The Highlands of Ethiopia Part 48

Pots and pans that have been defiled by the unclean touch of a Mohammadan, are on this day purified by immersion in the water that has been blessed by the priest. Among many other superst.i.tions there exists a firm belief, that all mules and horses that are not led forth to exercise on the festival of _Temkat_ will die during the ensuing year.

It is considered to be "a day of great splendour;" and on pain of excommunication, every good Christian is bound to appear clad in his best habiliments, and in all the trinkets he can muster, to the end that he may prostrate himself before the ark which he has adopted.

If enforced with rigour, excommunication is in fact a capital punishment, for it is _interdictio aqua et igne_. No one can speak to, or eat, or drink with the proscribed person, nor even enter his house.

The offender can neither buy nor sell, nor visit. He cannot recover debts. He may be murdered at pleasure by any ruffian who will take the trouble to cut his throat, and when dead his body cannot be buried.

The bell, book, and candle are to be hired by any disappointed enemy, and the hooded priest may be purchased to perform the ceremony; but the undertaking in some cases is not without its attendant danger. The cells of the state prison frequently enclose the rash fanatic who wantonly interferes with the royal salvation. Scanty fare and close confinement eventually insure absolution, and the martyr to religious intolerance is summarily banished from the realm. Another powerful antidote is found in the _argumentum baculinum_, which, when persuasively applied to the shoulders of arrogant church pride, by the st.u.r.dy sinews of Europe especially, possesses a wonderful efficacy in allaying the storm.

A century has not elapsed since excommunication was performed upon one of the fair sons of the North. The turbaned bearer of the bell, book, and candle, was quietly introduced into the domicile, and his countenance fell as he perceived the object of his visit armed with a formidable cudgel. "My father must have been mistaken," was the exordium that greeted his astounded ear, as the staff descended with an equally startling salutation--"My father never could have proposed the excommunication of his dear friend." Again the weapon pattered upon the priestly back; and during full five minutes an able running commentary was supported by frequent playful taps over the head, to quicken the clerical understanding. This powerful appeal concluded, the crest-fallen functionary willingly withdrew his ban, and bestowing entire absolution, slunk back to his cell, mentally resolved to interfere no more with the incomprehensible European, who neither displayed terror at the curse of the church, nor entertained respect for the sacred persons of her ministers.

Unquies, the Bishop of Shoa, had long meditated the adoption of extreme measures towards the British escort, whom he declared to be no better than Mohammadans, since it was notorious that they did not kneel when the holy ark pa.s.sed, and had no hesitation in partaking of flesh slaughtered by an infidel, instead of in the name of the holy Trinity.

No one, however, could be found sufficiently bold to undertake the customary process where the Irish soldier was concerned; and the king's "strong monk" had been fain at length to content himself with the clandestine promulgation of his spiritual denunciation for the many heresies committed.

The honorary distinctions conferred by the monarch for the destruction of the elephant first produced a good effect, which was still increased by the presentation of the silver shield that distinguishes the highest functionaries in the land; and although the opinions of the clergy generally were still far from favourable, there was a certain influential priest who invariably found it convenient to pa.s.s the long dreary evenings over the Residency fire. The pious father evinced no disinclination to partic.i.p.ate in the good things of this world; and whilst sipping his strong drink, it was his delight to speculate upon scriptural grounds whether the skin of Eve was really white or black, and to prove that locusts could never have been tasted by John the Baptist, because they form the food of the unclean Mohammadan.

Edifying topics such as these were doubtless handled with greater eloquence than either abstinence, or the mortification of the flesh.

Proceeding on his annual visit to Debra Libanos, the princ.i.p.al resort of those who prey upon the credulity of the public, the devout father at length stood voluntarily forward as the advocate of the Gyptzis; and so eloquently did he explain away the non-observance of fasts and other imputed heresies, that a wax taper of which we had made him the bearer was actually lighted in the sanctuary of Saint Tekla Haimanot, and an immediate revulsion thereby created in the ecclesiastical sentiments entertained throughout the entire realm.

Volume 3, Chapter XXIV.

EXCURSION TO BERHUT, ON THE SOUTH-EASTERN FRONTIER OF SHOA.

I deemed it to be an object of great geographical importance that the flying survey of the kingdom of Shoa should be completed by a visit to the country forming the boundary to the south-east, famous for its numerous volcanoes, recently in full activity, and hitherto untrodden in any part by European foot. A pretext presented itself in the existence of the wild buffalo in the lower districts; but it was necessary, in the first instance, to overcome the royal scruples, which opposed our attempting the chase of that animal. This I at length succeeded in doing; and the despot being made to comprehend that his children ran less risk of being demolished than he had formerly chosen to believe, vouchsafed the desired permission. The requisite instructions were issued to men in authority to promote the views of those "whom the king delighteth to honour;" and, preceded by queen Besabesh, His Majesty then set out on his annual visit to Mesur Meder.

"There is one point," he observed, when we proceeded to take leave, "on which I wanted to consult you. The locusts are destroying the crops, and the priests have been unable by their prayers to arrest their progress. Have you no medicine to drive them away?"

Ayto Wolda Hana, under whose immediate orders are all the second-cla.s.s governors in the realm, had received commands to summon to Ankober the Misleyni [Literally "Like myself"] or vice-governor, of Berhut and of the plains lying betwixt the Casam and the Hawash--a tract inhabited partly by the Adaiel, whose nominal fealty is preserved through the influence of Wulasma Mohammad, and partly by the Karaiyo Galla, over whom the Negoos a.s.serts more substantial jurisdiction. But many days elapsed without the appearance of that worthy, whom His Majesty had delegated to make efficient arrangements for our journey; and Deftera Sena, chief of the king's scriveners, having, after twelve hours of close application, contrived to complete a written representation to the throne, a courier was despatched with it on horseback to the royal camp.

No Abyssinian will ever think of declaring himself the bearer of an express, unless pointedly questioned upon that head, nor will he then relinquish possession until distinctly ordered so to do. On the return of the special messenger, who had been three days absent on the service confided to him, I asked him for the answer, but my application was followed by none of the usual fumbling among the folds of his girdle for the tiny scroll in its wax envelope; and the caitiff was finally fain to confess, that on being summoned to the presence of his sovereign at Mesur Meder, and commanded to deliver up the doc.u.ment with which he had been charged, he for the first time recollected that it had been mislaid at Ankober!

But a peasant, who fortunately fell in with the missing parchment by the road-side, had carried it, in accordance with the immutable law of the realm, straightway to the king, who immediately, upon becoming aware of the contents, and long before Deftera Sena had completed a duplicate copy, deputed Mamrie Salomon, now chief of the eunuchs, to see his royal intentions on my behalf carried into instant effect. A number of tribute-bearers from Berhut were on the point of returning to their district; they were forthwith pressed for the transportation of our baggage, and all minor difficulties being at length overcome, we quitted the capital on a cold morning towards the close of March.

Immediately beyond the church dedicated to Aboo, one of the most celebrated of Abyssinian saints, the path struck off to the southward along the course of the Airara, which, from the diminutive mill-stream of the Chaka, soon a.s.sumes a more brawling demeanour, and receives numerous tributaries from the mountains on either side, its deep channel cutting so smoothly through the trap rock, as to wear the appearance of being artificially formed. This valley is extremely varied in width, extending in some parts from six to seven miles, whilst in others it is reduced to a mere ravine by the converging spurs of the two great ranges. Throughout, the scenery is tame, the cliffs being flat and naked, and the vegetation restricted to a small scrubby species of dwarf acacia, interspersed with the euphorbia, styled _kolqual_--the charcoal obtained from which is preferred in the manufacture of gunpowder. But wheresoever the plough could be held, there the hand of industry had been busy, and for the first eight miles there was little uncultivated soil.

In these parts the rains descend with extreme violence; and having, in the first instance, scooped up and carried away all the rotten debris, each succeeding deluge has added its mining activity and perseverance, until the entire mountain range, for miles, presents the singular appearance of a succession of perfectly isolated cones, the apices of many being crowned by villages or by the dwellings of great men, whilst the sloping sides are smoothed and levelled with the utmost nicety. The valley is thickly peopled, flourishing hamlets peeping out in every direction; but, as in other parts of the country, the best of the land, whether arable or pasture, pertains to the crown--Bukerfine, one of the richest farms in the district, having been conferred upon Misht Malafeya [i.e. "The Lady Excellent."], a royal concubine, by whom the king has a favourite daughter.

Many monasteries dotting the wooded peaks, are here visible in all the pride of place above the residence of the common herd--their localities no doubt tending to rivet the chains of the infatuated Abyssinian.

Priestly intimations issuing from a temple often shrouded from human ken under impenetrable fog, are received with increased attention, and the thunder of excommunication commands utter abas.e.m.e.nt and prostration of spirit, when fulminated from these grand scenes of elementary strife.

The revenues of many of the villages pa.s.sed are appropriated to the service of the church; those of Moi-Amba, containing upwards of two hundred houses, being appropriated to the cathedral of Saint Michael in Ankober.

A few hours' journey had subst.i.tuted the heat of a tropical climate for the cool breezes of the mountains; and the momentarily increasing temperature afforded sufficient proof of the rapid declination of the route, even had it not led along the banks of the Airara, which, having been crossed and recrossed a dozen times, was now tumbling down through a succession of foaming cascades, with a sound most refreshing to the ear. Emerging at length from its walls of basalt, and joined by the Kubanoo, bearing a large body of water from the west, it expands into a broad channel, and is employed in irrigating the extensive cotton plantations which every where abound on its borders. The stream is diverted by a simple pile of pebbles; but the elevated aqueducts, somewhat ingeniously termed _masalel waha_, "the water-ladder," are constructed with infinite care, and pa.s.sing frequently along narrow ledges, are widened by means of wooden tressels supporting a trough of brushwood and shingle. A sufficient supply is thus raised to nurture the magnificent cotton plants, the stems of many of which measuring seven, eight, and nine inches in girth, support a crop that, on arriving at maturity, does justice to these gigantic proportions.

Shortly after the accession of Sahela Sela.s.sie, His Majesty marched to the Kubanoo, for the purpose of holding a conference with the Adaiel; and his armoury being in those days by no means so well furnished as it now is, the array of old matchlocks was regarded by the Moslems with the utmost contempt and derision. A rush was made during the night upon the royal camp--many of the Christians were slain--and whilst the remnant, with their youthful sovereign, fled in dismay to the stronghold of the capital, the treacherous a.s.sailants returned undisturbed in triumph to their desert plains.

Kittel Yellish, the village at which we proposed to halt, had been represented by our guides to be situated within a very moderate march of Ankober; but the Abyssinians possess not a better idea of the measure of distance than of the value of time; and, after eight hours pa.s.sed in the saddle, we took refuge about sunset in the Moslem hamlet of Manyo, a cl.u.s.ter of huts crowning the summit of a cone, and overlooking a wild uncultivated tract, intersected by a labyrinth of tremendous ravines, arched over by the th.o.r.n.y branches of the acacia, and other vegetation of a strictly tropical aspect. Swine, agazin, and some of the smaller species of antelope, here abound to such an extent, that the peasants attempt no crop but cotton, exchanging the raw material for what they need of other produce. The village was strongly fortified in all directions against the inroads of the leopard and hyena, by palisades enclosing a stiff thorn fence; and there being no room even for the smallest tent, we pa.s.sed the night in a shed rudely thatched with the leaves of the papyrus, which would not have been tenable for five minutes in the alpine regions that we had quitted in the morning.

Volume 3, Chapter XXV.

THE ROYAL GRANARY AT DUMMAKOO.

The reception that we experienced at the hands of the virago who owned this comfortless hovel, had been neither hospitable nor flattering. In the temporary absence of her husband, the wrinkled beldame considered herself to be vested with charge of the hamlet, and for a full hour after our arrival, standing in the dark porch of her adjacent house, she had exerted her cracked voice in a tissue of shrill comments levelled against the impropriety of entering private demesnes unannounced. The first crowing of the c.o.c.k invited a renewal of her far from melodious clamour, and it was not silenced without much difficulty, even by the jingle of silver crowns.

The road now descended to the Umptoo, a rapid stream, with a broad stony bed, which rises in the lofty mountain a.s.sagud. Cotton, in its most perfect state of cultivation, clothed all the level terraces. The papyrus, here, as in Egypt, designated _pheela_, fringed the banks of the stream in close thick patches; the honey-sucker, arrayed in green and gold, flashed in the morning sun, as it darted among the flowering acacias; birds of rare plumage filled the tangled brushwood; and the fantastic forms of the circ.u.mjacent mountains enhanced the beauty of the wild scene. But every man's hand was armed for strife. The peasant carried spear and shield, and wore the sword girded to his loins; and the site of his habitation had been carefully selected with a long look-out on all sides as a precaution against attack and invasion.

Leaving the bed of the river, which measured some eighty yards across, the path ascended a ridge running east and west, and deriving its appellation from the conspicuous peaks of Golultee and Demsee. To the eastward, through a wide gap in the mountains, could be seen a long reach of the Airara, now expanded into a n.o.ble river, by the junction of the Umptoo, and glittering under its numberless channels, which bear in the rains a vast volume of water to the Casam, to be poured eventually into the Hawash. From the summit of the pa.s.s in the direction of Ankober, a strange view extended for a distance of thirty or forty miles--a broken abyss of hill tops seeming as though the waves of the troubled ocean had been suddenly petrified in their progress--Mamrat, the monster billow, shewing above all in the far horizon, as the last barrier arrested in fall career.

The belt of rugged hills of limestone slate, through which the course lay, is an almost uninhabited waste of neutral ground, forming the boundary betwixt the Christian and Moslem subjects of Shoa. A few goats alone found a sufficiency of food among the scanty leaves of the now withered acacias; and the human denizens of the soil were wild as their rocky mountains. Fleeing at the approach of the white men, they took up a secure position on the very summit of the loftiest peaks, and looked down with evident mistrust upon the cavalcade, which was sufficiently well armed, and formidable in point of number, to instil terror into the bosom of all conscious of the wrath of princes, and of tribute rashly withheld. The termination of this sultry range forms an abutment upon the country of the Adaiel, whence is derived all the sulphur employed in the manufacture of gunpowder in the royal a.r.s.enals; and specimens which were picked up by the way would lead to the inference that the vein continued even beyond the point at which we crossed.

Like that of the Umptoo, the bed of the Korie, another tributary of the Casam, to which the road next descended, is bordered with luxuriant cotton cultivation, and in many parts overgrown with tangled papyrus.

Shut in by a deep valley, it threads the mountainous district of Dingai-terri, and many wild bananas were seen luxuriating on its moist banks. The dusty path led on through a jungle composed chiefly of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d description of the Balm of Gilead, which being crushed under the foot, scented the whole atmosphere. On our arrival near the Moslem cemetery, below Kittel Yellish, the civility of the governor of the district was evinced in the display, on skins beneath the trees, of every article considered necessary for Christian sustenance during this most holy season of Lent--bread, beer, and water proving truly acceptable to the Abyssinian followers, already much distressed by the intense heat of a nearly vertical sun, to which they were so little inured. A wild roguish-looking Moslem dervish, decked in a rosary of large brown berries, and carrying a staff of truly portentous dimensions, here introduced himself as an acquaintance made many months previously at Dathara, upon which grounds he considered himself ent.i.tled to share in the repast. Leading a roving and an idle life, and armed with scrip and water-flagon, he had for years subsisted upon the alms of the superst.i.tious followers of the Prophet; and if judgment might be formed from his sleek exterior, they had not been n.i.g.g.ard of their contributions.

Grey, water-worn precipices, with deep semicircular basins at their base, now flanked the road, a formation of limestone occasionally out-cropping beneath a thick stratum of basalt. After crossing the bed of the Meynso, we gained a more level tract, over which a gallop of five miles led to Dummakoo, one of the royal granaries, where, by His Majesty's commands, our head-quarters were to be established. This village, constructed on a knoll three thousand feet below the level of Ankober, is situated in a fine, open, undulating country, well populated, and intersected by numerous milk-bush hedges.

Richly-cultivated, and fanned by a cool breeze, it afforded a most agreeable contrast to the barren sultry hills through which the greater part of our course had lain. The lofty range of Mentshar and Bulga, rising to an extinguisher-like cone called Megasus, was the princ.i.p.al feature in the landscape; and at the foot of these mountains, which abound in coal, sinks the valley of the Casam, which was to form the scene of coming operations.

One of the king's numerous magazines for grain and farm produce extends its long barn-like front in the centre of the hamlet, every house of which is screened by a tall green hedge; and that the safety of the royal stores has been alone consulted in the selection of the site, is sufficiently proved by the fact of the inhabitants being compelled to drive their cattle many miles on either side for their daily draught of water, whilst the long-tressed Mohammadan damsels are fain to trudge with a heavy jar at their back to a remote pool, carefully fenced and barricadoed.

All agricultural operations connected with the royal farm at Berhut, are annually performed by the surrounding population _en ma.s.se_. Several heavy showers which had recently fallen having fully prepared the ground for the reception of the seed, a vast concourse of rustics had collected from the entire district--the inhabitants of each hamlet bringing their own oxen and implements of husbandry; so that in the course of a very few hours many hundred acres, already ploughed, were sown and harrowed by their united efforts, the praises of the despot being loudly sung throughout the continuance of the tributary labour, which is similarly exacted in all parts of the kingdom.

On the crop arriving at maturity, a sheaf is cut and presented in token of joy to the governor of the district. The reaping and threshing again call for the a.s.sembly of the agricultural population; and the harvest-home having been celebrated with suitable festivity, the accessions to the royal granaries are duly registered by scribes delegated on the part of the crown.

Upon a rising ground about a mile from Dummakoo, is held the monthly market of the district. Tradition a.s.serts that one of the inhabitants of a neighbouring hamlet saw in a dream that the Imam Abdool Kadur, appearing upon this hill, picked up a stone, and in a loud voice proclaimed that the spot belonged henceforth to himself; and no sooner had the pious disciple of the Prophet declared his vision, than the site was adopted by the unanimous voice of the a.s.sembled mult.i.tude for the celebration of the bazaar, which, in the lapse of a few generations, has become one of considerable importance.

Almost immediately upon our arrival I received a visit from Habti Mariam, [i.e. "The property of the Virgin"] the vice-governor, whose residence is at Wurdoo, the princ.i.p.al village of the Berhut district.

He explained that his non-appearance to escort the party from Ankober had arisen from severe ophthalmia, contracted during a recent visit to the hot low country. Some very potent amulets had been now attached to various parts of his body in order to remove the disorder; and the good man was moreover provided with a large raw onion, with which he rubbed his eyes alternately during the interview.

It has already been mentioned that the influence of Wulasma Mohammad extends along the whole of the Moslem districts of the eastern frontier; and it had now been advantageously exerted in the despatch of a body of his immediate retainers, commanded first to announce to the Adaiel on the border our intention of visiting their country, and afterwards to escort us thither. In order to counteract any offensive demonstration to which this unusual excursion might give rise, Habti Mariam had issued orders to a.s.semble his levy, in accordance with strict injunctions received from his royal master to secure the safety of his "European children," upon penalty of loss of liberty and government. The greatest difficulty was, however, experienced in persuading his followers to undertake the much-dreaded journey to the lower regions, as well from their unanimous detestation of the intense heat, as their innate dread of the lawless population; and he was finally compelled to put them to the blush by a declaration of his resolve to perform the king's behest at all risks in his own person; when a handful of the boldest setting the example, the lists were speedily filled to the number of two hundred and fifty, which force had been considered by the Negoos as sufficient for the excursion.

Volume 3, Chapter XXVI.

ADEN ON THE CASAM RIVER, THE TERRITORY OF THE ADEL SUB-TRIBE GAREEMRA DAMOOSA.

A canopy of thick clouds clinging to the high hills of Ankober had indicated that rain still continued to deluge the more elevated regions; but on the wide undulating plains of Berhut, the thermometer in the tents stood at 105 degrees; and although the sky was occasionally overcast in the morning, the sun shone with due tropical fervour up to the day fixed for departure to the low country. It was still dark when the cavalcade filed past the church of Saint George, which, ornamented with a triangle of ostrich eggs as a spire, stands at the extremity of the village; and as every Abyssinian lip in succession saluted with a pious kiss the rough bark of the kolqual trees by which it is fenced round, many an offering was vowed for individual safe return from the dangerous expedition.

Dawn of day found the party at the termination of the tract of table-land claimed by the crown; and the sun, as he rose behind the lofty peak of a.s.sibote, lighted our descent by the Dodoti pa.s.s, a winding path overhanging the valleys, which still lay in darkness.

Commanding a boundless prospect across the burning plains below, it leads by a very judiciously selected line, with a gradual descent of eighteen hundred feet, over barren mountain ridges rapidly diminishing in height, to the foot of the Abyssinian range, where, watered by the Casam, stretches the Adel district of Aden; and beyond, wild, desolate, and hot, and surrounded by extensive white desert tracts, rise the isolated craters of Saboo and Fantali.

The entire mountain-side is well-peopled by Mohammadan subjects of Shoa, whose progenitors arriving from the country of the sun with the great invader Graan, selected this as the location most congenial to their habits, and with it bequeathed to their descendants all the ancestral aversion to a cold climate. A stronger and more athletic race than the Amhara, the dark-eyed females present features far more feminine and agreeable than their coa.r.s.e highland sisters, with forms more becomingly attired. The hot dusty hamlets and scattered farm houses, which crown many of the peaks, are surrounded by extensive cultivation. The square domiciles, constructed of loose stones with mud terraces, afford sufficient accommodation both for owner and cattle, and the rich stores of grain proclaim a life of industry and abundance.

The retinue of the governor increased rapidly with his advance. Every hamlet now poured forth its quota; and before reaching the Fotah river, he mustered in horse and foot full four hundred retainers. For some miles the road wound along the dry channel of the mountain torrent, the banks rising on either side steep and perpendicular, so as to form a deep chasm, partially obstructed by huge ma.s.ses that had been precipitated from above. Here and there a solitary Karaiyo hamlet met the eye--the flocks and herds a.s.sembled in the neighbourhood of the only well, around which the heathen maidens, in rude leathern petticoats, fearlessly drew water, proclaiming a district dependent upon Shoa.

Debouching at length upon the plain of the Casam, the increase of temperature was at once perceptible; and the feeble breeze could not be felt through the ma.s.s of acacias and wild aloe which in full blossom covered the entire face of the country.

We were here joined by a weather-beaten old warrior, covered with silver decorations for valour, who had lost an eye by the spear of the Galla.

He was to act in capacity of guide; and an hour through the low jungle brought us to the river at a point where the width is from seventy to eighty yards, a strong stream of turbid water running through a rocky channel, in parts choked with groves of tamarisk. Skirting the northern bank for a considerable distance across hot loose boulders and hard volcanic terraces, we gained a prominent height, whence the view extended over the lowest valley threaded by the well-wooded Casam, the whole reach of which was covered with great herds of homed cattle.

Here the cavalcade halted, and was presently joined, from a group of Adel wigwams, by G.o.dana, one of the braves of the Gareemra Damoosa, carrying a broad-headed spear, and wearing his lank hair twisted into thin cords. A long and animated conference ensued, through the medium of an interpreter; in the course of which it was set forth, on the part of the puissant warrior, that the appearance of so large a body of the Amhara had led his tribe to apprehend meditated hostilities; that their flocks and herds were grazing in the vale below, peaceably tended by their young men and maidens; and that as the unwonted descent of such a host of Christians could not fail to create great alarm, he was desirous, before authorising further advance, to be more distinctly apprised of the nature and object of the visit. It was explained by the governor, "that the sole intention was to hunt buffaloes--that the white men were the special guests of the king; and having already slain elephants at Giddem, His Majesty sought to honour his friends the Adaiel, by the performance of equally extraordinary feats in their country:--concluding with the a.s.surance, that the fear of the Ittoo Galla having alone dictated the presence of so many followers, both G.o.dana and his people might rest satisfied that the visit was in good faith, and perfectly pacific."

The cattle having first been driven to a distance, the Christian chivalry were finally, after much demur, permitted to descend into the bed of the Casam, and there to enjoy the shelter afforded by groves of spreading tamarinds which grace its shady banks, the elders of the tribe being meanwhile summoned to debate the subject more fully. Parties of the Adel population of the adjoining district of Desse now sauntered up by threes and fours, and tall, gaunt, meagre savages they were--their loins girded by a scant and filthy rag, but each equipped with a serviceable creese, a battered shield, and a spear decked with some trophy of the chase. The scowling downcast eye, habitually half closed against the glare of their parched plains--the dissatisfaction so legibly written on every face--the sun-burnt bushy wig--the pinched features--the loose shambling gait--the air of insolent independence-- and not least, the rank disagreeable odour--all combined to proclaim them members of the great family peopling this sultry desert for hundreds of miles, and differing but slightly in manners or in appearance throughout the entire of the wide extended tract.

In the course of another fierce palaver, it was intimated that many expected to die before the affair should be terminated; but the promise of handsome remuneration to the survivors worked successfully upon Adel cupidity. After devouring the greater portion of our own supply of bread, which to those who till not the ground forms an unheard of luxury, they unanimously expressed their resolution of acceding to the royal wishes, and of leading the way to their choicest preserves.

Greatly to the horror of Moslem antipathy, the river had meanwhile been dragged of many of its finny inhabitants by the Amhara, who are permitted to eat fish _ad libitum_, although prohibited from touching either flesh or fowl during the tedious fast of Lent.