all state occasions at the palace.  To assist in the
discharge of these onerous and multifarious duties, he has many stewards
and subordinates, of whom the chief, who superintends the _ghemdjia_
house, or royal wardrobe, wherein the most costly manufactures are
deposited, had already proceeded in advance to spread the carpets in the
great reception hall.  He was accompanied by Deftera Sena, the
secretary, whose business it is to receive and register all transfers to
the state revenues, and who had been for the last fortnight almost
incessantly busied with his pen.

Liberated from irksome captivity, the utmost difficulty was next
experienced in procuring mules--no steps to supply the place of those
destroyed having been taken by the inimical functionaries whose express
duty it was.  The few survivors of the late numerous drove were
mustered, but only one proved in a condition to proceed, and it was not
until a messenger had actually set out with a complaint to the king,
that measures were taken to supply the number required.  A clamorous mob
now assembled in order to witness the difficulties raised in the way of
the foreigners; and it required the utmost exertion on the part of
Gubaiyo, both with his long stick and still longer tongue, to keep the
idle crowd at a respectful distance.

Mounted at length, the party turned their backs towards the
market-place, and entered upon a circuitous path, winding, by abrupt
declivities and steep ascents, over three mountain torrents, towards the
village of Sallal Hoola, at which the night was to be passed.  Kind
nature had everywhere spread the ground with her gifts in inexhaustible
profusion and variety, supplying all the more immediate wants of
mankind, yet enforcing the doom of labour so wisely imposed upon her
lazy children.  Rich acres of com by the wayside were interspersed with
quiet hamlets, and with luxuriant meadows abounding in trefoil and a
vast variety of red and white clover.  Crystal brooks leapt in numerous
cascades, and hedge-rows gay with endless flowers, the dog-rose and the
fragrant jessamine, imparted to the rural landscape an aspect quite
European.

Southern Abyssinia proper commences with Efat, at the foot of the first
range of hills, which continue to increase both in altitude and
fertility to the summit of the lofty barrier that stretches north and
south to form the brink of the elevated table-land of Shoa.  Violent
storms of thunder and lightning, which usher in the rainy season, are
attracted to this region as well by the great elevation of the mountain
as by the highly ferruginous nature of the rocks.  It is a land of hill
and valley, smiling under the influence of the copious deluge; and so
striking a contrast does it present to the general character and climate
of the torrid zone, that at first sight the delighted traveller might
believe himself transported by some fairy agency to his northern home.

Ayto Wolda Hana, although loquacious enough, had been somewhat subdued
by the temperature of the low country, to which, as well as to every
thing Mohammadan, he evinced an insuperable disrelish; but once again
within the influence of the cold mountain breeze beyond the limits of
the Wulasma's jurisdiction, and he was in his glory.  Two running
footmen kept pace with his gaily-caparisoned mule.  Immediately behind
him rode a confidential henchman carrying the emblazoned shield and
decorated lances which denoted his position in society; and in the
height of Highland anarchy the tail of the McGregor was seldom of longer
dimensions than that of the pompous governor of Ankober.

Suddenly leaving the party, the great man was observed to dive into a
village by the road-side, whence in a few minutes he returned, issuing a
variety of orders in a far from melodious tone of voice, which evidently
had reference to the mulberry steed already mentioned as having been
brought from Aden.  The animal had not been seen for many days, and
every application regarding it had been so dexterously evaded, that,
although the tail had not been brought in, it was believed to have gone
the way of all flesh.  To the surprise of every one, the charger,
prancing and neighing, was now led forth, in the best condition, by one
of the King's grooms.  So thoroughly had the worthy functionary been
impressed with the erroneous conviction, that it formed a part of the
present designed for his royal master, that the fortunate beast had been
turned into clover, and duly fed with the choicest barley, whereas all
its companions, although surrounded by plenty, had been suffered to
starve.

At Sallal Hoola, another hovel had been provided by the royal bounty,
smaller in dimensions, more dark, dirty, and dismal, and infinitely
better garrisoned with vermin than the abode wherein the last fortnight
had been passed.  Environed by miry swamps and stagnant pools, it
presented an appearance the most gloomy and wretched, whilst the
materials for comfort were, as usual, denied by the officious
functionaries, who had taken care to deposit the baggage most needed in
quarters of the village where, at so late an hour, free access was
impossible.  The gloomy recesses of the veranda were crowded with female
slaves, occupied in the various processes of preparing bread, which the
population had been called upon to supply in large quantities to the
palace against the approaching arrival of the foreigners.  In one
corner, two old women who alternately plied their pestles to a most
monotonous ditty were pounding grain in a wooden mortar.  In another a
group of buxom lasses were rocking themselves to and fro over mills
fashioned like the high-heeled slipper of the days of good Queen Bess,
upon the inclined surface of which they contrived, with a stone and
great personal labour, to convert the grain into a form something
resembling flour.  It trickled in a scanty stream into a vessel placed
below the depressed plane for its reception, and was presently wrought
into thick cakes, full a foot and a half in diameter.  These were merely
shown to the fire, and a crude substance was thus produced, which by a
well-fed Indian elephant would certainly have been rejected with a
severe admonition to his keeper.

In this dreary and soul-depressing spot, destitute of beds and not
overburdened with food, were experienced the very opposite of the
delights of the Salt Lake--cold, damp, and wet in perfection; but the
glad prospect of an interview with His Majesty on the morrow buoyed up
the spirits of all, and misery was disregarded.  Ayto Katama had
proceeded in advance to Machal-wans to seek at the royal hands
permission to fire a salute of twenty-one guns on the British Embassy
reaching the royal lodge--a point previously urged, but without success.
It had already been brought to the King's notice that the foreigners
partook of food which had been prepared by Mohammadans--a proceeding
which in Shoa is reckoned equivalent to a renunciation of Christianity.
Ideas the most extravagant were, moreover, in circulation relative to
the powers of the ordnance imported, the mere report of which was
believed sufficient to set fire to the earth, to shiver rocks, and
dismantle mountain fastnesses.  Men were said to have arrived with
"copper legs," whose duty it was to serve these tremendous and terrible
engines; and in alarm for the safety of his palace, capital, and
treasures, the suspicious monarch still peremptorily insisted upon
withholding the desired licence, until he should have beheld the battery
"with his own eyes."

Volume One, Chapter XLV.

PRESENTATION AT COURT.

It rained incessantly with the greatest violence throughout the entire
night, and until the morning broke, when a great volume of white scud,
rising from the deep valleys, and drifting like a scene-curtain across
the stern summit of the giant Mamrat--now frowning immediately
overhead--foretold the nature of the weather that might be anticipated
during the important and long-looked-for day.  The baggage having with
considerable difficulty been collected from the various nooks and comers
wherein the porters had deposited their loads, and no prospect of a
brighter sky being in store, the circumjacent morasses were waded to the
face of the hill which obscured Machal-wans.  Too steep and slippery for
mules, this was also ascended on foot, with the aid of long staves; and
the rain, which had been dropping gently for some time, again setting-in
with the most malicious steadiness, as if resolved to mar all attempt at
display, the whole cavalcade was presently drenched to the skin.

An hour's toil over very heavy ground opened a sudden turn in the road,
whence the escort, resting their cumbrous matchlocks over the rocks,
commenced an indiscriminate fire--the reports of their heavily-loaded
culverins, mingled with the answering note of welcome from the expectant
crowd below, echoing long and loud among the broken glens.  As the
clouds of smoke floated slowly away on the dense atmosphere from the
shoulder of the mountain, there burst upon the sight a lovely view of
the stockaded palace at Machal-wans.  Its conical white roofs were
embosomed in a fair grove of juniper and cypress, which crested a
beautifully wooded tumulus rising at the extreme verge of the valley
from the very banks of a roaring torrent.  A bright green meadow,
spangled with flowers, lay stretched at its foot: the rose, the
eglantine, and the humble violet, grew around in all the grace of native
wildness, to recall recollections of happier lands, whilst the great
Abyssinian range, which even here towered almost perpendicularly some
two thousand feet overhead, and whose peaks were veiled in wreaths of
white fog, formed a magnificent background to the picture.  Isolated
farm-houses were profusely scattered over the verdant landscape--rich
fields glistened in various stages of maturity--and the rills, swollen
by the recent storm, came thundering over the mountain side, in a
succession of foaming cascades.

Another hour's wading through deep ploughed fields of beans and peas and
standing corn, and across the rapid torrent brawling over a rocky bed,
brought the draggled party to two time-worn awnings of black serge,
which not five minutes before had been pitched for its accommodation in
a swamp below the royal residence, and which admitted the rain through
an infinity of apertures.  This continued up to the last moment, thick
and heavy; but the utmost efforts of the deluge had proven insufficient
to cleanse the mud-stained garments; and now the tramp of six hundred
porters, in addition to the vast crowd which had assembled to witness
the long-looked-for arrival of the British Embassy, soon converting the
ground into a positive quagmire, ankle-deep in black mud, seemed to
render utterly hopeless any attempt at the exhibition of broad-cloth and
gold lace on the approaching presentation at the Court of Shoa.

The governors of Ankober and Alio Amba, whose special affair it was to
provide food, and otherwise to render assistance needed, left the
visitors to pitch their own tent, whilst they lounged in the palls, and
contented themselves with urging the instant gratification of the royal
curiosity, which was momentarily becoming more and more intense.
Persecution on the part of the unruly and boisterous mob, to whom every
object was new, meanwhile waxed greater and greater--thousands pressing
forward to gaze as at wild beasts, and all contributing their mite to
promote confusion and discomfort, now at the climax.  Sally after sally
was made by the uproused commander-in-chief of the body-guard, and many
were the long sticks broken to small fragments over the backs and
shoulders of the wild spectators in the course of his vigorous
applications.  But it was to no purpose.  The ring was no sooner formed
than broken, and the self-constituted clerk of the course, becoming at
length weary of his occupation, he joined his idle colleagues in the
tent, and left the multitude to their own devices.

A remonstrance to the King, touching the indignities to which the liege
subjects of Great Britain were thus exposed at the hands of the Amhara
rabble, on the very outskirts of the palace, was followed by a visit
from Birroo, the favourite page, bearing an apologetic message on the
score of ignorance; and repeated messages through this shrewd little
confidant of royalty, who possessed all the airs of a spoiled pet,
elicited first permission to fire a single gun--then five--and lastly,
the desired salute.  With his assistance, moreover, the crowd was to a
certain extent repelled, and the spacious tent having finally been
erected, amid peals of savage wonder, the floor was strewed with heather
and with branches lopped from the myrtles and from various aromatic
shrubs that grew thickly around, and preparations were at length
commenced for the interview, which, during the continuance of the tumult
and uproar, had been by a succession of messages repeatedly and
earnestly desired.

It was now noon, and the weather having temporarily cleared, the British
party, radiant with plumes and gold embroidery, succeeded, after much
fruitless opposition, in mounting their gaily-caparisoned steeds, and
escorted by the governors, the commander-in-chief of the body-guard, and
by a numerous and clamorous escort, proceeded in full uniform towards
the palace.  Many were the attempts made to enforce the etiquette which
denies ascent in equestrian order; but as, on gaining the foot of the
eminence, the roar of artillery burst from the centre of the encampment,
and the deep valley, filling fast with a cloud of white smoke, began to
echo back the salute at the rate of six discharges in a minute, no
further interference was attempted, and an universal shout arose of
"_Malifia Ungliz, melcom! melcom_!"  "Wonderful English, well done! well
done!"

Noise, bustle, and confusion, which in Abyssinia are reckoned highly
honourable to the guest, were again at their climax on reaching the
outer cricket, where the form of obtaining the royal permission to pass
was to be observed ere entrance could be accorded by the state
door-keepers.  Further detention was experienced in the court-yard, at
the hands of sundry officers of the privy chamber, whose visages were
but ill-adapted to sustain the character of high official importance,
and whose assumption of dignity proved singularly ludicrous.  At length
came a message expressive of His Majesty's unqualified surprise and
satisfaction at the extraordinary celerity with which the guns were
being served, and his desire to see the Embassy forthwith; but
attempting to advance, opposition was again interposed, and it needed
another message, and yet another command, before admission could be
obtained to the royal presence.

The last peal of ordnance was rattling in broken echoes along the
mountain chain, as the British Embassy stepped at length over the high
threshold of the reception hall.  Circular in form, and destitute of the
wonted Abyssinian pillar in the centre, the massive and lofty clay walls
of the chamber glittered with a profusion of silver ornaments,
emblazoned shields, matchlocks, and double-barrelled guns.  Persian
carpets and rugs of all sizes, colours, and patterns, covered the floor,
and crowds of Alakas, governors, chiefs, and principal officers of the
court, arrayed in their holyday attire, stood around in a posture of
respect, uncovered to the girdle.  Two wide alcoves receded on either
side, in one of which blazed a cheerful wood fire, engrossed by indolent
cats, whilst in the other, on a flowered satin ottoman, surrounded by
withered eunuchs and juvenile pages of honour, and supported by gay
velvet cushions, reclined in Ethiopic state His Most Christian Majesty
Sahela Selassie.  The _Dech Agafari_, or state door-keeper, as master of
the ceremonies, stood with a rod of green rushes to preserve the exact
distance of approach to royalty, and as the British guests entered the
hall and made their bows to the throne, motioned them to be seated upon
chairs that had previously been sent in--which done, it was commanded
that all might be covered.

The King was attired in a silken Arab vest of green brocade, partially
shrouded under the ample folds of a white cotton robe of Abyssinian
manufacture, adorned with sundry broad crimson stripes and borders.
Forty summers, whereof eight-and-twenty had been passed under the uneasy
cares of the crown, had slightly furrowed his dark brow, and somewhat
grizzled a full bushy head of hair, arranged in elaborate curls after
the fashion of George the First; and although considerably disfigured by
the loss of the left eye, the expression of his manly features, open,
pleasing, and commanding, did not in their _tout ensemble_ belie the
character for impartial justice which the despot has obtained far and
wide--even the Danakil comparing him to "a fine balance of gold."

All those manifold salutations and inquiries which overwrought
politeness here enforces, duly concluded, the letters with which the
Embassy had been charged--enveloped in flowered muslin and rich gold
kimkhab--were presented in a sandal wood casket, minutely inlaid with
ivory; and the contents having been read and expounded, the costly
presents from the British government were introduced in succession, to
be spread out before the glistening eyes of the Court.  The rich
Brussels carpet which completely covered the hall, together with
Cachemire shawls and embroidered Delhi scarfs of resplendent hues,
attracted universal attention, and some of the choicest specimens were
from time to time handed to the alcove by the chief of the eunuchs.  On
the introduction of each new curiosity, the surprise of the King became
more and more unfeigned.  Bursts of merriment followed the magic
revolutions of a group of Chinese dancing figures; and when the European
escort in full uniform, with the sergeant at their head, marched into
the centre of the hall--faced in front of the throne, and performed the
manual and platoon exercises amidst jewellery glittering on the rugs,
gay shawls and silver cloths which strewed the floor, ornamented clocks
chiming, and musical boxes playing "God save the Queen," His Majesty
appeared quite entranced, and declared that he possessed no words to
express his gratitude.  But many and bright were the smiles that lighted
up the royal features, as three hundred muskets, with bayonets fixed,
were piled in front of the footstool.  A buzz of mingled wonder and
applause, which half drowned the music, arose from the crowded
courtiers; and the measure of the warlike monarch's satisfaction now
filled to overflowing, "God will reward you," he exclaimed, "for I
cannot."

But astonishment and admiration knew no bounds, as the populace next
spread over the face of the hills to witness the artillery practice,
which formed the sequel to the presentation of these princely gifts.  A
sheet was attached to the opposite face of the ravine.  The green valley
again rung to the unwonted roar of ordnance; and as the white cloth flew
in shreds to the wind, under a rapid discharge of round shot, canister,
and grape, amidst the crumbling of the rock, and the rush of the filling
stones, the before despised sponge staves became a theme of eulogy to
the monarch as well as to the gaping peasant.  A shout rose long and
loud over the pealing echoes which rattled from hill to hill; and far
along the serrated chain was proclaimed the arrival of foreign guests,
and the royal acquisition through their means of potent engines of war.

Compliments from the throne, and personal congratulations from the
principal courtiers and officers of state, closed the evening of this
unwonted display; and the introduction, by the hands of the favourite
page, of a huge pepper pie, the produce of the royal kitchen, with a
command that "the King's children might feast," was accompanied by the
unheard-of honour of a visit from the dwarf father confessor, who might
without difficulty have concealed his most diminutive person beneath the
ample pastry.  Enveloped in robes and turbans, and armed with silver
cross and crosier, the deformed little priest, whose entire long life
has been passed in doing good to his fellow-creatures, seating his
hideous and Punch-like form in a chair placed for its reception, in
squeaking accents delivered himself thus:--

"Forty years have rolled away since Asfa Woosen, on whose memory be
peace, grandsire to our beloved monarch, saw in a dream that the red men
were bringing into his kingdom curious and beautiful commodities from
countries beyond the great sea.  The astrologers, on being commanded to
give an interpretation thereof, predicted with one accord that
foreigners from the land of Egypt would come into Abyssinia during His
Majesty's most illustrious reign, and that yet more and wealthier would
follow in that of his son, and of his son's son, who should sit next
upon the throne.  Praise be unto God that the dream and its
interpretation have now been fulfilled!  Our eyes, though they be old,
have never beheld wonders until this day, and during the reign over Shoa
of seven successive kings, no such miracles as these have been wrought
in Ethiopia."

Volume One, Chapter XLVI.

Appendix, Number I.

By the passage of the polar star over the meridian, the magnetic
variation at Ankober was observed, with the aid of a well-regulated
chronometer, to be 7 degrees westerly.

The longitude was determined both by a series of lunars, and by the
eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, the mean of upwards of 150
observations having been taken.

Appendix, Number II.

Remarks on the Natural History of that Portion of the Adel Country
Situated along the Route from the Sea-Coast to the Frontier of Efat.

FROM TAJURA TO KILLULLOO.

The advanced state of the season was unfavourable for observations in
the department of natural history.  Both animal and vegetable life were
apparently in a state of torpor; the trees and shrubs were in general
leafless; and no annual plant whatever was to be seen, even in the
immediate vicinity of the watering-places.  The few insects that were
not in a state of chrysalis, seemed drowsily to procrastinate their
existence until food for the new generation should be prepared by
nature.  Amphibia, Saurii, and Ophidii, which are generally not so
dependent on a supply of water, existed in small numbers in their
lurking-places, whilst birds and larger animals must at this season have
migrated to more favoured countries.

Basaltic and trachytic hills, either isolated or in chains, rise at a
distance of about half a mile from the sea-shore, which is winding and
shelving.  The hills are in general rounded, and marked by broad veins
of similar composition, but containing more perfectly crystallised
felspar, quartz, and zeolith.  They have not the sharp peak, but are
broken and cliffy, and have apparently been upheaved at different
periods.

On leaving the shore, a most striking specimen of columnar basalt
presented itself in the ravine of Galeylafeo, which, for nearly half a
mile, runs through the heart of a huge mountain.  In width it is about
200 yards, and the perpendicular pillars are 200 feet in height.  It is
evident that water could not have been the sole agent in producing such
a huge cleft, although at present the ravine presents the appearance of
a regular water-course.  The surrounding hills consist of the same rock,
but covered with loose boulders, which are much stained with oxide of
iron.

Amongst the confusion of volcanic masses on the plain of Warelissan,
excepting in some rare cases, when the true lava stream could be traced
to its source, it was difficult to determine the exact site of the
craters from whence they had been ejected.  The hill which separates
Bahr Assai from the sea, with its singular tops of limestone, slate, and
creta, deserves a more minute examination than could be given at this
season of withering heat.  The western side is the most interesting, as
being more open and disclosed; there is, however, as in all formations
in the vicinity of volcanic countries, no uniform inclination of the
layers.  The range bordering the eastern shore of the lake is basalt and
basaltic wacke; on the western, it is partly gypsum and limestone, but
resting on basalt.

The great salt lake is a deep extensive basin, separated by an immense
lava stream from the remainder of the bay, the head of which it once
formed.  Resembling the Dead Sea in the depression of its level, in the
density and chemical constitution of the fluid, and in the loneliness,
sterility, and desolation of its borders, it yet differs from it
materially in the ways by which volcanic action has produced the strange
phenomenon of the existence of shores so considerably below the level of
the ocean.  In the Dead Sea, the lake of Tiberias, and the valley of the
Jordan between them, it has apparently been a distortion and crushing of
immense masses which have subsided into subterranean caverns.  In the
Bahr Assai it has been produced by the erection of a new bank, serving
as a dam or barrier across the head of a long narrow bay, by which a
considerable body of sea-water was separated from the former common
receptacle.  As high as the level of the Arabian Gulf are to be found,
in the basin of Bahr Assai, the salts and earthy (magnesian)
precipitates of the salt water, which in the course of time was reduced
to its present level by evaporation, the yearly supply of rain-water
being but as a drop to the ocean.  Huge heaps of lava, having been
apparently in strife with the opposite element, are erected on the banks
over wacke, or in other cases over a finely-grained soft mart.  The
latter, when clear of lava, presents a thin layer of gypsum, with
numerous shells of Melania, Limnaeus, Physa, Planorbis, Cyclostoma,
Unio, and Cycas, some of which are at present to be found in the distant
fresh-water pools and rivulets.

The shallow water on the borders of the lake presents natural salt-pans,
and a crust of fine salt, two inches thick and tolerably clean, covers
nearly the whole of the surface.  The supply would seem to be
inexhaustible; for when cut out with a spaddle, a new crust is soon
furnished from the waters beneath.  Being visited by almost every tribe
of the Adaiel and Somauli, and unhappily situated on the borders of the
most lawless and savage of them, this remarkable spot is almost
forbidden ground for the observer, not to speak of the obstacles thrown
in the way by the destructive temperature and the general absence of the
necessaries of life.

In the ravine of Goongoonteh, and during the continuation of the journey
as far as Killulloo, slight variations of trap formation were met with.
The wacke is of a fine grain, and its constituents are indistinctly
mingled; it is traversed by empty holes and bubbles, and occasionally by
druses of zeolith.  Coarse quartz, sandstone, and conglomerates are
sometimes found towards the surface.  The country must have frequently
been agitated by violent earthquakes, detaching huge masses of rocks
from the hills; and, bereft alike of vegetation and animal life, it
presents altogether a most monotonous appearance.

The lower classes of animals, of ephemeral existence, are found on every
living or vegetating body.

Of _Coleoptera_ were observed: two species of Pimelia (longipes), one of
Cetonia, of Copris (Isidis), of Erodius (gibbus), several Staphylini and
one Gyrinus.

Of _Orthoptera_: Locusts, Blattidae, Mantidae, Truxalidae.

Of _Hymenoptera_; several bees, especially at Killulloo, one of which,
marked with light brown segments on the abdomen and bearing a long
sting, was exceedingly annoying.

Of _Piezata_: many different ants.

Of _Diptera_ and _Hemiptera_: several species.

Of _Lepidoptera_: two species of Papilio and several of moths; and it
was a matter of great wonder whence these butterflies obtained food in a
country where even one flower could not be discovered.

Of _Myriapoda_: one Iulus, and several Scolopendra.

_Arachnida_ were in great numbers: Mygale, Epeira, Lycosa, and one small
Androctenus.

Of _Crustaceae_: near the sea-shore a Pagurus existed in astonishing
numbers, and in the sweet waters a Daphnia.

_Vertebrata_ were still scarcer; and the _Reptilia_ had their
representatives in the three orders Saurii, Ophidii, and Batrachii.  A
small lizard, very agile, existed under stones; also serpents, Vipera
and Coluber, and in moist places Bufo and Rana.

Amongst the Birds--

Of _Rapaces_: Perenopterus and Falco are numerous.

Of _Gallinacea_: Numida meleagris, and various partridges.

Of _Cursorii_: Struthio-camelus and Otis.

Of _Ciconidae_: Ciconia Marabu.

Of _Cantores_: Corvus, Loxia, Sylvia, Vidua.

Of _Mammalia_, three species of Antelope, one of Hyrax, one of Equus
(Onager), one of Sus (Phacochaerus); and fresh holes in the sand
indicated the presence of animals most probably of the order Rodentia.

The sheep of the country are the Hejaz lamb (Ovis aries laticaudata);
white body and black head and neck, covered with hair, and having thick,
short, fat tails; male without horns.  The goats and cattle are
generally small in stature, of all colours, and surmounted with very
large horns.  The shepherd dogs are small, and spotted with yellow and
white; they have long pointed skulls like the fox.

With regard to the flora of this part of the country, the small quantity
found in flower, belongs, with few exceptions, to the family of the
_Leguminosae_, amongst which the order of _Mimoseae_ is the most
extensive both in species and specimens; they are however all stunted
and shrubby, and seldom attain any size.  Still the only fuel and shade
found during the journey was supplied by this tribe.  There exist also
several _Capparideae_; Cadaba, Sodada, Capparis.  Cadaba rotundifolia is
the most common.

The _Asclepiadeae_ are represented in the Stapelia pulvinata, which
however was seldom found in blossom, and in the Pergularia tomentosa,
with stately flowers and capsules.

The _Malvaceae_ existed in Ruitzia and Abutilon; and the other families
found by the wayside, Moringeae, Rutaceae, Tamariscineae, Chenopodeae,
Amaranthaceae, Cruciferae, presented only solitary specimens.

Of the _Euphorbiaceae_ there were but three; and of the Palm tribe there
only appeared to be two species, the Phoenix dactylifera and Hyphaene
crucifera, both of which gradually disappeared as the soil improved.

Nature has scattered the necessaries of existence with a niggard hand
over these desert plains, and the supply of water is indeed scanty.  In
such a hot climate, those pools which are not fed by running streams
soon become adulterated by the decomposition of organic and inorganic
matter.  The wacke cannot resist any long exposure, and thence the water
imbibes oxide of iron and muriate of soda, discovered in the pools of
Goongoonteh, Allooli, and Bedi Kuroof; and again the numerous flocks and
cattle of the caravans which are driven into the pools taint and corrupt
the liquid in a still more offensive manner.  The fetid smell and taste
of the waters of Duwaylaka, Amadoo, Fialoo, and Killulloo, is indeed so
oppressive as to be subdued only by a considerable quantity of spirit;
and moreover the deposited mud, when stirred up, emits a volume of
sulphuretted hydrogen.  During the wet season all the lower parts of the
country are said to be exceedingly unhealthy, violent storms and
incessant rain in the plains and wadies forcing the inhabitants to
retreat to the mountains.

FROM KILLULLOO TO THE FOOT OF THE ABYSSINIAN MOUNTAINS.

The desert of the Adaiel, spreading from the sea to the foot of the
Shoan Alps, is not altogether a plain, as it has been most likely in
remote ages, numerous wadies, with banks more or less high, now
intersecting the greater part of it.  These banks rise in some instances
to hills of firm rock, generally wacke.  They however consist of but
lightly cemented conglomerates, or loose boulders.  Towards the middle,
as the ground rises, extinct volcanoes make their appearance, sometimes
scattered and solitary, with indistinct cones and craters, completely
covered with volcanic cinders, and sending off sheets of lava in all
directions; or in whole clusters, with cones and craters complete,
connected with each other, and environed by belts of their products.
The extensive plain of Eyroluf is a solid level of a dark, black,
undecayed lava.

The tract of land between Killulloo and Dathara especially has been
visited and overwhelmed by the action from below, which, having reversed
the original disposition, has covered the surface with the effects of
its violence.  There is little to be seen of the under parts, although
here and there some of the later formation, the residuum of the
calcareous waters, has spread like a thin coat over the low grounds; but
violent commotions have again and again altered and destroyed the first
appearance, and it is now difficult to determine the centre pool from
whence the fiery stream issued.  In the absence of a main volcano and a
main volcanic range, it may be concluded that, similar to some violent
eruptions in South America, large mountains have been thrown up in the
midst of former extensive plains, the fluid and half-fluid matter having
burst forth wherever they were nearest to the surface.

Small extinct volcanoes were found on the plains of Sultelli and
Eyroluf.  The road passes close to the isolated cone of one of these,
called Jebel Helmund.  The walls are straight and black, covered with
several smaller cones of ashes; the hill itself is about four hundred
feet in height; the crater is on the eastern side, a little below the
top; and the sides, which are steep and sloping, are clothed with shrubs
towards the base.

On the road to Moo stands a similar volcano; but the influence of these
craters does not seem to have extended far beyond the immediate
neighbourhood, although there is a connexion between the whole cluster
on the plain of Mittur, which may be seen in the small lava streams and
debris of volcanic product on the adjoining plains of Sultelli and
Eyroluf.  It is not, however, apparent that they alone have formed the
present state of the surface, as the south-eastern side of the plains is
terminated by a much older formation of wacke.

Between Meinha-tolli and Madera-dubba, obsidian, pumice, clinkstone, and
fresh-water limestone containing shells of Melania, were strewed about
Excellent soil is found in all these situations, the low grounds being
overflowed at some seasons, and, as in all volcanic countries, producing
much vegetation.  The extensive plains of Moolu and Burdudda are thickly
covered with grass, and intersected by small brooks and pools,
terminating towards the Hawash in very broken, hilly ground, and the
large plain on the eastern bank of the river bears every sign of being
annually deluged.

The country of the Adaiel is throughout very sparingly watered.  During
spring and autumn the hills collect sufficient rain-water for numerous
rivulets, which after a course of scarcely one mile are absorbed by the
sands, and dry up altogether by the end of the rains, whilst the deep
hollows and clefts in the firmer rock preserve small quantities for the
dry months of the year.  The Hawash itself, although receiving all the
rivers of Efat, and of the eastern declivity of the Shoan mountains,
does not reach the sea.  The banks, thickly overgrown, are about thirty
feet in height, and very abrupt.  Its fall is scarcely perceptible, yet
the rush of the water is very considerable.

On the western bank volcanic hills and sheets of water again appear, the
latter being situated lower than the bed of the stream.  One of these,
impregnated with alkali, is evidently an old crater filled up, and
supplied by a hot mineral spring.  The water is much esteemed for
washing clothes; it possesses an hydrothionic smell and a bitter taste,
resembling that of the salt of magnesia; but the borders are verdant,
and a species of Cyperus grows luxuriantly in the water.

This portion of the country, though still sparingly supplied with the
means of subsistence, is more favourable for specimens of zoology than
the burning tract between Tajura and Killulloo.

Of _Beetles_ the family _Coprophaga_ had many representatives:
Scarabaeus, Copris, Ateuchus, Onitis, Aphodius, Trox; Melolontha; four
species of Cetonia (on the Aloe); one Silpha, Hister, Abax,
Graphipterus, Anthia, Staphylinus, Elater, Cantharis, Erodius, Moluria,
Pimelia, Mylabria, Chrysomela.

Of _Orthoptera_, large flights of Gryllus migratorius were observed near
Azboti.  Acrydium and Gryllotalpa very common throughout.  Also many
Neuroptera, and termite cone studding the face of the country.

Of _Acephala_ only one, Unio, was found near the Hawash.

A few frogs were seen in the waters, but no fish; and although lizards
abounded on the land, there were no serpents.  One large-sized tortoise
was picked up.

Birds of all descriptions inhabit the plains and enliven the scanty
woods: the ostrich, Otis arabs, the partridge, ducks, adjutant,
Charadrius spinosus, Psittacus, Lampromis, Tanagra erythrorhyncha,
Pyrrhocorax.  Of beasts, the giant in creation, the elephant, and his
rival in hugeness, the hippopotamus, abound in the plain of the Hawash;
and rapacious animals, the lion, the leopard, and the hyaena, prowling
about the camp during the night, render indispensable the protection of
a stout thorn fence.

Of the order _Rodentia_ the porcupine is common; also a variety of rats.

Of _Ruminantia_: a few antelopes.

Of _Fissungula_: Hyrax.

Of _Setigera_; Phacochaerus abyssinicus; and of _Lemures_: Galago.

The flora, so dependent upon the nature of the ground, offers little
variety throughout this tract, although a few new plants were found in
the favoured plain of Sultelli.  Four _Compositae_ (one Santolina),
three _Leguminosae_ (one Cassia, resembling Senna), one _Euphorbia_
(rotundifolia), one _Solanum_, one _Cucurbitacea_ (Cucumis africanus),
one _Crucifera_ (Farsetia linearis), three _Malvaceae_ (Hibiscus urens,
Althaea spec.), one _Tiliacea_ (Grewia spec.), one _Cistinea_
(Helianthemum spec.), one _Acanthacea_ (Acanthus carduifolius), four
_Gramineae_, one _Cyperacea_.

There were, however, no large timber trees, though edible berries of a
sub-acid taste were supplied from a Helianthemum and a Grewia.  Between
Waramilli and Naga Koomi the shrubs of the Balsamodendron myrrha were
first discovered, and these continued as far as the Hawash.  Grass too
is met with on the wide plains.  Large camel-thorn acacias, and a
strange tree of the family Capparidea, at intervals interrupt the
uniform desert waste; but even the luxuriant vegetation which prevails
on the banks of the Hawash contains little besides the Tamarix africana.

A high jungle of Acacia extends near the plain of Azboti, supplying an
abundance of sweet gum-arabic, and the last stage to Dathara is
encumbered with the Aloe soccotrina.  There are also many fine forest
trees in the valley of Kokai, amongst which the Tamarindus indica stands
conspicuous; but no cultivation whatsoever is to be seen during the
entire progress of upwards of three hundred miles from the sea-coast to
the green hills of Abyssinia.

Appendix, Number III.

Description of the Frankincense Tree, as Found near Cape Guardufoi, on
the Somauli Coast, by Captain C.B. Kempthorne, Indian Navy, Commanding
the Hon. Company's Sloop of War "Clive."

At Bunder Cassim, about one hundred miles to the eastward of Berbera,
the mountains come close down to the coast.  There is a pass and road
over them, and a few hours' walking will, it is said, lead to a fine
climate, and to a beautifully fertile country, abounding in the
elephant, the rhinoceros, and the lion, and thickly populated by
pastoral tribes.  Several rivers take their source in the high land,
and, flowing to the southward and eastward, fall into the Indian Ocean,
4 degrees or 5 degrees north of the equator.

The chief town of the Miggertheyn Somauli is at Bunder Maryah, which
lies twenty miles south-west of Ras Feeluk.  The range is here about
5000 feet in altitude, and three miles from the shore.  Ascending 1000
feet, a wide plain presents itself, bounded on every side by precipitous
mountains studded with the frankincense and gum acacia trees, but
looking bare and naked from the total absence of underwood.

The frankincense assumes the most singular aspect, from the fact of its
invariably growing from the bare and smooth sides of the white marble
rocks of which these bills are composed, without any soil whatever to
nourish it.  Many of the trees have even attached themselves to the huge
masses that have rolled down into the valley, and now lie scattered over
the stony surface.  From the base of the trunk, and about treble its
diameter, a very round thick substance is protruded, of a nature between
bark and wood.  This adheres most firmly to the stone, and at a distance
resembles a mixture of mortar and lime.  From the centre of the mass the
stem, having first taken a bend or curve outwards of several inches,
rises straight up to a height of forty feet.  It throws from the top
short branches covered with a very bright green foliage, the leaves
being narrow and rounded at the end, five or six inches in length by one
broad, crimped like the frill of a shirt; or rather bearing a stronger
resemblance to that beautiful species of sea-weed found along the coast
of England, and styled by urchins "the old gentleman's ruffles."

From a foot to eighteen inches is the usual girth of the stem, and it
tapers gradually away to the summit.  The bark is perfectly smooth, and
consists of four distinct layers.  The outermost of all is very thin,
and similar to that of the beech.  The two next are of a singularly fine
texture, resembling oiled letter-paper, perfectly transparent, and of a
beautiful amber colour.  It is used by the Somaulis to write upon.  The
inner bark of all is about an inch thick, of a dull-reddish hue, tough,
and not unlike leather, but yielding a strong aromatic perfume.  The
wood is white and soft, and might be applied to many useful purposes.
By making a deep incision into the inner rind, the gum exudes profusely,
of the colour and consistency of milk, but hardening into a mass by
exposure to the atmosphere.

The whole mountain range from Bunder Maryah to Cape Guardufoi is
composed of limestone and marble, and near the latter place especially
the marble is so white and pure that it approaches to alabaster.  Pink
and greyish black are also common colours, and in parts it might be
mistaken for sandstone, until chipped off with the hammer.  On the plain
visited the frankincense is nowhere to be found resting upon the ground,
or upon any sort of soil, and the purer the marble to which it adheres
the finer the growth of the tree.  It would seem that this singular
production of the vegetable world derives its sole nourishment from
carbonate of lime.  The young trees produce the best and most valuable
gum, the older merely yielding a clear glutinous fluid resembling copal
varnish, and exhaling a strong resinous odour.

During the south-west monsoon the pastoral tribes in the neighbourhood
of Ras Feeluk collect large quantities of frankincense, which they
barter to the Banians, of whom a few reside at the villages along the
Abyssinian coast.  Boats from Maculla, and from other ports on the
opposite Arabian shore, also come across during the fine season and
carry away the gums that have been accumulated, and which are exchanged
for a coarse kind of cotton cloth worn by the Somauli.

End of the First Volume.

Volume Two, Chapter I.

THE CAPITAL OF THE KINGDOM OF SHOA.

His Christian Majesty passed the greater portion of the wet night
succeeding the presentation of the British Embassy, in revels amid the
foreign riches so unexpectedly heaped upon him.  Long tormented by
curiosity which he had been afraid to gratify, he now minutely examined
every novel article with all the greediness of the savage; and the royal
scribes having been duly assembled, elaborate inventories were penned
upon scrolls of parchment, to be deposited for the edification of
posterity in the archives of the kingdom.  The fire-arms and the warlike
munitions were transferred forthwith to the grand arsenal; the rich
manufactures of the loom were added to the shelves of the palace
wardrobes; and the curiosities, including the Chinese dancing girls,
were carefully immured in the mouldy magazines of Mamrat, Kondie, and
Aramba, with labels and tickets setting forth their respective
properties, and proclaiming to future occupants of the throne of Shoa
that these wonders were added to the state treasures by the red men
called Gyptzis, who came from beyond during the auspicious reign of
Sahela Selassie.

Ere day had dawned, the favourite page was deputed from the king to
inquire whether all had slumbered happily.  Etiquette demanded that our
reply should be in the affirmative, but if an estimate were formed from
the drenched and miserable aspect of the tent, the report made to the
palace must have been far from favourable.  In the absence of the cap,
which had been lost upon the road, the fly of the marquee was hastily
lashed with cords to the pole, and becoming saturated during the night
by the pelting storm, it had presently slidden down, and formed a
funnel, which completely put an end to sleep.

Hajji Kasim and Izhak, who, with some of their bigoted Moslem retainers,
had repaired to court to witness the reception of "the Christian dogs,"
had presented themselves at nightfall, wet, shivering, and famished, to
implore food and shelter, which had been denied by the officers of the
royal household.  Upon the principle of good for evil, we gave them
abundance to eat, and each of us contributed a share of his bedding, but
the untoward fall of the canvass proved equally disagreeable to
Christian and to Mohammadan.  Drenched to the skin, the true believers,
spite of their covering of lard, were fairly swamped where they lay; and
the Ras el Kafilah's pet Koran having been trampled under foot in the
confusion attendant upon repitching, he angrily left the tent in the
morning by one door, at the moment that the spoiled page entered by the
other, grumbling as he went, "Allah! how could the sacred volume
experience any better fate at the hand of infidels?"

Six hundred peasants, who had been pressed on the service of the state
from the Mohammadan villages of Argobba, after transporting the king's
baggage from Alio Amba to Machal-wans, had bivouacked without food or
shelter upon the bare saturated ground, and were strewed over the
greensward like the slain on a battle-field.  As the day dawned, their
loud cries of "_Abiet, abiet_," "Master, master," arose to the
palace-gates from every quarter of the valley; but they lifted up their
sad voices in vain; and reiterated entreaties for dismissal passing
unheeded, I with great difficulty succeeded in purchasing for them a
sufficient number of oxen, which were instantly slaughtered, and eaten
raw upon the spot.

The sceptic in Europe who still withholds his credence from Bruce's
account of an Abyssinian brind feast, would have been edified by the
sight now presented on the royal meadow.  Crowds swarmed around each
sturdy victim to the knife, and impetuously rushing in with a
simultaneous yell, seized horns, and legs, and tail.  A violent struggle
to escape followed the assault.  Each vigorous bound shook off and
scattered a portion of the assailants, but the stronger and more
athletic still retained their grasp, and resolutely grappling and
wrestling with the prize, finally prevailed.  With a loud groan of
despair the bull was thrown kicking to the earth.  Twenty crooked knives
flashed at once from the scabbard--a tide of crimson gore proclaimed the
work of death, and the hungry butchers remained seated on the quivering
carcass, until the last bubbling jet had welled from the widely-severed
throat.

Rapidly from that moment advanced the work of demolition.  The hide was
opened in fifty places, and collop after collop of warm flesh and
muscle--sliced and scooped from the bone--was borne off in triumph.
Groups of feasting savages might now be seen seated on the wet grass in
every direction, greedily munching and bolting the raw repast.  Entrails
and offal did not escape.  In a quarter of an hour nought remained of
the carcass save hoofs and horns, and the disappointed vultures of the
air assembling round the scene of slaughter with the village curs, found
little indeed to satisfy their hunger.

During this general carousal of the grateful host, the smooth-spoken
purveyor-general, who was completely at a loss to comprehend the meaning
of the liberality extended, advanced with a sleek and pampered band of
parasites.  The assistance of the unfeeling functionary had been craved
in vain, and he now, after casting a contemptuous glance towards the
sated serfs, in honied words inquired with obvious surprise, "whether
the party had not rested well, that they thus troubled their heads
unnecessarily about the worthless bondsmen of the Negoos?"

No suitable lodging being obtainable at Machalwans, I deemed it
advisable to adopt the king's proposal of proceeding at once into winter
quarters at the capital.  Preparatory to setting out thither we had an
audience of the king.  "My children," quoth His Majesty, "all my
gun-people shall accompany you; may you enter in safety!  Whatsoever
your hearts think and wish, that send word unto me.  Saving myself, ye
have no relative in this distant land.  Ye have travelled far on my
affairs.  I will give you what I can, according to that which my country
produces.  I cannot give you what I do not possess.  Be not afraid of
me.  Listen not to the evil insinuations of my people, for they are bad.
Look only unto Sahela Selassie.  May his father die, he will accomplish
whatsoever ye desire!"

The sun shone brightly through the fleecy white clouds, as our party
left the wet encampment in the valley, and under an escort of fusiliers
took the way to the capital without that regret which is usually felt on
quitting the precincts of royalty.  A green, swampy meadow led to the
foot of the mountains, over which numberless cascades foamed furiously
to the plain.  Supported from the base to the utmost summit by
artificial terraces, and clothed with the most luxuriant cultivation,
there were parts over which it seemed hardly possible that the plough
should have passed at so great an angle.  But wheat and barley delight
in a dry stony soil, and with a fair proportion of the "former and the
latter rain," will here yield abundant return to those who, by their
industry, strive to emulate the prosperity of more happily located
neighbours.

From Machal-wans to Ankober the distance does not exceed six miles; but
the ascent is great and immediate, and the reduction in temperature
perceptible at every step.  Springs gushed out clear and sparkling on
either side of the rugged path, and beautiful plants luxuriated in the
moist atmosphere.  The prospect was altogether delightful, and the
change more than ever striking from the hot deserts of the Adaiel, which
now, at a yet greater depression, stretched away in fading tints to the
extreme point of vision.

The latter portion of the road lay through the forest of Aferbeine.
Cedar-like junipers, dried up by the blast of centuries, rearing towards
the sky their tall skeleton forms, rocked to every breeze.  Younger
scions of the stock, clothed in a sombre cypress garb, flourished in
vigour among the drooping and silvery _woira_, of which the pensive
branches were hoary with ancient moss hanging in fanciful festoons; and
saving when the zephyr sighed through the foliage, or a bird whistled
from the topmost branch, silence reigned throughout the sylvan scene.

Whether in Europe or in half-civilised Abyssinia, monastic
establishments are invariably seated in spots the most romantic.  Deep
in the recesses of Aferbeine stands the church and monastery dedicated
to Tekla Haimanot, an ecclesiastic of extraordinary abilities, who
flourished during the thirteenth century, and rescuing the greater
portion of the empire from the yoke of usurpation, restored it to the
hands of Yekweno Amlak, the lineal descendant of the ancient Ethiopic
dynasty.  Subsequently canonised for his successful exertions in the
cause both of Church and State, the monk, whose history is obscured with
numberless superstitious traditions, is to the present day held in the
highest veneration.  Thrice during the year a festival is held in
celebration of his birth, death, and ascension, and by the entire
Christian population he is regarded as the patron saint of Abyssinia.

Instantly on emerging from the forest, the metropolis of Shoa, spreading
far and wide over a verdant mountain, shaped like Afric's appropriate
emblem, the fabled sphynx, presented a most singular if not imposing
appearance.  Clusters of thatched houses of all sizes and shapes,
resembling bams and haystacks, with small green enclosures and splinter
palings, rising one above the other in very irregular tiers, adapt
themselves to all the inequalities of the rugged surface; some being
perched high on the abrupt verge of a cliff, and others so involved in
the bosom of a deep fissure as scarcely to reveal the red earthen pot
which crowns the apex.  Connected with each other by narrow lanes and
hedgerows, these rude habitations, the residence of from twelve to
fifteen thousand inhabitants, cover the entire mountain-side to the
extreme pinnacle--a lofty spire-like cone, detaching itself by a narrow
isthmus to form the sphynxs head.  Hereon stands the palace of the
Negoos, a most ungainly-looking edifice with staring gable ends, well
fortified by spiral lines of wooden palisades.  They extend from the
base to the summit, and are interspersed with barred stockades, between
which are profusely scattered the abodes of household slaves, with
breweries, kitchens, cellars, storehouses, magazines, and granaries.

Over those portions unengrossed by cultivation or by architecture,
shrubs and bushes and great beds of nettles assumed the most luxuriant
and lively appearance.  Huge fallen masses of rock strewed the lower
valleys, and others seemed ready to be launched at a moment's notice
upon the clustering habitations; whilst in the distance, the bronze
cross of the church of "our Lady," peeping above the dark foliage of the
juniper, touched the chord of feelings but little in unison with the
wild escort that surrounded us, above whose streaming locks floated
bloody emblems, that breathed aught save conformity to the mild tenets
of the Christian religion.

Ankober, literally translated, signifies the gate of Anko.  She was
queen over the Galla tribe, by which this mountain was peopled from the
invasion of Graan until its reconquest by the crown of Shoa, and has
bequeathed her name to the narrow winding path which forms the "_her_"
or gate to the suburbs.  Skirting the brink of a yawning abyss, and
scarcely wide enough for the foot of a mule, it is not traversed without
a feeling of insecurity, and the labour of a few hours would suffice to
render all approach to the capital impracticable, unless to the mountain
goat.  Loud cheers from the whole assembled population, female as well
as male, greeted our arrival, for the thunder of our guns in the
adjacent valley had given birth to a feeling of respect in the breast of
all; nor was it without considerable difficulty that we made our way
through the dense crowd that whitened the entire hill-side, and lined
every valley.  At length we reached a newly erected building fronting
the palace, which had been set apart by His Majesty for our occupation,
and which was now completely thronged by porters, and beleaguered by
clamourous spectators.

Wistful looks were exchanged as we entered this barn-like and dreary
abode, which for months, if not for years, was to form our asylum.  A
decent new thatch, and a neat basket-work ceiling, did indeed form a
roof to the structure, but further, the crude and unfinished shell
whereon they rested, could hardly claim the denomination of "a house."

It rather resembled a den in Exeter 'change, or an aviary upon a
magnified scale; and the open hide-lashed ribs, being innocent
throughout of dab or plaster to choke the interstices, wind, rain, and
mountain fog considered themselves to be equally His Majesty's guests,
and entitled to the occupation of the uninviting interior.  Oblong in
form, windowless, chimneyless, and provided at either end with a lofty
but narrow door, rudely fashioned of massive planks and beams, each of
which, in the absence of a saw, had involved the demolition of an entire
tree, the edifice yet afforded an unusually favourable specimen of Shoan
architecture; and to account for its desolate and unfinished condition,
it may be proper to add, that the proprietor, who had been honoured with
the fair hand of a princess of the blood royal, having a few weeks
previously been so unfortunate as to incur the displeasure of his
despotic father-in-law, now occupied apartments in the state prison,
whilst the management of his estate was, _ad interim_, considerately
undertaken by the crown, without even the preliminary of a _fieri
facias_.

Inner walls divided the centre room from two narrow verandahs, intended
for the reception of mules, horses, and household lumber.  The floor was
precisely as nature made it, depressed rather than raised, and little
improved by the many recent inundations to which it had been subjected.
Torrents of muddy water filled the trench which environed the entire
structure, and occasionally bursting the banks of the dyke, oozed
copiously between the palisades, to cover the soil with artificial
lakes; whilst the small open area beyond, into which it disembogued--
hemmed in on all sides by rank vegetation, stinging nettles, and
half-ruined but noisily inhabited hovels--was, without any exaggeration,
eighteen inches deep in honest mire.

Although our pilgrimage had at last terminated, the prospect, both
within and without, was still far from encouraging.  The mercury in
Fahrenheit's thermometer stood at 58 degrees, and it became necessary to
adopt immediate measures towards the exclusion of the cold driving mist
and the whistling wind, which the absence of a fire rendered far from
agreeable.  The union flag of old England, stretched across the hall,
lent the aid of its ample folds to enliven the interior.  Tent walls and
tarpaulins composed tolerably comfortable cabins in the verandah
closets.  Gun-cases, placed on end, and connected by the lid of a chest,
formed a temporary table, and with a puncheon as a washing-stand, and
two swinging shelves overhead, completed the furniture of each
apartment.  Boxes and bales, as they continued to arrive, were piled
around the inner walls, and soon reaching to the ceiling, the appearance
of a booth at a country fair, on a rainy day, ere the wares have been
exposed for sale, was gradually imparted to this highly unique residency
in the capital of Shoa.

Volume Two, Chapter II.

RESIDENCE IN ANKOBER.

But darkness now reigned within our cheerless abode.  Candles that will
burn for more than ten minutes together, or afford light sufficient
either to read or write, are luxuries which have no existence in so
primitive and benighted a land; and strips of old cotton rag dipped in
unpurified bees' wax, forming, like most other good things in the
empire, a royal monopoly, are doled out by the purveyor-general to the
favoured few with but a niggard hand; whilst the absence of glass or
other transparent substance, and the continued presence of rain, sleet,
clouds, and fog thicker than the steam of a wash-house, rendered it for
some time difficult to admit the scanty light of heaven during its
fitful visits through the overcast atmosphere.

Wood, too, belongs exclusively to the despot, and is far from being
abundant in the timberless realm; but packing cases, as they became
empty, were furnished with a sheet of oiled parchment, and these
admirable substitutes for glazed sashes, were, in defiance of
exhortations not to deface the king's walls, inserted therein from time
to time.  A chafing dish, raised upon a high mud pedestal, at length
cheered the long dreary evenings, although the wet sodden fuel yielded a
very feeble blaze, whilst its dense smoke, choking the chimneyless room,
covered walls and roof with soot.  Last, but not least among our
improvements, were tallow dips, which we manufactured of the fat tail of
the Ethiopian sheep, and these afforded us sufficient light by which to
retire to bed, where fleas, revived by the unwonted warmth of English
blankets, denied all rest.

The low moaning of the storm behind Mamrat, and the distant growl of the
thunder, usually ushered in the night.  There was a sound as of the surf
breaking over a rocky shore, and before many minutes the hurricane was
at its height.  Crashing reverberations of thunder rattled among the
serrated cliffs, whilst the gates of heaven poured forth a deluge, which
rendered every lane and footpath throughout the town, ankle deep in
running water.

Often after one of those falls of rain so common in tropical countries,
the face of the lowlands for fifty miles would be concealed under an
impenetrable fog.  The spectator rode upon a sea of billowy clouds which
rolled beneath his foot, lashing with their spray the dark islands
formed by the peaks of the higher mountains: and beyond, in the hot Adel
plain might be seen the Hawash winding through the distance, until
melted into the limits of the horizon.  As the great bank ascended, all
around became wet and clammy to the touch; and the mist, although
sluggish and slow to move, was of a nature so keenly searching, that in
defiance of all muffling, it seemed to penetrate to our very bones.

Together with those privations which are common to a residence among all
savage nations, there are many which Abyssinia claims exclusively as her
own; nor, if viewed only as a place of abode, does the country possess
aught save the salubrity of the climate to counterbalance its manifold
discomforts and disadvantages.  Although in the midst of abundance, we
experienced the utmost difficulty in obtaining the most common
necessaries of existence--bread, meat, and water; and notwithstanding
that a sufficiency of wheat to sustain life for an entire year may be
purchased for one German crown, yet where the stranger is concerned, the
grain, without the assistance of the monarch, can scarcely be converted
into the staff of life--the process entailing all the petty worry and
annoyance which in other lands are solely undertaken and performed by
menials.

In a kingdom where the inhabitants are solely dependent upon the
exertions of slaves, the difficulties are increased ten-fold to those
who are obliged to employ hired domestics.  The markets are at a great
distance from the capital, and held at long intervals; nor are they ever
so well supplied as to admit of the requisite weekly stock being
purchased at any individual place.  Hence much trouble and inconvenience
arose from the necessity of dispatching messengers simultaneously to the
various remote bazaars; and very great difficulty was experienced in
preserving even the small number of live stock required for consumption
in a country where all the surrounding meadows pertain alike to the
crown, and where labour is so difficult to be procured.

Whilst porters are not to be obtained unless through a direct mandate
from the king, the unwillingness of mule-owners to hire their cattle at
the existing low rate, the displeasure and heartburning of the
authorities if a larger bribe were offered, the badness of the roads,
and the steepness of the hills, all combine to render it a perplexing
matter to dispense with this species of service.  On the other hand, the
greatest difficulty is experienced in providing for a permanent
establishment of baggage-horses with their attendants, owing to the
existing necessity of distributing them in small lots among the limited
private grazing grounds in the vicinity, whence, when wanted, they are
not to be obtained without infinite difficulty.

Every arrangement, however minute in detail, or trivial in importance,
here demands a sacrifice of time and temper in a tedious and lengthy
conference, which, in accordance with the custom of the country, must be
carried on by the principal persons engaged in the transaction.  No
article is readily to be purchased, nor can any thing, how trifling
soever, be accorded without the royal mandate, and when that is at last
obtained, the applicant would appear to be further than ever removed
from the realisation of his object.  "It is done," is the mode of
signifying that a request is granted, and the despot believes that to
will is to accomplish; but whilst his commands are usually obeyed more
to the letter than in the spirit in which they have been given, his
public officers embrace every opportunity of consulting the interests of
the privy purse, to the stranger's disadvantage.

In utter abhorrence of the country and its inhabitants, the Moslem
servants who accompanied the Embassy from India all took their
departure, willing rather to brave the dangers and difficulties of a
long journey through the inhospitable deserts of the Adaiel, than to
prolong a hateful sojourn in Abyssinia.  One half of the number were
murdered on the way down, and the places of all long remained empty.  In
any part of the world it would be difficult to find domestics inferior
to their Christian successors.  The consumption of _brundo_, or raw
beef, and the sleeping off a surfeit which, in its progress towards
stupor, exhilarated them to positive intoxication, formed the sum total
of their services; yet every idle noisy vagabond who was in the receipt
of four pieces of salt per mensem, with the promise of a new cloth
annually, value three shillings and nine-pence sterling, held himself
entitled to a permanent place before the drawingroom fire.

All stipulated for one day out of the thirty on which to drink _cosso_,
and during the other twenty-nine, few ever stirred without grumbling.
Honesty is not prominent among the Abyssinian virtues, and the lack of
it sometimes redounded to the discredit of the master.  A youth who was
entrusted with a dollar to purchase sheep in the adjacent market,
ingeniously contrived to smuggle into the flock, two for which he had
not paid, being convinced that such an economical arrangement must prove
highly agreeable to his employers, and thus lead to his own advancement.
A hue and cry was raised on the discovery of the theft, and it required
some time to persuade the magisterial authorities that the goat-herd had
not been defrauded with the cognisance of the _bala-beit_.  [Master of
the house.]

An _afero_, or janissary, had been specially appointed as a spy over the
actions of the foreigners, and he rendered himself sufficiently
obnoxious.  Not satisfied with prying into the contents of boxes for the
information of the purveyor-general, his immediate superior, he reported
to the throne every the most minute circumstance that occurred; and
besides originating several ingenious falsehoods, was so indefatigable
in proclaiming us to be heretics, that he was shortly turned out of the
house in disgrace, with an order never to show his face again.

Ethiopia derived her faith from the fountain of Alexandria; but how is
her Christianity disfigured by folly and superstition!  The intolerance
of the bigoted clergy, who rule with the iron hand of religious
ascendancy, soon proclaimed the British worse than Pagans, for the
non-observance of absurd fasts, and blasphemous doctrines; and the
inhabitants, priest-ridden to a degree, received their cue of behaviour
principally from their most despotic tyrant, the Church.  Unquies, the
Comus or Bishop of Shoa, was the most open and undisguised in his
hostilities.  Beset by evil thoughts at an early age, he imitated the
example set by the celebrated Origenes; and so much is he respected by
the monarch for his austerities and religious devotion, that His Majesty
invariably speaks of him as "the strong monk."  To him was traced a
report that the Embassy were to be summarily expelled the country, in
consequence of the non-observance of the fasts prescribed by the
Ethiopic creed, and because a Great Lady, whose spies they were, was on
her way from the sea-coast, with a large military force, to overturn the
true religion, put the king to death, and assume possession of all
Abyssinia.

On the festival of the Holy Virgin, the cemetery was thrown open,
wherein rest the remains of Asfa Woosen, grandsire to Sahela Selassie.
It is a building adjoining the church of Saint Mary; and being anxious
to visit the mausoleum, I sent a message to the Lord Bishop, requesting
permission to do so.  An insolent reply was returned, that since the
English were in the habit of drinking coffee and smoking tobacco, both
of which Mohammadan abominations are interdicted in Shoa upon religious
grounds, we could not be admitted within the precincts of the hallowed
edifice, as it would be polluted by the foot of a Gyptzi.

Nevertheless, we were permitted to attend Divine service in the less
inimical of the five churches of the capital, and offerings were made
according to the custom of the country.  The cathedral of Saint Michael,
distinguished above all its compeers by a sort of Chinese lantern on the
apex, being invariably attended by the monarch, came first in order; and
after wading through the miry kennels that form the avenues of access,
our slippers were put off in accordance with Jewish prejudice, and
giving them in charge of a servant to prevent their being stolen, we
stepped over the threshold.  The scowling eye of the bigoted and
ignorant priest sparkled with a gleam of unrepressed satisfaction at the
sight of a rich altar-cloth, glowing with silk and gold, which was now
unfolded to his gaze; and a smile of delight played around the corners
of his mouth, as the hard dollars rung in his avaricious palm.

A strange, though degrading and humiliating sight, rewarded the
admittance we had thus gained to the circular interior of the sacred
building.  Coarse walls, only partially white-washed, rose in sombre
earth but a few feet overhead, and the suspended ostrich-egg--emblem of
heathenish idolatry--almost touched our heads as we were ushered in
succession to the seat of honour among the erudite.  In a broad
verandah, strewed throughout with dirty wet rushes, were crowded the
blind, the halt, and the lame--an unwashed herd of sacred drones,
muffled in the skin of the _agazin_; but beyond this group of turbaned
monks and hireling beggars there was no congregation present.

The high-priest having proclaimed the munificence of the strangers,
pronounced his solemn benediction.  Then arose a burst of praise the
most agonising and unearthly that ever resounded from dome dedicated to
Christian worship.  No deep mellow chant from the chorister--no
soul-inspiring anthem, lifted the heart towards heaven.  The Abyssinian
cathedral rang alone to the excruciating jar of most unmitigated
discord; and amid howling and screaming, each sightless orb was rolled
in the socket, and every mutilated limb convulsed with disgusting
vehemence.  A certain revenue is attached to the performance of the
duty; and for one poor measure of black barley bread, the hired lungs
were taxed to extremity; but not the slightest attempt could be detected
at music or modulation; and the dissonant chink of the timbrel was ably
seconded by the cracked voice of the mercenary vocalist.

No liturgy followed the cessation of these hideous screams.  The service
was at an end, and the _Alaka_, beckoning us to follow, led the way
round the edifice.  The walls were adorned with a few shields, and with
miserable daubs representing the Madonna, the Holy Trinity _in caelo_,
the Father of Evil enveloped in flames, Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
Saint George and his green dragon, Saint Demetrius vanquishing the lion,
Saint Tekla Haimanot, Saint Balaam and his ass, the Patron Saint, and
every other saint in the Abyssinian calendar.  But they boasted of no
sculptured monument raised to departed worth or genius--no proud banner
or trophy of heroic deeds--and no marble tablet to mark the quiet rest
of the soldier, the statesman, or the scholar.  In the holy of holies,
which may be penetrated by none save the high-priest, is deposited the
sacred _tabot_, or ark of the faith, consecrated at Gondar by the
delegate of the Coptic patriarch; and around the veil that fell before
this mysterious emblem, there hung in triumph four sporting pictures,
from the pencil of Alken, which I had lately presented to His Majesty.
They represented the great Leicestershire steeple-chase; and Dick
Christian, with his head in a ditch, occupied by far the most prominent
niche in the boasted cathedral of Saint Michael!

Volume Two, Chapter III.

INTERVIEWS WITH THE KING.

Meanwhile, during the tedious fast observed by all classes in
commemoration of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, the king continued
his residence at Machal-wans.  On such occasions.  His Majesty seeks the
retirement of a country seat, and subsists upon raw fish, with vegetable
oil and pepper.  He is moreover averse to occupy the palace at Ankober
in the rainy season, when the elevated position of the isolated peak
whereon it stands becomes a fearful mark for lightning, by which it is
often struck; whilst huge masses of rock, loosened from the adjacent
heights, come thundering into the valley, to the annihilation of every
house that opposes their headlong course.  The greater part of the
court, however, continued to reside at the capital, and many were the
demands made for presents by public officers of the state, amongst whom
the Abyssinian habit of begging is sufficiently rife.

"There be pleasing things in my country which are not in yours," was the
usual form of application, "and fine things in your country which are
not found in mine."  Well assured that no return would be accepted for
what they coveted, many had recourse to a species of refinement in the
art of begging--the offer of block salt--and _amole_ in hand, they
desired that the wares brought for sale might forthwith be exposed.
Others tendered _mamalachas_, or trifling offerings, which, if once
accepted, are considered to establish a claim to ready acquiescence in
demands the most preposterous.  Broken decanters were exhibited four
times over by the domestics of the royal household, who, with tears in
their eyes, entreated the price of the vessel as the only means of
saving them from condign punishment.  A shield was never defaced, nor a
mule lost, that the delinquent did not refer himself to the Residency
for the amount of the fine imposed; and one of the imperial footmen
finally sought to place beyond all question his right to appropriate the
very cloth upon the table.  "I am the waiter in the great
banqueting-hall," quoth the modest applicant, "and therefore I require
this cloth as a dress."

Nor were even the royal family idle during this interval.
Belete-Shatchau, "superior to all," a notable shrew lately divorced by
the governor of Mans, and daughter of the queen by a former marriage--
first in order--and then Worka Ferri, "golden fruit," another of the
princesses royal--established their respective claims to articles of
British manufacture, beads, chintz, and tinsel, by the presentation of
potent hydromel in long-necked _barilles_, screened under wicker cases.
Their example was speedily followed by the illustrious Queen Besabesh,
"thou hast increased," who begged to be informed what "delighting
things" had been brought for _her_ acceptance.  But the report of this
fact being immediately conveyed to the despotic ears, His Majesty lost
not a moment in hinting "that it were desirable that all presents
intended for the palace, should pass through his own hands."

It is not permitted to any subject of the realm to receive the smallest
gift without submitting it forthwith to the Negoos, who either
appropriates it with an "_Egziher istikh_!"  "May the Lord reward thee!"
or accords permission to its retention; and concealment is sure to be
visited, on discovery, with the severest punishment.  Birroo, the son of
a defunct nobleman, and the especially favourite page of the king, had
been appointed _baldoraba_, or "introducer" to the Embassy, and in this
dignified capacity had occasion to pay me almost daily visits with
messages or commissions from the throne.  Dilapidated matchlocks and
swivels were to be restocked by the carpenters of the European escort,
musical boxes to be repaired, garments were to be embroidered, or state
umbrellas to be renewed; and every task had fortunately been achieved to
the entire of the royal satisfaction.  Before taking leave, the court
favourite never failed to beg for something, and, being a pet with all,
he never asked in vain; but it shortly became matter of public notoriety
that he had been disgraced, and thrown into durance, upon being detected
in the act of burying the dollars and other presents that he had
received.

The king commanded that a portion of the gifts which had led to this
disaster should be returned to me, and I entreated pardon for the
juvenile indiscretion of the page.  "Birroo has been degraded," replied
His Majesty, "but you must not be concerned thereat; for not only did he
conceal from me all that you had given him, but, on being detected,
swore falsely upon my own life that he had received much less than
proved to be the case.  I have dismissed him for ever from my presence,
but his punishment is light when compared with the enormity of his
transgression."  The delinquent was, however, released upon a second
representation, and restored to the possession of his gun, which had
been forfeited; and although not reinstated in the royal confidence, he
was subsequently appointed one of the _adrash adaree_, or "keepers of
the great room."

The first visit that we paid to Machal-wans was on the occasion of the
king's indisposition.  The high-priest, the chief eunuch, the
purveyor-general, Wulasma Mohammad, and ten or twelve other of the
courtiers, were in attendance; but they were dismissed after the
customary compliments had passed; and His Majesty, reclining as usual
upon the throne, thus proceeded, through the interpretation of the
Reverend Dr Krapf, to detail the long catalogue of his ailments.

"You may listen.  I am not now so hale as in my younger days.  Mine eyes
trouble me day and night.  I have pains in the neck.  My teeth have
grown long and become loose from fever, and my body has wasted away.
Draw nigh whilst I recount the particulars of my late illness.

"I was returning from the expedition against the rebel Galla.  I felt
suddenly unwell.  My head grew giddy.  The earth turned round.  It
became blue under my feet.  I fell from my mule.  I believed myself
dead.  I was no longer sensible.  My gun-men became afraid.  They ran
away to a man.  The enemy made a show of attack.  The army was in
confusion.  A governor rebelled.  He sought to place his son upon the
throne.  The people dashed cold water over me.  I recovered my senses.
I was able to resume the command, and order was restored."

Priest-ridden and superstitious to the last degree, the monarch
undertakes nothing without first consulting the superiors of the Church,
and is deterred from change of residence, or from projected military
expeditions, by their prophecies and pretended dreams, which are of
course modelled according to the bribes that have been received from
parties interested.  On two occasions only is he said to have acted in
opposition to the ecclesiastical counsel.  The first cost him eight
hundred warriors, who were cut up by the Galla during the passage of a
morass, and the second the severe indisposition of which he still felt
the effects.

The royal swoon, thus amusingly narrated, had been followed by the
consignment to captivity for life in the dungeons of Goncho, of the
traitor who had so prematurely sought the elevation of his son, and who
was the proprietor of the Residency.  Medicines administered to the king
are invariably tasted by the physician in the presence of the patient,
and on a phial of goulard lotion being now sent to the palace for
external application to the despot's neck, it was returned in
consequence of its being labelled "Poison."  Of this he entertains the
most undisguised dread, and it was not possible to overcome his
apprehensions that a drop might find its way into his mouth during the
hours of repose, and so cut short his reign.

But although living in perpetual alarm of assassination, and never
moving abroad without weapons concealed under his garments, or
unaccompanied by a numerous and trustworthy escort.  His Majesty's fears
did not extend to his British guests; and during our subsequent visits
to Machal-wans, he hesitated not to trust us all about his person with
loaded fire-arms, when none of his attendants were present.  Many were
the curious discussions held at these confidential interviews.
Portraits were executed by the royal command--architectural plans
prepared--and hunting expeditions or wars of extermination plotted
against colonies of baboons and monkeys, the only quadrupeds of which
the country can boast.  Magazines were exploded by means of detonating
shells--seven-barrelled pistols and stick-guns for the first time
introduced at court--and a liege subject of the realm was nearly shot
dead by the royal hand, when clumsily making trial of an air cane, from
which a wax bullet had previously been fired through the wicker table.

"My son," quoth the king, "I am old, and have but few years more to
live.  I have seen many strange things from your country, but none that
surpass this engine, which without the aid of gunpowder can destroy men.
Sorrow were it that I should have died and gone down to the grave
before beholding and understanding so wonderful an invention.  It is
truly the work of a wise people who employ strong medicines!"

Volume Two, Chapter IV.

SPECIAL SUMMONS TO MACHAL-WANS.

His Majesty had more than once intimated an intention of holding
consultation relative to his projected expedition on the termination of
winter, and early one morning an express courier arrived to desire our
immediate attendance at the palace.  Blacksmiths and workers in silver
were as usual plying their craft in the verandah, under the royal eye--
artists were daubing red and yellow paint over the pages of the Psalter,
or illuminating the lives of the saints with white angels and sable
devils--saddles and warlike furniture were in course of repair--spears
were being burnished--gun-locks cleaned--and musket barrels engraved
with the despot's name; but the artificers were all summarily dismissed,
and the king, rising from his seat in the portico, beckoned us to follow
into the audience hall.

"_Gaita_," "master," he cautiously began, "there is yet another subject
upon which I am desirous of taking counsel, and wherein I need your
assistance.  It is my intention shortly to undertake an expedition to
the great lake in Gurague.  In it be many islands which contain the
treasures of my ancestors.  There are jars filled with bracelets of
solid gold.  There are forty drums made of elephants' ears, and many
holy arks pertaining unto ancient churches, besides seven hundred choice
Ethiopic volumes, some of which have unfortunately been defaced by the
animals called _ashkoko_ [Hyrax Abyssinicus].  Elephants abound on the
borders.  In the trees are found black leopards of a most ferocious
nature, multiplying always among the branches, and never descending upon
the earth; and the waters of the lake, which are smooth as glass, and
without bottom, teem with monstrous _gomari_ [Hippopotamus amphibius],
and with fish of brilliant colours, red, yellow, green, and blue, such
as have never before been seen.

"Moreover there are specifics against small-pox and other dreadful
diseases.  No resistance is to be anticipated, for the inhabitants, who
are chiefly Christian monks, have often invited me.  I must no longer
delay to recover the lost wealth of my forefathers, and it is fitting
that you, with the British officers who have come hither from a far
country, should accompany me and construct boats.  Hereof my people are
ignorant, and your name as well as mine will therefore become great, and
will live in the annals of this kingdom.

"From the summit of a lofty hill near Aimellele, I have beheld through a
telescope the lake and its tall trees, but the elephants came in
numbers.  I feared that my people would be destroyed.  I ran, and they
all ran with me.  Now, what say you?  What is your advice in this
matter?  Are you able to build boats?"

In furtherance of His Majesty's intentions, I caused models of skin
punts, gun rafts, and a pontoon train, to be prepared upon the most
approved design, with crews and ordnance complete, and advised that
every requisite should be prepared at Ankober whilst leisure served, in
order that he might take the field with ample means at his disposal.
The king expressed himself above all things pleased both with models and
advice, which he declared to come from wise and expert soldiers; but he
was still obviously undecided, and the fear of wild beasts and of the
lone forest at length kicked the vibrating beam.  The castle visions of
glory mounted far out of reach, and his fickle ambition evaporated in a
bluster of empty words--

"My people will weep at the carriage of such ponderous engines."  "The
preparations must be made on the banks of the Hawash, or on the borders
of the Lake Zooai, where timber grows abundantly.  A man of rank, one of
the frontier governors, who resides near Aimellele, should be summoned
as guide to the expedition, and might then be consulted."  But the
presence of the great functionary was ever wanting--no further wish
escaped the lips of the vacillating monarch--and engrossed with the
passing whim of the moment, the chivalrous project of the day had
vanished.  So passed the dreary winter on.  The arrival in the kingdom
of Shoa of the many valuable presents brought by the Embassy, had not
proved more agreeable to the traders from Gondar and Tigre who reside in
Ankober, than to the narrow-minded governor of Alio Amba.  These men had
been in the habit of selling glass-ware, cloths, and fire-arms to the
king at a very considerable premium, and now did not fail to repeat and
to improve the absurdities circulated by the mischievous Danakil
regarding the foreign intruders.  The Gypzis were pronounced eaters of
serpents, mice, and other reptiles, and had come with the design of
possessing themselves of the country by the aid of magic and medicine.

Great umbrage was taken at our practice of toasting the wretched
half-baked dough which we received, under the denomination of bread,
from the royal stores; and a soldier who carried a metallic pitcher to
the stream, was roundly taxed with having used charms to poison the
water, which was consequently condemned as unfit for use until purified
by the blessing of the priest.  Predictions of the impending fate of
Abyssinia were derived from the fact of the foreigners employing
instruments which read the stars; and the despot was repeatedly and
earnestly warned to be upon his guard.  But His Majesty cut short these
insinuations by threatening to extract the tongues of three or four of
the maligners, and paid no attention whatever to the threat of
excommunication extended to him by the fanatic clergy of Aramba, who had
declared the ban of the Church to be the just punishment due for the
admission into the empire "of red heretics, who ought carefully to be
shunned, since they practised witchcraft, and by burning the king's
bread threatened to bring a famine upon the land."

Taking their cue from the feelings of the people, the Shoan sorcerers
gave out that Sahela Selassie was to be the last of the Ethiopian
dynasty, descended from the house of Solomon, who should sit upon the
throne of his forefathers, and that a foreign king would come by way of
Alio Amba to usurp the dominion.  It is, amusing to trace the progress
of these crafty insinuations among an ignorant and weak-minded people.
In some of the northern provinces it was confidently asserted that the
Sultan of the Mohammadans had already conquered Shoa, and that all the
surrounding Moslem potentates were about to unite with him in a war of
extermination against the Christians; whilst in others it was believed
that an Alaka, or chief of the Gypts from Grand Cairo, had contrived to
smuggle himself into the capital, carrying his sovereign in a box, and
that after consulting the heavenly bodies until a favourable horoscope
was presented, he stamped his foot upon the ground, which opened, and
ten thousand red soldiers, with beards flowing to their girdles,
springing forth out of the chasm, placed the aforesaid monarch upon the
throne.  "Now," said the magicians, "will Theodorus arise according to
the tradition, that he will come in the latter days of -Ethiopia, and
create a kingdom of Peace."

Theodorus was one of the emperors who reigned during the fifteenth
century, and was canonised.  It is recorded, that during the observance
of his festival the queen-dowager had prepared a great entertainment,
and the guests being all assembled, the heavens rained down a shower of
fishes ready roasted.  In the Ethiopic liturgy, the miracle is thus
commemorated.  "Peace be upon thee.  King of the Agaazi nation,
Theodorus, Son of the Lion; thy memory shall this day be celebrated with
the slaughter of oxen and sheep, with which alone Zion Mogass, thy
mother, kept it not, for the clouds also dropped fishes."  It is
confidently believed that this saint will rise again from the dead, and
reign a thousand years, during which period neither war, famine, nor
discord, is to disturb the happiness of Abyssinia.

Volume Two, Chapter V.

TERMINATION OF WINTER.

In due process of time, spite of the denunciations of the fanatic
priesthood, the silver and beef of the foreigners attracted the denizens
of the adjacent villages, and we acquired a respectable retinue, such as
an Abyssinian deems indispensable on all excursions abroad.  A house
better adequate to our wants had been purchased, and the bargain duly
concluded according to the custom of the country by an oath on the life
of the despot; but this was shortly annulled through the officious
interference of the governor of the town, and it was not until the
eleventh hour, when rain had begun to abate, that the Master of the
Horse was prevailed upon to rent his newly-erected domicile.  A fat ox
having been slaughtered to drive out the Devil, it was handed over to
the domestics, and wading through the blood which flowed over the
threshold, we entered upon the premises in due form, and having hoisted
the Union Jack over the new Residency, we quaffed with the burly
landlord several horns of old hydromel for good luck.  "Have you a
better house than this in your country?" he inquired exultingly: "I
rather suspect not."

Ayto Melkoo, the Baldaras, or King's Master of the Horse, has under his
charge the royal stud, saddles, and accoutrements, as also the workers
in leather--is equerry in waiting, and conservator of pastures and
meadows pertaining to the crown.  He is moreover the greatest gourmand
in the kingdom, and condescending to honour the denounced Christians
with his company at the house-warming, did ample justice to the novel
viands that were placed before him.  He even submitted to the innovation
of a silver fork, and politely partook of a salad, notwithstanding his
firm conviction that the undressed vegetable would cause a return of
ailments to which he had been a martyr in youth.  The circulation of
water for the ablution of fingers caused no little diversion on the
removal of the cloth; but the marasquino which followed was
unhesitatingly pronounced to be a nectar fit for princes alone.  "Were
but the Negoos aware with what good things the board of you English is
spread," he exclaimed, smacking his lips after the last glass, "His
Majesty would come and dine with you as often as you chose to invite
him."

"But let me give you a lesson in politeness," added the old man, when,
in reply to his abrupt intimation of intended departure, he was wished a
"safe entrance to his house," in accordance with Abyssinian
etiquette--"You should have said `stay.'" "Such is not the fashion of
the countries across the water," was Graham's reply: "every man is
permitted to withdraw as he lists, and be happy in his own way."

"Ay, ay," returned the guest; "but then if you had pressed me to tarry,
I would at all events have stopped with you until the moon rose.  Do you
see?"

The fast of the Assumption having meanwhile terminated, the king
announced his intention of removing to Angollala, his favourite place of
residence; and thither, in defiance of excessively heavy rain, he set
out on the day appointed by the household priests.  "My children," said
His Majesty at parting, "ye have travelled far on my account, and have
no kinsman saving myself.  My people are bad people, and I am sorry
thereat.  They bring me daily all manner of reports regarding yourselves
and your evil intentions.  The rumours have doubtless reached your ears,
but ye must not suppose that Sahela Selassie believes one of them.  Ye
are my friends, and I will deal with you accordingly.  I will that ye
come shortly to Debra Berhan and witness the great annual review at the
feast of Maskal.  Ayto Wolda Hana shall conduct you."

But the important functionary thus selected was of all others arrayed in
the most open hostility, and, unlike the majority of his avaricious
colleagues, his enmity had been proof against overtures and advances.
"I am a lone man," he invariably replied, "and have neither wife nor
child.  Grey hairs have come out on me.  I am the son of sixty years.  I
want nothing in this world but the favour of the king."  To judge from
appearances, the pinnacle of his loyal ambition had already been
attained.  Governor of Ankober, and president of the _madi beit_, or
kitchen, wherein are prepared hydromel, pepper soup, and sour beer--
comptroller of all the royal porters and of the household slaves, who
are the hewers of wood and the carriers of water, who grind, bake,
express oil, and manufacture candles--receiver-general into the imperial
magazines of all tribute in cotton, grain, thread, sheep, and poultry--
and charged with the superintendence, the erection, and the repair of
all public buildings throughout the realm, as well as with the
arrangement of the interior economy of the capital--Ayto Wolda Hana can
have little left to desire; and so conscientiously does he acquit
himself of these manifold onerous duties, that it is affirmed his royal
master could scarcely exist without him.

A visible diminution in the male population of Ankober follows the
departure of the monarch to either of his more distant places of
residence.  During his absence the administration of affairs devolves
chiefly upon Ayto Kidana Wold, who may be termed the viceroy.  In charge
of the secret police and magisterial department, he adjusts all private
differences, watches over the public safety, and besides ministering
daily to the wants of all consigned to him, gives annually three great
entertainments at the expense of the crown.  He has been honoured with
the hand of Woizoro Askuala Work, sister to the queen-dowager, and as
the receipt of the promised invitation to Debra Berhan required an
intimation of intended departure, it afforded me a long sought
opportunity of making the acquaintance of this stately dame.  Seated in
the utmost of Abyssinian pomp, and surrounded by a goodly train of
slaves, pages, and handmaidens, she received us with the greatest
affability, and in the temporary absence of her lord, expressed the
highest gratification at the attention of our visit, although unable to
accept the presents that I offered, from an apprehension of the royal
displeasure.

But conversation during a morning call is here little more than a string
of the most earnest and pathetic inquiries respecting one's own health,
and that of one's wife, relatives, and children.  Even two old crones,
who are obviously tottering on the very brink of the grave, and who are
afflicted with every pain and with every sorrow entailed by the fall of
our first parents, never meet in the street without indulging in a
string of good wishes which are reiterated so long as their breath will
permit.  "How are you?  How do ye do?  How have you passed your time?
Are you well?  Are you very well?  Are you quite well?  Are you
perfectly well?  Are you not well?"--are questions which serve as the
prelude to a thousand other interrogatories; and at each response the
Deity must be invoked as to the unadulterated happiness and perfect
felicity that has been unremittingly experienced since the last meeting.

Should the encounter take place twenty or even a hundred times during
one and the same day, a repetition of the ceremony is enforced, and for
each progressive stage of morning, noon, evening, and night, there
exists a distinct set of phrases, which, from the never-ending
repetition, are grating and wearisome.  Passengers stand in the lane,
denude their shoulders, and roar out salutations intended for the
inmates of huts some hundred yards from the hedge.  The slumberer is
started from sleep by the dinning "How do ye do?" from some gentleman
passing ere the day has dawned to his country residence; and from
morning until even-tide, one's ears are assailed by a most harassing
tissue of polite inquiries from every individual of whatever rank, who
may think proper to pass himself off as an acquaintance.

Volume Two, Chapter VI.

DEBRA BERHAN, THE HILL OF GLORY.

In Shoa the preliminaries of a journey are replete with noise,
inconvenience, and confusion.  Friends come to "see you off," as an
indispensable piece of etiquette, and the lounging townspeople, who have
at no time much business of their own, flock to assist the traveller by
filling the court-yard, choking the door-way, and amusing themselves by
canvassing the property packed.  Should rain be falling, which is too
frequently the case, the rabble take shelter inside the house, subject
every article within their reach to the pollution of greasy paws, leave
the carpet an inch thick in mire, and, unless by dint of shoving and
elbowing, debar all egress to the lawful proprietor.

It was in the midst of attentions such as these on the part of the
idlers of Ankober, on a raw, cold, foggy morning in September--the last
of the Ethiopic year--that we took the road to Debra Berhan.  The sun
was already high when the sure-footed mules were mounted, and as the
retiring mist scudded over the face of the mountains, many were the bold
beauties revealed.  Cascades tumbled down the stupendous range on the
one hand, amid snug houses and tufted knolls, and on the other, at the
foot of perpendicular crags thundered the river Airara.  On its bank
stands the only piece of machinery in the kingdom--a rude watermill
constructed by an Albanian visitor; but the intolerant and ignorant
priesthood pronouncing the revolution of the wheel to be the work of
devils and genii, its use was interdicted after three days, and it has
since remained silent.

Beyond the ford of the foaming torrent the road becomes extremely rough,
steep, and difficult.  The first traveller had been unable to breast the
mountain side outright; and his zigzag route remains untouched by the
hand of the pioneer.  The craggy rock must be surmounted, and the narrow
and slippery channel be still threaded with the same risk as when the
first bold foot was planted on the serrated ridge; and the torrent of
centuries, whilst indenting the furrow yet deeper, has added the
impediment of slimy residuum.

The range whereof the Chaka forms a part divides the streams that flow
into the Nile, from those which are tributary to the Hawash; and the
ascent above Ankober being not less than two thousand feet, the
difference in temperature on the summit was fully perceptible.  Half an
hour was occupied in the scramble to a crumbling basaltic pillar styled
"_Room dingai_," "the standing stone," which very aptly transfers its
name to this most indifferent pass to the new capital of Shoa.  Mamrat
still towered overhead full three or four thousand feet, making its
total height above the level of the sea at least thirteen thousand; yet
is snow a stranger to its cloud-capped summit, and indeed to the
language of all Amhara, south of the cold mountains of Simien.

It is from June to September that old Father Nilus carries plenty into
"the land of marvels"--and rolling on to its mouths in solitary
grandeur, without receiving a single tributary in its long course of
thirteen hundred and fifty nautical miles below the junction of the
Tacazze, it may fairly be stated that Abyssinia holds in her Christian
hands the inexhaustible riches of Egypt.  Hatze Tekla Haimanot the
Great, had therefore reason on his side when, in the beginning of the
twelfth century, he wrote under the style of "Son of the King of the
Church of Ethiop to the Pacha and the Lords Commanders of the Militia at
Grand Cairo, desiring attention to the fact that in himself for the time
being was vested power to render the Nile an instrument of vengeance for
overt acts of hostility--the Almighty having given into his hands its
fountains, its passage, and its increase, and thus entrusted him with
power to make the river work good or evil."

Among the numberless fictions recorded of this emperor, it is said that
when he was about to relinquish the cares of government in order to
retire to a cloister, he divided his countless wealth with his feet into
two parts, the one designed as an offering to the Church, the other to
be distributed in alms among the poor: and both heaps, although mountain
high, were, on being weighed, found exactly equal.  Lalibela, one of his
successors, is believed to have attempted the diversion to the Indian
Ocean and to the Lake Zooai, of all those principal tributaries to the
Nile which take their source in the highest table land.  The measure was
in resentment for the persecutions exercised towards the Christians in
Egypt after the Saracen conquest, and the monarch was only induced to
relinquish his gigantic project by the earnest remonstrance of the
monks, who strongly urged the impolicy of fertilising the arid Moslem
countries that intervene betwixt the mountains and the sea.

On the summit of the Chaka commences an uninterrupted terrace,
stretching hundreds of miles to the southward, through the fair
territories of the Galla.  Glimpses of blue sky, of a brightness unseen
for months, now gave happy presage of coming fine weather, and a cold
bracing breeze from the eastward announced the termination of the
protracted season of rain.  The country had assumed the uninteresting
character inseparable from elevated downs--rich swampy meadows, clothed
with camomile, clover, and trefoil, and covered with oxen, horses, and
sheep, being intersected by gentle undulations of moor-land, with
occasional oviform hills.  Bare-banked rills, streaming through the
lower tracts, succeed each other in quick succession, and drain the
table-land to the sources of the Bereza; whilst the great extent of
ground under cultivation, waving crops of wheat, beans, and barley, with
independent farm-houses scattered over the face of the landscape,
proclaim a government which cannot be of a very bad description, and
regions long exempt from the presence of an inimical power.

Across the Toro Mesk, the principal streamlet that intersects the road,
and the sources of which are visible at a great distance to the
north-east, is a rude pile of stones bearing the dignified appellation
of "the King's Bridge."  Johannes, the Armenian architect, received the
hand of a high-born dame in reward of his skill, and by no foot save
that of the despot, is the barred entrance ever passed.  Two other
bridges, upon the same primitive principle, have since been constructed
over nameless but rapid rivulets, and if not very durable, they serve
greatly to facilitate the royal progress at periods when the country is
inundated.

During the reign of the sire and grandsire of the present monarch, the
entire tract between Ankober and Debra Berhan was in the hands of the
heathen Galla; and Tenna Kaloo, the last daring chieftain who disputed
its possession, has left in the minds of the present generation the
recollection of the prowess in arms that he evinced to their fathers,
numbers of whom fell in the strife.  Not a tree, nor even a shrub higher
than the Abyssinian thistle, is to be seen, save here and there a
solitary "cosso," whose venerable boughs, the witnesses of idolatrous
rites, mark the ancient site of villages now gone to decay.  Flourishing
Christian hamlets have risen in their stead; yet the visible population
is small, and the long naked sweeping plains, silent and lonesome,
present a stern and melancholy appearance, which the absence of groves
and hedges and singing birds tends materially to heighten.  The vulture
and the eagle are alone seen wheeling above the green cliffs, or a
solitary buzzard soaring in quest of his prey over the great sheets of
cultivation.  Shepherds, wearing high conical hempen caps, lay
ensconced, with their large shaggy dogs, under the shelter of knolls and
caves; and in some few of the fields, where last year's crops were yet
unhoused, or the land remained untilled, the peasantry pursued their
industrious occupation.

At length the monotonous view opened over a wide plateau sloping gently
to the west.  The blue peaks of Sallala Moogher, beyond which flows the
infant Nile, rose faintly in the distance, and the intervening country,
still destitute of wood, was traversed by broad, broken, precipitous
ravines.  On a hill to the northward is visible the extensive
market-place of Bool Worki, "the cave of gold," a great mart for horses,
mules, and woollen cloths, which, with grain, asses, and horned cattle,
are brought every Saturday by the adjacent Galla tribes. and, when sold,
pay a heavy duty to the crown.  To account for the name of the place,
there is a tradition extant, that in days of yore, many holy arks with
vast quantities of the purest gold were deposited by the emperors of
Ethiopia in a certain deep cave having a bottomless lake interposed to
save them from the grasp of the avaricious.  Its waters form the abode
of a legion of evil spirits, whose Alaka gratuitously exhibited himself
one market-day, mounted upon an ambling mule loaded with massive golden
trappings, and attended by a black cat wearing about its neck a bell of
the same costly metal--a sight quite sufficient to deter intrusion on
the part of the curious.

A cluster of white-roofed houses, straggling beyond the walled palace
and the church of the Holy Trinity--long indistinctly visible--now rose
rapidly to view; and a small eminence having been ascended, the goal was
presently attained.  As we passed the royal lodge, a page mounted on one
of the king's horses rode forth to reconnoitre, and, taking a hasty
glance, galloped off to make his report.  The customary announcement
through an Afero, who has always access to the palace, elicited a pair
of monstrous Galla rams, which were thrust into observation while the
message which follows--one strictly in accordance with Abyssinian
etiquette--was delivered with shoulders bare by him to whom it had been
confided:--"Are you well?  Are you well?  Are you well?  Have you been
quite well since our last interview?  Are you all well?  Have my
children had a good journey?  Have they entered in safety?  My love
amounts to heaven and earth; therefore the king said, they might eat
these sheep."

Awnings, wrought of goats' hair, and resembling the black tents of
Kedar, had meanwhile been erected for us on the green-sward, and we had
no sooner taken up our quarters than there came, by a succession of
maids of honour, bread in wicker baskets, old hydromel in coloured
decanters, pots of honey, and compliments in profusion from the queen.
Many of the courtiers visited us in the evening, too evidently fresh
from the royal banquet, which is daily spread in the great hall, and
from which few ever rise in a state of sobriety--their amount of
friendship professed, and the modicum of flattery that they bestowed,
being in the exact ratio of the potations swallowed during their revel.
Glimmering lights soon illumined the straggling hamlet--dancing and
singing occupied both sexes of the inhabitants--and with almost as much
pomp and ceremony as in more civilised lands, the departed year was
consigned to its last long resting-place in the relentless tomb of Time.

Volume Two, Chapter VII.

THE ROYAL SLAVE DEPOT.

No royal residence can be conceived more desolate and less princely than
the palace at Debra Berhan, "the Hill of Glory."  Crumbling walls of
loose uncemented stone, patched in their various breaches and
dilapidations by splintered palisades, surround a vast assemblage of
wattle and dab edifices, of various shapes and dimensions, which are
clumped together in separate court-yards, without any regard to
appearance.  Six rude gateways on the southern side conduct through as
many miry enclosures, lined with troops, and crowded with herds, flocks,
and applicants for justice.  A paddock, covered with bright green turf,
extends in front of the chamber of audience.  Hoary junipers stretch
their moss-grown branches fantastically over the lawn; and at the
further extremity of the enclosure rise the mouldering remains of the
palace of Zara Yacoob.

This monarch, who was the founder of Debra Berhan, is reputed to have
been endowed with the wisdom of Solomon, his great ancestor: and the
vestiges that remain of his abode, certainly exhibit an order of
architecture far superior to that of the present degenerate day.  It has
been composed of large blocks of hewn, though unsculptured, stone; but,
in common with every other boasted edifice erected in the height of
Ethiopic splendour, it perished during the reign of Nebla Dengel, by the
hand of the destroyer Graan.  Hatze Zara Yacoob first attached capital
punishment to the continuance of idolatry.  He instituted an
inquisition, and persecuted every one who paid adoration to the cow and
serpent.  Amongst others who underwent execution were two of his own
sons-in-law; and he finally issued a proclamation, confiscating the
lands of those who should thenceforth neglect to carry on the right arm
an amulet inscribed with the words, "I have renounced the Devil and all
his works for Christ Jesus our Lord."

Tradition asserts that "the Hill of Glory," now barren of trees, was in
days of yore thickly covered with forest, through which ran a single
path.  In the beginning of the fifteenth century the founder, who was
also styled Constantine, fled into its depths before an invasion of the
Adaiel, and becoming bewildered in the intricacies, hurried hither and
thither, exclaiming in his dilemma, "_Ber eza, her eza_?"  "Where is the
road?"  Suddenly there shone forth over the eminence a great halo of
light from heaven, which served him as a beacon by which to escape out
of the labyrinth.  In some of the adjacent swamps are to be seen the
ancient remains of decomposed timber, and a few venerable junipers still
survive within the palace enclosure; but beyond these monuments of
antiquity the truth of the legend rests solely on the name of the river
Bereza, a serpentine stream winding round the foot of the hill, and
forming one of the principal sources of the Blue Nile.

Tegulet, "the city of the wolves," the capital of all Abyssinia in her
brighter days, and a spot untrodden by European foot since the visit of
Father Alvarez, forms a conspicuous feature in the view presented from
the village.  Occupying a commanding promontory, round which flows the
river Salacha, it is environed by singular bluffs; and one natural
fissure, visible from a great distance, affords the only practicable
ascent to the impregnable fortress, upon which the Galla, in the
meridian of their power, were unable to make the slightest impression
during reiterated attempts to carry it by storm.  The Alaka of Tegulet
is superior also of the celebrated shrine of Sena Markos, a saint of the
days of Tekla Haimanot.  The monastery, named after its founder,
occupies a similar inaccessible fastness, overlooking a part of the
valley of the Nile, and the whole of the north and west of Shoa, as far
as the chain of lofty mountains which here form the bulwark of the
Christian kingdom.

The view from the village of Etteghe, near Tegulet, is so extensive that
it has given rise to a proverb, "From Etteghe is the Echegue or Grand
Prior of the Monks, to be seen at Gondar."  Forty-four rivulets,
corresponding in number with the churches of that city, are said to pay
tribute through this district to the Adabai, which sends its waters down
the Jumma to the Nile; their short course of little more than one
hundred and fifty miles, involving so rapid a declination to the
westward, that nearly all have cataracts in some part, and are
consequently destitute of finny inhabitants.  The immediate environs of
Tegulet are intersected by the beds of rapid torrents, having high
precipitous banks, which afford few accessible roads, whether to man or
beast--a fact to which this portion of Shoa may be concluded to have
owed its security during the inpourings of heathen and Mohammadan
hordes.  Tegulet-wat, "the devouring depths," a fathomless abyss yawning
on the banks of one of these streams, and described as the habitation of
demons, is believed by the superstitious to communicate with the "great
water."  It proved the grave of numerous Christian warriors, who, during
the bloody contest with the Adaiel, tumbled unexpectedly into its dark
bosom, and were heard of no more.

It was at the close of the fifteenth century that Mafoodi, the bigoted
king of Hurrur, unfurling the green banner of the Prophet, commenced
those devastating inroads upon the frontiers of Shoa, which finally led
to the dismemberment of the Ethiopic empire, and proved the greatest
calamity that has ever befallen the country.  Under a vow that he would
annually spend the forty days of Lent among the Abyssinian infidels, he
overran Efat and Fatigar when the people, weakened by rigorous fasting,
were less capable of bearing arms--burned churches and monasteries, slew
without mercy every male who fell in his way, and driving off the women
and children, sold some into foreign slavery, and presented others to
the Sheriffe of Mecca.  Alexander, the then reigning emperor, was
assassinated at Tegulet by Za Selassie, commander-in-chief of the royal
body-guard, who had been bought over by Mafoodi.  The eyeballs of the
regicide were seared with a red hot iron; his hands and feet were
chopped off; and he was stoned to death amid the curses and execrations
of the populace, after he had been paraded on an ass in this mutilated
condition throughout Shoa and Amhara.

Debra Berhan is one of the principal depots for the numerous royal
slaves, the possession of whom casts the foulest blot on the character
of the Christian monarch.  A strange clatter, and a Babel-like mixture
of tongues, greets the ear of the visitor, and the features of many
races, and of many nations, are distinctly visible among the crowd that
throngs the gate, although all are alike enveloped in the disguising
costume of Abyssinia.

The huge black Shankela, with blubber lip and bloodshot eye, is resting
for a moment against the broken wall, and stretching a brawny limb which
might have supported the bully Hercules himself.  Grinning from ear to
ear as his burly neighbour sports some savage joke in licence
unrestrained, he seizes with a three-horse power his bundle of split
wood, which two Amhara could with difficulty raise, and poising it like
a feather upon his woolly head, walks away in all the vigour of a young
giant.

With his own approving eye the monarch has selected this specimen from a
lot of powerful negroes captured beyond the Nile, and fifteen silver
crowns must not be lightly squandered even by the great sovereign of
Southern Abyssinia.  Rations are well supplied to support his sinewy
form, and unless on a cold raw day, when the soaking rain has penetrated
every thread of his black blanket, and his shivering frame brings
vividly to mind the difference of climate, the enslaved pagan, in his
present condition, as hewer in the royal forests, enjoys himself fully
as well as if ranging in savage liberty over his own free country of the
sun.

Not so the scowling Galla who follows in his rear.  The spirit of roving
independence is still unsubdued in his fiery eye; and the slender figure
and the bent leg proclaim the wild rider of the grassy plain.  Heavy and
heartbroken he plods along under a burthen to which his strength is
quite inadequate; and the groan escapes from his lips as the bitter
thoughts enter his soul of the disgraceful lash of the task-master, that
perhaps awaits his return, and he remembers the lost wife and little
ones whom he has for ever left on the distant savannahs of the Hawash.

Issuing from the gateway under the authority of a bloated eunuch, a
numerous flock of brown damsels take their way to the river.  Heavy
earthen jars are slung over their slender backs, and the light forms of
the unfortunates are little concealed by their torn and scanty attire.
These are newly purchased Christians from the last Gurague caravan, and
the language of the Amhara is still strange to their ear.  Garlands of
the yellow buttercup deck the plaited raven locks of each captive maid,
and a plaintive song is chanted in soft mellow notes to beguile the
hours of toil.  But the lines of slavery have already found place among
their youthful features, which possess beauty unknown to those of their
oppressors.  The low chorus swelling mournful and piteous from the band,
has recalled thoughts of home and liberty to the joyless breast; and the
sad tear is brushed from the long dark eye-lash at the recollection of
happier hours spent in their own sweet land of spices.

Following close behind comes a group of favoured dames of a certain age,
from whose minds time has effaced all remembrance of country and of
kindred.  Exalted to the post of mistresses of the royal brewery, and
decked out like the first ladies of the land, in flowing garments
resplendent with crimson stripes, they have little reason to wish for a
change of condition.  Bars and studs of solid silver load their
perforated ears, and ponderous pewter bangles encircle each wrist and
ankle.  Their wigs, arranged according to the most becoming fashion, in
minute rows of tiny curls, glisten under a coat of butter, and their fat
cheeks, plastered with grease and red pigment, are calculated to strike
respect into the heart of the most indifferent beholder.  Their
unceasing clack and clatter tell the tale of the wonted freedom of
female tongue, but the small jar with the green branch protruding from
the narrow neck, is strapped over the breast with the thong of slavery;
and the attending eunuch, with his long thin wand--an emblem of his own
withered person--proclaims the fact that the ladies cannot roam at
pleasure over the verdant mead, but must restrict themselves in the
beaten path according to the cracked voice of their driver.

Seated upon a gaily caparisoned mule, amidst the jingling of bells and
brass ornaments, the general of the gun-men proceeds in state across the
green parade.  He is attired in the richest garments that the land can
produce.  A glaring cloth of red silk is wound about his brow, a silver
sword decorates his right side, and fifty robed followers attend his
every behest.  But he too is a slave, as was his father before him, and
as his son will be after him.  All the bones and sinews of his
attendants are the purchased property of the monarch, and it is only by
the imperial will and pleasure, which may be changed to-morrow, that he
is now ambling in chintz and satin to dine at the royal board, instead
of holding place in the foremost group, with a black blanket over his
shoulder, and a load of wood upon his head for fuel in the royal
kitchen.

Here comes a demure damsel from the harem, disfigured by all the foul
garments and native filth which delight the inhabitant of Shoa.  It is
Wuletta Georgis, one of Her Majesty's confidential slaves, and she is
revolving in her mind, how, in executing her mistress's commission, she
can contrive to promote her own interests.  Born and bred in the palace,
the Abigail is ordinarily treated with kindness, unless the fracture of
a brittle decanter, or the unbidden attack upon some savoury dish,
involve a little wholesome correction.  Unlike the philosophical maid in
Rasselas, who had broken the porcelain cup, she needs pecuniary aid, and
thus is her request sobbed out: "Only one dollar to replace the queen's
looking-glass, and may God reward you!"  But the sob is evidently
assumed for the occasion, and a sly glance may be detected in the corner
of her cunning eye, to observe the effect of her false appeal.  The full
price of the fractured mirror has already been received from three
several individuals, and her mistress will assuredly confiscate the
profits; but the tenure of property during even one short half hour
possesses charms irresistible, and the poor girl falls prostrate on the
ground as the silver is dropped into her unwashed fingers.

A last group is straggling through the gateway.  The aged and the
infirm, who can still perform a light task, have just received their
daily dole from the royal storehouse at the niggard hand of the pampered
steward.  The vigour of their youth has been expended in the service of
the despot, and now, in the evening of life, their original scanty
pittance is yet further reduced.  A wistful glance is cast upon the
handful of raw barley, which must content them for the day.  Hunger and
destitution are painfully portrayed in the deep furrows of each withered
face, and the shrunken limb totters as the keen wind whistles through
the wet folds of the tattered goat-skin girdle, which reaches barely to
the knee.  No fostering hand awaits their return to the cheerless hut,
to minister in kindness to the necessities of age; and the last closing
scene will drop a welcome curtain of repose over sinews ground by
indigence and toil, during half a century of hopeless bondage.

Volume Two, Chapter VIII.

NEW YEAR'S DAY.

New Year's Day, which fell on the 10th of September, was, according to
the Abyssinian calendar, the eighteen hundred and thirty-fourth since
the nativity of Christ, and it was celebrated with much rejoicing and
festivity.  Betimes in the morning came a summons to the presence of the
Negoos, who, seated in the portico of the audience chamber, was enjoying
the genial warmth of the rising sun.  The interior of the hall was
strewed throughout with newly-plucked rushes, and under a large iron
chafing-dish, with a cheerful wood-fire, basked a whole host of sleek
cats in couples--a portion of the dower received with the fair daughter
of the Galla Queen of Moolo Falada.

The king was particularly affable, and in the highest spirits.  His hand
having been extended to each of us in turn, with the usual inquiries
relative to our "safe entrance," the congratulations of the season were
offered to His Majesty, according to the customary form: "As the
departed year of Saint Matthew has closed happily upon your auspicious
reign, so also may the coming year of Saint Mark!  May God prolong your
days, and continue the throne in the line of your ancestors unto your
children's children, to the end of time!  May He extend the boundaries
of your dominions, and cause your spear to prevail over the lance of the
enemy!  May He endow you with wisdom to judge your subjects aright, and
move your heart unto clemency; and may He cause high and low alike to
understand and to appreciate the equitable sway of the Father, whom
Heaven has appointed to rule over them!"

Elaborate models of a domed palace, completely furnished, and an English
saddle and bridle, were next presented, and received with every
manifestation of delight, coupled with a prayer from the royal lips that
"God might glorify the donor."  A long and minute scrutiny led to an
infinity of questions, not easily answered, as to how the shield was to
be slung to the pommel, and why the entire foot, instead of the great
toe only, should be inserted in the stirrup?  "The sun in different
countries shines with more or less brilliancy," exclaimed His Majesty,
with truly royal eloquence, as he concluded the examination--"the birds
and the beasts are different, and so are the plants.  I am fond of new
inventions, if it be only to look at them, and although they should
prove on trial to be inferior to old ones."

Abd el Yonag, the chief of the Hurrur slave-merchants, was seated,
rosary in hand, during this conversation, and in his weather-beaten
countenance were displayed all the cunning lineaments of the petty
retailer in small wares, curiously contrasted with the sagacity of the
extensive dealer in politics, who had succeeded in obtaining an accurate
measure of the monarch's foot.  The knave too protested to have seen the
world, and gave out that with his own grey eyes he had beheld the
glories of Britain's eastern possessions.

To support his widely circulated character for universal knowledge, the
Moslem miscreant now seized between his bony fingers two handsome pieces
of sprigged muslin, fresh from the looms of Manchester, which I had
presented for Queen Besabesh, and throwing them contemptuously towards
the corner of the throne, muttered betwixt his lips the word "Bombay."

"What's that, what do you say?" cried the king, in his usual abrupt
manner.

"May it please your Majesty," returned the turbaned traveller, to our
great diversion, "'tis the name of this cloth--it is called Bombay."

But an opportunity presently occurred of laughing at the beard of the
irreverent pedlar, nor was it suffered to pass unheeded.  The despot
exhibited a silver sword scabbard, which had been curiously enamelled to
represent one of the scaly inhabitants of the deep, and it was
acknowledged _nemine contradicente_ that the artist had succeeded in
producing a highly creditable resemblance to a fish.  "A fish," quoth
the man of Hurrur, "what is that?"  Even the monarch smiled when the
explanation was rendered.  "Fishes live in the great sea between
Abyssinia and Bombay, and he whose eyes have not suffered under Oubie's
searing irons, might behold numbers every day of the voyage."
"_Istigh-far-allah_," "Heaven defend me," growled the discomfited Wurj,
as he slunk into a corner--"'tis passing strange that Abd el Yonag
should have never seen the wild beast of the water."

Attended by the dwarf father confessor, and holding deep consultation
with several of the household priests, the king presently led the way
through the secret door on the north-eastern side of the palace
enclosure.  Two umbrellas of crimson velvet, surmounted by silver globes
and crosses--his never-failing attendants on all occasions of state--
were supported by sturdy slaves, and twelve richly caparisoned steeds,
representing the months of the year, were led by the royal grooms.  A
numerous and motley retinue of dismounted cavaliers followed, and on
reaching the meadow, the brows both of monarch and subject were bound by
the monks with green fillets of a wiry grass, styled "_enkotatach_"
whence the festival takes its appellation.

Unlike the rugged mountains of Ankober, which can alone be traversed by
the sure-footed mule, the country around Debra Berhan is well adapted
for the equestrian, and the bright azure of the sky, mottled by fleecy
clouds, the fresh verdure of the turf, and the elasticity of the air,
all lent their aid to the coming tournament.  Armed with a slender
staff, the king mounted his charger, and bounding over the green-sward,
opened the sports of the day.  Groups of wild savages were instantly to
be seen scouring in every direction, engaged in the _gombeza_, or joust,
but His Majesty in flaunting striped robes shone conspicuous.  Well
mounted, a fearless horseman, and admirably skilled in the use of the
spear, he had on no previous occasion been seen to so great advantage as
during his participation in the warlike exercises of the new year--now
pursuing, and now in turn pursued by the warrior whom he had honoured by
selection as his antagonist in the tilt.

"Guebroo is sick," quoth the monarch, the moment this display was over;
"he has received a severe wound in the head during a skirmish with the
rebel Galla, and I am desirous that you should now visit him, taking
with you the medicine for putrid sores!"

Ayto Berkie, the governor of Bulga, volunteered his escort to Daluti,
the abode of his invalid brother.  Crossing the serpentine Bereza, the
road led through swampy meadows, and over little cultivated knolls
destitute of either tree or shrub, towards Angollala, which, after a
gallop of seven miles, opened in the distance.  On the summit of a
tabular eminence rose the king's two-storied palace, above churches and
conical houses; and five distinct knolls, forming an arc in the
intermediate and otherwise level landscape, were severally crowned by
the abodes of favourite courtiers--that on the extreme right, embowered
in luxuriant trees, pertaining to Ayto Guebroo, governor of Mentshar.

Ascending the tumulus by a steep and stony path, and passing through a
muddy court-yard, we reached to the abode of the great man.  Surrounded
by mournful attendants, he reclined on an _alga_ before a fierce fire,
his right eye screened by a shade of blue calico, and his comely partner
sobbing violently at his feet.  The Gille and Loomi Galla, bordering on
the ancient province of "Fatigar," having revolted, the warrior had
taken the field with his contingent, and becoming opposed to a rebel in
hand to hand combat, had received the first spear on his buckler, which
was now ostentatiously displayed.  The horse of his adversary fell under
a well-directed lance, and the dismounted pagan sued for quarter;
obtaining which, he treacherously launched his remaining shaft, which
had cleft the forehead, and passed through the corner of the eye,
although without destroying the vision.

The patient having pledged himself to submit to the prescribed
treatment, which few in Abyssinia will do, an operation was successfully
performed by Dr Kirk.  Drying her tears, the hostess had meanwhile
slaughtered a ram, and made extensive preparations for a repast.  Piles
of thin _teff_ cakes, which loaded the low wicker table, were flanked by
decanters of mawkish old honey wine; bowls of pepper porridge smoked at
the place appointed for each guest, and lumps of raw meat were in
profusion; nor was it without infinite surprise that the hospitable
entertainers and their domestics beheld the chops submitted in the first
instance to the influence of the hot embers.  "Do all of your nation
thus burn their meat?" inquired the lady, after long and attentive
observation: "I was told that such was the case, and that you burnt the
king's bread too, but could never have believed it."

No small difficulty was experienced by the despot in comprehending how
an eye could be restored by the use of the knife; but His Majesty was at
a still greater loss to understand by what means a subject had been
cured, whilst himself remained in partial blindness.  Ayto Katama was
present at this observation, and turning to one of the party, he
whispered, "You must not suppose that the Negoos is blind of that eye:
may Sahela Selassie die, he sees better with it than with the other!"
Like -sop of old, who was once a bondsman, the general of the body-guard
still retained the grovelling spirit of slavery, varnished with the
address of the artful courtier; and he thus invariably followed the
advice given to Solon by the hunchback author of the Fables, "that we
should either not come near crowned heads at all, or speak those things
only that will prove agreeable to them."

Volume Two, Chapter IX.

THE FALLS OF THE BEREZA.

Hunting expeditions filled up the leisure hours of the busy monarch.
Standing on the verge of the deep ravine by which the now deserted
fastness of Tegulet is insulated from the plain of Debra Berhan, it was
His Majesty's diversion to project stone balls from his rifle at the
hyenas basking upon huge fragments of fallen rock, which form caverns
one thousand feet below, and choke the bed of the pathless chasm.  Then
the steps of the royal cavalcade would be directed to the valley of the
Bereza, where "Satan's horses," in the shape of gigantic adjutants, were
striding over the plain on their long stilt-like legs, with well-filled
pouches dangling beneath their bills.  Here, seated upon the green turf,
the Negoos awaited the report of his scouts.  Whilst turning the corner
of the numerous abrupt eminences, his ears were ever saluted by loud
cries of "_Abiet!  Abiet_!" from the mouth of many a petitioner, and a
very respectable body of plaintiffs and defendants were continually in
attendance.

Judgment was calmly delivered until the arrival of some breathless
horseman with intelligence of the discovery of a colony of baboons,
would arrest the proceedings of the sylvan court.  "Sahela Selassie ye
moot?" inquired the sporting monarch on one of these occasions, adjuring
the informant by his own illustrious life; "are they well surrounded?"
"May Sahela Selassie die if they be not," responded the slave, as he
bowed his head to the dust; "hundreds graze in yonder corn-field."
"Then by the death of Woosen Suggud they shall be slain," was the
rejoinder, as His Majesty galloped towards the spot, followed by a train
of attendants carrying every rifle and fowling-piece of which the
imperial armoury could boast.

On the verge of the deep valley we presently descried a countless
pig-faced army, laying waste the rising crops.  Lusty veterans, muffled
in long flowing manes, strutted consequentially among the ladies; and
others, squatted upon their hunkers, with many a ghastly grin displayed
their white teeth whilst hunting down the vermin that infested their
rough shaggy coats.  Casting aside his chequered robe, the king, with
all the ardour of a schoolboy, dashed into the middle of the amazed
group, and under a running fire from himself and courtiers, the field
was presently strewed with slain and wounded.  Mangled wretches were now
to be seen endeavouring to reach the precipitous chasm of the Bereza,
whose white foaming waters were thundering below, whilst the grimacing
survivors, far out of danger, whooped in echoes amid the bush-grown
clefts, to reassemble the discomfited forces.

Return from this brilliant victory was celebrated by the war-chorus,
until the appearance of an _erkoom_ waddling over the ploughed land,
again proved the signal for general pursuit.  This gigantic and deformed
bird is of the genus Hornbill, and an abrupt unmeaning excrescence above
his huge jagged forceps, imparts a fancied resemblance to the slaves of
the king, who carry water-jars upon their heads, which has dignified him
with the title of "Abba Gumbo," "the Father of the Pitcher."  It has
blue wattles, which, when the bird is worried, become inflamed like
those of the turkey-cock; and from the fact of its always constructing
the door of its nest to the eastward, the Abyssinians assert that it
will never build out of sight of a church.

The plumage throughout is to appearance of a sooty black; but the
expansion of the wings displays an assemblage of snowy quills which form
the pride of the warrior who has slain his enemy in battle.  Mules were
abandoned with one accord; and under the encouraging gaze of the despot,
the courtiers, springing into their high-peaked saddles, scoured after
the devoted quarry.  Weary with its long flight, the heavy bird alighted
a dozen times, but no rest was ever allowed.  Again he was turned, and
again he distanced his pursuers, until beleaguered on all sides, he was
finally speared by the chief smith and body physician, who, as an
equestrian, shone _facile princeps_.  His skill rewarded the head of
each hero engaged with the coveted white plume, which is the Amharic
emblem of death.

"My children have never seen the `Devil's sheep,'" gravely observed His
Majesty, as he ascended towards the palace preceded by strains of
martial music.  "They live in holes in the rocks under the great
waterfall, and have long snouts.  My people are afraid.  Take guns in
the morning, and the pages shall show you the road.  Now you may eat."

Heavy dew covered the waving grass, as, accompanied by the promised
escort, we proceeded at an early hour to gratify the royal curiosity by
the destruction of the dreaded monster.  It proved on realisation to be
an inoffensive badger; and although the sport did not afford very much
diversion, the cataract amply repaid the ride across the meadow.
Leaving the terrace of table-land, the serpentine river, far hid from
sight, winds through a succession of rounded hills towards a precipitous
valley, down which the foaming torrent rushes over a descent of eight
rocky basins.  Hemmed in by fantastic pillars of basalt, composed of
irregular disjointed polygons, the dark craggy surface, laid bare by the
violence of ages, is at strange variance with the bright emerald turf
which creeps luxuriantly to the very verge of the frowning abyss; whilst
twelve hundred feet below, the sparry walls suddenly contract to the
breadth of fifteen yards, and the accumulated waters of the cascades,
discharging through this natural flood-gate, boil onwards in their wild
career.

At some distance from this point are the royal iron mines, and near them
a perpendicular crag, which rears its crumbling form from the very
bottom of the vale to the level of the upper stream, marks the
suddenness of the descent.  The entire lace of the verdant hills that
repose above the roaring cataract, were covered with thyme and other
aromatic herbs, yielding up their fragrance at every step; and new and
lovely flowers, sparkling under the morning dew, carpeted the slope.
From the very brink of the dizzy torrent, lofty junipers raised their
tall stems, and flung their mossy arms to a vast height, though still
appearing but as small twigs; and the white cloud of foam and spray
which arose from the gloomy chasm, reflecting the prismatic colours of
the rainbow, completed a picture of singular wildness and magnificence.

How different, indeed, is the fate awaiting the waters of one and the
same shower discharged over the high ridge of the Abyssinian Alps!  A
drop, falling on the eastern slope of the shed, wends its short course
by the nearest streamlet towards the muddy Hawash; and, if not absorbed
by the thirsty plains of the Adaiel, adds its mite to the lagoon of
Aussa--to filter, perhaps, through some subterranean channel into the
Indian Ocean.  But far distant is the pilgrimage that awaits the more
ambitious cloud that sinks on the western side.  Joining the Bereza, and
taking the sudden leap over the dazzling cataract of Debra Berhan, it
hurries down the Jumma on its impetuous course to the Bahr el Azreek--
rolls through the golden sands of Damot--and, after visiting Meroe and
Thebes, and all the stately pyramids, either adds its humble tribute to
the blue waves of the Mediterranean, or is sacrificed to the fertility
of the land of Egypt:

              "Where with annual pomp,
  Rich king of floods! o'erflows the swelling Nile."

Volume Two, Chapter X.

THE ANNUAL REVIEW.

As the month rolled on, under a cold and pleasant sky, the governors of
the adjacent districts flocked with their quotas to Debra Berhan, to be
in readiness against the approaching anniversary of "Maskal."  On this
festival, which is held in commemoration of the discovery of the Holy
Cross by Saint Helena, the rabble militia composing the Amhara forces is
marshalled in order of review, and the grassy slope in front of the
palace became daily more and more thickly dotted with black booths and
mules and neighing steeds.  Honours, appointments, and rewards, are now
conferred upon the brave and the deserving; and this being also the
season of retribution, the forfeited property and the household chattels
of delinquent officers add to the fair-like confusion.  Herds of cattle,
and long files of confiscated slaves, wooden tables, rickety bedsteads,
and other paltry prizes of royal seizure, crowded the bustling parade;
whilst groups of shivering camels, transferred by writ of execution to
an uncongenial clime, took up their cold station on the bare ground,
which was in a few days to receive their long scraggy bones.

On the eve of the anxiously expected day of jubilee, the din of the
_nugareet_, followed by the repeated discharge of heavily-loaded
matchlocks, proclaimed the movement of the household troops towards the
palace portals, in order to guard the imperial person from any sudden
outbreak of the wild host encamped in the environs.  Halting in front of
the tents of the Embassy, they performed the war-dance in our honour by
the light of numerous torches.  Whilst the leaders solaced themselves
with a cup of our curacoa, their curvetting chargers, ridden by
confidential henchmen, bore gallantly among the dense mass; and the
bright metal stars and studs of their appointments gleamed amid the dark
ranks of the warriors, as they howled the Amhara death chorus.  Bidding
us good night, the Master of the Horse declared, amongst the affirmative
whoops of his followers, that next to the royal safety, the lives of his
much-esteemed foreign friends should be uppermost in his thoughts during
the coming vigil.

Most unkingly was the appearance presented by the palace at break of
day, for all was disorder and confusion among the court.  Dirt and filth
reigned paramount in every purlieu--mire to the ankle obstructed every
gateway--and the rods of the wearied door-keepers were broken to
splinters in their laudable endeavours to check the rush of the eager
and greasy mob.  The very houses themselves seemed more gloomy, and the
time-worn mud plaster of the ancient walls more sombre and dilapidated
than usual.

The despot was for some hours to be seen squatted in the porch of the
banqueting hall, surrounded by all the concomitant litter of a forge,
which, puffing away at the foot of his _alga_, under the personal
supervision of the chief smith, blew a cloud of dust and ashes into the
royal nostrils.  Decorum seemed to be laid aside for the day.
Chattering and noise resounded in every quarter.  Restraint was removed
from the tongues of all, and the uplifted voice of the monarch was at
times scarcely audible, amid the clatter of surrounding courtiers, and
the ringing of the crow upon the anvil.

Twenty sallow eunuchs, acting each at one and the same time as master of
the ceremonies, introduced to the royal notice the crowds of lieges,
who, arrayed in most filthy garbs, came crushing together to the front.
Priests, and monks, and petty governors, women, slaves, and cultivators,
bore each some present to swell the imperial stores.  Honey, butter, and
beads, sticks, crutches, and censers, were alike received with
complimentary speeches, saving in the instance of one burly knave, who
had presumed to come before the king with a poor bundle of grass.  Of
him no notice whatever was taken.  The very crowd seemed ashamed of so
scurvy an offering, and an opening being spontaneously made, a few kicks
and shoves sent the ill-provided vassal speedily out of sight,
unrewarded by the customary "God give thee more!" from the lips of his
puissant sovereign.

But a very different scene presented itself when, at a later hour, we
were ushered through the grassy lawn to make our bows to His Majesty.
Surrounded by the grandees of the court, in their holiday attire, the
generals of the cavalry and body-guard, the household officers, and the
alakas and high-priests of all the principal churches, he reclined on a
moveable throne, tricked out for the occasion in velvet and satin.  Rich
_kimkhabs_, gay silken vests, and a profusion of silver swords and
decorations for gallant conduct, sparkled on the persons of the
courtiers; and the turmoil attending the early hours of business had
given place to the unbending gravity of Abyssinian etiquette.

The artillery escort having, greatly to the admiration of the
bystanders, gone through the manual and platoon exercises with blank
cartridge, three hundred _Aferoch_, under the command of the
purveyor-general, entered the arena, elevating high above their heads
bundles of peeled wands, bound together with wisps of rushes, and decked
with garlands of the yellow "cross-flower."  The wild song of rejoicing
at the return of spring, and of the season of blossoms, "when the fleas
retire and the flies appear," had been heard a considerable time, waxing
louder and louder, as these lictors, with their fasces, approached the
scene of exhibition.  Shouting the war-chorus, they now moved forward
with a mincing gait, and after the most abject prostration to the earth,
with a yell, hurling their rods in a heap before the palace steps, the
whole crouched in a semicircle.  Their leader and his stewards, some on
horseback, others on foot, clothed in the spoils of wild beasts, then
displayed themselves individually in the dance, galloping or vaulting
between the open ranks, encouraging the men to fight, and demean
themselves as warriors in the day of battle--each ending his recitative
by a terrific howl, in which he was joined by the whole band.

This exhibition terminated, we were marshalled to a gay Turkish
pavilion, which had been purposely erected, below the royal inspection
tower.  A small, roofed building, resembling the judge's stand on a
country race-course, occupies a raised platform immediately within the
palace enclosure.  Gaudy cloth hangings enveloped this cage, and carpets
and rugs of all colours covered the top of the rude wall for some
distance on either side.  The Negoos was already seated when we cantered
past, and taking off our hats, received his condescending salutation.
The usual paraphernalia of silver-embossed velvet floated at his feet.
The chiefs of the churches, and the civil officers of state--a gorgeous
band--were arranged along the platform, whilst a motley crowd of many
thousand spectators stood closely packed over the plain below.

Dense masses of cavalry were in readiness at the further extremity of
the parade, to perform the pageant of the day.  At the distance of one
hundred yards from the imperial stand, a stack of tall leafless willow
staves had been erected on the bright green turf which extended far and
wide in front.  Around it were squatted files of warriors, ensconced
under their round shields like the tortoise beneath his shell--the
management of sundry huge culverins, of inordinate dimensions, being
divided betwixt every three.  The muzzle rested over the shoulder of
one, a second worked the butt, and a third was prepared, with blazing
brand, to fire on the signal given.

The review commenced by the advance of Ayto Katama's body-guard,
consisting entirely of fusiliers, three-fourths of whom were on this
occasion equipped with the muskets that I had recently presented.
Divided into four bodies, consisting each of about one hundred men, they
moved slowly forward, shouting the usual war-chorus, in imitation of the
voice of the lion, and were kept in line by the vigorous application of
the rattan.  Numerous bracelets, the reward of distinguished gallantry,
glittered throughout the band, and the fixed bayonets, heretofore
unknown in Southern Abyssinia, gleamed brightly in the sunshine.
Gaining the prescribed distance, the warriors crouched on the ground as
if to receive cavalry.  A grey-headed but energetic veteran sprang to
the front--danced during some time in a variety of uncouth capers--and
uttering a howl such as might be conjectured to issue from the demon in
the wolfs glen, discharged his piece.  The signal was followed by a
running fire along the entire line, when the remaining companies,
advancing in succession in the same order, went through similar
evolutions, and all marched off dancing and singing to the outer ring.

The commander-in-chief of this doughty band had meanwhile formed a
conspicuous, although rather a ludicrous figure in the performance.
Adorned with a flowing garment of his favourite chintz, the flaring
pattern of which the kaleidoscope itself must have found difficulty in
devising, Ayto Katama, a bondsman from his youth, exhibited himself in
front of the phalanx of slaves, his head enveloped in a crimson
harlequin cap.  Tripping and mincing with the most unseemly capers and
gestures, he brandished his crooked blade in a fashion which could alone
have proved dangerous to himself.  An inveterate chronic sore throat had
rendered his voice husky; and his vapouring unmilitary motions, which
reminded us of the strut of a crippled peacock, shed a broad light of
caricature over this opening scene of the pantomime.

But the king's Master of the Horse next advanced with his glittering
squadron of picked household cavalry--the flower of the Christian
lances.  Ayto Melkoo was arrayed in a parti-coloured vest, surmounted by
a crimson Arab fleece, handsomely studded with silver jets.  A gilt
embossed gauntlet encircled his right arm from the wrist to the elbow.
His targe and horse-trapping displayed a profusion of silver crosses and
devices, and he looked a stately and martial warrior, curvetting at the
head of his troop of well-appointed lancers.

Forming line at the distance of half a mile, and approaching the willow
pile with a musical accompaniment from a mounted band of kettle-drums,
the squadron halted, and the leader, couching his lance, advanced in
front.  Whilst putting his charger through all the evolutions of
Abyssinian _manege_, he vaunted his prowess in arms, recited the
prodigies of valour performed in the service of his royal master, and
proclaimed his continued good faith, and future bold intentions--his
followers, at intervals, like the Romans of old, responding their assent
by the loud clatter of lance against shield.  The harangue concluded,
his spears were dashed upon the ground, and the chieftain, drawing his
broad two-edged falchion, brandished it in the air: "_Tockatoo, Loola,
Loola, Gummoo, Sik, Oooooh_," he vociferated, as he dashed his heels
into the flanks of his prancing steed.  An instantaneous howl, and
independent discharge of culverins, answered the signal, and the wild
troop swept past at a gallop to the further extremity of the parade.

At the royal request, I caused a salute of twenty-one guns to be fired
by the artillery escort, from the brass three-pounder, which had been
dragged by oxen below the willow-stack.  Great was the admiration of the
wild Galla multitude as they gazed on the appointments and embroidered
housings of the British officers now assembled on horseback in front of
the watch-tower; and sufficiently diverting were the remarks they passed
on our fluttering plumes of white and red feathers--their own emblems of
bloody though not chivalrous deeds.  When the cannonade opened upon ears
that had never before listened to the thunder of ordnance, and a cloud
of white smoke curled high above the heads of those who had hitherto
beheld such volumes arise only from their own burning hamlets, a buzz of
applause pealed from end to end of the extended fine.  Each echoing
report carried to the hearts of the disaffected a powerful argument for
future loyalty, and it needed little discrimination to unravel the royal
policy which had dictated the display.

Thirteen governors, clothed in spoils stripped from the lion and the
leopard, with other conspicuous trophies of the chase, next passed
successively in order of review.  Decked in emblems of blood--rings,
feathers, bracelets, and gauntlets--tokens all of individual prowess in
hand to hand combat with the king's foes--the leader of each glittering
cohort indulged in a long rambling harangue, ere shouting the signal for
the charge.  Many there were who wore the _akodama_--a massive
transverse beam of silver projecting across the brows, and hung with a
profusion of chains and pendants, the reward for the slaughter of an
Adel, several of which respectable body, including the Ras el Kafilah
and his fiery coadjutor, Ibrahim Shehem, were spectators of the martial
manoeuvres of the Amhara troops.

An interesting, though perhaps not a very military sight, was witnessed
as the hours drew on.  The famished governors, judges, chiefs, nobles,
courtiers, and dignitaries of the church, who occupied the elevated
platform on either side of the royal box, unable longer to resist the
calls of hunger, were suddenly to be perceived in the act of employing
their crooked swords in reducing the dimensions of several sides and
flaps of raw beef, which had been furnished by the king's munificence,
and were ostentatiously displayed by as many menials--nor, under the
well-directed and vigorous attacks of the assembly, were the reeking
collops long in disappearing.

A few only of the detachments, whose leaders were not gifted with
eloquence, charged past without a halt from the ground on which they had
formed; and it is not improbable that these, having made the circuit of
the palace enclosure, had swelled the pageant by appearing a second time
on the stage.  Others, dismounting, performed various evolutions on
foot--ancient heroes, with falchions of truly portentous dimensions,
capering and striding before the line, until on a signal made by the
culverins, they vaulted again into the saddles, and dashed onward over
the green-sward, now fast fading under the tramp of hoofs.

Last of all came the tall martial figure of Abogaz Maretch, chief of all
the tributary Galla in the south, at the head of his Abitchu legion, who
closed the display of barbarian tactics.  Three thousand in number, the
sea of wild horsemen moved in advance to the music of the kettledrums,
their arms and decorations flashing in the sun-beam, and their ample
white robes and long braided hair streaming to the breeze.  At the
shrill whoop of their leader, with the rushing sound of a hurricane, the
cohort clattered past the royal stand, and the moving forest of lances
disappeared under a cloud of dust.

From eight to ten thousand cavalry were present in the field, and the
spectacle, which lasted from nine in the morning until five in the
afternoon, was exceedingly wild and impressive.  Did the warriors who
this day recounted their valorous achievements before the monarch only
possess hearts of a measure with their good weapons and strong seats,
they could not fail to prove the means of extensive power and conquest
under the control of an aspiring chief; but such unfortunately is not
the case, and the speed of their stout hardy steeds is too frequently
exerted in the wrong direction.

As soon as it became dark, several rockets which we had brought with us
were discharged from our tents by the king's express desire.  With
fire-arms the Abyssinians were previously acquainted, and the brass
galloper which had echoed so recently, although viewed with wonderful
respect, was still only the engine on a colossal scale, to which they
were familiarised.  But these were the first rockets of which His
Majesty had viewed the flight, and the impression they produced upon his
mind, as he gazed from his watch-tower, was scarcely less than that
worked upon his assembled subjects.  Night had thrown her mantle around,
and the novel principle of ascent, with the grandeur of the brilliant
rush into the skies, afforded matter of amazement to all spectators.
When the projectile started with a loud roar from its bed, men, women,
and children, fell flat upon their faces.  Horses and mules broke loose
from their tethers, and the warrior who had any heart remaining shouted
aloud.  The Galla tribes who witnessed the meteor-like explosion from
the vicinity, ascribed the phenomenon to the use of potent medicines,
and declared that since the Gyptzis could at pleasure produce comets in
the sky, and rain fire from heaven, there was nought for them left, save
abject submission to the king's commands.

The ceremony of burning the stack of willow staves on the parade
commenced shortly after this exhibition, and, superintended by His
Majesty in person, terminated the proceedings of the busy day.  Shrouded
from the gaze of the populace, the ladies of the royal harem danced and
clapped their hands together, as their white ghostlike figures moved in
circling procession around the pile so shortly to be committed to the
flames.  Then followed a rush of torch-bearers from various quarters,
mingled with the corps of Aferoch, and all reeling under the effects of
strong old hydromel.  Three hundred flower-decked fasces, displayed
bright and fresh in the morning, but now withered and faded, were with
savage shouts and yells cast simultaneously on the pyre, and a burst of
lurid glare, which revealed all that was passing, at once proclaimed
their ignition.  Thousands crowding to the spot added their tribute, and
joined in the din of voices.  Black crosses to repel the devil were by
many described on their foreheads with the charred wood, in the struggle
to obtain which hard blows were dealt lustily about, and some of the
competitors were even forced into the pile.  The legend asserts, that on
the discovery of the Holy Cross by the mother of Constantine the Great,
she caused beacon fires to be lighted on all the high hills of
Palestine, upon beholding which a general shout of joy was raised by the
people of Constantinople.  In imitation hereof, wild songs and yells of
triumph from the inebriated Christians of Shoa, now completed the
turmoil and confusion, and with the crackling red flames that curled up
the tall dry staves, ascended high towards the starry vault of heaven in
honour of Saint Helena.

Volume Two, Chapter XI.

THE GALLA CAPITAL.

Angollala, on the Galla frontier, founded ten years since by the
reigning monarch, is now the capital of the western portion of Shoa, and
during the greater part of the year it forms His Majesty's favourite
place of residence.  Thither he proceeded on the morning following the
festivities of Maskal.  Upwards of three thousand horsemen composed the
_cortege_, which was swelled every quarter of a mile by large
detachments of cavalry.  Led by their respective chiefs, each band
dismounted at a considerable distance on the flank, and advancing on
foot with shoulders bared, fell prostrate with one accord before the
state umbrellas.  The Negoos bestrode a richly caparisoned mule, with
swallow-tailed housings of crimson and green, and massive silver
collars; and he was closely followed by the corps of shield-bearers
under the direction of the Master of the Horse, who, by vigorous
sallies, and the judicious exercise of a long stick, kept the crowd from
encroaching upon the royal person, during our eight-mile ride over the
level plain.

From four to five hundred circular huts, consisting of loose stone walls
very rudely thatched, cover the slopes of a group of tabular hills that
enclose an extensive quadrangle.  On the summit of the largest eminence,
near the church of Kidana Meherat, stands the palace, defended by six
rows of stout high palisades.  A clumsy stone edifice of two stories,
rising in the form of a dove-cot, occupies the centre.  It was erected
by Demetrius, an Albanian visitor, and is considerably superior in point
of architecture to all other domiciles in the realm, although somewhat
tottering in appearance, and deserted from an apprehension of
earthquake, which holds strong possession of the royal mind.
"Earthquakes are bad things," was His Majesty's remark, "for they
overthrow houses, and demolish my people."

The rugged ascent up the steep hill-side was thronged with spectators,
male and female, assembled to greet the arrival of their sovereign, and
to stare at the foreigners.  Paupers and mendicants crowded the first
enclosure; and the approach from the second gate through four
court-yards, to the King's quarters, was lined with matchlock-men and
fusiliers, who, as the Embassy passed between the ranks, made a
laughable attempt to present arms in imitation of the artillery escort
at the review.  Kitchens, magazines, and breweries were scattered in all
directions; and, with the long banqueting-hall, the chamber of audience,
the apartments of the women, and the solitary cells, formed a curious,
but far from imposing group of buildings.

The despot, in high good-humour, conducted us over the unswept premises,
and up a rude ladder to the attic story, which commands a pleasant
prospect over wide grassy meadows, intersected by serpentine streamlets,
and covered with the royal herds.  Upon a floor strewed with newly-cut
grass, blazed a wood fire in an iron stove, with the never-failing cats
luxuriating under its influence.  A dirty couch graced the alcove, and a
few guns and fowling-pieces the rudely white-washed walls, but otherwise
the dreary chamber was unfurnished.  "I have brought you here," quoth
His Majesty, "that you may understand what I want.  These rooms require
to be ornamented; and I wish your artist to cover them with elephants
and soldiers, and with representations of all the buildings and strange
things in your country, which my eyes have not yet seen.  At present my
children may go."

Awnings had been pitched on the summit of Debra Maskal, [The Hill of the
Cross] the southern eminence.  The weather was now intensely cold, and a
fire during the evening hours could not be dispensed with.  As the
embers died away, and the smoke cleared from the interior of the flimsy
pall, our teeth chattered under the pinching exhalation from the ground.
Rifles became rusty in a single night from the heavy white dew that
saturated the cloth--watches stopped beneath the pillow--and heaps of
blankets proved of small avail to warm our cramped and shivering limbs,
which told full well of the hoar frost that was encrusting the verdure
of the adjacent meadow.

In the filthy purlieus of the palace, and close to the outer gate,
stands a mound of ashes and rubbish, mingled with the noisome lees that
stream over the road from the adjacent royal breweries.  Packs of
half-wild dogs, the pest of Angollala, luxuriate hereon during the day,
and at night set forth on their reckless foray, dispelling sleep, and
destroying tents in their pilfering invasions.  Long before the dawn,
the shrill crowing of a thousand cocks first startles the slumberer from
his uneasy repose.  The wild whoop of the oppressed Galla, who demands
redress, then mingles with the "_Abiet!  Abiet_!" reiterated by the more
civilised Amhara from every hill-top; and the memory of those who have
ever witnessed the breaking of the glorious day amid nature's luxuriant
forests of the East, is forcibly carried back to the tangled thicket,
where the _campanero_ tolls her bell-like note from the branches of the
spreading tamarind, and the wild ape fills up the interval with his deep
voice of exultation, as he pounces upon the bitter apple of the wood.

Bands of mendicant monks next silently take post on the crest of a
crumbling wall, within spear's length of the slumberer's pillow, and by
a shrill recitative, followed by a chorus of independent voices, dispel
the morning dream, whilst they scream with a pertinacity that bribery
can alone quell.  Psalms and hymns never fail to usher in the morn; and
when the asperity of cracked and aged throats is somewhat mellowed by
distance, the chant of Christian praise--now rambling wildly through all
the varied shakes and intonations of a single voice--now swelling with
the choral unison of many--is not altogether unpleasant.  But greatly
more melodious would it fall upon the mortal ear, if a lesson in music
were taken from the larks, which rise in hundreds from the steaming
meadows, to lift their matin song--at intervals warbling far and faint
in the cool dewy air, and again approaching with one rich quaver of
delicious harmony, as they fearlessly alight upon the awning.

To the cry of "_Abiet_!" which now resounded so unceasingly, the
Abyssinians attach the opinion that, on the last day, Satan, taking up
his post before the gates of heaven, will continue thus to vociferate
until he gains admittance.  On presenting himself before the
judgment-seat, it will be asked "what he would have?"  "The souls which
have been wrested from me by the angels," is to be the reply; but on his
acknowledging inability to specify the names of those who have robbed
him, the Father of Evil will receive a command to be gone, and never to
shew his face again.

Importunity is an attribute which stands prominently forth in the
character of a native of Southern Abyssinia.  For hours together the
numerous applicants for redress continue thus to call upon the "master"
from every eminence around the palace, until at length the door-keepers
appearing, beckon the petitioners to draw nigh.  Well aware, however, of
the existing understanding between these servitors and the very judges
against whose decision they would appeal, they give no heed to the
summons, but thrusting their fingers into their ears, do but lift up
their voices the louder, until the king commands one of his pages to
cause the whole to assemble in the court-yard, where, with shoulders
bared to the waist, the parties fearlessly bring their complaint before
the throne.

Opportunities were therefore daily afforded of witnessing the
dispensation of justice in this singular and anomalous land, where an
Ethiopic translation of the code of Justinian, adapted to the customs of
the country, forms the basis of legal decisions.  The Fetha Negest, or
"Judgment of the Kings," as this volume is entitled, is said to have
fallen from heaven during the reign of Constantine the Great; but its
statutes, although liberally quoted on all convenient occasions, are not
considered binding upon the monarch, unless found in perfect unison with
his own despotic pleasure.  Disputes are first adjusted by the governors
of provinces, who, in the powers with which they are invested, resemble
the feudal barons of the middle ages, and often perpetrate the grossest
injustice.  But the injured party can always seek redress in the court
of the Four _Wamberoch_, or "the chairs," who are the judges civil and
criminal.  These dignitaries daily take their seat in the verandah of a
building allotted in one of the palace courts, where accuser and accused
delivered their conflicting statements in an equally elevated tone of
oratory, accompanied by much theatrical gesture.  The decision lies
again under appeal to the throne; and whensoever the king sees fit to
reverse it, the severest censure is invariably passed upon the
delinquent "chairs."  The lives and the lands of every subject of Shoa
belong _de jure_ to Sahela Selassie, and of their persons and worldly
substance he is absolute master.  Whether at the demise of the king or
of the subject, the estates of the latter are again at the disposal of
the crown, and without the occurrence of either contingency, the mere
will and pleasure of the despot is alone requisite to their resumption.
Violent use, however, is not often made of this arbitrary power, and it
is rarely resorted to except in cases of high treason or of offences
against the state, which, in place of capital punishment, are visited by
confiscation of property, with imprisonment for life.  But if the
criminal shall have taken timely sanctuary in the monastery of Affaf
Woira, his person is held inviolate, even by the king, and the monks can
generally mediate with success.  Slavery, either limited to the
offender, or extended to his whole family, and continued to his
descendants, during one, two, or even seven generations, is a punishment
from which no class is held exempt, but exile is usually substituted for
offences committed by the clergy, the banished ecclesiastic being then
commanded to "stay not by day, neither to tarry by night," if he would
avoid the penalty that awaits delay.

In accordance with the Mosaic dispensation, a life for a life is the
sentence passed upon the murderer; but, obtaining the consent of the
relatives of the deceased, he is authorised by law to purchase his
pardon, and to beg through the land until he shall have accumulated the
stipulated ransom.  His escape under any circumstances involves
forfeiture of property by all his relatives who may be residing north of
the river Airara, and unless he be produced, the attachment continues in
full force during three generations.  Robbery is usually investigated
through the Lebashi, or "thief-taker," who is indispensable to
Abyssinian jurisprudence, and the unhappy wretch whom his imp selects,
if unable to pay the fine adjudged, is visited by castigation either
with a whip or cudgel.  If a Christian, he is then confided to the care
of a follower of the Prophet in some of the hot unwholesome Mohammadan
districts--if an Islam, to that of a Christian--the party on whom the
culprit is thus quartered, being in either case held responsible to the
crown for his safe custody during his term of hard labour.

In all the courts of judicature, interest for money lent is recognised
at the rate of one _amole_ per mensem upon each dollar.  No note of hand
is ever exchanged, but the security of a substantial house-keeper is
taken, who is termed "_was_."  Debtors are generally manacled, and
suffered to roam about, in order to beg the amount due among the
charitably disposed; and it is a fact, that in the absence of a "_was_"
either the creditor or one of his retainers is chained to the defaulter,
and the happy couple thus linked, wander through the country together,
crying "By Mary!  By Mary!" until the requisite sum shall have been
contributed for the sake of the Holy Virgin.

At home and abroad, on excursions and on military expeditions, the loud
cry of "_Abiet_!" salutes the royal ear from situations the most strange
and unexpected, and although the sceptre is despotic, appeals are almost
always promptly attended to.  The more boisterous petitioner, who will
not remain content with the promise of a future consideration of his
claim, is sometimes visited with the stick, but no available opportunity
is neglected of listening to those who present themselves.  The
halting-stone and the green turf are frequently transferred into seats
of justice; judgment is given whilst ambling over the fields and
meadows; and during five days of every week, many hours are patiently
devoted by the monarch to the unravelment of knotty points in
litigation.

Volume Two, Chapter XII.

CHASM OF THE CHACHA.

The King had oftentimes vaunted the extraordinary natural fortification
of Angollala by the river Chacha, which for two days' journey to the
north-westward rolls through a deep precipitous valley, opposing an
impassable barrier; and being then joined by the Bereza and by numerous
other streams, skirts the celebrated sanctuary of Sena Markos, whence
the combined waters, taking the title of Jumma, roll on into the Nile.
Setting out one morning at sunrise through the "sirkosh ber," [i.e. The
secret gate or wicket] he sent a page to conduct us to the junction of
the tributary Facha, which tumbles its torrent over a perpendicular wall
seven hundred feet in height; and here His Majesty, surrounded by a
crowd of noisy applicants for justice, already occupied his favourite
seat on the brink of the giddy chasm.

A cloud had overcast the despot's brow, for "Boro Winkee," his favourite
war-steed, had that morning fallen down dead whilst exercising in the
meadow.  Taken in battle from a potent Galla chieftain, whose name it
inherited, the steed had long enjoyed a stall within the royal
bedchamber, and strong fears indeed were entertained for the effeminate
little page Katama, who had been the luckless jockey.  But no punishment
followed the catastrophe.  The boy was a court favourite, and
Antonistye, his father, by far the most renowned warrior in Shoa, was
mayor of the corporation of king's herdsmen, who take the field in
independent bodies, and under the title of _Abelam_ [derived from the
Amharic word "_abella_," "he may eat up"] form a distinct class,
mingling with no other portion of the population.

"What think you of my Galla ditch?" inquired the monarch.  "Have you any
such in your country?"

There could be but one opinion regarding the yawning gulf, which extends
a full mile in breadth, and has been rent by some violent convulsion in
the bowels of the earth.  Fifteen hundred feet below the otherwise
uninterrupted plain, the mingled waters flow on like a silver cord, fed
at intervals by foaming cascades, which raise a shower of white spray in
their headlong descent: whilst frowning basaltic cliffs cast a deep
gloom over wild steppes and terraces, whose lone hamlets and cottages
are scarcely to be distinguished from the fallen masses of rock.  Vast
colonies of pig-faced baboons, the principal inhabitants, sally forth
morning and evening from their strong city, to devastate the surrounding
crops, in defiance of incessant war waged against them by the peasantry,
armed with sticks and stones; but outcasts, and criminals too, find a
safe asylum among the almost inaccessible crannies of the perpendicular
scarps, where they hide amidst masses of foliage, unthought of, and
unmolested.

Deep buried in the bosom of this stupendous chasm, and immediately below
the roaring cataract, stands the little hamlet of Gureyo, the seat of
the royal iron-works, and thither, after the sylvan court had closed,
the king descended, leaning on the arm of the chief smith, great master
of the Tabiban, or mechanics, and royal physician in ordinary.  The
process of smelting and refining pursued in Abyssinia has been common to
almost every age and country from the earliest antiquity.  Broken into
small fragments and coarsely pulverised, the ore is mixed with a large
proportion of charcoal, and placed in a clay furnace resembling the
smith's hearth, but furnished with a sloping cavity considerably
depressed below the level of the blast pipes.  The non-metallic
particles being brought to a state of fusion by the constant action of
four pair of hand-worked bellows, the iron with the scoria sinks to the
bottom.  This is again broken, and re-fused, when the dross flowing off,
the pure metal is discharged in pigs, which, by a repetition of heating
and welding, are wrought into bars; but owing to the very rude and
primitive apparatus employed, the unceasing toil of ten hours is
indispensable to the realisation of two pounds' weight of very inferior
iron, which after all, in private works, is liable to a heavy tax to the
crown.

Embowered in a dark grove of junipers on the opposite brink of the
Chacha rises the silent village of Cherkos, rendered famous a few years
since through the massacre of one thousand of its Christian inhabitants
by Medoko [his gazelle], a celebrated rebel.  His proceedings occupy one
of the most conspicuous pages in the chronicles of Shoa.  Exalted by
rare military talents and undaunted intrepidity to the highest pinnacle
of royal favour, he became elated by the distinctions conferred, and
being suspected of aiming at even greater dominion, was suddenly hurled
into the deepest disgrace, and bereft in the same moment of property and
power.  Burning with revenge, the warrior crossed the border to the
subjugated, though disaffected Galla, whom he had so lately held in
check, and who now with open arms received him as their leader in
revolt.

At the head of a vast horde of wild cavalry, reinforced by a number of
matchlock-men, who had deserted their allegiance, the rebel marched upon
Angollala.  But he was frustrated in his designs by finding the only
assailable point fortified by staked pits and ditches--the deep rugged
channel of the Chacha opposing, as he well knew, an insurmountable
barrier in every other direction.  Desertion soon spread among the
undisciplined rabble, and after several skirmishes with the royal
troops, the offender sought an asylum at Zalla Dingai.  Through the
powerful mediation of Zenama Work, the Queen-dowager, he was suffered to
throw himself at the feet of his despotic master, and not only obtained
pardon, but from motives of policy was eventually restored to all his
former dignities.

Medoko's second rebellion and tragic death, embodied from the authentic
details of eye-witnesses, will form the subject of the six succeeding
chapters.  They are designed to throw upon the character of the monarch,
and upon the customs of his court, a light which could scarcely have
been admitted through any other lattice.  The standard of revolt long
waved over the heathen frontier, and when the storm which for months
threatened the subversion of the empire had at length been quelled by
the extinction of the fiery and turbulent spirit that had raised it,
large offerings were made by His Majesty to all the churches and
monasteries throughout the realm, in return for their prayers; and
solemn processions and thanksgivings were attended by the exercise of
every sort of work of charity and devotion.

Among the royal retinue this day seated before the village of Cherkos,
was a young man of haughty and daring exterior, whose flowing black
mantle covered a breast that must have been often agitated by strange
emotions.  It was Chara, the son of the rebel, one of the only two
members of the disgraced family to whom Sahela Selassie has become
reconciled, and a youth who is said to resemble his sire, not less in
appearance than in gallant bearing.  Prior to the breaking out of the
insurrection, he had urged the arrest of his father; but no attention
being paid in the proper quarter, he subsequently enlisted under his
banner, and carried arms against the crown until the fall of the
traitor, when, from his previous well-timed, though disregarded
disclosure, he received full pardon for the past.

Ayto Tunkaiye, a gigantic warrior, greatly distinguished for his valour,
who enacted a prominent part in Medoko's execution, was also of the
_cortege_; and beside him stood Hailoo, younger brother of the rebel
noble, who purchased restoration to royal favour at the expense of a
deed of the blackest treachery.  This he recounted not only without a
blush, but with extraordinary satisfaction at his fancied heroism.
Apprehending a similar fate with him whose cause he had espoused, he
fled across the border, and found a safe asylum with Wodage Girmee, a
powerful Galla chieftain, long in open revolt, and one of the bitterest
enemies of the monarch.  Basely assassinating his benefactor, whilst
seated unsuspectingly in the open field, he sprang upon his horse, and
casting the head of his victim at the royal footstool in token of his
villainy, was rewarded by advancement to the government of Mesar Medur,
a post of high honour, which he enjoys to the present day, and which
occupies the frontier of the Galla dependencies.

Volume Two, Chapter XIII.

MEDOKO THE REBEL.

  "Like whom to Shoan eyes,
  None ere has risen and none ere shall rise."

Renowned for his great strength and dauntless heart, Medoko was of a
more robust and brawny form than most of his countrymen.  There was a
bold bearing in his erect carriage--his gait was proud, and his speech
haughty; and not less dexterous in the management of his steed, than
powerful in wielding his weapons, he stood proclaimed the most valiant,
although the most insolent, of the Amhara.  His handsome features and
his gallant deeds had gained for him the palm of favour among all the
dames of the land.  An aquiline nose stood prominent from his manly
countenance, and a bright eye sparkled clear and daring under a bushy
brow.  The fairest daughters of Shoa loved to look upon the warrior, and
rejoiced to add their beauty to his harem, or to experience the gifts of
his bountiful hand; and the shrill note of female welcome burst from
every throat, as he curvetted through the streets upon his gallant
charger shining in brass and steel, or careered at speed over the plain,
with his white and crimson robe streaming behind his athletic frame.

Riches and honours and preferment had been again liberally showered upon
his head by the monarch who had so frequently received the benefit of
his assistance, and had been more than once indebted for his life to the
strong arm of the chief.  The memory of past crime seemed to have been
obliterated and forgotten--"Had he not err'd, his glory had been less;"
and he was now raised to the high post of governor of all the Galla, and
Abogaz of the southern frontier of the kingdom.

But there was no lack of enemies to the imperious favourite; and among
the most bitter of his opponents was one who, by the insidious tongue of
malice, materially contributed to achieve the downfall and destruction
of the bravest son of Shoa.

Well versed in all the petty arts of a mean and sycophantish court,
Father Asrat had held during two successive reigns the snug office of
confessor to the royal family.  Sleek from good living, his hood fell
without a wrinkle over his portly person; and bowing in devotion before
his superiors, the words of flattery flowed in profusion from his honied
tongue.  The sins of the rich were easily forgiven; substitute was
immediately produced for the slight penance decreed by his lip; and the
effects of his indulgence might be clearly observed in the fine muslin
which ever encircled his shaven head--in the glossy condition of his
pampered mule--and in the gay ivory handle of his polished crutch, which
were ostentatiously displayed as he daily brushed through the
court-yards of the palace.

On many occasions the audacity of Medoko had broken out into open
mockery of the priestly rapacity; but although the dark feelings of
revenge rankled in the breast of the monk, yet a scowling look of hatred
was alone ventured in return to the jibes of the great governor and
first favourite of the despot.  On one fatal festival, however, when the
fumes of the old hydromel had gained a complete ascendency over the
party, a bitter jest was retorted by the exasperated priest, a fierce
wrangle ensued, and the holy person of Father Asrat was violently
spurned against the wall by the strong arm of the hot-blooded chief.

A reconciliation had been outwardly effected by mutual friends, but from
that day the most wily insinuations were used to poison the breast of
the king.  The actions of the past were vividly brought to his
recollection; words that had never been spoken, and expressions craftily
distorted to serve a vile purpose, were daily poured into the royal ear;
and although the demeanour of the monarch remained unchanged, suspicion
was gradually being instilled into his mind, and the cloud required but
a slight shock to discharge its contents.

According to the custom of the country, the royal princesses lived in
total seclusion until it suited the despot's caprice or policy to open
the door of their cage.  "A daughter of the royal house will be led to
the nuptial altar on the morrow," is the sole intimation afforded; and
the happy bridegroom is not aware of the honour to be conferred, until
the hand of "the introducer" leads him from the group which encircles
the throne, to the immediate performance of the rite.  But the
stout-hearted Medoko had contrived to behold the beauty of the far-famed
princess "Golden Fruit," and intoxicated by a long succession of
prosperity, and stirred up by the deceitful priest to believe that the
king would refuse no request preferred by a chief whose services were
held in such high esteem, he rashly resolved upon demanding the only
remaining favour which the monarch had hitherto withheld.

On a bright morning in May before the commencement of the monsoon, a
distinguished cavalcade entered the outer gates of the palace
fortifications.  The stately person of the leader was enveloped in a
flowing robe bedizened with many crimson stripes, and a long white
feather streamed high over his raven hair.  A gauntlet and bracelet of
silver decorated his sinewy arm, the token of many a hard conflict; and
the massive silver sword was girded to his right side, the emblem of
high authority and place.  The bearer of his silver shield preserved a
respectful space for the chief, and a dark war-steed, glittering in
chains and studs of polished metal, followed at his side.  A dense mass
of wild Galla, armed with the serrated lance and tough black buckler,
closed the procession, which, amidst the acclamations of the assembled
mob, wound up the rocky path of the palace hill at Ankober.

On gaining the last flight of steps, the great door was thrown open, and
Medoko advanced to the audience of leave previous to his departure to
the seat of his government.  The small latticed gallery had been decked
out in his honour, and the crimson velvet hangings of state depended in
front, loaded with massive silver ornaments.  Rich carpets were spread
below for the convenience of the more favoured nobles.  The officers of
the household, uncovered to the waist, stood in a double row in front;
and the monarch reclined upon his seat of honour at the open window,
gaily clad in a green silk vest bordered with gold, over which the folds
of the usual white robe of Abyssinia hung gracefully around his
recumbent figure.

Advancing to the prescribed limit, Medoko, according to the custom of
ages, prostrated himself to the earth before the descendant of Solomon,
and then, raising his haughty figure erect before the monarch, he boldly
preferred the request of his heart.  "Behold, I have brought a present
to the king, that he may hear me in love, and dismiss his servant well
pleased from his presence."

Ten war steeds fully equipped, together with five hundred bullocks,
twenty slaves, and two large bags of silver coin, were ushered into the
court-yard.  The eye of the avaricious king brightened with satisfaction
at the liberal gift of his vassal, and the words were spoken more kindly
than usual--"What is the desire of the Abogaz?"  But the answer of
daring rashness which followed fell like a thunderbolt upon the
court--"The hand of the Princess Worka Ferri."

The rod of green rushes dropped from the grasp of the astonished
"introducer," and chiefs and nobles half rose from their seats, as the
mysteries of royal seclusion were thus boldly infringed before the
multitude.  But although the monarch was irritated to the last pitch by
this unprecedented insolence, he restrained his feelings under the usual
cold calm smile.  "We will converse regarding this business at a future
period," he said; and the audience was closed with an invitation to the
chief to pass his last evening in the private apartments of the palace--
an honour conferred only upon a favoured few.

Warnings and advice were not wanting from many quarters; and
recollection called to mind many dark scenes which had been transacted
at the friendly board of the despot, who was well known to be in a
dangerous mood when too many smiles lighted up his countenance, and who
preferred the quiet capture of his enemy to forcible seizure in the open
day.  But the rash Medoko, confident in his own ascendency through
service rendered, discarded every thought of evil.  With a stout heart
he entered the gloomy hall at the appointed hour, and under the guidance
of an eunuch proceeded along the rough dark passages of the interior.

On gaining the inner apartment, he found Father Asrat and his assistant
kneeling in the corner before their low desks, mumbling the lessons of
the evening from the miracles of the Holy Virgin--divers flasks of
potent spirits being as usual ranged on the wicker table for the
entertainment of the select company.  All were in the highest humour.
The demeanour of the monarch was kind and conciliating; and amongst the
honours and favours which were that night liberally bestowed, the priest
received the high office of chief of the church of the Saviour in the
romantic village of Cherkos.  The customary topics were discussed--the
usual quantity of strong liquor was swallowed--and at intervals the
choristers chanted the Psalms of David.  The evening passed in great
hilarity, and the company at length rose to depart.

His heart bounding high with future hope, Medoko stooped low to pay the
salutation of the night, and was instantaneously pinioned from behind,
whilst a rush from the front prevented every effort to lay hand upon his
weapon.  By his fierce struggles he once nearly regained an erect
position, but numbers crowded through every passage, and he found
himself stretched on the floor securely bound and hampered with many
coils of rope.

"Fetters and a dungeon for the slave!" exclaimed the monarch as he
quitted the scene of betrayed hospitality, and guards entered to obey
the royal mandate.  But ere the captive could be borne to his doom, a
heavy foot pressed upon his prostrate neck.  The smile of satisfied
revenge played over the bloated features of the malicious monk, and it
shot through the heart of the fallen warrior.  A deadly vow was muttered
betwixt his clenched teeth; and as he lay foaming with rage, the words
were half audible through his suppressed breathing, "Let him guard his
cowled head if he can: henceforth to the Devil with my allegiance!"

Volume Two, Chapter XIV.

ESCAPE FROM GONCHO.

Medoko had been hurried from the presence, and urged along the rough
road with as much rapidity as possible; but people are seldom so
unfortunate as they suppose themselves to be.  His fate was not as yet
accomplished, and a slight diversion had been already made in his
favour.  A faithful follower, alarmed at the protracted stay of his
chief, had silently stationed himself at the secret outlet of the
palace, whence he witnessed the progress of his beloved master.  A
devoted band, having hastily collected, followed close on the footsteps
of the guard; and as the prisoner passed through the thick forest of
Aferbeine, the shrill note of the Galla henchman more than once fell on
his attentive ear, to convey the welcome tidings that he was not
altogether deserted in this his hour of distress.

As the party climbed the rocky steep, the moon was fast sinking behind
the great mountains, and her pale beams fell cold over the isolated rock
of Goncho, on the summit of which is perched the state prison of the
kingdom.  The lower extremity of this hill is rent and furrowed by many
tangled ravines, and the bare craggy scarp frowns over the
wide-spreading valleys which stretch on either side.  Sharp palisades
guard the approach, and strong gateways lead through well-defended
courtyards to a cluster of edifices which form the residence of the
frontier governor, and the entrance to the places of confinement.

Vanquished by fate, yet refusing to yield, a spasm of painful emotion
covered with cold dew the brow of the haughty chief, as he passed the
rocky threshold of the prison.  But the thoughts of a free foot on the
mountain-side, and the signal vengeance that would follow, banished from
his stout heart the usual feelings of despair, and in ironical words he
returned the salutations of his brother Abogaz, into whose keeping he
was about to be consigned.

Wulasma Mohammad was a fat imperious personage, of most sinister
expression of countenance, and much more feared than either loved or
respected.  The cool healthy air of his mountain fortress, and a quiet
life of inactivity, had filled his veins with a rich flow of blood, and
he spent the greater portion of the day over a jar of potent hydromel.
His body had become bloated and his mind bewildered by the fumes of the
liquor; and dividing his time between dreaming and drinking, he left the
charge of his bolts and avocations to his burly brother Jhalia, who,
fortunately for the prisoner, was now engaged on the frontier in
quelling a disturbance which had been induced by the stupidity of his
superior.

The vulture eye of the Abogaz brightened up on the arrival of the
illustrious Medoko; and being at the moment unable to comprehend whether
he came as a prisoner or as a guest, an order for entertainment and wine
rung through the apartment, instead of chains and fetters for the
malefactor.  Relieved from the ropes which had hitherto confined his
movements, the chief was ushered with all ceremony into the great hall
of the court; nor was it until after reiterated requests on the part of
the guard, and a solemn adjuration by the life of the king, that the
blinking gaoler, cheated out of his expected carouse, consented to take
some measures of precaution.

Built on the only sloping face of the hill, the governor's houses
stretch entirely across the outlet from scarp to scarp, and from his
immediate bedchamber two trap-doors cover the passages to the inner
recesses of the prison.  A staircase descends from one into the vaults
underground, where immured in chains are the state criminals, and the
younger branches of the royal family; and a passage leads through the
other to a series of small apartments erected upon the upper surface of
the hill, but surrounded by strong palisades to the very verge of the
precipice.  The scarp was of considerable height, and had never yet been
attempted by those offenders whose lighter crimes had enforced a
residence in these more agreeable locations; and the besotted Wulasma
being in no mood to reflect on the strength and daring of his present
charge, merely conducted him to one of these places of security, and
barring the door on the outside, retired grumbling to the crown
officials, after leaving an ample repast for the entertainment of his
distinguished prisoner.

The rude wax taper was flaming and sinking at intervals over the
untouched food, as one quarter of an hour was passed in attentive
musing; but the peculiarities of the prisoner's situation were too
striking not to be immediately taken advantage of, and he accordingly
braced up his spirits for the enterprise.  Having contrived with his
host's knife to remove the thongs and sticks which composed the walls of
his flimsy dungeon, he crept into an outer apartment, where the stars
could be perceived twinkling brightly through an aperture.  To wrench
the iron bars from the window was the work of a moment; and leaping from
a considerable height, Medoko stood unshackled in the cool air of
heaven.  There remained still many hours of the night, and the darkness
favoured his undertaking, although otherwise little suited to the task
to be performed; but palisade and paling gradually yielded to his
strength, and after an anxious hour of exertion, he reached the dark
precipice unnoticed and undiscovered.

Nought broke the stillness of the scene save the sound of the wind
whistling over the bleak crags; and as the daring fugitive stood for a
time in meditation before venturing the awful leap, an owl, brushing his
cheek, soared away on noiseless pinion; its hoot which re-echoed from
below seeming as the voice of a spirit calling to follow without fear.
Quickly recovering his confidence at the omen, and nerving himself for
the perilous task, he slid down the face of the precipice, and
recommending his soul to the Holy Virgin, quitted hold of the last tuft
of grass which sustained him over the yawning gulf.  Down, down dropped
the chief, until his very senses reeled again; but his flowing cotton
robe materially assisted the miraculous descent, by catching the sharp
points, and restraining for a moment the rapidity of his flight.  The
strength of his long brawny arms served him well in this hour of need,
as clutching the rocks he retained his hold for a second, in order to
gain breath for the next dread plunge into the gloomy abyss.  Then
bounding again like the falling stone, he pursued his flight, till at
length, bruised and bleeding, he reached the bottom of the rocky scarp,
hitherto untraversed except by the sticky foot of the lizard.

The shrill note for assistance, well known to every Galla ear, was
speedily answered by his watchful followers.  Crowding round their
beloved chief, they quickly bound up his wounds, and after a short rest
the party recovered the beaten track.  Placed once again on his own good
steed, he raised his form in the stirrups, and shouted his battle-cry of
defiance.  Each bridle was laid loose upon the mane, and the wild riders
plunged at speed down the flinty ravine, now partially illumined by the
flash of matchlocks from the alarmed garrison.  A brave spirit is not to
be subdued by exile, for every soil forms his home and his country; and
away to the free plains of the Galla the headlong course was bent, where
Medoko was well assured of receiving every sympathy and protection.

Volume Two, Chapter XV.

INSURRECTION OF THE GALLA.

In the heart of the mountain range of Garra Gorphoo stood a large Galla
hamlet--for it has been since visited in wrath by the monarch--situated
in one of those sweet locations which the children of nature delight to
select.  The deep valley is thickly clothed with the most luxuriant
cultivation, and its sides rise in a gentle slope, throwing out a
succession of verdant terraces, teeming with herbs and wild flowers.  On
one of these stood the village of Mundeeda, the residence of Goma, the
great chief of the Abitchu.  A bright green sward extended far in front,
and the steep mountain that rises behind afforded shelter from the bleak
blast of winter.  A sparkling brook, after dashing in tiny cascades down
the craggy face, glides away in a quiet course over the enamelled
meadow, until lost in the grove of dark junipers which rest on the side
of a grassy knoll, where the sacrifice was performed in honour of the
deities, and where the listless heathen was wont to dream away the hours
of idleness.

The tenements, although low and rudely constructed of stakes and mud,
were warm and commodious; and the numerous posts which rose from the
clay floor to support the thatch, served as a resting-place for shields,
and spears, and crooked swords, which now imparted to the interior the
semblance of an extensive armoury.  Every thing was in a state of utter
confusion and uproar.  Large droves of wild shaggy horses, and clusters
of fiery savages were grouped on the plain outside.  The ringing shout
of the warrior mingled with the neigh of his war-steed, and the din and
the clatter of household avocations resounded from the interior of every
hut.  To add to the bustle, the Galla females were running from house to
house, with their long raven tresses streaming over their bare
shoulders; whilst their short leather petticoats, with embroidered
flounces, displayed the well-shaped limbs and the graceful form, for
which the tribe are so justly famed.

In every nook large earthen jars, and wicker baskets, filled with grain,
were stored in readiness to supply the demands for food, as each tribe
poured in to the general gathering of the clans.  Black eyes peered
wildly over the grinding-mill and the cauldron; and the merry laugh at
the novel appearance of the motley throng, with the suppressed scream of
delight from the timid maiden, arose frequently from the dark corners of
the hovels.  Preparations were making for hospitality on the most
extensive scale.  A successful foray had that very morning returned
laden with spoil, and the king of the Amhara had for once amply supplied
the table of his revolted lieges.

Crowded around the cheerful blaze of a fierce fire that was crackling in
the centre of the largest building, sat a score of persons, who were
beguiling the time until the entertainment should be ready, by
discussing the daring escape of Medoko, and the success which would
assuredly attend the movement of the morrow.  The dress of the greater
number of these men was the usual cotton cloth, black and soiled with
the grease of years; but the accumulated massive ivory rings upon the
arm, the ostrich-feather floating over matted locks, and the spoils of
the lion and the leopard dangling over the back, proclaimed the presence
of the chieftains of the land.  Their gaunt frames and supple limbs
betokened a life of activity and endurance, and their restless eyes
gleamed over the fire with all the quick suspicion of the savage.

The black bull-hide formed the only covering to the host of attendants
that thronged behind their respective lords, and a few Amhara robes
flaunted in white and crimson, amidst the sombre vestments of the Galla
group.  But Medoko and his sons, in stature above all their compeers,
appeared in the full costume of the Christian warriors of Efat.

Decked in silver gauntlets and armlets, with the graceful _akodama_
hanging in glittering clusters over their manly brows, the
master-spirits of the scene were easily to be distinguished.  The usual
robe of peace had been well replaced by the skin of the tawny lion,
which nearly reached the ground.  Fastened on one side around the sinewy
throat, it allowed full freedom to the right arm, and only partially
concealed the rich silk vest, and loose kilt-like trowsers, which hung
barely to the knee.

The kindling fuel of insurrection had indeed been well fanned--ancient
wrongs were fully brought to mind, and vengeance was liberally promised.
Few were there present who had not suffered either in person or in
property, from the midnight appearance of the Christian despot.
Hereditary feud and quarrel had therefore been laid aside on the
soul-inspiring words of the chief, and the weapons had been eagerly
seized in a common cause, at the thoughts of the devastation which ever
marked the bloody track of the Amhara host.

These Galla tribes dwell with their horses in boundless prairies,
engaged, some in the cultivation of the fruitful soil, and others in the
pasturage of their numerous flocks, but all are ever ready on the moment
to mount for the battle or the foray.  Baggage and hospital are unknown
to the wild array, and rations are found when required among the
plundered herds of the enemy.  A scrip of tobacco forms the only luxury
in camp.  A greasy cloth enfolds by day and night the body of each
brawny savage.  Lance, and sword, and shield, complete his equipment;
and the hardy host, leader and partisan, sleep without cover on the cold
bare ground.

The wild hordes from the boundless plains of the Hawash, under the
gigantic Wodage Girme, first poured in their warriors.  The depths of
the Moolo Falada forests next swelled the numbers, and the heights of
Entotto and Sequala had completed the rebel force, eager for spoil and
for revenge, which was ready to cover the land with desolation on the
morrow.

The sacrifice to the Great Spirit had been that afternoon performed by
the priest with every favourable result, and the preparations for the
feast of departure were now completed.  Bullocks and sheep were
slaughtered by the score on the green meadow, and beside each carcass an
abundance of bread and beer were deposited for the impatient guests, who
immediately grouped around the food, and with keen knives commenced the
attack.  A long wicker table had been placed in the centre of the
largest apartment, and deep earthen vessels, filled with thick pepper
soup, were ranged in double line down the middle, whilst cakes of every
description thickly covered the surface.  The chief took his station at
the top, and the guests were squatted on their hams on either side.
Slave boys, on their knees, supported huge jars of sour beer, and the
females, perched upon adjoining bedsteads, were ready to dole out the
more potent liquor.

The steam of the bowls, containing a decoction of fowls, red pepper,
onions, and grease, together with the more offensive effluvia from fifty
rancid heads and as many unwashed persons, were endured with the most
stoical indifference; and the feeble light of a few tapers that
glimmered faintly through the smoke, was just sufficient to reveal the
rows of eager faces in earnest preparation, and the gleam of the sharp
teeth whetting for the entertainment.

The hum of voices in low conversation ceased on the moment, when the
host, dipping a fragment of bread into one of the large bowls, dropped
the savoury morsel into his elevated mouth.  Every hand forthwith felt
its way to the provender, and the loud smacking of satisfied lips
succeeded the suppressed chatter of tongues.  Servants, bending over the
guests, amply supplied their wants, by tearing the bread with their
hands, and after a plunge into the porridge, consigning the dripping
morsel to the first empty fingers that were protruded.  No fork or spoon
graced the festive board.  No conversation now enlivened the scene.  All
sat like silent wolves engaged in a plentiful repast, considering that
one thing at a time was sufficient for man.

The delicate raw meat was next introduced, and the dismembered limbs of
sheep and oxen were placed as a dessert upon the groaning board.  The
servants threw themselves upon the flesh, and drawing their long crooked
knives from their girdles, cut and hacked the bloody joints into small
squares, which were received from their fingers, and bolted with the
greatest satisfaction, until nature cried enough.  Then commenced the
deep carouse.  Horn after horn was drained.  The presiding deities over
the liquor jars were unceasingly employed in serving out their contents,
and as the brain reeled under the influence of strong old mead, the
words of contempt burst from every lip.  "Who is the King of Shoa, that
he should trample upon men braver than himself?  Here is our protector
and avenger.  Medoko is our leader, and he alone shall be our king!"
But the uproar, which for a time rose wildly from the hut, gradually
died away as the horn was carried with a more unsteady hand to the
mouth.  Warrior after warrior stretched himself to sleep beside the
cleanly picked relics of his reeking feast; and chief after chief,
staggering a few paces from the table, drew his garment over his head,
and resigned himself to a heavy slumber.

Volume Two, Chapter XVI.

MASSACRE OF THE CHRISTIANS AT CHERKOS.

The verdant meadows of the Shoan district of Daggee are strangely
crossed and intersected by low chains of barren rock, with here and
there an isolated hillock crowned by the abode of the Christian farmer;
whilst between each little eminence rolls the lazy brook, winding
sluggishly over the flowery plain, as if reserving its energies for the
thundering leap into the great chasm of the Chacha.

Broken, craggy, and desolate, this mighty abyss sinks upwards of a
thousand feet abruptly from the plain.  Its giant sides are in part
slightly fringed with moss or sweet-scented thyme; and a few small huts
dot the narrow ledges; but the wolf and the hyaena chiefly tenant the
dark fissures, whilst the vulture screams her death note over the
yawning gulf.  Superstition has wrapped the beetling cliff and the
gloomy ravine in her dark embrace, for here the captive toils in the
bowels of the earth to procure the stubborn iron.  The clang of the
dreaded smith disturbs the stillness of day; and the chant of the hymn
rises solemnly in the morning mist from the adjacent church of the
Saviour, which stands embosomed in a dark grove of junipers.  Far down
in the bottom, the Chacha appears like the small murmuring mill-stream,
although the accumulated waters of a broad plateau are there rolling on
to swell the mighty Nile; and at frequent intervals the mountain
torrents pour their tribute over the frowning scarp, which for miles
forms the impregnable fortification of the land.

Near the commencement of this stupendous precipice, and barely a gunshot
from its brink, stands Angollala, the Galla capital of the kingdom,
commanding the upper pass into the Christian land.  Three small hills
which rise abruptly from the plain, and enclose a circular area, had
been judiciously selected as a site by the wary founder, but the
settlement was at this date in all the disorder of infancy.  Only a few
hundred hovels, composed of most flimsy materials, had been hastily
erected on the sloping sides of two of the hillocks; but the smallest
was distinguished by the more imposing edifice dedicated as a church to
the Ark of the Holy Covenant, and its table summit was crowned with an
ample residence for the Negoos.

A few trees raised their stunted heads above the thatch of the various
kitchens and storehouses, which were crowded thick over the crest, and
the flowering _umbar_ threw a broad zone of fragrant lilac blossoms
around the royal buildings.  Stones and rocks, strewed plentifully in
every direction by the hand of nature, formed a considerable impediment
to the rapid advance of horsemen; and stout heavy wooden palings, which
descended in a double or treble row far down the slope, completely
screened the inmates against any sudden surprise from the border foe.

A wide meadow stretches from the palace tumulus to the very brink of the
abyss; and on the opposite height is situated the lovely village of
Cherkos, which, from its beauty, had been formerly designated by the
Galla "The Queen of the Hill."  Sheltered by a magnificent grove of
evergreens, the hamlet overlooked the pleasant slope which extends to
the verge of the precipice, gaily diversified with rich fields of
cultivation and plots of green pasture land.  It had been captured from
the heathen by the last king of Shoa; and although colonised by
favourite Christians of the court, the revenues were bestowed upon the
church of the Saviour, which had been erected immediately below the
village, in the dark depths of the Chacha ravine, and which was now
under the direction and guidance of Father Asrat.

The hazy sun had sunk beyond the dark waters of the muddy Nile; the
rivulets were trickling in discoloured streams from the surrounding
hillocks, to form a temporary lake in the enclosed amphitheatre, and
each reeking thatch sent up its tribute to the cloud of thick mist,
which was fast settling over the low hills of Angollala.  The meadow
brooks were swollen to the brim, and the long plains, brilliant with
verdure, presented a pleasing prospect to the eye, although a most
treacherous surface to the incautious foot.  The monsoon was indeed
raging in violence over the land; and according to custom, the monarch,
thinly attended by his household officers and establishment, alone
occupied the palace.  All the governors and great men had taken leave
and departed to their respective provinces, the capital was well nigh
deserted, and as night closed in, the few remaining serf inhabitants
were seeking a dry corner in their frail huts, to shiver through the
weary hours of darkness.

As the moan of the wind is heard preceding the coming storm, so the hum
of a confused multitude first struck upon the practised ear of the
vigilant.  The alarm was quickly spread by the fierce baying of the
dogs.  The chant of the singer suddenly ceased within the palace, and
the king, followed by all his attendants, rushed to the southern
palisade.  Then was distinctly heard the clattering of hoofs over the
opposite heights above the Chacha, as the pagan host surrounded the
devoted hamlet of Cherkos.  The glare of light and the faint wreath of
smoke next succeeded, as the torch spread from hut to hut.  The wind
blew cold and gusty, and the flames wheeling in fearful eddies through
the mist, revealed at intervals the cliff and the crag, and the peaceful
church reposing amid the dark grove of junipers, hitherto unpolluted by
the foot of the Gentile.

The wild shout of triumph, mingling with the shrill shriek of despair,
now rolled in fitful notes across the intervening plain.  The whole
firmament was illumined by the flames of the burning village, and they
were witnessed in terror by the assembled inmates of the palace; for the
sacred precincts of the church itself had now been invaded, and a group
of priests in their last extremity could be distinctly seen, surrounded
by a mass of the savage foe.  But the next eddy of mist from the boiling
cauldron that was interposed, shrouded the scene.

The priest Asrat shuddered at the thoughts of his narrow escape, for he
had only that morning quitted the sacred shelter.  But the eyeball was
in vain strained to see what was passing.  Darkness rendered its efforts
abortive.  By degrees the flame expired, and one horrid shout of
exultation from ten thousand wild throats rose over hill and dale, in
earnest that the work of slaughter had been well finished for that
night, and that numbers were not wanting for the morrow.

Hurry and confusion reigned throughout the capital.  The king was
advised to avail himself of the protection of darkness, and retire to
Ankober; but his evening dream had been pleasant, and he was buoyed up
by the words of the strong monk.  "Shall I leave my children in the day
of their distress," he exclaimed, "and the seat of my fathers to be
polluted by the accursed touch of the rebel?  No; death is preferable to
such disgrace."  The royal gates opened to receive the terrified
inhabitants, who came flocking up the hill.  Every matchlock was lowered
from the walls of the great hall, and distributed amongst the young and
able-bodied.  Doors were barred and barricaded, and sufficient means of
defence for a time seemed to have miraculously sprung from the
untenanted location.

The pens of the scribes were now wielded with vigour; and as each tiny
letter, or token, or entreaty, was handed for approval, the wild
horseman mounted on the moment, and his long hair streamed in the night
breeze, as, floundering through the muddy outlet, he dashed at speed
over the eastern plain.

The pressing call for aid flew quick through the land.  The love and the
fear of the king brought governor and vassal to the rescue; and as
hatred of the rebel's insolence stimulated even the dullest to action,
long before morning numerous bands from the immediate vicinity had
formed, on the meadow, a living barrier between the beleaguered monarch
and his stern foe.

Volume Two, Chapter XVII.

BATTLE OF ANGOLLALA.

The day dawned, and there remained nothing of the late beautiful village
of Cherkos.  Death and desolation had spread to the very gates of the
capital, and the rocky ridge was covered with a dark mass of the Galla
host.  But the plains were too miry to support the weight of man and
horse; and after an ineffectual attempt from one or two small parties,
the cloud of war settled again upon the scene of slaughter.

Frightful indeed was the sight which met the gaze of the Amhara, as they
took their position in front of the plundered village on the frowning
scarp of the ravine.  The opposite crags were studded with the mangled
bodies of their murdered compatriots.  Men, women, and children, had
been ruthlessly sacrificed, and the thousand favoured inhabitants of a
pleasant abode now lay stark and weltering among the rocks, where the
strength of the fierce pagan had hurled them.  The heaving of an arm
here and there evinced that the spark of life still remained in some;
but the chasm was impassable to the foot of man, and the wolf and hyaena
lay undisturbed, gorged and glutted after their reeking festival.

The sun shone brightly for the few days following the appearance of the
heathen host, and the surface of the muddy meadow had recovered its
wonted consistency.  Both parties were anxious for the combat which was
to decide the question of supremacy, for both were equally hard-pressed
for the means of subsistence.  With their usual reckless indifference to
the future, the Galla had wasted the country, and rioted in its
destruction.  The supplies brought to the royal camp were nearly
exhausted; and the king, galled by the presence of the rebellious array
within sight of his capital, having now succeeded in assembling a much
superior force, resolved upon giving battle on the morrow.

Prayers and psalms had been recited the livelong night--vows were made
at every shrine in the kingdom--and the ark of the cathedral of Saint
Michael had been transported from Ankober under a canopy of red cloth,
to shed its holy influence over the Christian army.  At an early hour
the king, under the shade of the velvet umbrellas, surrounded by his
chiefs, nobles, and high-priests, and preceded by kettle-drums and wind
instruments, issued from the palace gateway, and with his band of
matchlock-men, took up a position about a mile from the town.

During the night, detachments had been steadily moving from every
direction to this fixed point.  Column after column streamed through the
valley, or poured down the sloping hill; and as the day broke, the
warriors of Amhara formed a deep line of horse and foot on either side
of the monarch, one narrow plain and the river Chacha alone separating
them from the enemy.  Nor were the Galla in any way slow to take their
station, bristling in a dark front along the opposite ridge, where the
tall figure of the rebel was distinctly to be observed, marshalling his
wild forces for the coming fray.

The battle commenced by repeated discharges from the king's gunmen; but
the distance was too great for execution, and a shout of derision
answered each impotent volley.  The gigantic Tunkaiye first pressed
forward to the close encounter, and the cavaliers of Shoa were not slow
in following his example, for many fought under the eyes of their wives
and children--all for the honour of the king, and the glory of true
religion.

Down came the pagan host like the rushing blast, and the stones flew far
under the clatter of their hoofs.  But they were fiercely met by the
long-bladed spears of the Amhara, and every inch of ground was for once
stoutly contested.  The roar of the foaming cataract, which thundered
within fifty yards of the battle-field, was lost in the hoarse yells
which rung through the air.  The rocky bed proved for a time the scene
of slaughter, and the turbid waters receiving numbers of dying and
wounded wretches, hurried them to eternity.  At length, each individual
singling out his foe, the contest assumed the confused appearance of a
chance medley.  The sharp lance met with little opposition from the
cotton robe; and deprived of other weapons.  Christian and Galla,
grappling stoutly together, fought with sword and knife, and in the fury
of the moment, and in the excitement of the struggle, many rolled over
the frowning scarp, clinging tightly together in the last embrace of
death.

Medoko and his gallant sons were everywhere in the thickest of the
fight.  His shout, rising high over the storm, animated the
faint-hearted, and his presence roused to new life and exertion the
successful partisan.  Many of the Amhara bands were already reeling from
the repeated shock of the wild riders of the Hawash, when suddenly, in
the very heat of the action, a large body of warriors, clothed in black
mantles, and armed with long heavy spears, rushed down the hill on foot,
and, prostrating themselves as they passed the royal umbrellas,
descended fresh into the arena.  The fierce inhabitants of Mans had sped
to the rescue from their hereditary estates, and their savage ferocity
and reckless bravery was well known throughout the land.  The relations
and the household retainers of the rebel attempted to breast the storm,
but they were scattered like autumnal leaves before the angry blast; and
the chief arrived to the succour only to behold the spot strewed with
the bodies of his stoutest partisans, and to witness his beloved son,
the youthful Hailoo, sink before his eyes, transfixed by a dozen
spear-blades.  A panic seized the pagans; and, dismayed and
broken-hearted, they fled tumultuously in every direction.

In vain Medoko performed the most incredible acts of valour--his voice
had now lost its charm; and, crippled by a wound in his shoulder--his
proud heart swelling with indignation--he at length perceived that the
fortune of the day was not to be retrieved.  Cutting his way
single-handed through the squadrons of the enemy, he also gave the loose
rein to his horse, and scoured over the hills.

The sun had reached the meridian when the hot pursuit commenced, and the
arm of vengeance was not stayed until long after his sinking below the
western horizon.  Every Amhara spear was dripping in blood to the haft.
The stain of gore was on every cheek, and as the weary warrior returned
from the massacre, the chest of his jaded war-steed was ornamented with
the cloth of the accursed Gentile, whose body he had left to the fangs
of the wild beast.

After galloping for some miles with the few chiefs who had escaped from
the fatal field, a short halt was allowed to refresh the horses, and
Medoko proclaimed his intention of accompanying the party no further.
Asylum and assistance were offered in vain; the stout heart of the rebel
had been quelled by the late heavy loss he had sustained, and for a time
at least he bowed to the power of the monarch of Shoa.  Short was the
moment allowed for the explanation, and after a hurried parting and a
hope for better days, the band mounted and pressed on.

Medoko and his surviving son Chara, now commenced the more difficult
undertaking of threading their path back again among the advancing
Amhara; but a perfect knowledge of the localities enabled them to take
advantage of every hill and hollow.  After many weary hours of anxiety
they passed the capital undiscovered, and urging their horses to speed,
took the road to Ankober.  The Bereza was swollen and unfordable, but
their gallant steeds successfully breasted the rushing waters.  The
king's watchmen had left their cold posts, in order to take shelter from
the cutting blast, before the riders swept down the rocky defile of the
Chaka, towards the wooded sides of Mamrat; and long ere the voice of the
brotherhood had risen in the matin chant, the rebels had been formally
admitted to sanctuary, and were safely reposing in the sacred monastery
of Affaf Woira.

Volume Two, Chapter XVIII.

TRAGIC END OF MEDOKO.

In an open glade, at the foot of the great mountain range, stands the
church of Affaf Woira, and the tenement of Abba Salama, its superior,
enclosed by a rough stone wall.  Numerous huts are scattered in clusters
over a wooded eminence, which rises on the steep side of the river, and
here the indolent brothers,

  "Beneath the shade of melancholy boughs.
  Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time."

An air of the most perfect repose usually pervades the scene.  The
inmates are alike indifferent to the blast of winter and to the cares of
life.  Majestic trees tower high overhead, yielding undisturbed
protection to the vulture and the white ibis.  The "monk of the wood,"
the Gureza ape, there displays his variegated coat floating in peace
amongst the mossy branches; and whilst every breath from beneath wafts
up the perfumed air, the lazy monk of the monastery, during the entire
day, basks in the sun amidst the bright flowers of nature's growth,
gazing in apathy on the sparkling stream which steals through the
forest, half hid in a fringe of the willow and the bamboo.

But bustle and confusion for once disturbed this dreamy repose.  The
priests had been engaged in noisy choir, and the sacred drum had
resounded since dawn of day.  At length the portals of the hallowed
edifice were thrown open, and the holy procession, under the thundering
chorus of an Abyssinian psalm, moved over the bright greensward.  The
gay umbrellas of the church, rich in satin and silver, led the van, and
the corpulent Superior, in his white cotton robes, followed the
insignia, bestriding a sleek mule decked in metal chains and tinkling
bells.  At his side marched the bearers of the straight falchions,
sheathed in scabbards of polished silver.  A band of priests followed,
with their heads swathed in folds of white cotton, and their persons
wrapped in black woollen cloaks, profusely studded with blood-red
crosses and other emblems of Christianity; and closing the procession
strode two hundred stout dirty monks, clothed in the skin of the wild
antelope, with their shaven heads enveloped in dark greasy cloths, each
carrying in his hand a small iron cross, and joining the tribute of his
lusty throat to the deafening chant.  Dell and dingle rung again as the
psalm increased in violence, and the cavalcade, threading the
intricacies of the wood, proceeded on its mission of mercy, to implore
pardon for the rebel who had thrown himself on the protection of the
monastery.

The conference with the monarch was long and stormy.  The royal
vengeance, though far from being appeased, was curbed by a fear of the
Church, and more particularly so at the present juncture, when religious
disputes regarding the two natures of Christ were beginning to excite an
unusual ferment in many parts of the kingdom.  An unwilling pardon was
at length extorted, and the triumphant monks returned amidst the joyful
acclamations of the female inhabitants of Shoa, whose shrill voices are
raised on every possible occasion, and whose feelings were in the
present instance enlisted in the behalf of their old favourite.  The
trip also would appear to have been profitable to the holy fathers, for
it was currently reported that one half of the remaining wealth of
Medoko was the stipulated price to be paid for this monastic
intercession.

The nature of Abyssinian custom impels the humbled grandee to tempt
again the slippery ladder of power; and disgraced for a time, the
courtier, bending his neck to the misfortune, dances attendance on his
capricious master until fickle fortune smiles upon his fallen condition.
Unless enjoying the favour of the monarch, and basking in the sunshine
of the court, he is held of no account whatever; and the quiet
retirement of country life is despised and detested by a race who are
ignorant of its pleasures, and possess neither amusements nor
intellectual resources.

The property and estates of Medoko had not been confiscated, and months
rolled quietly along as day after day he took his station among the
courtiers in waiting; but the eye of the monarch was turned in cold
indifference upon his former favourite, and there were not wanting
counsellors to whisper deeds of blood into his ear.  Besides the father
confessor, the haughty chief had other enemies who were chafed at the
sight of the numerous band of well-equipped followers that Medoko still
entertained upon his ample means.  Many also had lost relations during
the rebellion, and misfortune had not abated one atom of the imperious
demeanour which ever characterised the chief.

The feast of Maskal was now approaching, and it being rumoured that
honours and government were to be again bestowed upon "the murderer of
the Amhara," as the rebel was denominated among the conspiring band,
measures were taken to counteract the royal intention, if such had
really been entertained.  The most odious calumnies were industriously
circulated; fresh accusations of disloyalty were daily carried to the
palace; and the monarch, hourly assailed on every side, at length
resolved to test the feelings of his vassal, by the offer of an inferior
post in the unhealthy country of Giddem.

For the last time the gallant chief at the head of his followers swept
up the palace hill of Angollala, and leaving, according to the
etiquette, his son Chara, together with his retainers, in the middle
court-yard, where shields and spears must be deposited, Medoko crossed
the enclosure, and alone and unattended entered the inner wicket.

On the several faces of the inner square are the entrances to the
principal buildings of the palace.  The great hall of entertainment on
one side faces the king's stables on the other, and the artificers'
workshops stand opposite the balcony of justice; but all are connected
by stone walls and stout palisades, through which private wickets lead
to the interior apartments.  His Majesty had not yet taken his seat in
public, but the usual throng of people were lounging about the yard, or
seated on the rough bedsteads which line one corner, for the convenience
of the great.

Medoko had hardly taken his solitary seat, when wreathed in smiles the
father confessor approached his victim.  Whispering in his ear the
intentions of the king, he strongly advised him to reject the proposal
with scorn; and no sooner had he ended than the four conspiring chiefs
advanced from the interior, bearing the royal preferment to the country
which was so thoroughly detested, and which had been hitherto offered
only to men of low degree.

The royal presentation, although received with the impatient curl of the
lip, and an indignant breathing from the distended nostril, was declined
in courteous terms--"The slave of the king desires only to be near the
person of his master."  But far different was the insolent answer
carried back to the monarch, whose superstitious feelings were further
irritated by the previous discourse and forebodings of the monk; for a
black bullock had been discovered lying dead at the threshold of the
gateway, portending that on that day an untimely fate awaited some one
within the royal precincts.

For a time no word escaped the moody lip of the monarch.  His features
remained fixed and still; but a withering glance from his solitary eye
shot over the band as he dismissed them from his presence with the
cutting remark, "That they were all traitors alike, and lazy cravens to
boot."

The hint was sufficient to Guffa Woosen, the _Dedj Agafari_, a man who
stickled at no atrocity to gratify his master and to serve his own ends.
After a hurried and mysterious consultation with six others equally
unprincipled as himself, they proceeded together into the outer
court-yard.  Approaching by degrees, the band surrounded the bed of the
chief, who was lulled into fatal security by a message that the king was
about to appear to receive in person the refusal of office in Giddem,
and whilst bandying a joke about the frail tenure of the dungeons of
Goncho, five long-bladed knives were suddenly sheathed to the hilt in
his brawny back.

Undaunted to the death, Medoko reared himself with difficulty from his
couch, and his good sword flashed instantaneously from the scabbard.  He
had been unwarily caught in the toils; but, like the wounded lion, he
stood fiercely at bay, and some of the hunters paid dearly for their
treacherous sport.  In the hour of battle his sword had seldom required
a second blow, and as the trenchant blade now fiercely descended into
the neck of the chief conspirator, the head of Guffa Woosen for a moment
drooped upon the shoulder, and in the next his lifeless trunk fell
heavily to the ground.  Again the ruddy steel gleamed overhead, but the
energy was fast fleeting from the stout sinew, and Selunko, although
marked for life with a desperate slash over the face, succeeded with the
remnant of his cowardly ruffians in basely escaping from the scene.  A
general rush and scramble now ensued for the tops of walls and houses;
and from these elevated places of security, savage yells proclaimed the
perpetration of the dastardly deed.  The king seized a double-barrelled
gun from the wall, lest the mighty warrior should attempt to storm the
harem; and a high tribute was paid to the single arm which had thus
cleared the court.

Desperately wounded, the chief now staggered across the yard, fainting
and falling more than once ere he reached the gateway.  No doorkeeper
remained to dispute the egress, and as yet none dared to cross the path
of the stricken brave.  One little enclosure alone separated him from
his devoted followers, but his strength was fast sinking with the
welling blood, and after swaying for a time from side to side, utterly
exhausted, he fell, with a groan, upon his knee in the last pangs of
death.

Tunkaiye, the great bulwark of the throne, was the first who recovered
from the panic, and cautiously advancing with the chosen of the Amhara
chivalry, he beheld through the wicket the situation of the chief.
Rushing through the door, he dealt a blow from behind on the neck of the
recumbent figure, and the head sunk to rise no more.  One faint struggle
of the right arm was alone to be distinguished, and one word was
indistinctly murmured amidst the gurgling of the flowing blood; for the
long knives of the assassins had penetrated into a brave heart, and the
victory over the king's enemy had been already achieved.

Crowds now rushed to the spot, and the limbs were hacked to pieces by
the miserable poltroons amidst the coarsest ribaldry and mirth.  One
wretch, as he thrust his crooked knife into the late brilliant eye,
exclaimed, "How is it that my father now bears the bite without power to
brush away the gnat?" and another, after succeeding with difficulty in
hewing through the iron muscles of the stout arm, declared, with a
laugh, that "the skin of an elephant was composed of less tough
material."

Deprived of their weapons, and of the countenance of the mighty fallen,
Medoko's son and followers surrendered on the first summons; and a dog,
carrying off his father's hand, brushed past young Chara as he entered
the murderous court-yard.  Stones and sticks were still being expended
on the remains of mortality which were strewed in every direction.  All
human resemblance had already been entirely effaced, and a deep pool of
blood remained to mark the dire tragedy.

To this hour the stain is settled upon the spot; and it is daily before
the eyes of the perpetrators of the outrage.  The stern warrior is never
mentioned within the precincts of the palace, and rich offerings are
continually made to all the churches in the land, to dissipate the
unpleasant dreams which too frequently haunt the royal couch.  But
although the name is now used amongst the Amhara only to still the
unruly child, the gallant Medoko is the darling theme of the roving
Galla.  The heathen female draws the long tress across her flashing eye
at the recollection of his fate; and the chief yet thinks with respect
of the brave spirit who could quell the feud and the intestine quarrel,
and who had led the wild host with success, to spoil the dominions of
the Christian despot.

Volume Two, Chapter XIX.

THE GALLA BORDERS--PROCLAMATION OF WAR.

Shortly after our departure from Ankober, a robbery was committed in the
residency; and the delinquents having been duly traced out by the
Lebashi, were sent in chains to Angollala, and incarcerated in one of
the palace court-yards.  The principal party proved to be a slave of the
king, aided and abetted by a scribe, who had been for some time employed
in copying manuscripts for Dr Roth; and the greater portion of the
stolen property was shortly returned by the hands of the chief smith,
who succeeded the disgraced page in the office of _baldoraba_.
"Strangers have visited me from a far country," was the message
wherewith he was charged, "and whilst residing under my protection they
have been plundered by my subjects.  My name has become tarnished.  I
have beaten the culprits with sticks, and shall cut off the ears of the
slave Wooseni, and sell him to the merchants of Hurrur."

Intercession, backed by presents, was successfully made with the king
and queen, in behalf of the offender, a lad of ten years of age, and he
was liberated after severe castigation.  "God must be angry with me,"
sobbed the juvenile thief, who had once before been detected beneath a
bed with a pair of scissors in his possession--"God _must_ be angry with
me, for I have only twice attempted to rob, and on both occasions have I
been punished."

Among the articles stolen, which consisted chiefly of beads, were
sovereigns of William the Fourth and of Queen Victoria, and suspicions
arising in the royal mind that these were not of gold, as asserted by
Lieutenant Barker, His Majesty proposed testing the metal by the ordeal
of fire.  A coin of the former reign was accordingly thrust into the
forge, and having then been immersed in water, was broken with a chisel
by the conclave of smiths.  "Call you this English gold?" exclaimed the
Negoos: "here then is a piece of Abyssinian gold for you,"--and throwing
upon the ground the brass foil of a sword scabbard, he laughed
immoderately.  A fourpenny piece was then exhibited, as a somewhat more
portable and commodious medium of exchange than blocks of fossil salt,
and the figure on the obverse immediately elicited the inquiry whether
the queens of England went forth with their armies to battle, since
Britannia was equipped with spear and shield, and was about to set a
_sareti_ in her crown like the warrior king of the Amhara.

[The _sareti_ is a sprig of wild asparagus worn in Shoa as a token of
victory, as will be seen presently.]

A quarrel of long standing between Ayto Melkoo and the
commander-in-chief of the gun-men, who ranked among the foremost of the
court sycophants, had been this day brought for adjustment before the
royal tribunal.  The award being found in favour of the appellant, the
Master of the Horse, although a great favourite, was handcuffed, and
imprisoned in the brewery, but after a few hours' durance he was set at
large, and his punishment commuted to a fine of seven hundred and fifty
pieces of salt.  "It is of no consequence," he remarked somewhat
unwisely, "I shall carry a _mamalacha_ to the `commander,' Captain
Harris, and he will pay the amount for me."

This boast had given occasion to malicious insinuations on the part of
his enemies, and after dark a confidential message was brought to me
from the palace, to the effect that Ayto Melkoo stood suspected of
concealing certain "pleasing things" understood to have been received
from my hands.  But this imputation, which, if confirmed, must have
involved disgrace and confiscation of property, proved, fortunately for
the accused, to have no foundation.

A better instance could scarcely have been adduced to illustrate the
fleeting and precarious nature of the despot's smiles.  The mother of
this tottering favourite, a native of Ambasel in the province of Lasta,
was for many years the mistress of Hatze Yasoo, then Emperor of Gondar,
on whose demise she became an inmate of the seraglio of Asfa Woosen.
Ayto Wadi, the distinguished Galla governor of Angollala, being thrown
into prison by the latter monarch, contrived to solace himself with the
presence of the lady, and the Master of the Horse was the result of the
intrigue.  No disgrace whatever attaching to his illegitimate origin, he
was regarded in the light of a member of the royal family; and, being
brought up in the palace, has succeeded during three several reigns in
maintaining a position at court, which might now have been sacrificed by
the clandestine possession of a dozen ells of English broad-cloth.  The
_amende_ was, nevertheless, made to him in the course of a few days, by
the addition of another village to his landed possessions at Doba.

Such paltry proofs of espionage were invariably followed by some
especial token of the royal goodwill, ushered in by a goat, or a jar of
honey, as a peace-offering.  In this instance, after the despot had been
fully satisfied of the groundless nature of his surmises, I received a
special invitation to accompany him the next day on a shooting
excursion, a Galla ram, the size of a well-grown calf, having first been
thrust into the tent by the bearer of the message--the dirty page
Besabeh--who, as usual, composed himself to sleep in a corner after the
due performance of his errand.

Saturday, being the Jewish Sabbath, brings rest from all labour, and is
invariably devoted by the king to excursions abroad.  Starting on
horseback at an early hour, a gallop of several miles led us across the
Chacha, and over the border of the Galla dependencies, to an extensive,
but narrow sheet of water, where an otter had lately been seen.  "It has
hands, and nails, and fingers like a man," observed the monarch gravely,
"and a head like a black dog, and a skin like velvet; and it builds its
house at the bottom of the river, and plucks grass, and washes it in the
water; and all my people thought it was the devil, and would destroy
them with strong medicine.  Now is this animal found in your country,
and how do they call its name?"

We amused ourselves by killing snipe, much to the entertainment of the
monarch, who displayed little talent for shooting birds on the wing, and
made no secret of many very unsportsmanlike ideas.  Numerous ducks and
geese soon arrested his attention.  Drawing up with his retinue, and
resting his weapon over the shoulder of an attendant to insure steady
aim, he kept up a murderous fire with ball, shot, and slugs, during a
full half hour.  The weather was passing cold, and ever and anon His
Majesty blew his nose betwixt his thumb and fore-finger, and wiped them
on the mantle of the governor of Bulga, who eagerly proffered it for
acceptance.  A serious diminution in the numerical strength of the
feathered fools resulted in no attempt to take flight or even to shift
position.  Incredible though it may appear, the living still paddled
among the floating carcasses of their slaughtered comrades, as if
nothing had happened, until the destroyer, weary of persecuting the
"unclean birds," which were not even taken out of the water, remounted
and crossed the country at speed to a wide meadow, traversed by the
serpentine Chacha.

Bald coots were here playing at hide-and-seek, whilst red-headed divers
peeped warily forth for an instant, as the noisy cavalcade advanced.
The spoonbill, and the leather-necked ibis of Egyptian veneration,
displayed their white plumage along the sedge-grown borders.  The heron,
the snakebird, and the redshank, waded through the shallow drifts; and
geese, widgeon, teal, and mallard, rose whirring in the air at every
step.  But amidst all this inviting variety, the snowy egret was the
object of the king's ambition; and although, after many unsuccessful
attempts, he failed in adorning his head with her unsullied plumes, he
retired perfectly satisfied with his skill as a rifleman, after a long
stray shot had perforated the eye of an "_alata furda_."  This is a
gigantic slate-coloured crane, with eccentric red wattles; and several
pairs that were marching over the mead had previously elicited most
notable displays of gunmanship on the part of Ayto Berkie and others of
the royal favourites.

Abogaz Maretch, with his feudal train of Abitchu, joined the _cortege_
as it passed Wona-badera, his seat of government.  The treeless expanse
passed over--a type of the entire Galla territory north of Moolo-Falada,
where forest land commences--consists of wide valleys clothed with a
verdant carpet of grass, clover, and trefoil, which, from their
redundant luxuriance, almost impede progress.  Every little intersecting
eminence is completely covered with flourishing fields of barley and
wheat, and crowned with villages fortified with strong stockades; and
one ancient _woira_ excepted, whose venerable boughs formed in days gone
by a trysting-place to the hostile pagans, not a single bush or tree was
visible during the long ride.

An extensive barrier of loose stones hastily thrown up during the
rebellion of Medoko, fortifies the south-eastern environs of Angollala;
and although confessedly inferior to the great wall of China, it is
calculated to offer temporary opposition to horsemen who are no Nimrods.
Some of the lower parts were cleared by Captain Graham and myself
without the slightest difficulty, and much to His Majesty's amazement;
but every attempt on the part of the Amhara to follow our example proved
a complete failure.  On our return we passed through a palisaded wicket
in this breastwork, which is dignified with the title of "the King's
Gate," and forms the scene of the few public executions that take place.
Chiefs and governors were also accorded the privilege of squeezing
through with the crowned head, but followers and people of low degree
were compelled by the stick of the doorkeeper to adopt a circuitous
route over a belt of stony hills adjoining, which form a continuation of
the defences.

The ascent to the palace was accomplished under a wild choral chant,
laudatory of the monarch, which invariably announces his return from an
excursion abroad.  The road was lined with pilgrims clothed in yellow
garments, and having each a cross of blue clay upon his forehead.  They
had been to perform their vows, or redeem their pledges left, at the
sanctuary of Debra Libanos [Mount Lebanon], chief seat of learning in
Shoa, and the renowned scene of the miracles of Tekla Haimanot, its
founder.  Hard pressed by his enemies, the patron and lawgiver of
Ethiopia is said to have leapt through the trunk of a venerable tree, a
seam in which yet vouches for the truth of the legend that it
spontaneously clave asunder at his holy bidding, but closed to foil the
sacrilegious assailants who sought his life.  Being athirst, he prayed
unto God, whereupon the archangel Michael, who was his mediator, caused
a fountain to rise at his feet, supplied by the stream of the river
Jordan.  A cross which he carried in his hand had been swept away during
the passage of a neighbouring torrent, but no sooner did he curse the
waters, than they were dried up, and have never since flowed above the
channel!

The remains of the saint still cast a halo over the spot in which they
he interred, and the pool which he blessed, retains to this day the
property of cleansing the leper, and healing every disease on either of
the three days annually devoted to the commemoration of his birth,
death, and ascension.  Famous as the most holy of shrines throughout
Southern Abyssinia, men of every rank, from the monarch to the meanest
peasant, if unable to repair thither in person, delegate their
substitute with offerings according to their wealth.  Having on his way
bathed in the "Segga Wadum," or "river of flesh and blood"--a tributary
to the Nile, formed by the confluence of the Sana Robi and the Sana
Boka--the pilgrim quaffs the waters of the mineral well, describes upon
his forehead the sacred emblem of Christianity, and after kissing, at
the adjacent church of Saint Mary, a cross which is asserted by the
priesthood to have fallen from heaven, he is secure against sickness and
witchcraft.  The very earth from Debra Libanos is carried away as an
antidote to maladies, and all who meet the returning pilgrim, fall
prostrate upon the ground, and kiss the dust from off his feet.

No sooner had His Majesty entered the palace-gate, than the sound of the
imperial kettle-drum announced the presence of the herald, and crowds
collected to listen to the royal edict.  Standing upon the hill-side
beneath the shadow of a solitary stunted tree, which, had it a tongue,
could unfold many a tale of woe and oppression, he thus proclaimed in a
loud voice to the multitude assembled; "Hear, oh, hear!  Thus saith the
King.  Behold, we have foes, and would trample upon their necks.
Prepare ye every one for war.  On the approaching festival of Abba
Kinos, whoso faileth to present himself at Yeolo as a good and loyal
subject, mounted, armed, and carrying provisions for twenty-one days,
shall be held as a traitor, and shall forfeit his property during seven
years."

Volume Two, Chapter XX.

A LECTURE ON PHYSIC.

The skill of the medical officers attached to the Embassy had already
produced its effect upon a nation so ignorant of the healing art.
Woizoro Indanch Yellum, aunt to His Majesty, arriving from Achun-Kurra
on a visit to the court, was made the bearer of compliments on the part
of Zenama Work, the Queen-dowager, [i.e. rain of gold] "respecting the
pardon of the delinquent slave."  But they were accompanied by a request
for medicine, and an admonition that the British guests of her son would
do well not to squander all their drugs amongst those who knew not how
to appreciate them.  "We have seen wondrous things achieved in the time
of Sahela Selassie," concluded this message from "the golden
shower,"--"and the prophecies respecting the red men have indeed fully
come to pass."

The fame, too, of the operation performed with such singular success
upon the governor of Mentshar had spread far and wide, and applications
for surgical aid became daily more numerous--the patient, in lieu of
tendering a fee, invariably insisting, when cured, upon the receipt of
some reward.  Priests, renowned for the sanctity of their lives, applied
in the same breath for a white head-dress, and for a remedy against
disorders superinduced "by eating the flesh of partridges."  Even nuns
did not disdain assistance, and many a hapless victim to Galla barbarity
sought a cure for his irreparable misfortunes.

An exceedingly ill-favoured fellow, striding into the tent, exhibited a
node upon the forehead, which he desired might be instantly removed.
"The knife, the knife," he exclaimed; "off with it; my face is spoiled,
and has become like that of a cow."  A ruffian who, in a domestic brawl,
had contrived to break the arm of his wife, entreated that it might be
"mended;" and a wretched youth, whose leg had been fractured twelve
months previously, was brought in a state of appalling emaciation, with
the splinters protruding horribly.  Amputation was proposed as the only
resource, but the Master of the Horse was loud in his opposition.  "Take
my advice," he remonstrated, "and leave this business alone.  If the boy
dies, all will declare that the `proprietor of the medicines' killed
him--and furthermore, should he survive, it will be said the Almighty
cured him."

In Shoa, the practice of surgery directs the removal of a carious tooth
with the hammer, punch, and pincers of the blacksmith.  Should
venesection be required, a stick placed in the patient's mouth is
tightened by means of a thong passed round his neck, and the distended
veins of the forehead are then opened with a razor.  Cupping, performed
by means of a horn exhausted by suction, is also extremely fashionable;
and actual cautery, which is believed to strengthen the muscles of the
spear arm, is applied by means either of a pile of lighted cotton, or a
stick heated by rapid friction.  Fractured bones that have united badly
are said to be violently rebroken to admit of their being properly set;
and upon the authority of Ayto Habti, the chief physician in ordinary,
it may also be stated, that splinters coming away are successfully
supplied by portions of the skull of a newly-slain sheep or goat!

But amulets and enchantments are by all classes held far more
efficacious than the drugs of the Abyssinian "possessor of remedies,"
[_Bala medanit_, "the master of the medicines," is the term applied to
every physician] which of a truth must be acknowledged to form but a
feeble _materia medica_.  Insanity, epilepsy, delirium, hysteria, Saint
Vitus's dance, and in fact all obstinate disorders for which no specific
is known, are invariably ascribed to the influence of demons or
sorcerers, and the patient is either declared to be possessed of a
devil, or to labour under the disastrous consequences of inumbration by
the shadow of an enemy.  Shreds of blue paper are held to be
preservatives against headache, and the seeds of certain herbs are worn
as charms against hydrophobia and disasters on a journey; but of these,
some must be plucked with the left hand, and others with a finger on
which there is a silver ring, and all under a fortunate horoscope, or
they can avail nothing.

Small-pox frequently devastates the land, and a free boy of pure blood
is then selected from among the number of the infected, and carefully
secluded until the pustules are ripe.  Many hundred persons assemble,
and a layman, chosen for the rectitude of his life, having mixed the
lymph with honey, proceeds to inoculate with a razor.  Death is often
the consequence of the clumsy operation, of the origin of which no
tradition exists; neither has any charm been yet discovered to avert the
scourge.

Whilst invalids of all classes daily flocked to my camp for medical
assistance, applications were not wanting from the palace, in proof of
the reputation that we had acquired.  One of the princesses royal, who
had been lodged with the illustrious guest from Achun-Kurra, in the
crimson pavilion presented by the British Government, found herself in
need of advice; and on being visited, lay concealed beneath the basket
pedestal of a wicker dining-table, whence her sprained foot was thrust
forth for inspection.  Divers respectable duennas of the royal kitchen,
who had been severely scalded by the bursting of a pottage cauldron,
were also treated with success when they had been given over by the body
physician, at whose merciless hands the sobbing patients had been
plastered over with honey and soot.  A mutton bone was next extracted
from the throat of a page, where it had been firmly wedged for three
days.  But the cure which elicited the most unqualified and universal
amazement was that of a favourite Baalomaal [Officer of the royal
household] who, labouring under a fit of apoplexy, which had deprived
him of animation, was suddenly revived by venesection, after fumigation
with _ashkoko goomun_ [Hyrax's cabbage] had been tried without the
smallest avail, and preparations were already commencing for his
interment.

Medicine, in fact, now engrossed the royal attention.  Phials and drugs
without number were sent to the tent, with a request that they might be
so labelled as to admit of the proper dose being administered to
patients labouring under complaints, for the removal of which they were
respectively adapted.  Two or more invalids, who objected to be seen,
were certain to arrive at the palace within every four and twenty hours;
and no subterfuge that ingenuity could devise was left untried, by which
to augment the already ample stock of pills on hand.  "You will take
care not to give the whole of the remedies to my people, or there will
be none left for myself, should I fall sick," was an almost daily
message from the selfish despot.  But prescriptions designed for his own
use were invariably tried first upon a subject; and the much-dreaded
goulard-wash having been once more prepared, directions were given to
apply it constantly to a boy who had been found labouring under
ophthalmia, in order to ascertain whether he died or survived.

The most particular inquiries were instituted relative to the mode of
counteracting the influence of the evil eye, and much disappointment was
expressed at the unavoidable intimation that Dr Kirk's dispensary
contained neither "the horn of a serpent," which is believed to afford
an invaluable antidote against witchcraft, no preservative against
wounds received in the battle-field, nor any nostrum for "those who go
mad from looking at a black dog."

"We princes also fear the small-pox," said His Majesty, "and therefore
never tarry long in the same place.  Nagasi, my illustrious ancestor,
suffered martyrdom from this scourge.  Have you no medicine to drive it
from myself?"

Vaccine lymph there was in abundance, but neither Christian, Moslem, nor
Pagan had yet consented to make trial of its virtues.  Glasses,
hermetically sealed, betwixt which the perishable fluid had been
deposited, were exhibited, and its use expounded.  "No, no!" quoth the
king, as he delivered the acquisition to his master of the horse, with a
strict injunction to have it carefully stitched in leather--"this is
_talakh medanit_, very potent medicine indeed; and henceforth I must
wear it as a talisman against the evil that beset my forefathers."

"You must now give me the medicine which draws the vicious waters from
the leg," resumed His Majesty, "and which is better than the earth from
Mount Lebanon;--the medicine which disarms venomous snakes, and that
which turns the grey hairs black;--the medicine to destroy the worm in
the ear of the queen, which is ever burrowing deeper;--and, above all,
the medicine of the seven colours, which so sharpens the intellects, as
to enable him who swallows enough of it, to acquire every sort of
knowledge without the slightest trouble.  Furthermore, you will be
careful to give my people _none of this_."

Volume Two, Chapter XXI.

THE CAMPAIGN.

In common with all other African potentates, Sahela Selassie never
engages in war, induced either by public principles, or by national
glory, and, least of all, by a love of his people.  Whilst the fear of
rebellion and disturbance at home deters him from attempting on a grand
scale to resume the lost possessions of his ancestors, to wield the
sceptre as they did, three hundred miles south of his present limits,
and to re-unite the scattered remnants of Christian population who once
acknowledged their supremacy--revenge, the almost invariable success
attending his arms, and the insatiable love of plunder inherent in the
breast of every savage, impel him thrice a year to gather his
undisciplined militia, in order to undertake sudden and sweeping
inroads, either for the purpose of chastising insurrection among the
subjugated usurpers of portions of the ancient empire of -Ethiopia, or
of asserting his unstable authority over some neighbouring tribe that
may heretofore have succeeded in maintaining its independence.

The wilds of Abyssinia are not easily explored by the solitary
traveller, and I therefore gladly embraced the opportunity of acquiring
important information relative to the mode of Amhara warfare, as well as
of visiting regions almost unknown.  Superstition, policy, and fear,
alike influenced the wily monarch in his expressed desire to be
accompanied by his British guests.  The presence of the stranger being
considered to shed a blessing over the army, is invariably enforced by
royal mandate, which extends indiscriminately to all residing within the
kingdom; and whilst His Majesty, distrusting the sojourn in his
undefended capital of so large a body of foreigners, sought the
augmentation of his consequence in the eyes both of enemies and
subjects, I indulged in the hope that the cause of humanity might be
promoted by the check which the presence of the European invariably
enforces upon the excited savage, during the revolting and sanguinary
scenes of exulting victory.  From the fact of the army having provided
rations for no more than twenty days, it was clearly impossible that
operations should be directed against Lake Zooai, in Gurague, distant
from Angollala one hundred and fifty miles; and this circumstance fully
explained the before incomprehensible indifference displayed by the
Negoos to every preparation which might facilitate the advance of his
troops.  Keeping the secret of his real intentions fast locked in his
own despotic breast, it is the invariable practice of His Majesty to
publish a manifesto of the approaching campaign, calculated to mislead
his enemies; and he not unfrequently carries the deception so far, as to
make three or four marches in a direction quite opposite to that in
which he had inwardly resolved to strike the blow.  None have the
slightest idea in what quarter the thunderbolt is to fall, and as the
fatal season draws nigh when the state revenues are to be levied,
anxiously must throb the conscious bosom of that vassal who has fallen
under the royal displeasure.

Beyond the removal of muskets and matchlocks from their pegs, to be
oiled and exposed to the sun before the porch of the great audience
hall, few signs of preparation were observable for the approaching
foray.  Angollala was indeed somewhat more populous than usual, and
beggars more numerous and importunate.  Wild Galla chieftains, too, were
in attendance with propitiatory offerings and outstanding arrears of
tribute, and the interior of the palace presented a scene of increased
bustle and confusion.  His Majesty was to be seen absorbed in the
inspection of venerable pots, pans, and pipkins, which would have been
esteemed invaluable contributions to the British Museum.  Tailors,
silks, tinsel, and satin, were in equal requisition towards the
decoration of the imperial person, and the fat Master of the Horse,
assisted by the _elite_ of the household warriors, sat cobbling old
leather with laudable assiduity for the edification of a whole host of
eunuchs.  But in the arsenal there was no busy note of preparation such
as is wont to precede European warfare; no crowding of light ordnance
and heavy batteries; no commissariat, waggon-train, or sick carriage;
and no interminable files of camels loading for the approaching march.

  "The steed,
  The mustering squadron, and the clattering car,"

had no place on the parade: the complicated and expensive equipment, and
the munitions of the siege, were alike wanting; and although a few
detachments were bivouacked on the adjacent meadow, and the black pall
of a governor was here and there to be seen, it was still difficult even
to conjecture whence the army of the despot was to spring.

Abject slaves to superstition, the Amhara never fail to consult the
omens before setting out on a military expedition.  Priests and monks
are referred to by the monarch, and the accidental fall of the targe
from a saddle bow, the alighting of a hooded crow in the path of a
warrior, or the appearance of a white falcon with the tail towards him,
are believed to augur unfavourably to success; whilst the flight of a
pair of ravens in any direction, or the descent of a falcon with her
head towards the army, are on the other hand esteemed certain
prognostications of victory.  For a full week prior to the opening of
the projected campaign, the nocturnal howling of dogs had boded an
inauspicious termination.  One cur bayed at the moon as she rose; a
second and a third took up the vile note, and a doleful concert of
hundreds gave birth in the mind of the Christian soldier to presage of
coming evil.  Queen Besabesh was to await the issue of the foray at
Angollala, and the command of the town meanwhile devolved upon the
eunuch Wolda Mariam, with a garrison sufficient to deter visits on the
part of the Galla, who have more than once attempted to burn the palace
during such incursions into their territories.  On the morning of the
day appointed, a flourish of trumpets from the royal band proclaimed the
exit of the Negoos from the palace, and shortly after sunrise the
imperial crimson velvet umbrellas issued through the outer gateway at
the head of a numerous procession.  Crossing the meadow, His Majesty,
resplendent in cloth of gold, took the road to the south by the wicket
in the Galla wall, on which a strong advance picquet had already taken
post.  Every house in Angollala swelled the passing cavalcade; and each
valley and hamlet in the environs marshalling its quota of mounted
warriors, the nucleus of the incipient army, before advancing many
miles, had become thick and dense.  Abogaz Maretch with the Abitchu
legion streamed from the stockaded hill of Wona-badera, and a band of
veterans occupying the summit of an adjacent rock meanwhile chanted the
prowess of the royal warrior, who halted a few seconds in acknowledgment
of their flattering eulogium.

Little order or arrangement is attempted during the first march, which
invariably terminates at or near Yeolo, in order to afford time to
stragglers to rejoin, or to admit of the return of those who may from
any circumstance prove incapable of toil, or unprepared for the
campaign.  Immediately in advance of the army, screened beneath a canopy
of scarlet broad-cloth, were borne on an ambling mule the Holy
Scriptures and the ark of the cathedral of Saint Michael, the miraculous
virtues of which sacred emblem, throwing into shade those of the
Palladium of Troy, are believed to ensure victory to the Christian host.
Supported by the crimson _debaboch_, the king rode next upon a
richly-caparisoned mule, a small space around the royal person being
kept clear by the corps of shield-bearers, who were flanked on the right
by fusiliers and matchlock-men of the body-guard, and on the left by the
band of kettle-drums on donkeys, with trumpets and wind instruments.
Numerous governors, judges, monks, priests, and singers followed, and
behind them rode a curious accompaniment to a martial expedition.  Forty
dames and damsels, professing the culinary art, with elaborately-crisped
bee-hive wigs, greased faces bedaubed with ochre, and arched blue
eyebrows, were muffled in crimson-striped robes of cotton--a demure
assemblage rigorously guarded on all sides by austere eunuchs armed with
long white wands.  Beyond, far as the eye could penetrate the canopy of
dust which hung over the horizon, every hill and valley swarmed with
masses of equestrians and pedestrians, warriors, henchmen, and
camp-followers, sumpter horses, asses, and mules, laden with tents,
horns of old mead, and bags of provisions--throngs of women carrying
pitchers of beer and hydromel at their backs, and lads with glittering
sheaves of spears upon their shoulders, leading gaily-caparisoned
war-steeds--all mixed and crowded together in the most picturesque
disorder and confusion.

After crossing the Chacha, the country to the south-west is no longer
safe for a single traveller; and owing to the determined hostility of
the various wild Galla tribes by which it is inhabited, small Amhara
detachments would even find difficulty in passing.  The road lay through
an amphitheatre of low broken hills, rising amid rich meadows and
fields, and clothed in parts with juniper or camel thorn, through dark
groves of which peeped numerous tiny Galla hamlets--the distant
landscape being bounded by the great blue mountain ranges of Bulga,
Garra Gorphoo, and Sallala Moogher, collectively forming a crescent, but
towering independently in isolated grandeur.

At the termination of the fifteenth mile, the ladies and their eunuchs,
having hovered about for some time in uncertainty, finally settled down,
like a flight of flamingoes, in a pretty secluded valley, through which
winds the deep muddy Baroga.  Their halt, and the selection made of a
site for the royal kitchen, proclaimed the encamping ground under a
naturally scarped table-hill styled Gimbee Bayello, which imparts its
name to the spot.  A fierce scramble for places ensued, and the several
detachments bivouacking _sub divo_ around the dingy palls of their
respective leaders, which arose on the next minute, soon spread far and
wide over every dell and meadow.

The centre of the straggling camp, which could not have measured less
than five miles in diameter, was occupied by the royal suite of tents,
consisting of a gay parti-coloured marquee of Turkish manufacture,
surrounded by twelve ample awnings of black serge, over which floated
five crimson pennons, surmounted by silver globes.  Until these had been
erected, and duly enclosed by an outer screen of cotton cloths, the
Negoos, according to his wont, ascending an adjacent eminence, with all
the principal chieftains, and an escort of several hundred picked
warriors, remained seated on a cushioned _alga_; and under the crimson
canopy of the state umbrellas, watched the progress making towards his
accommodation.

Horses abound in the kingdom of Shoa, as well as throughout the adjacent
champaign country of the Galla; but save during the foray, they are
rarely mounted by the indolent Amhara, the sure-footed mule being better
adapted to his taste, and to the rugged hills that compose the greater
portion of the frontier.  The note of war, however, had so materially
increased the value of the steed, that even the few horses we required
had been obtained with difficulty.  Every old, unsound, and vicious
Rozinante in the realm was speciously presented, and in turn rejected,
when Abogaz Maretch at length advertised his stud.  Two hundred pieces
of salt were the price fixed upon the first purchase; and as this _small
change_ was not procurable within thirty miles, and moreover would have
formed the load of two jackasses, ten Austrian convention dollars were
forwarded in lieu thereof, each valued at ten amoles, and exhibiting all
the requisite jewels in the star and coronet of Maria Theresa.  "I have
kept your silver," was the chief's reply, "because you have sent it; but
in future when I sell you a horse, I shall expect you to pay me in
salt."

In a country where even the hire of a porter is dependent upon the
arbitrary caprice of the despotic sovereign, and where the inferiors of
the court, entertaining one and all the most thorough contempt for
truth, are lavish of promises without the smallest intention of
performing them, no little difficulty had also been experienced in
obtaining transport at so busy a season.  Our preparations were
therefore of an extremely limited nature, no member carrying aught save
the scantiest bedding, whilst the general commissariat was restricted to
a small bag of flour with the jerked flesh of two oxen that had been
provided on the occasion from the royal herds.  But orders for the
supply of porters, who were not to be hired, had only been issued at the
very last moment, when the purveyor-general, with his customary
liberality, reducing the kingly grant by one half, those finally
furnished--three in number--proved barely sufficient for the carriage of
rocket staves, medical stores, and surgical instruments required for the
state service; the flimsy cotton awnings and scanty baggage of both
officers and escort being reluctantly transported by a few hired
domestics, or lashed with sharp leathern thongs upon the galled backs of
feeble old pack-horses, purchased on emergency at the adjacent market of
Bool Worki.

When contrasted with disciplined forces, the camp equipage of the rabble
Amhara was small and portable indeed.  A commissariat is unknown, every
soldier and follower transporting his own provisions, which are limited
to parched grain, or sun-dried flesh; and as, owing to the rapidity of
the march, and the usual absence of opposition, the campaign is rarely
protracted beyond a fortnight, this system has been found to answer.
Governors and leaders alone occupy tents, whilst every component member
of their respective quotas, in defiance of cold and rain, bivouacks upon
the bare ground, with his head upon the shield, and no screen betwixt
himself and the vault of heaven, save the clothes upon his back.

Strange was the sight presented as night closed over the first
encampment of the chivalry of Shoa.  Rockets were to be fired by the
royal request to instil terror into the breasts of the Galla hordes; and
we had selected the peak which rose near the head-quarters, as being the
most centrical site for the display.  Ascending from below, the hum of
the mighty host arose in the still clear atmosphere, and the gleam of
the bright embers which ran through the depths of the valley, and danced
over the intervening heights, until lost in the far distance, presented
the appearance of a city of ancient days, whereof the great arteries
being alone lit up during the nocturnal hours, full scope was allowed to
the imagination to populate at pleasure the intervening gloom.

The appearance at Angollala of the muskets presented to His Majesty by
the British Government had already caused no inconsiderable
consternation, it being the generally received belief that the bayonet,
hitherto a stranger in the land, formed a great receptacle for poisonous
spells.  The roar of each flight of "fire-rainers" now produced a panic
from end to end of the scattered camp.  A buzz and a clamour of voices
followed each luminous ascent, to burst forth into a loud peal of wonder
when the brilliant shower of meteors fell after the explosion.
Confusion ensued; horses and mules, breaking from their pickets, scoured
away in terror, pursued by henchman and warrior, their figures, flitting
in dim perspective among the countless bale-fires, like shades called
into existence by some magic agency; and the scene doubtless proved to
the gazing monarch that the political object in contemplation had been
well and fully accomplished.

Habitual suspicion on the part of the despot inducing him to apprehend
desertion to the enemy, the arms of the fusiliers of the body-guard were
piled according to long-established usage, in one of the royal tents,
and strongly guarded.  The chiefs and nobles then sate down to a repast
in the pavilion, where hydromel and beer and raw flesh were in regal
profusion.  As the horn circulated briskly, and the spirits of the
guests mounted in proportion, it was curious to listen to the vaunts of
coming prowess that arose from the board.  No limit was placed upon the
victims who were to be gathered to their fathers, and loyalty and
devotion knew no bounds.  "You are the adorners," stammered one, as the
party broke up, who had been decorated by his English friends; "you gave
me scarlet broadcloth, and behold I have reserved the gift for the
present occasion.  This garment will bring me signal success; for the
pagan who espies a crimson cloak over the shoulder of the Amhara,
believing him to be a warrior of distinguished valour, takes like an ass
to his heels, and is speared without the slightest danger."

Volume Two, Chapter XXII.

THE ENEMY'S COUNTRY.

Rome is said to have subdued the world under the direction of a hen and
chickens, but the legions of Shoa and Efat are aroused to victory by the
shrill crowing of a cock, which is invariably carried with the army, in
one of the wicker baskets forming the pedestal of the banqueting table.
One hundred and fifty-six choristers, termed _asmaroch_, are entertained
at the expense of the crown, upon extensive grants of land, to chant
psalms and hymns each livelong night of the entire year.  Twelve are
brought on duty every month, and their vigils, which are invariably kept
standing, are observed with more than usual strictness during the
continuance of a military expedition.  Throughout the hours of darkness
their loud chorus arose from the pavilion without a moment's
intermission, and their vocal labours around the holy ark ceased only
with the approach of dawn.

Many detachments being still in the rear, a halt was proclaimed with a
view to admit of their joining the head quarters, and the king, escorted
by two thousand cavalry, made an excursion to a knoll at some distance
from the encampment, whence on a range stretching to the south-eastward,
the hill of Dalofa was conspicuous.  Hereon His Majesty has recently
erected a palace, which he rarely visits except for the purpose of
controlling by his presence the disaffected and turbulent Galla, whose
continual outbreaks render it a far from agreeable place of residence.
Gazing for hours over the extensive tract of rich meadow land which lay
stretched like a map at his feet, the mind of the contemplative monarch,
occasionally occupied by the administration of justice, appeared to be
chiefly engrossed with the coming chapter of events, and to be
abstractedly scanning the direction in which to pounce upon the
surrounding foe.

The favourite dancing girl meanwhile attuning her shrill throat to song
laudatory of her own vocal powers, and of her happy state of
independence, in wild though far from pleasing notes carolled ever and
anon as the spirit of the nightingale entered into her soul.

  "Care have I none, no flock to keep,
  Nor corn to grind, nor field to reap;
  'Tis mine alone through the livelong day
  To charm the king with my roundelay.

  "Task have I none, no toil to share,
  Nor wood to fetch, nor load to bear;
  'Tis mine alone but to dance and sing,
  And drink to the health of my lord the king."

"Pity is it," remarked one of our party, "since the damsel has so little
to do, that she does not that little better."

"What fault have you to find with her performance?" growled the chief
smith from beneath the ample folds of his lion skin cloak, enveloped in
which he had composed himself to rest under the shadow of an adjacent
bush;--"what fault have you to find with the king's _asmari_?  She sings
according to the fashion of her own country, and that is surely
sufficient."

Early the ensuing morning the royal drums beat to saddle, and in half an
hour the army, which had swelled meanwhile to about fifteen thousand
fighting men, was in motion over a country especially favourable to its
advance.  Some military precautions were now observed.  Large brigades
of horse served as flanking parties, and the heights to the right and
left were severally occupied, as the state umbrellas advanced over the
level green sward, at the rate of three miles an hour.  The king, with a
few favourite chiefs, preceded by Ayto Berri, the
quarter-master-general, and by the corps of guides escorting the holy
ark and Book of the law, led the host, which, extending for miles and
miles to the rear, came pouring over the hills, and down the valleys,
like a swollen river bursting its banks, and overflowing the entire
country.

The military system of Shoa being entirely feudal, each governor in the
realm is required to furnish his contingent of militia in proportion to
his landed tenure--the peasantry being at all times ready for the foray,
and expected to purvey horse, arms, and provisions, without payment from
the state.  Four hundred fusiliers, bondsmen of the king, alone receive
pay--eight pieces of salt, value twenty pence sterling, being disbursed
annually to each, in addition to the food and raiment granted to every
royal slave.  Little discipline exists in the army thus composed, but
considerable tact is evinced in its organisation and distribution--small
confidence being reposed in that portion which is not drawn from ancient
possessions.

Of three grand divisions, the centre, commanded by His Majesty in
person, consisted of the _Luguamioch_, under Ayto Melkoo, Master of the
Horse; the _Gasha Shakri_, or shield-bearers, and the detachment of the
collector of newly-levied tribute.  Immediately on the left flank were
the fusiliers of Ayto Katama, commander-in-chief of the bodyguard,
behind whom came the _Wotzbietoch_, or females of the royal kitchen;--
then the legion of Ayto Guebroo, governor of Mentshar; and, lastly, the
detachments of Shoa-Meda, of Morat, and Morabietie.

The van, consisting of skirmishers, is invariably led by the great
governor of the subjugated Galla, under the title of _Worari_.  With
Abogaz Maretch, who now filled this important post, were the tried
governors of Bulga, Kembibit, Gola, and Ootuba, whose respective
detachments are Christians, and who are all drawn from the
neighbourhood, where intercourse with the Galla is most frequent.  The
third division, or rear-guard, is commanded by the general styled
_Wobo_, who is arbitrarily chosen from the seats of seven governments in
the north, viz. Giddem, Geshe, Antzochia, Mans, Kaa, Gabriel, and
Efrata--the same individual being never selected on two consecutive
expeditions.  By the continual exercise of his staff, the Master of the
Horse, assisted by the shield-bearers, contrived to preserve the proper
distance between the van of the army and the royal person, but confusion
reigned elsewhere.  Warriors were huddled together without order or
arrangement, and every trooper selecting his own position in the
detachment to which he belonged, diverted himself by devising the death
of the numerous hares that scampered through the army, and, strange to
say, often threaded the maze of hoofs in safety.

During the early part of the march, herds of cattle grazing quietly in
the pastures around various hamlets, proclaimed a subjugated tribe; and
clans of tributary Galla, each led by its respective chief in some
fantastic costume formerly received at the royal hands, met His Majesty
at intervals, in order to present tribute either in horses or kine--the
whole greasy band dismounting at a respectful distance on the flank,
hurrying before the despot's path, and with bosoms bared, prostrating
themselves simultaneously upon the earth.  Little respect, however, was
paid to the standing crops--afield after field of ripening corn being
trampled level with the ground, in spite of the remonstrance of the
disconsolate husbandmen, who, with heavy stones upon their heads, threw
themselves at the feet of the king with loud and reiterated appeals.

The course was generally south-west, and conjecture was on the rack as
to the scene of active operations and the ultimate destination of the
army.  But the secret still remaining with its royal leader, any new
speculation on the subject did but elicit the old remark, "The belly of
the master is not known."  Choristers continued to beguile the tedious
march with their rambling stanzas, and to pour out shrill strains of
melody like the notes of the wild bird.  The rough riders galloped
before the van of the host to exhibit the paces of steeds received in
tribute; and His Majesty, alighting ever and anon from his mule, reposed
for a few minutes upon the cushioned _alga_ which was carried in his
train.

Nothing could be more tame and monotonous than the country passed over.
Wide grassy undulations, interspersed with extensive cultivation, rose
unrelieved by a single tree or other redeeming feature, save the many
European flowers that wantoned beneath the joyous sunshine on the
far-stretching prairie.  The Karinza, the Fincha, the Chatti, and the
Rufa rivers, all tributary to the Nile, were crossed in succession.
Deep, narrow, muddy channels intersecting verdant meadows, these
presented the general character of all Galla streams, cutting silently
through the rich dark soil, and leaving swampy quagmires on the waving
downs.  At long intervals the Negoos, dismounting to change mules,
proceeded some distance on foot--an example followed by all.  On the
first of these occasions His Majesty went through the comedy of
thrusting his feet into slippers, selected from a bag carried by a
slave, which contained numerous pairs manufactured of various coloured
morocco.  Many were tried in succession, but the royal heels being
invariably chafed and blistered, the experiment was finally abandoned in
despair; and sacrificing dignity to comfort, the despot, like his liege
subjects, advanced unshod.

For several hours not a horned head had been visible around the deserted
hamlets; and late in the afternoon, when the van of the flagging army
arrived in the extensive plain of Abai Deggar, completely environed by
hills, the order was given to encamp, destroy, and plunder.  Instantly
ensued a rush from all quarters at full gallop.  Flourishing fields of
wheat, barley, and beans, the produce of the toil of a rebellious tribe,
were ravaged and overrun by the locust hordes; and in the course of half
an hour, the soil being stripped of every acre of cultivation, there
commenced a general scramble for the rafters and ribs of houses, of
which the skeletons were presently consigned to the flames.

The women of the royal kitchen had, as before, been the first to select
a centrical and advantageous spot on which to pursue their important
avocations; but some arbitrary change having been directed by His
Majesty, who occupied his usual elevated position, the camp was thrown
into confusion.  Quarrels and scuffles might now be witnessed in every
quarter.  Those who had taken possession of a luxuriant pasture or the
vicinage of water, stoutly defended the treasure against invading
comrades, and recourse being had to weapons, sword cuts and broken heads
were quite in fashion.  Although now in an enemy's country, neither
picket, vidette, nor sentry was mounted, and not the slightest
precaution against nocturnal surprise was adopted towards the security
of the camp.

But no advantage was taken of the Amhara neglect, and another and
similar forced march over a country equally devoid of interest with the
tract already crossed, led to the long narrow valley of Karabarek, at
the foot of the Garra Gorphoo mountains.  The bright spear-blades
glittered through the cloud of stifling dust that marked the course of
myriads over ploughed land.  Green fields and smiling meadows quickly
lost their bloom under the tramp of the steed; for no cultivation was
now spared, and ruin and desolation were the order of the day.
Straggling parties of the Sertie Galla had been seen crowning the
heights that skirted the line of march, and near the peaked hill of
Wyfun they were assembled in numbers; but none ventured within half a
mile of a host, twenty thousand in number, all thirsting alike for the
blood of their enemies.  Far and wide the country was laid waste, and
every vestige of human habitation destroyed under the torch, the flames
racing among the riper barley with the speed of a galloping horse; but
the wretched inhabitants, aware of the approach of the spoiler, had
abandoned their dwellings before the storm burst over them, and one aged
man only had yet fallen into the merciless clutches of the invaders.

This prize had stained the hand of a follower of Ayto Gadel, governor of
Chercha, a functionary far from being notorious for courageous bearing.
On the occasion of Medoko's last advance, his was the mansion first
beleaguered by the insurgents, but he fled in dismay, leaving his fair
partner to defend the premises.  Joining after the first day's march, he
had put the most diverting questions relative to the English, with whose
appearance he was greatly perplexed.

"Are these people pagans?" inquired the hero with owlish features, but
too strongly indicative of his vacant mind.

"No."

"Are they Islams?"

"No."

"Then what are they?"

"Christians."

"Christians!  Impossible.  They observe no fast, and wear no _mateb_ as
a badge of their religion Is there any grass in their country?"

[_Mateb_, i.e. Mark or token.  The blue silk cord worn around the neck
by the Christians of Shoa.]

"Why not?"

"How did I know?  Have they cattle?"

"Abundance."

"And sheep and goats?"

"Certainly."

"And their Negoos, does he carry _debaboch_ [Umbrellas of state], and
make great _zumachas_ [Military expeditions] with warriors like
these?"--turning his oyster eyes, lighted with something like martial
fire, towards the countless rabble in the rear.  But the party thus
interrogated could keep his temper no longer; and as the little
hunch-backed father confessor rode jauntily up with a dirty page perched
on the crupper of his mule, to volunteer a lesson in the noble art of
equitation, he galloped off, exclaiming with a sneer--

"Like these, forsooth!  One of Her Britannic Majesty's regiments would
in a single hour sweep from off the face of the earth the whole
undisciplined mob that swells the train of the boasted descendant of
King Solomon."

Volume Two, Chapter XXIII.

THE FORAY.

Thus far the greatest irregularity and confusion had prevailed among the
Amhara troops, alike during the march and the encampment.  A council of
war was daily convened, when each leader made his report and received
verbal instructions for his guidance; but no order of any sort was
promulgated until the moment before it was to be carried into effect,
and all depended rather upon the whim and caprice of the monarch than
upon the exigencies of the service.  The first intimation of intended
march was conveyed by the royal drums sounding suddenly to saddle a
quarter of an hour before the advance, which, as the state pavilion went
down, was announced by a flourish of horns.

But notwithstanding that the strictest silence had been observed on the
subject by the Negoos, as well as by all who might have been unavoidably
admitted to his confidence, strong surmises were entertained that a
foray from Karabarek was to be the order of the following day; and about
two hours after midnight, the sudden and unusual cessation of the psalm
singing, followed by the heavy tramp past our tents of Ayto Shishigo's
detachment of Shoa-Meda horse, confirming the opinion, the hum of the
surrounding body, like that of a disturbed hive of bees, continued until
dawn.  No sooner was it light than His Majesty rode silently forth from
his enclosure without beat of the _nugareet_, and thousands instantly
flocked towards the royal person.  The state umbrellas were encased in
white bags, and the usual cumbrous Abyssinian robe, which effectually
impedes all rapid movement, was on this occasion cast aside.  Short wide
trousers of various hues hung loosely to the knee.  A thick white cloth
girded up the loins.  The skins of wild beasts, the lion, the panther,
and the ocelot, alone hung over the brawny shoulder of the warrior; and,
with exception of about two hundred musqueteers with bayonets fixed,
every man-at-arms was equipped with spear, sword, and buckler, a mounted
henchman behind many leading a spare charger.

At first starting the crush and confusion was truly terrific.  Horses
and mules rearing, kicking, and plunging, with lances bristling, and
shields thumping in every direction, threatened instant destruction to
each component member of the dense mass, which, crowded and locked fast
together, streamed at a rapid trot after the king without the slightest
order or regularity, save such as was preserved by the exertions of the
shield-bearers who rode immediately behind.  The occasional passage of
ploughed land, producing a suffocating cloud of dust, served still more
to increase the confusion, which had reached its climax when a rivulet
intersected the line of march.  Steep perpendicular banks and
treacherous channels opposing the extended front of the legion, and
checking advance, a simultaneous exertion was made to gain the only
practicable fords, which were in an instant filled to choking.  The
fiercest struggle for extrication ensued.  Numbers floundering in the
soft mud, or borne out of their saddles by the pressure of the crowd,
were trampled under foot, whilst those who bestrode the stoutest steeds,
clearing the way before them by sheer strength, forced their weaker
neighbours to incline to the right and to the left, like frail reeds
before the rush of the mountain deer.

The morning was bitterly cold.  The hoar-frost lay thick and white upon
the meadows; and as the rabble host trampled over the crisp grass
towards the high range of Garra Gorphoo, which, at the distance of a few
miles, rose to the height of twelve or fifteen hundred feet, the breath
arose heavy from the nostril of man and beast, like a cloud of smoke,
mixing with the dark columns of dust which followed the clattering hoofs
of neighing war-steeds.  During the first hour's advance up the valley,
reports were continually being brought in, and messenger after messenger
galloping off in every direction; and as the foot of the mountain was
gained, Ayto Berkie, with a large detachment of the men of Bulga,
leaving the main body, moved upon the left, whilst the king struck up
the steep face of the range in the centre of an extended line of men,
who scoured every hill and hollow, and beat every nook and corner at a
rapid pace.

Stretching thirty miles in length by about twelve or fifteen in breadth,
the mountains of Garra Gorphoo, covered throughout with one sheet of
rich cultivation, form the water-shed between the Nile and the Hawash.
The various rivulets that on either side wind down towards the parent
streams, intersect it into hundreds of verdant valleys, on the swelling
slopes of which the white-roofed houses of secluded Galla hamlets peep
forth among dark green groves of juniper and acacia, that add beauty to
the fair prospect.  These tropical highlands are inhabited by the Sertie
tribe, who, long in a state of open rebellion, had rendered themselves
doubly obnoxious to the despot, by attacking a detachment of Amhara the
preceding year, of whom, whilst entangled in a morass near the foot of
the range, eight hundred men were slain.  The day of retribution had at
length arrived.  The object of the expedition, hitherto so carefully
concealed, was now fully developed; and the military dispositions for
sweeping destruction appeared to be right skilfully made.

Hurrying onward with ominous rapidity, slaughtering all who fell in
their path, and with their weapons goading forward the herds of sleek
cattle which teemed in every valley, the wild host now poured like an
overwhelming torrent down the flowery slopes--now breasted the steep
sunny acclivity like flames driven before the wind--and now wound in
Indian file along the edges of cliffs affording scanty footing for a
wild cat, where the loose soil, crumbling at every step, left the naked
precipitous rock as the only available passage.  Far and wide the crops
were laid prostrate, as if beaten down under the violence of the
hurricane; and before ten o'clock, the highest pinnacle of the green
range having been crowned, a wide prospect burst upon the eye.  A
succession of richly cultivated plains dotted over with clusters of
conical white houses, in parts surrounded by clumps of tall junipers,
stretched away from the foot, the very picture of peace and plenty.
Embosomed between the isolated peaks of Yerrur, Sequala, and the
far-famed Entotto, lay the wide plain of Germama, thickly peopled by the
Ekka and Finfinni Galla, upon whose doomed heads the thunderbolt was
next to fall; and full in its centre two placid silver lakes, like great
mirrors, reflected back the rays of the morning sun across sheets of
luxuriant cultivation, extending for miles, nearly ready for the sickle.
Far beyond, the long wooded line of the Hawash, rolling its troubled
waters towards the plain of the Adaiel, loomed indistinctly through the
haze; and in the extreme distance, the lofty blue range of the Aroosi
and Ittoo Galla, skirting the mysterious regions of Gurague, bounded the
almost interminable prospect.

The morning mist, loaded with dust raised by the tramp of the Amhara
steeds over acres of ploughed land, hung heavy on the slopes, and
partially screening the approach of the locust army, conspired to
enhance its success.  Twenty thousand brawny warriors, in three
divisions, covering many miles of country, and linked by detachments in
every direction, pressed on towards the inviting goal--their hearts
burning with the implacable hatred of hostile barbarians, and panting to
consummate their bloody revenge.  Taken entirely by surprise, their
devoted victims lay helplessly before them, indulging in fatal dreams of
happiness and security, alas! too speedily to be dispelled.  Hundreds of
cattle grazed in tempting herds over the flowery meads.  Unconscious of
danger, the unarmed husbandman pursued his peaceful occupation in the
field; his wife and children carolled blithely over their ordinary
household avocations; and the ascending sun shone bright on smiling
valleys, which, long before his going down, were left tenanted only by
the wolf and the vulture.

Preceded by the holy ark of Saint Michael, veiled under its scarlet
canopy, the king still led the van, closely attended by the father
confessor, and by a band of priests, with whom having briefly conferred,
he turned towards the expectant army, and pronounced the ominous words
which were the well-known signal for carrying fire and sword through the
land--"May the God who is the God of my forefathers strengthen and
absolve!"  Rolling on like the waves of the mighty ocean, down poured
the Amhara host among the rich glades and rural hamlets, at the heels of
the flying inhabitants--trampling under foot the fields of ripening
corn, in parts half reaped, and sweeping before them the vast herds of
cattle which grazed untended in every direction.  In the extreme
distance their destructive progress was still marked by the red flames
that burst forth in turn from the thatched roofs of each invaded
village; and the havoc committed many miles to the right by the division
of Abogaz Maretch, who was advancing parallel to the main body, and had
been reinforced by the detachment under Ayto Shishigo, became equally
manifest in numerous columns of white smoke, towering upwards to the
azure firmament in rapid succession.

We followed close in the train of the Negoos, who halted for a few
minutes on the eastern face of the range; and the eye of the despot
gleamed bright with inward satisfaction, whilst watching through a
telescope the progress of the flanking detachments, as they poured
impetuously down the steep side of the mountain, and swept across the
level plain with the fury of the blast of the Sirocco.  A rapid detour
to the westward in an hour disclosed the beautifully secluded valley of
Finfinni, which, in addition to the artificial advantage of high
cultivation, and snug hamlets, boasted a large share of natural beauty.
Meadows of the richest green turf, sparkling clear rivulets leaping down
in sequestered cascades, with shady groves of the most magnificent
juniper lining the slopes, and waving their moss-grown branches above
cheerful groups of circular wigwams, surrounded by implements of
agriculture, proclaimed a district which had long escaped the hand of
wrath.  This had been selected as the spot for the royal plunder and
spoliation; and the troops, animated by the presence of the monarch, now
performed their bloody work with a sharp and unsparing knife--firing
village after village, until the air was dark with smoke, mingled with
the dust raised by the impetuous rush of man and horse.

The luckless inhabitants, taken quite by surprise, had barely time to
abandon their property, and fly for their lives to the fastness of
Entotto, which reared its protecting form at the distance of a few
miles.  The spear of the warrior searched every bush for the hunted foe.
Women and girls were torn from their hiding places to be hurried into
hopeless captivity- Old men and young were indiscriminately slain among
the fields and groves; flocks and herds were driven off in triumph, and
house after house was sacked and consigned to the flames.  Each grim
Amhara warrior vied with his comrade in the work of retributive
destruction amongst the execrated Galla.  Whole groups and families were
surrounded and speared within the walled courtyards, which were soon
strewed with the bodies of the slain.  Wretches who betook themselves to
the open plain, were pursued and hunted down like wild beasts; and
children of three and four years of age, who had been placed in the
trees with a hope that they might escape observation, were included in
the inexorable massacre, and pitilessly shot among the branches.  In the
course of two hours the division left the desolated valley laden with
spoil, and carrying with them numbers of wailing females and orphan
children, together with the barbarous trophies that had been stripped
from the mangled bodies of their victims.

The hoarse scream of the vulture as she wheeled in funereal circles over
this appalling scene of carnage and devastation, and the crackling of
falling roofs and rafters from the consuming houses, alone disturbed the
grave-like silence of the dreary and devoted spot, so lately resounding
to the fiendish shouts and war-whoops of the excited warriors, and to
the unpitied groans of their helpless captives.  And as the exulting
barbarians, followed by the curses of many homeless fugitives in
Entotto, crossed the last range, gloomy columns of smoke, rising thick
and dense to the darkened heavens, for miles in every direction,
proclaimed that this recently so flourishing and beautiful location had,
in a few brief hours, been utterly ruined, pillaged, and despoiled, as
far as the means of ruthless man could effect its destruction.

The royal division crossed the deep vale of Finfinni by a most dangerous
and difficult defile, leading over the bed of the principal torrent,
which winds through an extensive belt of dark juniper forest, of truly
magnificent growth.  Lofty pine-like trees, hoary with the moss of
centuries, towered above banks that rose some hundred feet almost
perpendicularly, and were clothed throughout with tangled undergrowth.
A huge fragment of porphyry, nearly choking the straitened descent,
afforded barely sufficient room for the passage of a single horseman,
whilst a succession of slippery rocks and treacherous pools filled up
the channel to the opposite bank, steep, abrupt, and wooded.

Loud shouts drowned the pleasing murmur of a splashing waterfall; and so
great was the confusion caused by the crush of men, horses, and mules,
mingled with frightened droves of oxen and sheep, all struggling
tumultuously towards the only outlet, that many accidents occurred.
Horses and riders were forced over the precipice--others were trampled
under foot by the overwhelming rush from behind, and a handful of
resolute men might with ease have kept at bay the whole rabble army of
the invader.  But the Abyssinian system of warfare consists in surprise
and murder, not in battle or fair conflict.  The king continued to
advance rapidly without the smallest check, and being escorted only by a
few fusiliers of the body-guard, carrying each two rounds of ammunition,
was necessarily much exposed; but confident in the terror with which his
meteor-like descent would inspire his unwary foes, no dispositions were
made for the security of his person, in the event of resistance or
surprise.

Emerging from the forest which extended two miles beyond the Finfinni
defile, the scattered forces began to rendezvous around the state
umbrellas, now unfurled, to which they were directed by the incessant
beating of kettle-drums.  Whilst the work of destruction still continued
to rage on all sides, herd after herd of lowing beeves came pouring
towards the royal standard, and each new foraging party brought with it
fresh groups of captive women and girls.  Some of the more braggart
warriors affecting inability to return their blood-stained blades to the
scabbard, pompously carried them in the hand unsheathed; and even the
boyish arms of some of the most effeminate of the royal pages had proved
victorious over a defenceless victim.  The slaughter had been immense.
Every desolated court-yard was crowded with the bodies of the slain--
childhood and decrepit age had fared alike; and the murderers,
unconscious of the disgrace attaching to unmanly deeds, unblushingly
heralded their shame.

Detailing their deeds of cruelty, they basked in the smiles of their
savage and approving monarch, whose only eye became at times frightfully
wild with excitement, although his demeanour throughout the long day of
horrors was cool and self-possessed, from the experience that he had
acquired during eighty-four similar forays.

After a brief halt, the march was resumed through the country of the
Ekka Galla, which was clean swept with the besom of destruction; and the
distinguishing green sprig of asparagus in the woolly heads of
successful cavaliers became more and more numerous as the eventful day
drew on to its close.  The sun at length disappeared behind the western
mountains, towards which the course of the army was directed; and night,
casting her mantle over the dismal scene, stayed the arm of the warrior.
During fourteen hours passed in the saddle, above fifty miles of
country had been passed over; and the weary forces finally halted in the
Ekka valley, without possessing the smallest idea of the position of the
rear division, with the tents and baggage, to the leader of which no
clue had been afforded as to the royal intentions.

Horses and mules were now turned loose among the standing beans; and
several thousand head of cattle, tired to death with the distance they
had been driven from their wonted pastures, were, with infinite
difficulty, collected in a hollow, girdled on three sides by a deep
ravine.  It was closed on the fourth by a steep acclivity, on the summit
of which the king, surrounded by his chieftains, took up his position
for the night.  His Majesty, although fasting throughout the day, sent
his only loaf to be eaten by "his children;" and looking forth upon the
fruits of his masterly foray, seemed, in the contemplation of the
amassed herds, to be insensible alike to the cold wintry blast, and to
the long calls of hunger. 4 A wilder scene can scarcely be imagined than
that presented by the nocturnal bivouac of the locust-like army of the
Amhara, flushed by its recent success.  Loud whoops and yells, arising
from every quarter of the wide valley, mingled with the incessant lowing
of kine, the bleating of sheep, the shrill neighing of the war-steed,
and the occasional wailing of some captive maid.  Groups of grim
warriors, their hands embrued in the innocent blood of infancy, and
their stern features lighted by the fitful flame, chuckling over the
barbarous spoils they had won, vaunted their inhuman exploits, as they
feasted greedily on raw and reeking carcasses.  Spears and bucklers
gleamed brightly around hundreds of bale-fires, composed of rafters
stripped from the surrounding houses; and the whole distant landscape,
red from the lurid glare reflected by scores of crackling hamlets,
completed a picture worthy the pencil of the artist who delights in the
delineation of brutal revelry.  No sentry paced the environs of the
straggling encampment--no watchword challenged the tramp of the
man-at-arms.  The deep hum of thousands gradually waned and died away,
and each composed himself to slumber on the spot where his carousal had
been held.  A pall constructed with spears supporting a cotton robe,
screened the person of the Negoos; and so long as the biting cold would
permit, we slept at broken intervals upon the bare ground, amid the
gorged and weary warriors, the saddle of each serving for a pillow--

"The earth our bed, our canopy the sky."

Volume Two, Chapter XXIV.

THE ROYAL ACHIEVEMENT.

Welcome to all was the first grey light that illumined the eastern sky,
and summoned the warrior from his uneasy slumbers.  So uncomfortably had
the night been passed, that it was in truth rest to rise.  The despot
was among the first to abandon his cold couch; and a bulletin of success
having been penned by the royal hand, for the information of Queen
Besabesh, the main body of the division, convoying the interminable
droves of cattle, was in motion across the Ekka valley.  Escorted by
five thousand cavalry.  His Majesty then proceeded to a knoll at some
distance within the scene of yesterday's carnage, upon the summit of
which he tarried, whilst parties went out in search of the body of his
grand-nephew, the youthful son of Ayto Besuehnech, who, with several
others of the Christian host, had fallen in the running conflict.

It was a cool and lovely morning, and the mountain breeze played freshly
down each opening glade.  The ascending sunbeam danced over the steep
rugged sides and ruined stone edifices of the fastness of Entotto,
anciently the proud seat of Ethiopic splendour, and still believed to
conceal much of the wealth lost to the empire at the period of Graan's
invasion, when Nebla Dengel was driven into Tigre.  The great volcanic
cone of Sequala, rivalling the lowland Aiulloo, was again visible in the
distance, its once active crater converted by the revolutions of ages
into an extensive lagoon, on the banks of which stands the celebrated
shrine of Guebra Manfas Kedoos, a saint renowned for the destruction, by
his prayers, of live hundred genies.  On the one hand frowned the dark
wooded slave mart of Roque, in the Yerrur hill, where millions of
Christians have been bought and sold; and on the other rose the mountain
Dalacha, sacred to the Wato sorcerers, whose tempting demesnes have
escaped pillage and conflagration, in consequence of their blessing
having been followed by the birth of Sahela Selassie.  Far in the
distance a low belt of vegetation screened the sleepy Hawash, and over
the intervening tract numerous tributaries to the Casam, absorbed
eventually in the parched plain of the Adaiel, conveyed the eastern
drainage of Garra Gorphoo through the ravaged valley of Germama.

Over this wide expanse not a living inhabitant was now to be seen.  In
every direction the bloodstained ground was strewed with the slaughtered
foe, around whose disfigured corses groups of surfeited vultures flapped
their foul wings, and screamed the death note.  The embers of deserted
villages smouldered over the scorched and blackened plain.  Ripe crops,
which the morning before had gladdened the heart of the cultivator--now
no more--were level with the ground.  Flocks of sheep, untended by the
shepherd, strayed over the lone meadow; and bands of howling dogs
wandered up and down in fruitless quest of their lost masters.  A single
day had reduced to a wilderness the rich and flourishing vale of
Germama, including the dark forests of Finfinni, which for years had
slept in peace; and their late numerous and unsuspecting population had
in a few hours been swept from off the face of the earth by the
devastating irruption of the barbarian Amhara hordes.

The remains of the fallen chief having, after much search, been
recovered from the ashes of a still smoking village, were shrouded with
a white cloth, and borne upon a bier from the scene of desolation.
Glutted with booty, the despot now left his locusts to pursue their own
course up the Ekka valley, where flames and plunder again marked their
straggling return towards the mountains of Garra Gorphoo.  Each hamlet
was ravaged in succession; and cats, the sole remaining tenants of the
deserted huts, were dislodged by the torch of the Wobo.

For miles and miles the road was lined with dusty and wayworn warriors
laden with spoil: flocks and herds, donkeys, mules, and horses,
honeycombs, poultry, household utensils and farming gear, with captive
women and children, indiscriminately mingled with the men-at-arms.
Whilst some of these latter, wounded and mutilated, were lashed upon the
backs of their palfreys, others, dismounted, were dragging behind them
their lame and exhausted steeds; sheep and goats, unable through fatigue
to proceed, being cut limb from limb while still alive, and the bleeding
trunks left quivering in the path by the wanton butchers.

Re-entering the mountains, across which the sun now cast the long dark
shadows of evening, the camp was sought in vain; but the rear division,
with tents and baggage, was at length descried pouring down the opposite
height under a vast canopy of dust to the encamping ground at Boora
Roofa.  A long march the preceding day had brought it to Sululta near to
Moolo Falada, where it met and destroyed those who had fled from the
immediate scene of the king's inroad, made numerous female captives,
and, with the loss of the sumpter horses laden with horns of hydromel,
acquired considerable booty; information casually received of the main
division having thence led it back through the mountains to the present
halting-ground, after all had made up their minds to another cold
bivouac in the open air.  During its more recent progress, this division
had carried fire and sword through the country of the Sertie Galla,
where it yet remained unplundered; and, as the day again closed, the
vault of heaven was re-illumined by volumes of lurid smoke from the
surrounding hamlets.  Such is the appalling retribution with which
Sahela Selassie is wont to visit those rebel tribes who withhold the
moderate tribute imposed upon them.  The relinquishment to the crown of
three or four hundred of the many thousand head of cattle captured
during this and the preceding day, would, with some twenty or thirty
horses, have averted this awful chastisement, the fearful consequence of
taxation refused.  The revolt of tribes inhabiting remote portions of
His Majesty's dominions arises too frequently from the oppression of
Galla governors, over whose proceedings he can exercise very inadequate
control; but it is caused in a principal degree by the absence of
outpost or fortification to hold his wild subjects in check.  Could he
be prevailed upon to abandon his present weak mode of securing the Galla
dependencies, to strengthen them by those military arrangements for
which the country is so peculiarly adapted, and to place a better limit
upon the exactions of frontier governors, what bloodshed and misery
might not be averted!

The army halted at Boora Roofa to enable straggling detachments to
rejoin; and small parties went out in various directions to complete the
work of demolition among the deserted hamlets of the Sertie tribe, some
of which, embosomed deep among the mountain glens, had hitherto escaped
attention: hives of ungathered honey, heaps of unwinnowed corn, and the
half-flayed carcass abandoned within the filthy habitation, bearing
ample testimony to the precipitate flight of the hunted inmates, around
many of whose bodies gaunt vultures already held their carnival.

Early during the forenoon, horsemen rode in to the royal pavilion with
important intelligence, that Ayto Hierat, a favourite governor, had, at
the distance of a few miles, surprised and surrounded a Galla in a tree,
among the branches of which the caitiff awaited the arrival of the king.
Impatient to wreathe his brow with new laurels, the monarch lost not a
moment in sallying forth to destroy the unfortunate wretch, taking a
most formidable array of single and double-barrelled guns and rifles of
every calibre, together with an escort of five thousand cavalry.

Receiving a long shot through the thigh at the royal hands, whilst
imperfectly ensconced among the foliage, the victim, abandoning all hope
of escape, wisely cast away his weapons, and cried loudly for quarter;
being admitted to which, he kissed the feet of His Majesty, and thus
escaped his otherwise inevitable fate.  To take the life of a Galla, and
to secure a prisoner of either sex, are, in Amhara warfare, accounted
one and the same thing; and although, where adult males are concerned,
the more merciful alternative is rarely adopted, the despot, whose
dreams often conjure up his past deeds of blood in judgment against him,
has become more lenient than of yore.  Yet the valuable presents to
which the destruction of a helpless foe entitles him from every governor
in the realm, the increased respect acquired in the eyes of his subjects
and warriors, and the additional lustre shed over his already chivalrous
reputation by each new murder, however foul, induce him still to seek
occasions such as this to embrue his hands in gore.

Messenger after messenger now galloped into camp at full speed, with the
joyful tidings of the king's achievement, each new announcement
eliciting yet louder and louder songs and shouts from the _wotzbeitoch_,
eunuchs, and parasites at the royal quarters.  In another hour the
cavalcade returned in triumph, the wounded captive riding on a mule
behind the exulting monarch, who, by virtue of his bold exploit, wore in
the hair a large green branch of wild asparagus, whilst the greasy
garment of his bleeding prisoner graced the proud neck of his war-steed.
Repeated volleys of musketry, with the blasts of horns, and the din of
kettle-drums, proclaimed the signal prowess of His Christian Majesty.
Priests and women flocked to receive him with a clamour of acclamation,
and he alighted amid the most stunning uproar.

Through the Master of the Horse I presently received a message to the
effect that the attendance of every member of the Embassy had been
looked for, the Galla having been entrapped purposely that his
destruction might be accomplished by the hand of the King's British
visitors, in view to the exaltation of the national name.  "Why tarried
ye in the tent?  I desired that my children might slay the heathen in
the tree; but, when they came not, I myself performed the deed."

I informed the puissant monarch in reply, "that, independently of its
being the Sabbath, and none of the party possessing the smallest
inclination to destroy a defenceless human being under any
circumstances, no public body was authorised by the law of nations to
draw a sword offensively in any country not in open hostility with its
own.  That in Shoa an elephant was esteemed equivalent to forty armed
Galla, and a wild buffalo to five; and of these much-dreaded animals we
were ready to destroy any number that he might think proper to permit."

Great was the triumph and the quaffing of mead, and the feasting on raw
beef, during the residue of the day and the early hours of the night,
for, lo! the king of kings in single combat had prevailed over his Galla
foe.  Essential assistance had been afforded by the medical officers of
the Embassy to the sick and wounded; amongst the latter, to a brother of
the Queen; yet many reproaches were now abroad, in that its members had
eaten the royal bread, and destroyed none of the enemies of the state.
The example of other foreigners, who were represented to have shot Galla
out of trees, was contrasted somewhat unfavourably to British courage;
and a private of the artillery escort was roundly taxed with cowardice
for permitting the escape of an unarmed peasant, who lay concealed in a
bush by the way-side, and could have offered no resistance.  The
defenceless wretch was subsequently pursued by thirty Amhara horsemen,
but escaped unscathed on foot into the forest, under a shower of their
Christian lances.

In all countries where a martial spirit is fostered by continual forays,
and where the exertions of a single day are sufficient to maintain the
successful marauder for six months to come, the daily unceasing labour
of the cultivator is forsaken for the shield and spear.  But in
Abyssinia, where the principal booty is monopolised by the monarch, the
case is widely different, since, although military expeditions are of
frequent occurrence, the sword of the plunderer is as often turned again
into the ploughshare--whilst the despoiled husbandman, again tilling his
devastated lands, and occupying the brief intervals of peace and repose
in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, the fair provinces of the Galla,
flowing with milk and honey, are speedily reclothed in one sheet of
luxuriant cultivation.

The Abyssinians have been represented as a bold, martial, and chivalrous
race--but in Shoa the "champions of the Cross" are impelled by none of
that knightly valour which warmed the breast of the crusader of old.
The white feather, that emblem of cowardice in other lands, forms the
boast of their murderous exploits; and the system of the noble art of
war would seem to consist in the merciless destruction of the enemy by
sudden inroad and surprise.  Harrying the invaded country with
overwhelming masses of undisciplined cavalry, the only opposition to be
encountered is an occasional skirmish during the night with an outlying
detachment, or by day during the passage of a weak body through morasses
or intricate defiles.  The appearance of a foe invariably proves the
signal for increased disorder, all who are so disposed sallying forth to
the assault, when those who harbour animosity against a comrade not
unfrequently avail themselves of the opportunity to assassinate him in
the _melee_.

Cruelties emanating from the hereditary detestation of the heathen,
which, with the barbarous spoils earned during the foray, is handed down
as an heir-loom from generation to generation, are unfortunately
countenanced by the monarch, who has too often personally set the
disgraceful example of mutilation; whilst the bigotry and superstition
of the savage Amhara induces him to regard every pagan in the light of a
dog, as doth the fanatic Moslem the Christian.  The revolting
barbarities practised in the hour of victory, which from time immemorial
have had existence in Ethiopia, and unfortunately also over the greater
portion of unhappy Africa to which discovery has yet extended, are
perpetuated by the commission of similar enormities on the part of the
Galla usurpers of the fairest portions of the land, who butcher children
and old men without distinction, mutilate all who fall into their hands,
and enslave females upon every opportunity.

The rapid muster of the Amhara under their respective chieftains, the
disorderly march, the rude, but for the purpose sufficient tactics, with
the slaughter and devastation consequent upon success, forcibly bring to
mind the wars of feudal Europe.  The stimulus afforded by individual
interest in the murders committed during the foray stands at present in
the place of discipline, since without one or the other no army could be
brought into the field.  Triumph attends the return of the Christian
warrior from battle in proportion to the number of lives he bears upon
his arm, and for each enemy slain he is entitled to some conspicuous
personal badge, which forms his greatest pride.  A ring, a gauntlet, or
a bracelet, gained at the expense of acts the most dastardly, raises him
accordingly in the estimation of relatives and companions in arms, and
signal success almost invariably paves the way to royal preferment.

Discipline alone can check the prevailing barbarity, by superseding
desultory hand to hand combat, and keeping every soldier in such
comparative ignorance of the number that fall to his individual prowess,
as to preclude the vaunting of exploits.  To those especially who have
been eye-witnesses of such a foray, it must afford matter for deep
regret that feud and contest should hitherto so effectually have
debarred access to the interior, and should have checked the advance of
Christianity and civilisation, which, as in happier lands, must bring
with them the means of providing for redundant population, and could not
fail to ameliorate the horrors attendant upon the existing system of
Abyssinian warfare.

Volume Two, Chapter XXV.

LIBERATION OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR.

During the more than usually successful campaign of the Amhara host, an
opportunity was afforded us of laying down, as scientifically as very
limited time would permit, an extensive and most interesting tract of
country hitherto scarcely known--not to be explored by the adventurous
but single traveller, and only to be visited under the peculiar
advantages afforded to the British Embassy by the despotic Negoos.  We
were all much disappointed that this acquaintance should not have
extended to the Lake Zooai, as anticipated from the manifesto originally
promulgated at Machal-wans; but Ayto Berri, many years
Quarter-master-general of the royal troops, who, in his _quondam_
capacity of Mohammadan rover, had often visited that famous expanse of
water, strongly discountenanced the contemplated measure of molesting
the inoffensive inhabitants of its five islands--mixed Christians and
pagans living in profound peace with each other, and with every
surrounding neighbour.  To his advice may in some measure be ascribed
the alteration in the king's intentions; but the argument which had
probably more weight with His Majesty than the harmless attributes of
the population, was based on the dense and difficult character of the
extensive forests, swarming with Galla and with wild beasts, through
which the army must pass, after crossing the pillaged valley of Germama.

The Christian camp at Boora Roofa was crowded with disconsolate groups
of heathen captives, many with infants at their backs, and nearly all in
a state of nudity, with long raven tresses streaming wildly over their
shoulders.  Hopeless slavery was theirs; but influenced by my earnest
remonstrance, aided by the active and reverend missionary.  Dr Krapf,
whom philanthropic feelings had enabled to endure the uncongenial
atmosphere of ignorance and unbelief--whom the purest and most
praiseworthy motives had induced to obey the royal summons to the field,
and who, from his long experience, knew when to touch the latent spark
of mercy,--the king wiped out the foul stain of the preceding day by
consenting to liberate the whole.  Ere the _nugareet_ sounded the return
of the troops, a proclamation went forth commanding the immediate
release of every prisoner of war; and as the dissatisfied army turned
its back upon the valley, long files of widowed dames and fatherless
girls were to be seen hurrying in freedom across the hills towards their
desolate hearths, overjoyed at the sudden and unexpected restoration of
their liberty through the white man's intercession--the ruthless
soldiery, disappointed at the loss of their booty, having previously
stripped the last covering from all, and sent them forth naked as they
came into the world.

It would be superfluous to dwell upon the satisfaction which filled the
breast of every member of the Embassy, at this signal victory over
savage ferocity; and heartfelt were the congratulations on all sides,
that Providence had permitted us to be thus instrumental in ameliorating
the condition of so large a number of our fellow-creatures.

A long march brought us the same day to the river Alelta, a tributary to
the Nile, and forming near the encampment Lake Sertie, a full mile in
diameter, bounded by low hills of trachyte and porphyry.  A web of deep
miry ravines, shut in by high crumbling banks, presented a wet and
slippery footing, and many were the disasters that befel the demure
dames of the royal kitchen.  Wicker parasols might be seen floating down
the current as the luckless proprietors struggled in the black slimy mud
among mules and war-steeds, or emerged in truly pitiable condition to be
censured by the austere guardians, who, horror-stricken, had witnessed
from above the absence of all order and decorum.

Each moment rendered the treacherous passage more and more
impracticable; and it was not difficult to understand how, in the month
of June the preceding year, the spot should have proved the grave of
eight hundred of the Amhara cavalry.  At that season the country,
flooded for many miles around, becomes one great quagmire, which is not
to be crossed without extreme caution.  Before the king had passed with
the main body of the victorious troops escorting immense plunder, the
Sertie Galla, taking advantage of superior knowledge of the locality,
completely cut off the van of the army, consisting of the Mentshar and
Bulga detachments.  They had become entangled in the mazy labyrinth, and
were massacred to a man ere assistance could be rendered by the
matchlock-men of the bodyguard, who did not reach the ground until the
enemy were in full retreat.

His Majesty's object in now revisiting the scene of this catastrophe was
sufficiently obvious.  No sooner had the imperial cavalcade halted among
the bleached skeletons of the fallen warriors, than champions, whose
steeds were distinguished by greasy garments stripped from the bodies of
Galla victims, caracoled proudly in front of the state umbrellas,
brandishing their bright weapons aloft--exhibiting the human fragments
that had been won during the recent bloody foray--and after a detail of
their individual exploits, shouting defiance to the humbled Sertie.  The
wild triumphal exhibition concluding after half an hour, a band of music
advanced, and continued to play until the pavilion had been prepared for
the royal reception.

Early the ensuing morning the king sent confidentially to my tent, to
inquire if none of his guests could divine whether the day were
propitious to the advance of the army--a point upon which he felt
somewhat dubious.  Our confession of lamentable want of skill in augury
was succeeded by a march of sixteen miles to Ellulee Jidda over a
monotonous landscape of swelling downs and shallow valleys, intersected
by streamlets that had scooped deep channels in the loose black soil.
The stately relict of a deceased Galla chieftain rode through the ranks
with her tribute in horses and kine, and experienced a most gallant
reception at the hands of the monarch.  She might have sat for the
portrait of La Belle Sauvage, but the grease wherein the person of the
handsome dame was embedded, tended unfortunately to destroy the romance
inseparable from her Amazonian appearance and feudal condition.

Various triumphant detachments also met the royal cortege _en route_,
the chiefs and victorious warriors careering in succession before the
van of the army, with green sprigs of asparagus waving above their
dishevelled and newly-dressed locks.  Prisoners were seated behind the
cruppers of some of the more merciful, and the flank of each grey steed
was dyed with clotted human gore.  A short rambling recitative,
expressive of loyalty and devotion in the field, was followed by savage
yells and whoops, twice or thrice re-echoed by their marshalled band of
followers, when they vaulted lightly from the saddle, prostrated
themselves on the ground, and galloped off, each in his turn, to make
way for some new squadron, whose war chorus came pealing over the
hills--

  "The combat's past, the fight is won,
  Then triumph o'er the prostrate foe;
  The heathen blood has freely run,
  Raise high the chaunt, Woko, Woko.

  "Let hill and dale return the note,
  Woko, Woko, ayah Woko;
  Loud ring from every Christian throat
  The shout of death, Woko, Woko."

Whilst the army was encamping, the legion of Ayto Shishigo, rejoining
the royal division with three thousand head of oxen, in like manner
reported their successful exploits to the king, who, as usual, occupied
the summit of an adjacent eminence.  Tribute was still in a course of
diligent collection, and Galla chieftains, with their hair plaited after
the model of the lotus-flower, were flocking with their dues from all
directions.  One refractory village only, of the Jidda tribe,
withholding its impost of a single horse, paid the penalty of its folly.
The inhabitants fled, but their deserted houses were sacked and
consigned to the flames, the stakes and palisades by which, in common
with every hamlet in this direction, it was strongly fortified,
affording fuel for the royal kitchen, and subsequently a scramble to one
half of the army.

Volume Two, Chapter XXVI.

THE TRIUMPH.

A long march across the Sana Robi next brought the troops to Belat, in
the neighbourhood of Yeolo.  His Majesty, seated upon his cushioned
_alga_, halted frequently in the wide undulating meadows to witness
warlike rehearsals on a still more splendid scale; on the termination of
which, many of the quotas having received their dismissal, dispersed to
their respective districts, although not until after one Amhara soldier
had been treacherously murdered by a rival comrade, and another had been
desperately wounded in a trifling dispute.

Before sunrise the ensuing morning the victorious troops, reduced by one
third, marched upon Angollala, driving exultingly before them upwards of
thirty thousand head of cattle, the entire of which were, _par
excellence_, the property of the king.  Arrived within sight of the
capital, strains of martial music burst from the centre division, when
every throat throughout the vast army joined in one deafening chorus.
Half a mile to the south of the Galla wall a tent had been erected, to
which His Majesty retiring for a few minutes, arrayed himself
preparatory to the triumphal entry; and the various leaders, at the head
of their respective squadrons, meanwhile took up the position allotted
in the coming pageant.

As the state umbrellas, preceded by the ark of Saint Michael, passed
through the Ankober gate of the defences, the assembled chiefs and
warriors who had been most distinguished during the successful foray,
arrayed in the glittering badges of former achievements in arms, placed
themselves in advance.  One hundred gore-stained steeds, resplendent
with trappings and brass ornaments, and fancifully caparisoned in gay
cloths and chintz housings, bounded and pranced gallantly under this
chosen band of proud cavaliers, who, with lances couched, and party
coloured robes flaunting in the wind, slowly curvetted over the verdant
carpet of turf.  Their glossy black hair, loaded with feathers and green
branches in token of recent triumph, and their variously emblazoned
shields, glancing brightly in the sun-beams, they rent the air with
shrill whoops and yells, responded at frequent intervals by loud shouts
of welcome from the palace, and from all parts of the town; whilst the
dense phalanx of warriors in the rear--their forest of lances partially
obscured under a thick canopy of dust--pressing tumultuously forward,
and pouring the wildest war-songs from ten thousand throats, completed
one of the most brilliant and savage exhibitions that can be conceived.

The king was enrobed in the ample spoils of a noble Hon, richly
ornamented, and half concealing beneath their tawny folds an embroidered
green mantle of Indian manufacture.  On his right shoulder he wore three
chains of gold as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, and the fresh-plucked
bough of asparagus, which denoted his recent exploit, rose from the
centre of an embossed coronet of silver.  His dappled war-steed,
bedizened with housings of blue and yellow, was led prancing beside him,
and immediately in advance bounded the champion, on a coal-black
charger, bearing the imperial shield of massive silver, with the sacred
emblem of Christianity in high relief, whilst his long plaited raven
locks floated wildly behind, over the spotted hide of a panther, by
which his broad shoulders were graced.  Abogaz Maretch and Ayto Berkie
rode on either side of the crimson _debaboch_, and a marshalled line of
shield-bearers, under the Master of the Horse, preserved a clear space
around the royal person until the cavalcade had gained the stockaded
knoll, upon the summit of which the palace is erected.

Here a deputation of priests, clad in snow-white garments, received the
victorious monarch with a blessing, and under a volley of musketry.  His
Majesty proceeded to ascend.  The outer court was crowded with female
slaves, beggars, and menials, who, on the first appearance of the
umbrellas within the gate, greeted the royal return with the shrillest
clamour, and cast themselves prostrate in the dust.  Fusiliers and
matchlock-men of the imperial body-guard lined the second palisaded
enclosure, and under a _feu-de-joie_, their leader, performing the
war-dance before the holy ark, led the procession to the last enclosure,
where the king being met by the eunuchs of the royal household, entered
the palace by a private door, and surrounded by pages and attendants,
presently took seat in a high latticed balcony fronting the inner
quadrangle.

Full in the centre stood a gigantic drum, whereat twelve old hags
thumped unceasingly with crossed hands, keeping time energetically with
their feet, whilst, under the most frightful contortions and
gesticulations, they cursed and screamed defiance to the enemies of the
state.  Sixty concubines, their faces besmeared with red ochre and
grease, and their frizzled locks white under a coat of lard, sang and
danced with increasing vehemence their shrill melody, regulated by the
drum, now dwindling into recitative, now bursting forth into a deafening
chorus.  Around this strange group, the dismounted cavaliers formed
fifteen deep, and filling the entire court, poised each his trophy of
blood aloft upon the glittering point of his lance; and as the whole
danced, and whooped, and howled like wild beasts, warrior after warrior,
springing with a fiendish yell into the centre of the ring, cast his
prize contemptuously upon the ground, and kissing the dust, did abject
homage at the feet of the triumphant despot.

"Behold in me the king's great warrior," now resounded from every
quarter.  "I it was who slew his enemy in the open field, or speared him
in the burning hut.  May victory ever attend his armies in the battle!
May Sahela Selassie reign for ever!"  A general shout and clashing of
shields, with the sudden cessation of the wild music, announced the
close of this savage pageant.  The curtain dropped before the monarch,
and, as the actors dispersed rapidly to the right and to the left, the
discharge of an old dismounted iron gun, which, vertically elevated
against a stone, was revealed at the further extremity of the court,
announced to the public that the tragedy of "the Royal Robber" had been
performed with the most brilliant success, and would be repeated again
during the season.

Rumours of the destruction of the entire Christian host had flown to
Angollala in consequence of the Negoos having, for the first time in his
life, passed the night apart from his baggage; and the grief and
consternation which prevailed during six days, had only been dispelled
by the unexpected and triumphant return of the victorious army.  Evil
omens had, indeed, resounded through the departing camp, but destiny had
been satisfied with a youthful scion of the royal stock; and although
the weapons of a lost descendant of the house of Solomon adorned the
rude walls of the pagan Galla, still fire and sword had ravaged their
fair country; and the rich booty with which the adjacent meadows were
profusely dotted, proclaimed a harvest which, during thirty years, and
eighty-four successive expeditions, had not been eclipsed in the annals
of Amhara bloodshed and rapine.

Volume Two, Chapter XXVII.

NUPTIALS IN HIGH LIFE.

Ayto Hierat's crime brought its own punishment.  The prominent part he
had taken in the event at Boora Roofa, which had so recently covered his
royal master with glory, could hardly be suffered to pass unrequited,
and three days after the return of the expedition to Angollala, he was
accordingly honoured with the hand of Woizoro Belete Shatchau [Anglice,
"Superior to all,"] a shrew possessing the most diabolical of tempers,
whom two husbands had already divorced, although a princess of the blood
royal.

On the morning appointed for the nuptials, we received an early summons
to the palace, in order to witness the ceremony.  The throne was tricked
out with unusual gaiety for the occasion, and the king, covering his
mouth with a fold of his striped mantle according to undeviating wont,
was still in the hands of the barber, who, having curled the last lock,
was adjusting the green _sareti_.  The court-yard was already crowded
with spectators, and a numerous train of female slaves, who had entered
by a side door, were arranging themselves in front.  The quaint, loose
chemises of blue and red, with broad white borders, which formed the
attire of all, imparted a most grotesque appearance, and each carried on
her woolly head a large wicker basket, ornamented with bead draperies
arranged in every variety of fanciful vandyke.  These antique figures
and their burdens constituted the dower of the bride, whose wedding
garments we had supplied, and who presently entered, riding upon a white
mule, gaily tricked out in forked housings, chains, and brass bells.
The Princess Worka Ferri [i.e. Golden Fruit], her sister, followed upon
a second, similarly caparisoned; and both ladies were distinguished by
large _aftabgirs_ of crimson silk, as well as by a cowl of silver
network which covered the hair, and terminated in a tiara of pendants
and globules falling over the forehead.  A crimson-striped robe formed
the costume of each, and their naturally plain faces were rendered
hideous by a coat of red ochre with blue-stained arches in the place of
eyebrows, which it is the fashion of Shoa to pluck out.

Next in order came the royal band of music, with numerous mounted female
attendants clad in pea-green vests.  A dance and vocal chorus was
continued during a quarter of an hour, to the dissonant thunder of the
war drum; and as the umbrellas filed slowly across the court through the
opposite wicket, the happy bridegroom approached the throne, and did
homage to the sovereign who had thus rewarded his services by alliance.
The presence of the priest is so far from being held indispensable, that
a wedded pair forms a rare phenomenon in Abyssinia.  No marriage rites
whatever solemnised this union; and the shrew, in full procession,
proceeded straightway to spend the honeymoon at the abode of her third
husband, who, following at a respectful distance, exhibited in his
features small anticipation of conjugal felicity.

Descending through the great gate, a train of dirty cook-boys led the
van, bearing on their heads pots, pans, and culinary utensils.  One
hundred female slaves followed, carrying baskets of bread, vessels of
hydromel, bedding, wearing apparel, and other baggage required on the
journey.  Next came the band of flutes in full play, and immediately
behind, the amiable bride herself, most aptly styled "superior to all."
Two maids of honour, bearing decorated barillas of choice wine from the
royal cellars, rode on either side of their mistress.  Numerous mounted
Amazons--musty-looking Ethiopic figures in blue and white smocks, and
party-coloured bead helmets--kept the inquisitive crowd at a distance
with their long white wands; whilst an escort of three hundred chosen
spearmen, flanked by nobles, eunuchs, and pages on horseback, brought up
the rear, amid the thumping of _nugareet_ from the hill top, and the
shrill acclamations of the entire female population of the town, which
rung from every eminence in honour of the nuptials of Princess Belete
Shatchau.

"My Galla subjects revolted," exclaimed the despot tauntingly, as soon
as the wedding was over--"My Galla tributaries revolted: I have played
them one trick, and I will shortly play them another."

The customary congratulations after a victory were offered in the words,
"God has aided your arms."

"Yes," replied the monarch; "the God of my fathers has assisted me--I
have slain four thousand six hundred of mine enemies, and have captured
thirty-seven thousand and forty-two head of cattle."

When complimenting the king on the clemency extended towards the
prisoners of war, who had on this occasion been released for the first
time during his reign, I did not lose the opportunity of commenting upon
the destruction of innocent and helpless children, as being a most
inhuman practice, and one quite unworthy of the Christian warrior.  The
despot smiled, as if half ashamed; and looking down, replied, "I am
aware that it is bad, but in all countries we must conform to the
customs that prevail.  The Galla destroy the Amhara without
discrimination, and we do but retaliate.  You must all accompany me on
my next campaign in January.  I shall build a fortified house at
Karabarek, and you must there tarry with me.  Whenever you are present I
will release the captives."

During the absence of the army at Garra Gorphoo, one of the Mohammadan
inhabitants of Argobba had been waylaid and wantonly murdered by the
Adaiel, who are in constant feud with the frontier population of Efat.
The relations and clansmen of the deceased surprised the village to
which the assassins belonged, and, in revenge, slew sixteen persons.
Wulasma Mohammad succeeded, after much difficulty, in apparently
pacifying the lowland tribe, who had in their turn sworn upon the Koran
to take bloody vengeance; but no sooner had he returned from the border,
than thirteen Moslem females, proceeding from the town of Channoo to
draw water in the wady, were barbarously butchered at the well.

This tragedy being followed by an application for troops to chastise the
delinquents, now induced the remark, that "if the Adaiel could see one
fourth of the Amhara host, they would cease to trouble the frontier."

"No," replied His Majesty, "it will not do.  My grandfather tried his
arms with the people below, but he was surprised, and lost four thousand
men and six thousand oxen in the bed of a dry ravine.  The water of the
_kwalla_ [i.e. Low valleys] is putrid, and the air hot and unwholesome.
Noxious vapours arise during the night, and the people die from fever.
We fear their sultry climate and their dense forests, and their mode of
warfare.  They leave open only one avenue; and when the Christians enter
the thicket, breaking short their lances, they rush in and fight at
close quarters.  No one can stand against them.  Our muskets avail
nothing, by reason of the trees and bushes.  Furthermore, the Adaiel are
subtle in strong medicines.  They poison the wells with drugs, and
corrupt the water with magic spells and enchantments.  It is their wont
to mix together the flesh of a black dog, a cat, and a certain forest
bird.  This they strew craftily about the ground, and whoso eateth
thereof, becomes instantly insane and dies."

According to the etiquette of the court, I now placed at the foot of the
throne the presents which custom enforces after a victory.  "My son,"
resumed the king, "I am your father.  I am rich.  You have already given
me too much, and I desire not your property.  I wish only for your love,
and for that of your nation.  I am fully aware of the objects of your
residence in my kingdom.  I have seen your character, and know that you
will slay elephants, and buffalos, and wild beasts.  You must not go
away, but accompany me on many more expeditions.  You have now seen much
people.  You must go with me to Gurague, where you will behold other
tribes, and a far more extensive country.  I shall build a wall.  My
father subdued all the population of Shoa, and I fear no enemy to the
south, in Gurague, Enarea, or Zingero.  None can stand before me.  The
Adaiel and the people of Geshe [a province on the northern frontier of
Shoa] alone contend with me.  In Geshe they have large shields, and
fight hand to hand.  The country of the Adel is difficult of access, and
unfortunate for the Amhara.  It is an old dependency of the empire of my
ancestors; but the men are brave, and stand firm in battle.  They will
not run away."

Volume Two, Chapter XXVIII.

CHRONICLE OF THE INVASION OF MOHAMMAD GRAAN.

In connection with the foregoing remarks respecting the inhabitants of
the lowlands, it is now desirable to sketch, for the reader's
information, some of those early hostilities between the Mohammadans and
Christians, which find a record in the meagre annals of Abyssinia.  They
led, in the sixteenth century, to an event so often alluded to in these
pages,--the invasion of Graan, "the Left-handed," whose irruptions
proved the greatest calamity that ever befel the country.

The allegiance claimed from the Adaiel by the emperors of Ethiopia is
known to have been evaded at a very remote period.  Ages ago gold was
returned for gold, apparel for apparel; and the intractable Moslems were
studiously kept in good humour whensoever they thought proper to visit
the Christian court.  Their revenues arose chiefly from the supply of
camels for the transport of merchandise to various parts of Africa, and
from the importation of fossil salt, which then, as now, passed instead
of silver currency, and for which they purchased slaves, together with
the rich staples of the interior.  Thus the interests of Adel and of
Abyssinia have always been so intimately linked, that the declaration of
war was certain to prove disastrous alike to the victor and to the
vanquished, since it must have interfered equally with the commerce by
which both were enriched.  Nevertheless, upon all suitable
opportunities, the fanatic lowlanders, urged by religious hate,
plundered the Christian churches, and massacred or tortured the priests,
until they at length drew upon themselves a war of extermination.

The Abyssinian chroniclers state that Amda Zion, who died at Tegulet
about the middle of the fourteenth century, first made a retributive
inroad, in consequence of his rebellious vassals having, amongst many
other derogatory expressions, taunted him as "an eunuch, fit only to
take care of women."  But the Emperor was never beaten.  He overran and
laid waste the plains from the mountains to the borders of the ocean,
and swept off to the highlands a prodigious amount of cattle.  Every
species of enormity appears to have been practised in retaliation by the
Amhara, who were commanded to "leave nothing alive that drew the breath
of life."  This behest was obeyed with all the rage and cruelty that
revenge and a difference of religion could inspire; and before the
termination of the campaign, the dauntless young King of Wypoo had been
slain, together with Saleh, the King of Mara, who boasted descent in a
direct line from the Apostle.

Constant commercial intercourse had long been maintained between Cairo
and Abyssinia, both across the desert and by way of the Red Sea.  Great
caravans, composed formerly of Pagans, but now of Mohammadans, passed in
without molestation, and dispersed Indian manufactures through the heart
of Africa.  Friars, priests, nuns, and pious laymen, in vast numbers,
also set out annually on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, whither, with drums
beating before the holy cross, they proceeded by the route of Suakem,
making long halts for the performance of divine service.  But with the
power of the Mamelukes, all communication across the desert, whether for
commercial or religious purposes, was closed to the Christians.  After
the conquest of Egypt and Arabia by Selim the First, caravans were
invariably attacked, the old were butchered, and the young swept into
slavery; for the Emperor of the Ottomans, fully imbued with the
merciless bigotry of his creed, held it a sacred duty to convert by the
sword the subjects of a monarch whose ancestor had been honoured with
the correspondence of the great founder of the Saracen empire.  Many
Arabian merchants, flying about the same period from the violence and
injustice of the Turkish tyrants, had sought an asylum in the opposite
African states, whereupon the Ottomans took possession, from Aden, of
the seaport of Zeyla, and not only laid the Indian trade under heavy
contributions, by means of their galleys cruising in the narrow straits
of Bab el Mandeb, but threatened the conquest both of Adel and
Abyssinia.

Betwixt these countries there subsisted peace from the death of Amda
Zion to the middle of the fifteenth century.  Towards the close of the
reign of Zara Yacoob, who founded Debra Berhan, the flame of discord was
again fanned by a certain queen of Zeyla, who is said to have aspired to
the hand of the Emperor; but the Christian arms were still in the
ascendant.  Baeda Mariam, the next occupant of the throne, passed his
life in a constant struggle to assert supremacy over the low country;
and, on his death-bed, he caused himself to be so turned that his face
might be towards the sandy deserts of the Adaiel, to whose subjugation
his whole energies had for ten years been devoted.

Mafoodi's inroads, it has been seen, commenced during the reign of
Alexander.  They continued, with increasing horrors, throughout that of
his successor Naod.  Nebla Dengel being only eleven years of age when
called to the throne, Helena, his mother, ruled during his minority.
Albuquerque was at that period viceroy of India, and to him the
queen-dowager sent to implore assistance for troubled Abyssinia.
Arriving at Goa, the ambassador announced himself to be the bearer of "a
fragment of wood belonging to the true Cross on which Christ died, which
relic had been sent, as a token of friendship to her brother Emmanuel,
by the Empress over Ethiopia;" and this overture was in due time
followed by the arrival at Massowah of an embassy from the King of
Portugal.

Father Alvarez has recorded the unfavourable reception experienced in
Shoa at the hands of the young emperor, who could never be brought to
recognise his mother's proceedings, which had led to this influx of
foreigners.  At the age of sixteen, having adopted the title of _Wanag
Suggud_, signifying "feared among the lions," he had taken the field in
person against Mafoodi, who, backed by the rebellious King of Adel,
still continued his wasting inroads on the Christian frontier.  At the
opening of the campaign, this fanatic, who had resolved either to
conquer or to die a martyr to his religion, threw the gauntlet of
defiance to the Christian chivalry, and it was instantly accepted.  The
infidel was slain in single combat by the monk Gabriel, a soldier of
tried valour, who had assumed the monastic cap during the preceding
reign in consequence of having been deprived of the tip of his tongue
for treasonable freedom of speech.  Cutting off the head of this
vanquished antagonist, he now threw it at the feet of his royal master,
and exclaimed, "Behold, sire, the Goliath of the Infidels!"  The green
standard of the Prophet and of the faith was taken, twelve thousand of
the Moslem were slain, and the youthful emperor, in defiance, struck his
lance through the door of the King of Adel.  The monk who had thus
delivered Abyssinia from her worst scourge, was welcomed with the
applause of the whole nation.  Maidens pressed forward to strew flowers
in his path, and matrons celebrating his achievements with songs, placed
garlands on his head, and held out their babes to gaze at the warrior as
he passed.

It was shortly after the departure of the Portuguese embassy that Graan,
"the Left-handed"--then King of Adel--made his first appearance on the
Ethiopian stage, where he was long the principal actor.  In league with
the Turkish Bashaw on the coast of Arabia, this mighty warrior sent his
Abyssinian prisoners to Mecca, and in return was furnished with a large
body of Janissaries, at the head of whom he burst into Efat and Fatigar,
drove off the population, and laid waste the country with fire.  In 1528
he took possession of Shoa, overran Amhara, burnt all the churches, and
swept off immense booty.  In his next campaign the invader wintered in
Begemeder, and the following year hunted the emperor like a wild beast
through Tigre to the borders of Sennaar, gave battle to the royal troops
on the banks of the Nile, with his own hand slew the monk Gabriel, who
had vanquished Mafoodi in single combat, cut the army to pieces,
practised every species of atrocity, and set fire to half the churches
in Abyssinia.

Famine and plague now raged, and carried off those whom the sword had
spared.  The princes of the blood were all destroyed; Axum was burnt,
and the monarch himself, after being compelled to take refuge in the
wilderness, was finally slain.  With him died also the boasted splendour
of the Abyssinian court, for he was the last monarch of Ethiopia who
displayed the magnificence of a "king of kings."

Markos, the aged Archbishop, had, on his deathbed, appointed as his
successor John Bermudez, a Portuguese who had been detained in the
country, and at the request of Claudius, who succeeded to the empire, he
now proceeded to Europe to obtain assistance.  Don Christopher de Gama,
with five hundred soldiers, obtained possession of Massowah, slew the
governor, and sent his head to Gondar, where, as an early pledge of
future victory, it was received with raptures by the queen.  The general
was shortly confronted by Graan in person.  Artillery and muskets were
for the first time opposed in Abyssinia; and the Portuguese leader being
wounded, took refuge in a cave.  Deaf to persuasion, he refused to seek
safety in flight; and a Turkish lady of extraordinary beauty, whom he
had made prisoner, and who had affected conversion to Christianity,
shortly betrayed him to the enemy.  He was carried before Graan, who,
with his left hand cut off his head, and sent it to Constantinople, his
body being quartered, and sent in portions to Arabia.

But the Portuguese were far from being disheartened by this grievous
misfortune, and the armies were shortly in a position again to try their
strength.  Before the engagement had well commenced, Peter Lyon, a
marksman of low stature, but passing valiant withal, who had been valet
to Don Christopher, having stolen unperceived along the dry channel of a
ravine, shot Graan through the body.  He fell from his horse some
distance in advance of the troops, and the soldier, cutting off one of
the infidel's ears, put it into his pocket.  This success was followed
by the total rout of the Mohammadans; and an Abyssinian officer of rank
finding the body of the redoubted chief, took possession of his
mutilated head, which he laid at the feet of the Emperor in proof of his
claim to the merit of the achievement.  Having witnessed in silence the
impudence of his rival, the valet produced the trophy from his pocket,
with the observation that His Majesty doubtless knew Graan sufficiently
well to be quite certain, "that he would suffer no one to cut off his
ear that possessed not the power to take his head also."

Delivered from his enemy, Claudius now sought to repair the ravages
which had been committed in his country.  A total eclipse of the sun
shortly afterwards threw both army and court into consternation--every
ignorant monk who practised divination declaring the phenomenon to
portend another invasion from the lowlanders.  But in spite of this
prophecy an interchange of prisoners took place.  Del Wumbarea, the
widow of Graan, had thrown herself into the wilds of Atbara, and her son
Ali Jeraad, who was made prisoner after his father fell, being now set
at liberty, Prince Menas, only brother to the emperor, was released from
his captivity in the sultry deserts of Adel, whither he had been carried
during the reign of Nebla Dengel.  I Noor, the Ameer of Hurrur, who was
deeply enamoured of Del Wumbarea, had proved the means of her escape
from the fatal field whereon her husband died.  The heroine now pledged
her hand in marriage to him who should lay the head of Claudius at her
feet; and Noor instantly sent a message of defiance to the emperor, who
was engaged in rebuilding the celebrated church of Debra-work, "the
mountain of gold," which had been burnt by the infidels.  Claudius, who
had almost by a miracle rescued Abyssinia from the Mohammadans, marched
instantly to accept the challenge.  Many prophecies were current amongst
the soldiery that the campaign was to prove unfortunate, and the
hot-headed monarch to lose his life; but he laughed at these monkish
predictions, declaring an honourable death to be infinitely preferable
to the longest and most prosperous reign.

The rival armies were on the point of engaging, in the year 1559, when
the high priest of Debra Libanos rushed before the emperor to declare a
vision, in which the angel Gabriel had warned him not to suffer the king
of the church of Ethiopia to expose himself in a needless fight.  Thus
discouraged, the cowardly Abyssinians instantly fled, leaving Claudius
supported only by a handful of Portuguese soldiers, who were soon slain
around his person, and he immediately afterwards fell, covered with
wounds.  His head was cut off, and laid by Noor at the feet of Del
Wumbarea, who, in observance of her pledge, became his wife, and with
truly savage ferocity commanded the trophy to be suspended by the hair
to the branches of a tree before her door, in order that her eyes might
continually be gladdened by the sight.  It hung in this position during
three years, ere it was purchased by an Armenian merchant, who caused it
to be interred in the holy sepulchre of Saint Claudius at Antioch; and
the name of the hero who had been victorious in every action save that
in which he died, has since been enrolled in the voluminous catalogue of
Abyssinian saints, where it now occupies a conspicuous place, as the
destroyer of Mohammad, surnamed "the Left-handed."

To the present day the most preposterous legends are believed with
reference to the personal prowess of this fierce invader, his gigantic
stature, and the colossal size of his steed.  He is said to have wielded
a brand twenty feet in length; and although it is matter of notoriety
that he fell in the manner above narrated, by the hand of a Portuguese
soldier, he is represented to have received no fewer than four thousand
musket bullets before yielding up the ghost.  The supernatural
achievements of Graan are handed down to posterity in an extant Amharic
volume; and his inroads gave birth in the mind of the people of Shoa to
a superstitious dread of the Adaiel, such as was long entertained of the
Turks in Northern Europe, and which it has been seen extends even to the
warlike monarch.

Volume Two, Chapter XXIX.

PROCEEDINGS AT ANGOLLALA.

Certain Abyssinian potentates of old are recorded by their biographers
to have bestowed in religious charity all their worldly substance,
saving the crown upon their heads.  But such will never be said of
Sahela Selassie, whose endowments, although frequent, are invariably
regulated by prudence.  Avarice stigmatises his every gift, and even
adulterates the incense of his sacrifice.  The countless droves of
sturdy beeves which now ranged over the royal meadows were daily
inspected with evident signs of satisfaction; but whilst the sleekest
were distributed over the various pasture-lands, the leanest kine were
despatched to the several churches and monasteries, as offerings after
the successful campaign.

At this season of rejoicing and festivity, the host of loathsome objects
that habitually infest the outer court, or crawl in quest of alms around
the precincts of the palace, had increased to a surprising extent, in
order to share the royal bounty.  Swarms of itinerant paupers, who
bivouacked under the old Galla wall, sang psalms and hymns in the
streets during the entire night; and long before dawn the clamour
commenced around the tents of a throng of mendicants, resembling the
inmates of a lazar-house, who, with insolent importunity, reiterated
their adjurations for relief by Georgis, Miriam, Michael, and every
other saint in the Abyssinian calendar.  Many petty pilferings were of
course committed by this ragged congregation; and a deputation of the
inhabitants of Angollala soon presented a petition to the throne,
praying for the dismissal of the vagrants, who had become an intolerable
public nuisance.

On the festival of Tekla Haimanot we received an invitation to witness
the distribution of royal alms, which was to be followed by a beggars'
feast.  The wonted inmates of the palisaded enclosure were no longer
there, but their place was occupied by a shoal of even more wretched
beings, just imported with a caravan from Gurague.  Upwards of six
hundred slaves, of every age, from childhood to maturity, and most of
them in a state of perfect nudity, who had been snatched by the hand of
avarice from the fair land of their birth, were here huddled together
under the eye of the rover for inspection by the officers of the crown,
preparatory to being driven to market; and the forlorn and destitute
appearance both of old and young, stamped them objects but too well
fitted for participation in the charity of a Christian monarch.

Immediately on our arrival within the court-yard of the palace, we were
conducted by the king to the royal bedchamber--a gloomy apartment,
lighted chiefly by the blaze of an iron chafing-dish, and shared not
only by a Moolo Falada cat, with a large family of kittens, but by three
favourite war-steeds, whose mangers were in close proximity to the
well-screened couch.  Cleanliness did not characterise the warm
curtains; and although cotton cloth had been pasted round the mud walls
for the better exclusion of the wind, an air of peculiar discomfort was
present.  A rickety _alga_ in one corner, a few hassocks covered with
black leather, an Ethiopic version of the Psalms of David, and a carpet
consisting of withered rushes, were the only furniture; and the dismal
aspect of the room was further heightened by the massive doors and
treble palisades which protect the slumbers of the suspicious despot.
The mystery of our introduction into the precincts of the harem, was
presently explained by the appearance of one of the young princes of the
blood royal, who had arrived in the course of the morning, and, with
eyes veiled, was now led in by a withered eunuch, in order that he might
receive medical assistance.

Saifa Selassie, "the sword of the Trinity," is an extremely aristocratic
and fine-looking youth, about twelve years of age, possessing the noble
features of his sire, with the advantage of a very fair instead of a
swarthy complexion.  Beneath a red chintz vest of Arabian manufacture,
he wore a striped cotton robe, which fell in graceful folds from the
girdle, and from the crown of the head a tassel of minutely-braided
locks streamed to the middle of his back.  "This is the light of mine
eyes, and dearer to me than life itself," exclaimed the king,
withdrawing the bandage, and caressing the boy with the utmost
fondness--"Give him the medicine that removes ophthalmia, or he, too,
will be blind like his father."

I assured His Majesty that no alarm need be entertained; and that
although the cause was to be regretted, the day which had brought us the
honour of an interview with the young prince could not but be deemed one
of the highest good fortune.  Much affected by this intimation, he laid
his hand upon my arm, and replied, "We do not yet know each other as we
ought, but we shall daily become better and better acquainted."

"Whence comes this _maskal_?" resumed the inquisitive monarch, raising a
Catholic cross devoutly to his lips, as the royal scion was reconducted
by the shrivelled attendant towards the apartments of the queen--"to
what nation does it belong?"

"It is the emblem of those who, in their attempts to propagate the
Romish religion in Ethiopia, caused rivers of blood to flow," was the
reply.  "No matter," exclaimed His Majesty, in rebuke to the Mohammadan
dragoman who would fain have assisted in the restoration of the paper
envelope--"How dost thou dare to profane the holy cross?  These are
Christians, and may touch it, but thou art an unbeliever."

The votaries of Saint Giles had, meanwhile, been ushered through a
private wicket, and in the adjacent enclosure offered a most revolting
spectacle.  The palsied, the leprous, the scrofulous, and those in the
most inveterate stages of dropsy and elephantiasis, were mingled with
mutilated wretches who had been bereft of hands, feet, eyes, and tongue,
by the sanguinary tyrants of Northern Abyssinia, and who bore with them
the severed portions, in order that their bodies might be perfect at the
Day of Resurrection.  The old, the halt, the deaf, the noseless, and the
dumb, the living dead in every shape and form, were still streaming
through the narrow door; limbless trunks were borne onwards upon the
spectres of mules, asses, and horses, and the blind, in long Indian
file, rolling their ghastly eyeballs, and touching each the shoulder of
his sightless neighbour, groped their way towards the hum of voices, to
add new horrors to the appalling picture.

An annual muster-roll being kept as a check, all who were ascertained to
have been participators in the distribution of the preceding year were
unceremoniously ejected by the myrmidons of the purveyor-general, who
has ever the interests of the state revenues warmly at heart.  The
mendicants were next classed in squads according to their diseases, and
the dwarf father confessor, by no means the least frightful object in
the assembly, proceeded, in capacity of king's almoner, to dispense the
royal bounty.  Sheep, clothes, and money, were distributed with a
judicious hand, each donation made being carefully registered by the
scribes in attendance; and half-baked bread, raw beef, and sour beer, in
quantities sufficient to satisfy every monk and beggar in the realm,
having been heaped outside the palace gate, all ate their fill, and
dispersed.  Next to the merciful disposition of Sahela Selassie, his
munificence to the indigent may be ranked among his most prominent
virtues.  Whilst the needy never retire empty-handed from his door, no
criminal ever suffers under the barbarous mutilation, so many
distressing monuments of which had this day shared his liberality.
Blood flowing from the veins of a subject finds no pleasure in the eyes
of the ruler of Shoa.  Under his sway the use of the searing iron has
become obsolete, and the sickening sentence is unknown which in the
northern states condemns the culprit to the wrenching off of hands and
feet, whereof the teguments have previously been severed with a razor at
the wrist and ankle.  But widely opposed are the views of humanity
entertained in different climes; and the scene that awaited our return
from the banquet, although in strict accordance with retributive
justice, was in appalling contrast with the more merciful fiat of
civilised jurisprudence.

A warrior had been convicted upon undeniable evidence of the murder of
his comrade in arms, with whom he had lived for years on terms of the
closest intimacy.  During the recent campaign, he had gone with this
companion into the wood, and taking advantage of the opportunity
afforded by hostilities with the Galla, had felled the unsuspecting man
to the earth with a blow of his sword.  Fame, such as is only to be
acquired by the slaughter of the foe, prompted the dastardly outrage;
and the treacherous assassin who had embrued his hands in the blood of
his dearest friend, now placed the green trophy of valour triumphantly
on his guilty head.  "Where is thy brother?" was the question that
awaited his return to the camp; but, like Cain of old, he denied all
knowledge of what had befallen the absentee; and it was not until the
body had been discovered, that suspicion fell heavily upon himself.

Mourning relatives threw themselves in sackcloth at the imperial
footstool, and cried aloud for the blood of the prisoner.  Arraigned
before the monarch, the investigation had been patiently conducted
during the beggars feast, and the "Fetha Negest" having been duly
consulted, the sentence proceeded from the royal lips--"Take him hence,
and deal with him as you will."

The last sun that was to shine upon the malefactor was sinking fast
towards the western horizon, when, with hands bound behind his back, he
was hurried from the presence for instant execution.  Its rising rays
had seen him seated at the door of the hut, whilst his young wife
adorned his locks with the newly-plucked branch of asparagus, that was
the record of his infamy, but the meridian beam had witnessed his
arrest.  The relatives of the murdered, and a band of the king's
headsmen, each armed with shield and broad-headed spear, now formed a
close phalanx round him as he proceeded with the stoicism of the savage
to meet his well-merited doom; and an infuriated mob followed, to heap
taunts and ignominy upon his numbered moments.

Impatient of delay, the friends of the deceased were about to immolate
their victim on the meadow close to the encampment of the Embassy; but
adjured by the life of the monarch, they urged the culprit over the
rocky mound adjoining the Galla wall, which was already crowded with a
vast concourse of spectators, burning for the consummation of the last
sentence of the law.  Scarcely had the unresisting criminal passed the
summit, than an eager hand stripped the garment from his shoulder, and
twenty bright spears being poised at the moment, he turned his head to
the one side, to receive a deep stab on the other.  Whilst still
reeling, a dozen blades were sheathed in his heart, and a hundred more
transfixed the prostrate body.  Swords flashed from the crooked
scabbard--the quivering corse was mutilated in an instant, and on the
next the exulting executioners took their way from the gore-stained
ground, bearing the trophy aloft, as they howled with truly savage
satisfaction the Christian chorus of death!

Mother, sisters, and wives, now flocked around the lifeless clay,
rending the air with their piercing shrieks.--"Alas! the brave have
fallen, the spirit of the bold has fled."

"_Waiye, waiye_--woe unto us, we have lost the son of our declining
years"--"our brother and our husband is gone for ever!"  Bared breasts
were beaten and scarified, and temples were torn with the nails until
the evening closed, and it was dark when the mourners ceased their
shrill lamentation.  But the turbaned priest was not there; no
absolution had been given, nor had the last sacrament been partaken; and
the unhallowed remains of the murderer would have found a tomb in the
maw of the hyena and the vulture, had not a charitable hand enclosed
them under a cairn of stones by the highway side, where many a
grass-grown mound marks the fate of the cowardly assassin, who had
destroyed his brother in the wood, and whose memory is coupled with
dishonour.

Volume Two, Chapter XXX.

TRIUMPHAL ENTRY TO THE CAPITAL.

"Reculer pour mieux sauter," is a maxim strictly in accordance with His
Majesty's notions of strategy.  Twenty days had elapsed since the return
of the expedition, when the arrival before the palace of six thousand
head of cattle proclaimed the success of a second sweeping foray
directed against the Ekka and Finfinni Galla.  A Mohammadan merchant
residing at Roque, the market town and great slave-mart of Yerrur, was
suspected of having with his own hand slain the son of Ayto Besuehnech,
grand-nephew to the king--this youth having pressed on far in advance of
his comrades in pursuit of the retreating pagans.  To avenge his
untimely death, a detachment, consisting of five thousand horse, was
despatched under the command of Aytos Berkie, Chilo, and Dogmo, the
government of which latter chief had previously been extended in
acknowledgment of his recent services.  They made a forced march through
Bulga, and although foiled in their principal object by the precipitate
flight of the rover whose life they sought, the whole of his family and
followers were massacred, his effects plundered, and his house burnt to
the ground.

The survivors of the Ekka and Finfinni tribes, believing the fatal storm
to be expended, had already returned with the residue of their flocks
and herds, and were actively engaged in restoring their dilapidated
habitations, when the Amhara hordes again burst over their fair valley,
slew six hundred souls, and captured all the remaining cattle, thus
completing the chastisement of these devoted clans, who, notwithstanding
the generous restoration of their enslaved families, had failed to make
submission--and redeeming the royal pledge "to play the rebels another
trick."

The king had not honoured Ankober with his presence since the arrival in
Shoa of the British Embassy, but His Majesty now announced his intention
of entering the capital in triumph.  Thinly attended, and unscreened by
the state umbrellas, he issued at sunrise on horseback through the
_sirkosh ber_, the only addition to his usual costume being a plume of
nine feathers stripped from the _Rasa_, or egret, which were worn in the
hair in token of his recent prowess at Boora Roofa.  Putting his horse
into a gallop, he never drew bridle until stopped by the Bereza, many
parties under governors of the adjacent districts joining the royal
_cortege_ from various quarters, and swelling the retinue to two
thousand equestrians, who continued at a furious pace to clatter over
the stony ground.

Mosabeit, a village standing on a peninsula formed by the junction of
the Toro Mesk water with the Bereza, imparts its name to this, the most
direct road from Angollala to Ankober.  The river forded, the king
mounted his mule, and diverging to the right, passed through a valley
studded with hamlets, the inhabitants of which, male and female, came
forth with many prostrations to the earth, whilst the women raised their
voices together in the usual ringing _heleltee_.

On all occasions of rejoicing and ceremony, whether on the successful
return of the monarch or of the warrior, or on the sight of a passing
procession, the ladies of Abyssinia, with their characteristic love of
noise, thus burst forth into a thrilling clamour of welcome, moving the
tongue with more than ordinary volubility against the palate, and
producing a continuous succession of tremulous notes.  One watchful dame
on the outskirts perceives the approach of the cavalcade, and forthwith
gives out her wild screech of warning.  In a moment the mountain side is
covered with every female within hearing; the _Hil! lil! lil_!
progresses fast and furious as they bend nearly double to assist in
upraising the yelling chorus; tears stream from their eyes in the
violence of the exertion, and far and near the hills resound with the
gathered volume of their shrill throats.

The king halted for a moment at a pile of stones by the way-side,
covered with rags, feathers, and flowers, to which every devout
Christian adds his tribute whilst saluting it with his lips.  It points
to the white-roofed church of Saint Michael the Archangel, peeping
through a dark clump of junipers at some distance from the road, and
many were the fervent kisses of adoration bestowed by the triumphant
warriors.  A little beyond, a large black cross on the summit of a
tumulus directs attention to the residence of Ayto Berri,
quarter-master-general of the Amhara forces.  Here His Majesty again
diverged, in order to lead the cavalcade through the most thickly
populated tract; and after resting for half an hour in the Ungua-mesk,
one of the many royal meadows, now black with the Galla herds, he turned
suddenly off to the Motatit road, according to his invariable custom,
when proceeding to the capital after a successful foray.

The Arsiamba, styled at its point of intersection with the route usually
pursued, _Ya Wurjoch Maderia_, the "resting-place of merchants," is a
singular cataract rolling over columnar basalt, of which the ribbed
cliffs on either side are thronged by bees.  But by far the most
interesting object is a certain white pillar, overgrown with nettles,
standing at the foot of the hills which bound the Ungua-mesk.  It is
designated "Graan's stone," and is famous from an existing tradition
that the Moslem invader tied his war-horse to it on the occasion of his
leading the Adaiel to the destruction of Debra Berhan.

Abundantly cultivated, and rich in grazing land, the tract we had passed
over is throughout so destitute of trees and even of bushes, that the
inhabitants employ no other fuel than dried manure.  Arrived at the
summit of the Chaka mountain, where straggling _cossos_ break the
monotony of the landscape, many hundred females, assembled from the
numerous villages in the vicinity, lining the surrounding heights, again
kept up one continued cry.  It was drowned at intervals by discharges of
musketry which echoed among the broken glens as the despot descended;
and, preceded by a war-dance, wherein all the warriors joined, he
finally took up his quarters for the night in a house separated by a
deep valley from the capital.

Early the ensuing morning we rode out to the Chaffa meadow at the foot
of the palace, to meet and welcome His Majesty, who, after arraying
himself within a marquee erected for his accommodation, shortly appeared
through a gorge in a low range of hills, which was crowned on either
side by matchlock-men of the imperial body-guard.  These kept up an
incessant fire as the royal _cortege_ advanced over the grassy plain,
preceded by a band of mounted warriors, who, as on the occasion of the
triumphant entry to Angollala, careered in intersecting circles.  The
king bestrode a richly caparisoned mule, and wore a green scarf mantle
of Delhi embroidery.  A golden collar encircled his neck, and a massive
silver akodama extended on either side a considerable distance beyond
the temples.  The ends of the beam were hung with a profusion of silver
chains a yard in length, whilst a row of spangled pendants across the
brow half obscured the eyes, and imparted a peculiarly savage aspect,
which was enhanced by a large branch of wild asparagus floating above
the curly locks, and by a white and crimson robe drawn across the lower
portion of the face.

As the cavalcade advanced, the braves continued to caracole until
reaching the extremity of the meadow, where the assembled priests and
monks of Ankober, as well as of the neighbouring churches and
monasteries, were drawn up to receive their sovereign.  The holy arks
were each screened under the canopy of a large embroidered umbrella; and
that of Saint Michael, the senior, which had accompanied the army into
the field, was carried beneath a _debab_ of solid embossed silver,
decorated with chain pendants and fretwork.  Psalms having been chanted
by the turbaned body, who danced vehemently to their own chorus, the
_Alaka_ of the cathedral advancing, laid his hands on the head of the
victorious monarch, and gave his blessing, when the procession moved
slowly forward towards the foot of the hill, singing the death knell of
the pagan,--

  "Moolohoy Moolo?  Hai hai!
  Wokao?  Selala dabito!"

The warriors, preceded by the royal band of kettle-drums and wind
instruments, took the lead up the long steep and narrow path, which
winds along the verge of a precipitous ascent to the palace, perched on
the very pinnacle of the cone.  A proclamation, through the herald,
having commanded the presence of all the inhabitants of the capital and
of the villages adjacent, every roof, bank, and cliff, was crowded with
women and girls.  As the king passed on, they kept up an unceasing
clamour, and it increased to a deafening din as he approached the gate
of the outer enclosure, where a dense mass of curled heads extended
across the entire open area in front of the palisades.

The British escort, drawn up before the lower defences, presented arms
as the monarch passed, and within the stockade stood the high priests of
the five churches, robed and mitred.  The clamour, the music, and the
echo of musketry, continued during the tedious ascent of the steep and
difficult path, which, broken into steps, winds betwixt lofty palisades,
through nine gateways and lodges, to the inner enclosure.  Here His
Majesty took his seat in a raised alcove, the throne, and the usual
trappings of royalty, being on this occasion new throughout, and more
than wonted cleanliness pervading every quarter of the palace.

Once more the large drum in the middle of the court gave forth its deep
notes.  Three hundred concubines, seated in a circle around, again
screamed and clapped their stained hands in deafening concert.  A
dancing girl, flanked by two wild braves, whirled in front of the
throne, and in a series of eulogistic rhymes, composed by herself,
chanted a rehearsal of the recent heroic deeds of the puissant monarch,
"who, although invariably triumphant over his heathen foes, had never
decorated his royal brow with a branch greener than that by which it was
now surmounted."  Each time she turned towards the crowd, a shrill
clamour of united voices rang forth the chorus to her verse.  The
skin-clad warriors leapt and howled;--akodamas, coronets, and silver
swords, glistened in the morning sun; and as the chiefs, governors, and
nobles, formed in a semicircle on either side of the latticed balcony,
stamped and clapped their hands in savage triumph--the populace,
crowding the carpeted yard, and lining every wall, capered, yelled, and
shouted with the wildest enthusiasm.  A general war-dance followed the
cessation of the shrill notes of the songstress, and the pageant
concluded with a royal salute, fired by the artillery detachment over
the British flag, which, in honour of His Majesty's arrival, floated far
below in the centre of the capital of Shoa.

Volume Two, Chapter XXXI.

THE PALACE AT ANKOBER.

The entire slope of the palace eminence is studded with thatched
magazines and out-houses; and these, shame to the Christian monarch,
form the scene of the daily labours of three thousand slaves.  In one
quarter are to be seen groups of busy females, engaged in the
manufacture of beer and hydromel.  Flat cakes of teff and wheat are
preparing by the hundred under the next roof, and from the dark recesses
of the building arises the plaintive ditty of those who grind the corn
by the sweat of their brow.  Here cauldrons of red pepper soup yield up
their potent steam; and in the adjacent compartment, long twisted strips
of old cotton rag are being dipped in bees' wax.  Throughout the female
establishment the bloated and cross-grained eunuch presides; and his
unsparing rod admonishes his giggling charges that they are not there to
gaze at the passing stranger.

In the sunny verandah of the wardrobe, tailors and curriers are
achieving all manner of curious amulets and devices--the offspring of a
savage brain.  Blacksmiths are banging away at the anvil under the eaves
of the banqueting hall.  Turbaned priests, seated in the porch, armed
with a party-coloured cow's tail, indolently drive away the flies from
volumes which are elevated on a rack before their ancient eyes, and
detail the miracles of the saints.  Under one shed, notaries are
diligently committing to parchment elaborate inventories of tribute
received.  Sacred books are being bound in a second.  In a crowded
corner painters are perpetrating on the illuminated page atrocious daubs
of our first father carrying spear and buckler in the Garden of Eden;
and in the long shadow thrown by the slaughterhouse, whence a stream of
blood is ever flowing across the road, carpenters are destroying bad
wood in a clumsy attempt to fashion a gun stock with a farrier's rasp,
for the reception of an old honeycombed barrel which promises to burst
upon the very first discharge.

Governors and nobles, with shields and silver swords, are seated above.
Clamourous paupers, itinerant monks, and applicants for justice, fill
the lower courts.  The open _Arada_ before the great-gate is choked with
idlers, gossips, and immoveable beggars, who, from the rising up to the
going down of the sun, maintain one incessant howl of importunity.  Oxen
and asses, goats and sheep, have established their head-quarters in
every filthy avenue.  Newly-picked bones and bullocks' skulls strew the
rugged descent; and on the last terrace, surrounded by stagnant mire,
behold Ayto Wolda Hana himself, seated in magisterial dignity, arranging
the affairs of the nation.  Hundreds tremble at his uncompromising nod;
and appellant and respondent, accuser and accused, alike bared to the
girdle, bend in cringing submission, as in a cracked and querulous voice
the despotic legislator delivers his arbitrary fiat.

During the absence of the Negoos on military expeditions, the most
inquisitorial espionage is exercised over the actions of every
foreigner, and the strictest police established, to insure the safety of
the almost deserted capital.  Every avenue is vigilantly guarded, and no
stranger allowed to enter the town without permission of the viceroy.
Children only are suffered to leave the houses after dark; and watchmen,
patrolling in all directions, apprehend every adult who may be found
abroad during the night.

But Ankober was now thronged to overflowing.  Brawls disturbed the
streets, and, during the early hours of each evening, drunken parties
were to be seen streaming home from the royal banquet, shouting the war
chorus, and not unfrequently preceded by one of the court buffoons,
engaged in the performance of the most absurd follies, antics, and
grimaces.  Day and night the invocations of a host of mendicants arose
from every lane and alley, and the importunity to which we were exposed
on the part of the wealthy had attained the point beyond which it was
scarcely possible to advance.  Each ruffian who had destroyed an infant
considered that he possessed an undeniable right to be "decorated from
head to foot, and completely ornamented."  Villains, streaming with
rancid butter, entered the Residency, and desired that the "Gyptzis's
bead shop might be opened, as they had brought salt to purchase a
necklace;" whilst the king's three fiddlers, who had each slain a foe
during the foray, appearing with the vaunting green _sareti_, attuned
their voices and their squeaking instruments to the detail of their
prowess, and demanded the merited reward.  "The gun is the medicine for
the cowardly Pagan who ascends a tree," was the maxim of many who
aspired to the possession of one of these weapons; and for hours
together men stood before the door with cocks and hens and loaves of
bread, to establish their claim to the possession of "pleasing things."

With the design of aiding his fast-swelling collection of natural
history.  Dr Roth had offered rewards to all who chose to contribute,
and the king's pages were kept well supplied with ammunition for the
destruction of birds; but the unconquerable love of sticking a feather
in the hair almost invariably spoiled the specimen.  A bat, firmly
wedged between the prongs of a split cane, was one day brought by a boy,
who extended the prize at arm's length: "I've caught him at last," he
exclaimed with exultation--"It is the Devil, who had got into the
monastery of Aferbeine; I've caught the rascal; _min abat_?" "what is
his father?"

After this strong invective, which is indiscriminately applied also as
occasion demands, to man, beast, and every inanimate thing, the youth
was not a little surprised to perceive the naturalist quietly extricate
the much-dreaded animal with his fingers.  A party of females, who
carried pitchers of water at their backs, had halted in the road, and
looking over the hedge, were silent spectators of the proceeding.
"_Erag, erag_," they exclaimed with one accord, placing their hands
before their months as they ran horror-stricken from the spot--"_O wai
Gypt_," "Alas, Egyptians! far be such things from us!"

On the festival of Michael the Archangel, whose church immediately
adjoins the palace, the monarch received the holy sacrament in the
middle of the night, and returned thanks for his victory, a chair having
previously been obtained from the Residency to obviate the fatigue
stated to have resulted from former orisons.  The holy ark, which had
brought success to his arms, was again placed under the silver canopy,
and thrice carried in solemn procession around the sacred edifice, under
a salute of musketry and ordnance.  Large offerings were as usual made
to it, alms distributed among the poor, a new cloth given to each of the
king's slaves, and a feast prepared for every inhabitant of Ankober.
Rejoicings, which had continued throughout the city since the triumphal
entry, were this day renewed with increased energy, even girls and young
children whooping war-songs in celebration of the safe return of the
warriors from battle.

But the voice of lamentation succeeded to the strains of joy.  An
eclipse had suddenly inumbrated the moon, and as the black shadow was
perceived stealing rapidly onwards, and casting a mysterious gloom over
the face of nature, late so bright, the exulting Christians were seized
with the direst consternation.  The sound of the drum was hushed, and
the wild chorus was heard no more.  Believing the orb to be dead, and
that her demise prognosticated war, pestilence, and famine, the entire
town and suburbs became a scene of panic, tumult, and uproar, whilst
women and men, priests and laity, collecting together in the streets and
in the churches, cried aloud upon the "Saviour of the world to take pity
on them--to screen them from the wrath of God--and to cover them with a
veil of mercy, for the sake of Mary, the mother of our Lord."

The pagan Galla, of whom there are many in Ankober, lifting up their
voices, joined in the general petition, and, from not comprehending the
Amharic tongue, placed upon it the most absurd construction.  During the
whole period of the moon's obscuration, the wailing continued without
intermission; and when the planet, emerging, sailed again through the
firmament in all her wonted brilliancy, a universal shout of joy burst
from the lips of the savages, in the firm belief that the prayers and
sobs of the multitude had prevailed, and awakened her from the sleep of
death.

His Majesty had been previously apprised of the precise hour and minute
at which the obscuration was to commence and terminate, and his
incredulity in the first instance was followed by equally unfeigned
surprise at the powers of divination displayed.  "Eclipses are bad
omens," said the king, when their causes had been explained.  "Was
Subagadis not slain on the appearance of one, and did another not bring
defeat to Ras Ali?"  The chief smith was, nevertheless, instructed to
make himself thoroughly acquainted with the use of logarithmic tables,
and of "the instruments that read the heavens;" and the royal attention
was temporarily diverted from the study of medicine to the contemplation
of the celestial bodies.

In Shoa, the silver sword is the emblem of rank and authority, and it is
girded on the loins of none but those who enjoy an exalted place in the
sovereign's favour.  The forfeiture of government and the loss of the
cumbrous badge go hand in hand, and many are the weary hours of
attendance indispensable towards the restoration of either.  On no
foreigner who had yet visited the Christian land had this mark of
distinction been conferred, but the despot now suddenly resolved that
the fluted tulip scabbard should adorn his English guests.  "You bring
the stars upon earth, and foretell coming events," said His Majesty, as
he presented these tokens of favour and confidence--"you are my
children; you possess strong medicine.  You must wear these swords in
assurance of my permanent love, that your name may be great in the eyes
of all my people."

Volume Two, Chapter XXXII.

THE FOREST OF MAMRAT.

Excursions abroad continued as usual to occupy the royal leisure; and
even when rats and horned owls formed the ignominious quarry, the king's
Gyptzis were invariably summoned.  But the dark forests which clothe the
foot of Mamrat proved the favourite scene of these rambles, and thither
the steps of the monarch were usually directed.  Large colonies of the
_gureza_, which inhabit the noblest trees, offered an irresistible
attraction; and although, from their retired habits no less than from
their appearance, these inoffensive apes are regarded in the light of
monks, their holy character did not exempt them from frequent and severe
punishment.  A shower of iron and stone balls tumbled one after the
other from his perch on the topmost branches of some venerable
moss-grown _woira_, where, notwithstanding many cunning artifices, the
white cowl and the long snowy cloak upon the otherwise sable body,
betrayed the place of concealment; and numbers being soon prostrate upon
the ground, the survivors, amazed at the murderous intrusion, were to be
seen swinging from bough to bough like a slack-rope dancer, and leaping
from tree to tree as they sought more secure quarters in the, to man,
inaccessible sides of the hail-capped mountain.

Occupying manifold caves and subterranean crannies in this the most
elevated pinnacle within the range of vision, the idolised riches of
Sahela Selassie are covered with massive iron plates, barred, and
secured by large heaps of stone.  A strong guard of matchlock-men
occupies the only practicable ascent to the treasury; and the keys of
its well-crammed coffers, which are never opened unless for the purpose
of being still further stuffed, are strictly confided to Ayto Habti, the
master Cyclops of the realm.  At the extremity of a forest vista, the
huge wooded cone presents a grand and imposing object, avenues of tall
trees screening its dark defiles, whilst the fleecy vapour that steals
across the hoary summit, discloses glimpses of the many smiling hamlets
which crest the Abyssinian Alps.

A Mohammadan legend asserts, that in time of yore, "the Mother of Grace"
towered even to the skies, and so remained until the first invasion of
Graan.  Ameer Noor, his brother, the ruler of Hurrur in its golden days,
having formed his camp upon a rising ground above Alio Amba, despatched
his chieftains in all directions to slay, burn, and plunder.  Upon their
return, laden with rich booty, obtained without having encountered a
single Amhara, the disappointed Ameer exclaimed, in his religious zeal,
"'tis the mountain Mamrat that hides the dastardly infidels.  May Allah,
the only one God, who rules over the universe, grant that it be
overthrown, and my foes revealed!"  Scarcely had the pious prayer
escaped his lips, than the pile reeled to and fro like a drunken man,
and sank to its present level.

"The country of the Adaiel," adds the same veracious authority, "through
which the Ameer led the followers of the true Prophet, was in those days
a trackless desert, totally destitute of springs; but on his stamping
his foot upon the thirsty soil at the termination of each day's march,
there gushed forth a fountain of living water, which has continued to
flow until the present time."  During the struggle that followed the
arrival of the Moslem invaders, the Christians are said to have been in
danger of perishing from lack of provisions, until the inhabitants of
Argobba, who are styled Shooggur, from the name of their ancestor,
supplied the army, by rolling over the mountain side skins filled with
grain.  In a battle fought shortly after the arrival of this seasonable
supply, Ali Muggan, the governor of Zeyla, was slain on the terrace
betwixt Mamrat and Alio Amba, and his body left to the wild beasts;
whereupon Noor, his brother, cursing the race who, professing the faith
of Islam, had been the agents of so dire a calamity, doomed their necks
to be chafed for ever by the galling yoke of vassalage to unbelievers.

Far hid in the rugged bosom of the "Mother of Grace," is a spacious
cell, often visited by the king.  During one half of the fourteenth
century, it formed the abode of an anchorite, renowned far and wide for
the austerity of his life, who invariably slept upon a bed of sharp
thorns, and whose food was restricted to roots and wild honey.  Hatze
Amda Zion was then engaged in his disastrous war with Adel; and the
ascetic, seizing his white staff, abandoned his rigorous solitude for
the first time, and fired by religious zeal, rushed into the presence of
the Emperor, who was encamped on the banks of the Hawash.  Displaying
the holy cross to the dispirited soldiery, he exhorted them to be of
good heart, and not to let the standard of Christ droop before the
profane ensign of the infidels; for that it was written in the book of
the Revelation of Saint John, that Islamism was that year to be crushed
and trodden under foot throughout the world.  At his bidding, three
merchants of Hurrur, who, under the guise of suttlers, performed the
office of spies, were hung without trial, and their heads being
transmitted to the King of Adel, proved the forerunners of a bloody
defeat, which he shortly afterwards sustained.

To the latest occupant of the cave of Mamrat is attached the legend
embodied in the two ensuing chapters.  It is fully illustrative of the
grovelling superstition that enthrals the Amhara, of whom none ever
allude to the dread sorcerer Thavanan, without an invocation to the
Deity.  He was an exiled noble of Northern Abyssinia, high in the favour
of Asfa Woosen, fifth monarch of Shoa, who took forcible possession of
his sister, and after degrading the courtier for opposing this despotic
measure, sentenced him to the loss of an eye, which was put out with a
hot iron.  Resolved to have his revenge, the outcast became a worshipper
of the eighty-eight invisible spirits, termed _Saroch_, believed to be
the emissaries for evil of Warobal Mama, the King of the Genies, whose
court is held at the bottom of Lake Alobar, in Mans, whence his drum is
heard pealing over the water whenever war, famine, or pestilence are
about to visit the land.

Having purchased supernatural powers at the price of his hope of
salvation, Thavanan tormented the king day and night--spirited away his
seraglio, and, having thus recovered his sister, deprived her oppressor
of sight by means of magic spells.  Taking the name of Abba Zowald, he
then became a stern ascetic; and his bones now lie interred in the cell
beneath a pile of rough stones, which, during a long period of
mortification, served him for a couch, whilst roots and wild fruits
formed his only fare.  Angels are said to have ministered unto him; his
voice was the voice of an oracle; and none recognising the sorcerer in a
holy Christian anchorite, who had despised the world and its vanities
during a period of fifty years, he lived universally regarded in
Abyssinia as a second Peter.

Volume Two, Chapter XXXIII.

THE NECROMANCER, A LEGEND OF SHOA.

In the lone recesses of a rocky cave reclined the youth Thavanan, lost
in gloomy meditation.  The hues of care and study were indelibly stamped
upon his lofty forehead; and although the bent brow and the quivering
lip betokened a stern mental conflict, still courage and high daring
shone bright through the shroud of revenge which had settled over his
dark features.  The white robe of Abyssinia lay uneasy on his shoulder;
and the blue silk cord which encircled his neck, the badge of
Christianity, nearly burst in twain as the swollen sinews started from
the throat, in this his hour of agony.

A fearful storm raged without.  Thunder rolled in continued peals,
crumbling in pieces the sparry roof over-head, and the hot lightning
illumined every nook and corner of the retreat, whilst the waters of the
broad lake, now raised in wrath, came dashing and foaming to its very
mouth with all the violence of a winter sea.  But the war of the
elements was unheeded by the sufferer, and ever and anon, starting from
his recumbent position, he paced in desperation the uneven floor of the
slippery cavern.

"Years have rolled away since that withering moment," he exclaimed; "but
the wound is yet green in the mind, and the feeling is still fresh as
when writhing under the searing iron of the tyrant.  The star Medaboot
proclaims the hour of the requisite sacrifice.  I acknowledge thy power,
great Genius of the Water.  Warobal Mama, I call for thy aid."

Stripping the robe from his person, and tearing the bandage from his
sightless eye, he roused a sleeping goat from the corner of the cave.  A
garland of yellow flowers was wreathed in fantastic folds among the long
sharp horns, and a white collar twined its mystic threads around the
throat.  The animal had been a favourite of former days whilst browsing
on the green meadows of Shoa, and knowing the voice of its master, it
quietly followed his footsteps into the centre of the grotto.

The bright eyes were turned upwards in confiding innocence as it licked
the hand which had so often fed and caressed it; but all pity and
compassion were effaced in one fiery feeling of revenge.  The words of
the dread spell to the spirit of the deep were poured forth on the
midnight blast; and the sharp knife gleaming for a moment in the air,
was plunged into the heart of the unresisting victim.

Shrieks filled the cavern, and unearthly echoes were flung back from
every side of the broken vault, whilst the life-stream gurgled on to
mingle with the waters of the lake; and as the last faint groan was
rendered from the expiring animal, the badge and symbol of Christianity
was dipped in the crimson tide which had flowed to the honour of the
genius and his satellites.

[The cord of blue silk styled "mateb," which in Abyssinia is worn around
the neck of the Christian to denote his faith, has usually a small
silver cross appended.]

A sulphur-coloured fowl was next subjected to the necessary preparations
for the sacrifice.  One eye was deliberately scooped out amidst
blasphemy and execration, and the bright blue cord which had hitherto
graced the neck of the Christian, now gory with unhallowed blood, was
bound in a mysterious knot on this the second victim to the powers of
darkness.  The holy cross was suspended to the desecrated thread; and
having raised the flickering embers with sweet woods and subtle
essences, Thavanan crushed the head of the fowl under his heel until the
brains flowed, and then dashed the body into the fire.

The flame shot aloft in one fierce spire of light, blazing like the
arrow of the infernal host, and, again, satiate with the pungent
offering, sank amid a stifling cloud of fetid smoke.  Casting himself
upon the rocky floor in an attitude of prostration, the youth listened
in awe to the moans of the wind which had succeeded to the hurricane.
But his courage was firm as the foundations of Mamrat; and it was well
for him that his heart quailed not during that hour of perilous
endurance.

The effects of his diabolical incantation were soon manifest.  Foul
spirits mowed and chattered in his ear, and the cold rushing of pinions
flapping lazily through the air wetted him with slimy spray.  But
revenge and desperation had steeled his nerves; and after a period of
intense misery, which appeared without limit to the sufferer, the
melancholy sound of a drum came faintly booming over the face of the
waters--the welcome token that the hour of trial was past, and that the
sacrifice had been accepted.  Waxing louder and louder, the pealing of
the music shook the rocks with its continuous reverberations.  Unearthly
voices, ceasing to torment, faded altogether away; and the renegade,
casting one look on the ashes of things holy and once prized, stepped
forth from the mouth of the cavern.

Wild and fearful was the scene which met his gaze.  The moon was for the
moment unobscured, but huge masses of pale cloud, like armed hosts, sped
fiercely across the skies, whilst thunder and lightning seemed to warn
the astounded beholder that spirits of another world were engaged in
their unholy revels.

Unruffled by the breeze, the great lake spread like a sheet of molten
silver at his feet; whilst every cliff and crag, revealed boldly to
view, was fearfully lit up by the reflected glare of an unearthly lurid
flame, which at short intervals spouted in jets from the centre of the
expanse, amid streams of wild melancholy music and the clash of the
magic drum.

Roused to daring deeds in this moment of frantic excitement, with one
short prayer to the spirit he had invoked, Thavanan plunged headlong
into the cold deep waters, which gurgled and bubbled over his descending
form; but baffled in his design to reach the glittering white sand--now
the only haven of his hope--he rose once more to the surface.

All was dark, dismal, and lonely.  A thick fog covered the water, the
earth, and the sky, whilst the voice of his better angel alone came
moaning through the mist, bewailing the lost soul of a son of Adam.
Again and again he struggled to reach the glowing bed of the lake, but
mortal strength and energy were unavailing to pierce the fathomless
abyss.  The clear searching element rushed unresisted into his mouth and
ears--the faintness of death spread over his exhausted limbs--and his
senseless form, tossed to and fro, became the sport of the heaving
billow.

But the sound of the spell had swept along the blast, and the savour of
the sacrifice had penetrated into the halls of magic.  A long sinewy arm
raised the body high over the water.  The drum again pealed through the
boundless space; the bright fire threw one last triumphant stream above
the surface, and a heavy plunge beneath the waves was succeeded by the
utter silence of solitude.

The soft tinkling sound of harps first stole upon the slumbers of the
neophyte.  Bright, happy visions flitted over his awakening senses, and
the sweet melody of voices ushered him again into existence.  Starting
from his trance, the bewildered Thavanan found ample scope for the
indulgence of his wonder and astonishment.  Far as the eye could scan,
innumerable arcades stretched in endless vistas on every side, with
alternating domes of the purest pearl.  Pillars of variously coloured
amber and crystal rose to sustain the glowing fabric, and cloths, such
as emperors alone can boast, strewed the floors in unbounded profusion.

In the centre of each gallery stood an altar of virgin silver, from
which a never-failing arrow of flame diffused a mellow light over the
glittering pillars of the hall.  Around their more searching sister,
jets of sweet-scented water played high in the air; and dancing on the
apex of each fountain, a sparkling emerald, the ransom of a monarch,
gently regulated the rush of the stream, in token that the elements were
here held under control.

Superb paintings, illuminated in transparency, shed a dreamy languor
over the scene, and music lent her exhaustless charms to captivate the
sense.  Sweet strains of triumph, ringing in full chorus among the lofty
domes, died gently away into the softness of repose; and at times the
low murmur of the waves fell pleasingly upon the ear, as the lake poured
forth her springs in homage to the master spirit, and imprinted the kiss
of obedience on the magic abode of Warobal Mama.

Colossal statues of Famine, War, and Pestilence, frowned from their
lofty pedestals in all the sternness of brass above the glories of this
rich and varied scene.  Each giant arm grasped a knotted mace, whose
awful blow on the iron drum of misfortune was well known to the dismayed
inhabitants of the upper regions of earth as the sure harbinger of woe.

Arts and sciences had each their separate niche in the spacious
apartment; and favoured votaries were deeply engaged in scanning subtle
essences, or preparing potent spells.  The hum of confused voices was
borne on the fragrant atmosphere, whilst at intervals strange emblems
and tokens were delivered by the elders to the attending pupils, who
each sprang aloft upon gaudy pinions to execute the behest of his
superior.  But the smiling face of fair woman was wanting to complete
the scene; for love was unknown to the dread spirit of the lake.

In the immediate vicinity of the wondering mortal, an elevated throne
stood the most conspicuous object.  Spiral steps of gold led to the
shrine of power.  Precious stones sparkling in rich wreaths of enamel,
hung a brilliant balustrade in front--and forming the seat of high
honour and place, a white ivory shell rested amid the shining leaves of
the ever-flowering lotus.  The sea-snake rose in glittering green folds
to receive in his soft embrace the recumbent occupant; and ministering
spirits of strange form, bearing harp and censer, were ranged in silence
around.

Thundering peals of music, and a sudden prostration, proclaimed the
presence of the genius of the place; and, amid the clash of lute and
timbrel, a cloud of incense floating high over head, disclosed a dwarf
crouching on the shell.  His aspect was mild and beneficent, and a
flowing white beard entirely covered his minute person; but the essence
of ethereal intelligence shot from his piercing black eye, and a pale
fire played among his long yellow locks.  Again the harps rung out the
silver notes of welcome, and a vocal chorus was wafted to the delighted
ear of the intruder:--

  "Ask for riches, ask for wealth,
  For kingdom, strength, or iron sway,
  Paramount in lady's bower,
  Revenge for wrongs, or length of day."

Borne forward by an irresistible impulse, Thavanan found himself among
the kneeling crowd in front of the throne, and a soft still voice
proceeded from the high place:--"Mortal, what would'st thou with us?
Answer without fear."

"Revenge," replied the petitioner, "revenge for injury unprovoked--a
house rifled and burnt, a fair sister carried to the lawless harem, and
the eyeball blasted for ever, of one who had heretofore looked upon the
great monarch of Shoa as a perfect Deity upon earth."

"Let the child of clay take the oath of allegiance, and be instructed to
obtain his wish," responded the being in whose tiny form was
concentrated such power and grandeur; and as the words proceeded from
his lips, the floor sank under the foot of the proselyte, and Thavanan
stood with an attending spirit in the centre of a gloomy grotto.

A blood-red cross, which flashed amid the darkness, revealed sights
horrible to behold, and conjured before the imagination thoughts upon
which it was then madness to dwell.  But daring to the last, the
apostate, in presence of the symbol of Christianity, abjured all the
high hopes of Heaven.  Revenge upon earth filled his soul for the
moment; and although the touch of that blessed sign struck through his
young heart like the sharp stab of the searing-iron, the fearful oath
was firmly and distinctly repeated.

Volume Two, Chapter XXXIV.

THAVANAN THE TORMENTOR.

Months had passed away since the disappearance of the gay Thavanan, once
the favourite of the potent monarch of Shoa.  Fallen in a single day
from his high estate, and deprived of an eye before the scoffing
multitude, the innocent victim to intrigue had departed alone and on
foot through the gateway of the palace.  A thousand cavaliers had that
morning obeyed his least command, but not one attended him in the hour
of adversity; and shunned as a thing accursed by the brutal mob, he
wended his way in moody silence to his home in the green meadow of the
Chaka.  But the myrmidons of tyranny had outstripped his heavy footstep.
Ashes alone proclaimed the site of his late flourishing abode, and a
solitary goat, bleating amid the ruins, was all that remained of his
once numerous possessions.

The king's _aferoch_ had been busy since early morn, and every thing had
been swept with the besom of destruction.  The flocks and the herds of
the disgraced noble were now in the royal pastures, and his family and
relatives, his serfs and drudges, in the household of the despotic
monarch.  Stunned by the fatal intelligence, Thavanan, followed only by
the goat, withdrew unnoticed from the scene of desolation, and his very
name was for a time forgotten in the land.

Towards the close of the year strange reports were circulated from the
palace.  Unseen hands abstracted the choicest viands--the clearest
hydromel was drained ere it reached the expectant lip--and a thousand
vagaries were played in the great hall of entertainment.  The
replenished horn was dashed untasted to the ground, and the delicate
morsel transferred from the gaping mouth to the rushes which strewed the
floor.  The monarch himself was not exempt from the foul plague.  His
palate was daily cheated of some accustomed dainty; and once, to the
horror of the assembled courtiers, a bloody tail was inserted as the
royal jaws opened to essay a dish prepared in the seraglio--a loud laugh
ringing meanwhile among the rafters of the banqueting-room, which struck
upon the ear of the discomfited despot like the merry tones of his
exiled favourite.

Priests were called in to the rescue--holy books were read, and
consecrated water profusely sprinkled upon the walls, but all without
the slightest effect.  Doors were closed and double-locked, and guards
were planted over every aperture, yet still the pest continued without
any abatement.  The palace was in a state of terror and confusion, and
the life of the king became weary and burdensome.

Awful voices now sounded at night through the lone apartments, and
apparitions haunted the imperial slumbers.  The band of nocturnal
singers was trebled, but the stout lungs of thirty hale priests, who
surrounded the royal bed-chamber, and elevated their voices in psalm to
a more frantic key than had ever before been heard in Shoa, failed to
intimidate the goblin.  Tossing on his couch, the restless monarch sunk
weary to sleep, only to be jaded by spectres and evil dreams, in which
the wronged Thavanan invariably appeared as the chief tormentor.

The nuisance continued without intermission, until, on the high festival
of Easter, harassed and exhausted, the Negoos took his customary seat in
the great hall of his ancestors.  The groaning table was once again well
filled.  The holy feast had induced chiefs and nobles in some degree to
overcome the fears which had latterly estranged them entirely from the
banquet; but there was no joy in the depressed eye, no mirth or hilarity
on the tongue of any guest, and a low whisper hardly disturbed the
silence which reigned among the dismayed assembly.

The usual infernal sallies were on this day practised exclusively at the
royal board, before which the uneasy monarch, occupying a high alcove,
and surrounded by pages and men at arms, reclined in his wonted
grandeur.  Suddenly, another figure appeared at the table, resting one
hand in a curiously wrought earthen vase, and extending the other high,
in defiance towards the throne.

"The lost Thavanan!" shouted the crowd: "he has pawned his soul to the
fiend"--and swords flashed from the scabbard, as men's hearts were
strengthened at the sight of danger in a tangible form.  But high over
the storm rose the voice of the despot:--"Back, minions, back! we will
ourselves deal with the ingrate.  Death--but a lingering death--shall be
the portion of him who trifles with the pleasure of kings!"

It was indeed Thavanan who confronted the frown of majesty; but how
changed from the mild and handsome favourite of former days!  White as
the feather of the _Rasa_, his dishevelled hair floated over the bent
shoulder, and stern revenge was graven in the deep furrows of his pallid
cheek.  His solitary eye gleamed with infernal expression, and bright
with the cabalistic figures of magic lore, a golden fillet screened the
mutilated orb.  Retaining his disdainful position, he cast first a
withering glance over the crowd, and then addressed the prince in words
of scorn:--

"False monarch, repent in time, for the serpent will turn upon its
destroyer.  Proud descendant of the race of Solomon, the wit of thy
illustrious ancestor is dull in comparison with the wisdom of the
meanest disciple of Warobal.  I defy thy myrmidons and thyself!"

And uttering these words, Thavanan instantaneously disappeared from
before the gaze of the astounded and crest-fallen court.

The waters of the mystic vase hissed and bubbled for a moment.  A dark
cloud of stifling steam shot aloft, and a thick crust of red ashes,
which strewed the board, remained the sole memento of the unwelcome
intrusion.  Again the hearts of the vassals fell within them; and whilst
a gloomy silence pervaded the hall, the triumphant song of the tormentor
came ringing among the notes of wild music.

  "Far down in the depths of the azure blue,
  Away from the mists of the cold dull sky,
  Concealed from detested mortal view,
  Thavanan lives in liberty."

The courage of the tyrant quailed before the dread powers which were in
array against him, and resolved upon an act of tardy justice.  Freedom
was restored to the degraded and enslaved family, and the confiscated
lands were returned threefold to the impoverished race.  But the door of
the royal harem was closed on the fair daughter of the house of
Thavanan, and the wail of the captive maid still cried aloud for
redress.  Persecution, nevertheless, ceased for a time; and men breathed
more freely as their hopes gained ground that the spirit of the avenger
was appeased.

On the proclamation of the annual military expedition, the chiefs and
nobles of Shoa thronged once more to the capital.  Swarming around the
black tents of their warrior leaders, multitudes were spread over hill
and dale, and the Amhara host, in all its savage magnificence, had
mustered on the highest mountains of Anko.  But evil omens and
portentous signs were witnessed continually.  Dogs howled unceasingly
during the livelong night.  Throughout the hours of day, the shrike
croaked from every bush; and the merlin, turning her back on the passing
cavalier, arranged her sober plumage on the stone, without bestowing, in
earnest of victory and success, one glimpse of her snow-white breast.

No heed was given by the stern monarch to these portents of coming evil;
and on the eve of the intended march the halls of the palace were
crowded with all the chivalry of Efat.  Boisterous mirth presided at the
banquet; but as the last horn of old hydromel was drained to the
downfall of the Galla, there arose a fearful cry from the interior
enclosure, and bands of eunuchs, with horror depicted upon their
withered countenances, burst into the chamber from every direction.
Falling prostrate at the footstool of the throne, they proclaimed the
disaster which had descended like a thunderbolt on the heretofore
unsullied honour of the nation.  "He has left the old and the ugly,"
sobbed the trembling guardians; "but alas for the fair and beautiful
ones of the harem, they are all gone on the wings of the evening wind!"

King and nobles rushed into the court-yard, and every hut which crowned
the pinnacle of the capital poured forth its inmates to gaze at the
wondrous spectacle.  High over the up-reared peak of the mountain soared
a rich rosy cloud, lit by the last glorious rays of the setting sun, and
charged with a freight more prized than the fine gold of Kordofan.
Amhara's fairest daughters were revealed to the unhallowed view of the
gaping multitude, and no envious vest shrouded their amazing charms.
All had been caught up by the whirlwind in the simple dress of ordinary
avocation; and as their light laughing voices came tinkling from above,
they carried the bitter truth to the exasperated monarch, that the
captives enjoyed their present thraldom as a happy release from the bolt
of the harem gate, and the rod of the testy old eunuch.

Dishonoured in the eyes of his subjects, and smarting under the loss of
objects which still held a place in his heart, the despot stamped and
raged in uncontrollable fury.  The beat of the nugareet and the voice of
the herald forthwith proclaimed the abandonment of the projected
expedition; and, plunged in the deepest mortification, Asfa Woosen
retired to brood in solitude over his unprecedented misfortune.

Morn witnessed the dispersion to their respective quarters of governors
and their levies; and before the shades of another evening had closed
over the deep valley of the Airara, a breathless courier galloped
through the palace-gates with the unlooked-for but welcome tidings, that
the ladies of the royal harem had been discovered reposing unattended
among the high fern and heather of the adjacent mountain side.

Again were the parchment faces of the wrinkled eunuchs radiant in sallow
lustre.  Three hundred mules were instantly dispatched for the
conveyance of the truant flock to their fold; and at midnight the
muffled damsels were consigned, amid the cracked exultations of
attendants, to their wonted cages in the palace.

But the fair sister of Thavanan was not of the number, neither could any
clue be obtained to her fate or condition.  A small scroll had indeed
been discovered on the turf, sealed and bearing the address of the ruler
of Shoa--a gigantic glow-worm, attached by a single yellow hair to the
envelope, having particularly attracted attention to that which it was
conjectured might contain the desired information.

The curiosity of the king finally overcame the cautious scruples of the
priesthood, who advised the immediate destruction of the missive.  As
the wax crumbled between his fingers, a roar of thunder shook the palace
to its foundations, whilst a stream of black dust, pouring from the
parchment to the table, gradually assumed the semblance of a pillar of
sand agitated by the fierce whirl of the storm.  A pungent odour
impregnated the apartment, and the crackling sound of the devouring
element was followed by the presence of the dread tormentor.

"I have come once again, monarch of the hard heart, to repay the debt
which is still due, and, blasted like the much-injured Thavanan, thy
soul may henceforward entertain some feeling of pity for thy fellow-men.
Listen to thy doom.  No mercy was shown unto me, and none shall be
extended to thee.  Thy son, after a short reign of terror, shall fall by
the hand of a slave, and die cursing the author of his existence; and
thy son's son shall bear upon his disfigured countenance the searing
mark of his ancestor's cruelty.  My face thou shalt see no more--Spirit
of the flame, perform thy task."  A bright flash shot from the centre of
the dark threatening column, and curled towards the king, a sickening
sulphuric fume filling the presence chamber, and the necromancer
vanished in the thick smoke.

Plunged for hours in a death-like stupor, Asfa Woosen was only aroused
from his lethargy to bewail the loss of the left eye, which had been
scorched in the socket by the contact of the fierce flame.  The calamity
greatly softened and influenced the actions of his after-life; and
torture and mutilation grew gradually out of custom in the kingdom of
Shoa.

During the reign of his grandson, the one-eyed Sahela Selassie, there
dwelt in a mossy cavern, among the recesses of the forest of Mantek, a
hermit of renowned sanctity.  Father Peter was universally feared and
beloved, but none knew from whence he derived food or nourishment.  The
skin of the agazin formed his humble garb, and a rude leathern girdle
encircled his loins.  His charms and amulets were never known to fail,
and his language was not as that of other men.  Crowds daily gathered
round his cave in the rock to receive on their knees the benediction of
the recluse; but no one had ever entered the cell, and few cared to pass
it after nightfall.  Moans and cries of agony then mingled with the
midnight blast; and the sound of the scourge was often heard amid
prayers for deliverance from the evil one.

On a fresh morning of May, when the roses and jessamine were scenting
the dewy air, the wild flowers springing over the face of the green
meadow, and birds warbled pleasantly amid the rich foliage, the peasants
came as usual to listen to the words of other days, and to receive the
blessing of the austere anchorite.  But the accustomed seat was vacant,
and no answer being returned to the voice of inquiry, the boldest
entered the retreat.  Curiously emblazoned scrolls and relics were
strewed among the nooks and mouldy recesses of the damp grotto; the body
of the venerable hermit was stretched in eternal slumber upon a bed of
sharp stones; and the tale soon spread through the land that the holy
Father Peter--now no more--was indeed the dread necromancer Thavanan,
who had thus, by the continued penance of half a century, expiated his
fierce act of apostasy.

Volume Two, Chapter XXXV.

THE REIGN OF SUPERSTITION.

Not a monk is there in any of the lone monasteries of Shoa, not a hermit
of the many in her cold mountains, not a dwarf nor a decrepit priest who
has renounced the society of his fellow-men, but enjoys the reputation
of being fully competent to blast the harvest at pleasure, to poison the
fountain, and to render the able-bodied incapable.  The thoughts of all
classes move in a dense atmosphere of superstition.  Talismans, written
in mystic characters, if mixed with the seeds and leaves of potent witch
plants, gathered by the hand of the forest recluse, afford a feeling of
security which is not to be extracted from the pages of the Gospel; nor
does any one ever venture to mount his mule without a preservative
against the spear of the bandit, or the sharp knife of the heathen.

Savage man, obtaining only through the medium of his own wishes and
imagination a glimmering idea of the invisible and supreme Power, seeks
some tangible object of veneration, and some ostensible source of
protection.  Thus the Abyssinian, whose vague religious ideas afford him
but small consolation in the hour of tribulation, and but little
reliance of security or deliverance in the day of danger and distress,
reposes implicit faith in the doctrine of amulets, which present a
substance stamped with a mystic and supernatural character, and one
capable of being attached individually to himself.  The arms and neck
are therefore clothed in a perfect panoply of charms against the
influence of every misfortune and disease, whether experienced or
anticipated; and the _tulsim_, which is a worked zone studded with
minute leathern pockets, containing sacred spells enveloped in double
and treble wrappers, encircles the waist of every man, woman, and child,
throughout the Christian dominions of Sahela Selassie, who himself
reposes firm faith in their efficacy.

The influence of the evil eye exercises a strong control over the minds
of all.  Bad spirits are believed to roam about the earth and the
waters, and to occupy houses after dark, whence the Amhara never
ventures to throw fluid on the ground, lest the dignity of some unseen
elf should be violated.  The _Beza_, or sacrifice for the sick, is
considered lawful and efficacious, and is frequently resorted to.  The
bullock, as the type of the invalid, after being driven round his couch
amid singing and clamour, is slaughtered outside the threshold; or an
egg is turned thrice towards the head of the patient, and then broken
beside him.  Saint Michael is, by many of the more ignorant, supposed to
be the Almighty.  The Virgin Mary is considered the creatress of the
world; and _Sunday_ is understood to have been a saint of surpassing
sanctity, greatly superior both to Saint George and to Saint Michael, on
which account he claims one day out of the seven, whereas other saints
enjoy their festival only once during the month.

No Amhara will venture to destroy a serpent save on Saturday or Sunday,
when the sight of one of these reptiles is deemed a favourable omen.  In
common with the heathen Galla, the Christians of Shoa make annual votive
sacrifices in June to _Sar_, the evil spirit--notwithstanding its strict
prohibition by royal proclamation.  Three men and a woman, who
understand how to deal with the Evil One, having assembled at the place
appointed, proceed to perform the ceremony in a house newly swept.  A
ginger-coloured hen, a red she-goat, or a male Adel goat with a white
collar, is sacrificed; and the blood of the victim, having been mixed
with grease and butter, is secretly placed during the night in a narrow
alley, when all who step therein are supposed to receive the malady of
the invalid, who is thus restored to perfect health.  During a visit
some years ago to Motatit, the king perceived evidences of this pagan
ceremony in the streets; and tracing the rite to a wealthy individual,
who had caused it to be performed in order to free himself of disease,
the honour of true religion was speedily vindicated by the transfer to
the royal coffers of all the worldly substance of the delinquent.

Under cover of the night, a thread of cotton yarn is often stretched by
the hired sorcerer completely round some devoted tenement; and the
extremities having been connected by means of an iron link, well imbued
in blood, the walls and doorposts are freely sprinkled and bedaubed with
gore.  Day dawns upon the incantation, which is believed to be the work
of the Devil himself; and among all the assembled multitude, who
consider that some heavy calamity, if not instant death, would follow
the act, there is not to be found one individual sufficiently bold to
remove the spell, and thus deliver the inmates from its withering
influence.  Since the king's arrival in the capital, the appearance of
the bloody finger on the wall had thrown the inhabitants into the
deepest consternation; and to the astonishment of every by-stander, a
missionary of the Church of England tore away the charm without any evil
consequences following his rashness.  That very night, however, the
defeated necromancer planned an attack to rob the clergyman's premises,
and it was only defeated by the extra vigilance preserved in consequence
of the exposure of the impostor.

The drum of the water kelpie is heard by the credulous native in the
echo of every roaring cataract, and the wretch drowning in the swollen
torrent is believed to be dragged under the overwhelming wave as the
favourite food of the malicious spirit of the deep.  Divers plants and
herbs possess properties and qualities the most baneful; and a bunch of
the _Fegain_ grass, if skilfully cast upon the person of an obnoxious
enemy, produces dire disease and speedy death.  Sorcerers and
necromancers attaining the respectable age of four and five hundred
years exist in numbers in many parts of the land, flitting through the
air, and riding upon the wings of the wind; and unbidden and invisible
guests, such as Thavanan the Tormentor, enter the banqueting hall, to
rob the festive board of its choicest viands.

Hid from mortal gaze, and realising upon earth all the delights of
paradise, the magic village of Dooka Stephanos forms the never-failing
topic of all wonder-loving souls, and the poetic fancy of Abyssinia has
been fairly exhausted in descriptions of this rare scene of blissful
enjoyment.  "Its sleep-inviting groves and grassy lawns are situated on
the overflowing Nile; and there, released from the shackles of wedlock,
beautiful females abound.  Potent liquors pour on in never-drying
streams, and the earth yields her spontaneous fruits without care or
labour.  But shrouded in magic mist, these Elysian fields open their
portals only to those mortals of commanding form and handsome features,
on whom the glance of favour has been cast by the bewitching inmates of
the enchanted garden.  Human endeavour is ineffectual to unriddle the
mystery in which it is enveloped; and the dread art of the sorcerer and
his most potent talismans, prove alike unavailing to loosen the spell
for the advantage of those on whom Dame Nature has bestowed a crooked
figure, or even an ill-starred visage."

As in the dark ages, dwarfs are nevertheless treated with considerable
respect, and regarded with the utmost fear.  Many of the most learned
and praiseworthy in the land are to be found among those who have been
created during nature's freaks.  The monarch's father confessor, a
perfect Asmodeus in appearance, is of extremely diminutive stature, but
he is possessed of singular good feeling, and forms a gratifying
contrast to the majority of his countrymen.  The chiefs and nobles often
select their secretaries and household priests with reference to their
bodily imperfections; and the most erudite sage in the capital, whose
charms and talismans are esteemed all-powerful, and who knoweth every
plant from the "cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the
wall," sustains his character for wisdom and for lore, as much by the
deformity of his appearance as by the brilliancy of his understanding.

Sickness and misfortune are usually ascribed to the influence of the
evil eye of the _Booda_, or sorcerer.  Long consultations are held to
discover from whose sinister glace the calamity has emanated; and when
suspicion has gradually settled into conviction, the most implacable
hatred is conceived towards the delinquent; and although concealed under
that garb of indifference which the savage can so successfully assume,
yet the opportunity of revenge is never suffered to pass unheeded in
after-life.  Hailoo, the father of Oubie, the Nero-like Dedjasmach of
Tigre, added much to his previous notoriety by the extermination of all
the _Boodas_ who fell within his murderous reach.  Superstition exulted
in reeking hecatombs of human victims; and the love and veneration of
his subjects knew no bounds on his last summary act of collecting
together and roasting to death thirteen hundred miserable wretches, who
were suspected to possess, and to have exerted with success, the
influence of "the evil eye."

By the credulous Abyssinian, every blacksmith and worker in iron is held
to be endowed with supernatural powers, and to be able to transform
himself at pleasure into the likeness of a wolf or a hyena.  It is a
common practice amongst this class of handicrafts to fasten a metal
collar about the neck of the whelps of those animals, and turn them
loose; when the badge being retained through life, and occasionally
seen, the fabulous stories in circulation are strengthened in the eyes
of the uninitiated.

The presence of any Christian emblem, or portion of Holy Writ, is
supposed sufficient to neutralise the labours of the Vulcan.  No metal
can be welded within sight of the cross; and should any scrap of the
Bible be worn on the person of the by-standers, the desired figure can
never be imparted.  Of this belief an instance was afforded shortly
after our return from Angollala, when a bar of iron was to be
transformed into a tire for the wheel of a gun-carriage.  The small
draft of air created by a pair of primitive native bellows proving of
none avail, the smiths declared aloud that the phenomenon arose from
some holy charm.  Badges and emblems, spells and amulets, were cast
aside by all; but the labour was renewed without any better effect, and
the artisans stood aghast.  A pair of British forge bellows were now
produced, and the assembly were requested to don their paper armour, and
to stand round the anvil.  The potent blast poured from the nozzle, and
under the brawny arm of one of the European soldiers, the sparks flew
far and wide.  In five minutes the work was completed, to the dismay of
the Abyssinian magicians, who came privately to request of me that no
further public exhibition of the sort might thenceforth be made, lest
their name and their glory should be extinguished throughout the land.

Volume Two, Chapter XXXVI.

EXCURSION ALONG THE NORTH-WESTERN FRONTIER OF EFAT.

The disparaging reflections cast by the chivalrous people of Shoa, in
consequence of our refusal to slaughter defenceless pagans during the
murderous expedition to Entotto, rendered it imperative that some
decided step should be taken by which to wipe out the stain, and restore
the tarnished lustre of the British name.  The destruction of an adult
elephant, which is reckoned equivalent to that of forty Galla, is an
achievement that had not been accomplished within the memory of the
present age, although mentioned in traditions connected with the
exploits of the most renowned Ethiopic warriors.  I accordingly
solicited permission to visit the distant wilderness of Giddem, on the
northern frontier of Efat, in the dense forests of which the giant of
the mammalia was reported to reside--a pretext which further afforded
plausible grounds for exploring a portion of the country reputed to be
amongst the most fertile and productive in Abyssinia.

The king opened his eyes wider than usual at this unprecedented
application.  "My children," he returned deliberately, "how can this be?
Elephants are not to be slain with rifle balls.  They will demolish
you; and what answer am I then to give?  The gun is the medicine for the
Galla in the tree, but it has no effect upon the _zihoon_."  [Elephant.]

Finding me resolved, however.  His Majesty's most gracious permission
was finally accorded to depart forthwith, and orders were issued to a
royal messenger who was appointed to accompany us, commanding the
governors of provinces through which the route lay, to afford every
assistance in their power to "the strong strangers of the Negoos."  But
all assertions relative to the possibility of destroying the monarch of
the forest were still received with an incredulous shake of the head;
and whilst not the smallest expectations were entertained at court of
the success of the Gyptzis, the greatest ridicule attended an
undertaking which, by all classes at the capital, was considered certain
to prove alike foolhardy, dangerous, and futile.

Instructions had been issued that the king's guests were to be conducted
by the royal road over the Gorabela mountain, a singular mark of
condescension, partaken but by few in the realm.  This permission
enabled us to enjoy a most extensive panorama from the heather-grown
heights.  Mamrat reared her stupendous head perpendicularly from the
dark-wooded bosom of the valley, and seemed half buried in the clouds.
The palisaded buildings of the palace covering the slope of its isolated
hill frowned in pride over the numberless circular houses of the
straggling eastern metropolis.  Clumps of the sombre juniper, and
spreading cossos hung with red garlands of mast, formed vistas on every
side.  On the one hand rose the lofty blue range of Bulga, and on the
other the eye ranged uncontrolled over the boundless plains of the
savage Adaiel, spread out below like a great chart, and embracing a
prospect of many hundred square miles.  In the centre soared the stern
crater of Abida--the beacon which, in days long gone, marked the
dominions of the proud emperors of Ethiopia, when, according to the
traditionary couplet, "their sceptre swayed from Azulo to the Bashilo,
and from Errur to Gondar."

The porters at the royal lodge were on the alert, and adjurations by the
king's life were not wanting to deter our advance to the Airara.  "_Bu
Negoos_," "_Bu Sahela Selassie amlak_," were talismanic words
energetically vociferated, and a heavy staff was thumped across the path
in earnest of its being closed to plebeian transit.  But where is the
Abyssinian who is proof against bribery and corruption?  Beads will
force a passage when the mandate of the throne is received with
incredulity, and the dollars of Maria Theresa, if possessing all the
requisite marks, will insure participation even in a crown monopoly.

An exceedingly steep path conducts to the summit of the Chaka; but it is
here paved throughout with boulders, so supported at intervals by
transverse beams, as to form a succession of clumsy steps, constituting
the only made road in the kingdom of Shoa.  The heather ceases with the
Gorabela mountain; and from the summit of the now bare range the route
we were to follow strikes off near the residence of a petty governor,
who bears the singular name of "_Mout bai nore legne_."

"Oh, that there were no death for me!" is the interpretation thereof;
but judging from the appearance of the lord of the manor, who numbers
some threescore years, he is not likely long to find his wish realised.
Engaged in earnest conversation with the old man, was Ayto Guebroo, who,
in consequence of inability to check the repeated rebellions of the
Loomi, by whom he so recently was wounded, had at last been deprived of
his government and of his silver sword, and was on his way to the
presence of the despot in deep disgrace.

The Abyssinian verdure is singularly evanescent, a month without a
shower being sufficient to dry up the rich herbage, and to darken the
hue of the foliage; but the "rain of Bounty," which usually falls in
February, giving a fresh impulse to vegetation, the hills and valleys
again teem with abundance.  November was fast drawing to a close, and
the aspect of the country generally was brown and withered.  The best
pastures were covered with the sleek beeves swept off from Finfinni, and
the cornfields were yellow with the royal crops now under the sickle,
whilst in the numerous threshing-floors muzzled oxen were already
treading out the grain.

Our route led across Motatit and the Toro Mesk, through dales and over
hills abutting upon the face of the bluff frontier of Shoa, in which are
the sources of many of the more distant tributaries to the blue Nile.
Never was there a tract more destitute of birds or wild animals, a few
plovers and larks, with some of the more common species of _Rodentia_,
being the only objects of natural history observed during a march of
twelve miles, which led to the halting ground in the centre of the
little village of Asophee, opposite to the frowning mountain Kooromania.

Under our flimsy cotton awnings, the night proved intensely cold; and on
resuming the journey at an early hour the ensuing morning, over a
swelling country thickly dotted with Christian hamlets, we found the
more sheltered pools by the road-side covered with a thin coating of
ice, the first witnessed since our arrival in Abyssinia.  At the village
of Amarague, hospitable entertainment had been prepared by Ayto Egazoo,
whose name signifies, "May they buy."  This notable warrior had, prior
to the late foray, introduced himself to me, somewhat k-propos of his
title, by an ingenious but abortive attempt to sell an unsound horse.
Dismounting on the right side from the identical straw-coloured steed,
he now placed himself, with shoulders bared, in the middle of the road,
and by the life of the king adjured us to enter his abode, in order to
partake of a sheep that had been expressly slaughtered.

Wulleta Selassie, his comely partner, daughter to Shishigo, the governor
of Shoa-meda, had kindled in the dark hall the fiercest of fires, and
immediately on the termination of complimentary inquiries, an ox-hide
being spread, the heavy door was barred to exclude the evil eye.  Raw
collops having been steadily rejected, bones, singed in a somewhat
cannibal-like fashion, were rapidly circulated by the attentive host.
"Take the eye," he repeated, coaxingly, to each in turn, presenting at
the same time betwixt his finger and thumb the extracted orb of the
deceased mutton--"do, the eye is the daintiest part.  No!--well you
_must_ eat this marrow," crushing the uncooked shank with a
grinding-stone handed by a slave girl, and extending the splintered
fragments to be sucked.  Overflowing bumpers of sour beer having been
filled in a gloomy corner at a huge earthen jar, each horn was tasted by
the cup-bearer from the hollow of his palm, in demonstration of the
absence of poison.  The surplus repast, fluid as well as solid, quickly
disappeared under the united efforts of the retinue; and a bead necklace
having been hung about the neck of the lady's hopeful son and heir, we
finally effected our escape from the ovenlike apartment, with the aid of
divers promises made to both master and mistress, and sundry pieces of
silver disbursed to silence a host of importunate menials.

Ayto Egazoo rode forth, in accordance with etiquette, "to see the party
off."  From the courtyard of his snug but dirty domicile, Tegulet, and
the blue hills of Argobba and of the Wollo Galla, bounded the extensive
prospect.  Regai