"While nature has done so easily defined. The northern boundaries | words: do not reach within a hundred miles of much, human energy or skill has done the Red Sea at any point; and the inter- nothing. The utter want of roads and val is occupied by various savage tribes, bridges-the stagnant or lawless nature all Mohammedan, all, except the Gallas, to- of the social system-the obstinate attally without government, living by their tachment to ancient customs-the mulflocks and camels, and engaged in inces- titude of rulers, indifferent to everything sant feuds. The only good harbor in the but their personal enjoyment-the conRed Sea is Massowah; and the Turks own stant wars, and consequent insecurity of the island, and claim the coast for sixty life and property, are fast ruining a counmiles inland. So much for the north. try of whose beauty and fertility its inThe western boundary is the pashalic of habitants may with some reason boast." Sennaar. To the southwest, vast forests frequented by wild beasts, or hot plains inhabited by negro races, exclude Abyssinia from the navigable part of the Blue Nile, whose impetuous torrent, on the other hand, protects the country from the daring and dauntless Gallas, a fine race, whose men are brave and honest, and whose women are beautiful. On the east and southeast, are various tribes of fierce and fanatic Mohammedans, who are themselves barred from the sea by the savage Adaiel, by whose hordes, led by the famous chief, Mohammed Grayne, Abyssinia was nearly destroyed, when Portugal interposed, and saved it by the introduction of firearms. Stretching all along the eastern boundary, again, to join the north, are other savage tribes, once Abyssinian, and still speaking the ancient Ethiopic tongue, but all lawless and inimical. The country which lies within this pleasant border is a range of vast table- lands and fantastic mountains, varying from four thousand to fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. Deep valleys, the beds of the larger rivers, intersect this, but however circuitous their course, all these streams finally join the Blue Nile. They are nowhere navigable, and only a few mountain torrents, swollen by the rain, find their way to the Red Sea. The valleys teem with the richest produce; and the soil is capable of growing everything which will grow anywhere; but there is little cultivation in proportion to the extent of territory. The scenery is varied and beautiful, and the country combines mineral resources, a delightful climate, tropical luxuriance, and such salubrity that no waste of European life need be apprehended from frequenting it. Such is the general result of Mr. Plowden's statement in 1852, but he concludes in these The political condition of the country at this date bore resemblance, in some particulars, to that of feudal Europe, without the latent element of progress, and with the disadvantage of decadence from a former standard. Preserved from a complete lapse into barbarism by the existence of a written Law, the execution of its decrees was almost abrogated, the will of the chiefs being in reality supreme. The chiefs, each holding the rank of "Dejajmateh" a title somewhat analogous to that of duke-nominally subject to the Ras, or prime minister to the emperor, were like the turbulent vassals of Louis XI., the barons of King John, and those semi - fabulous daimios, of whom we occasionally hear, in connection with a few murders and a bombardment or so. Turbulence among rulers and people then prevailed, constant strife for power, but without extraordinary bloodshed or much cruelty, and marked by a certain classical kind of military grandeur. The war councils and camp feasts have a flavor of the Iliad about them. Soldiering was and is in high repute; and as each man knows that personal prowess may lead him to the height of power, the soldiers are high-spirited, independent, and full of esprit de corps. They have neither knapsacks nor bâtons, but they have the equivalent of both, and a proverb to match the Gallic boast. Corruption, confusion, adherence to tradition, sluggish. ness, and pride, more than oriental, but less than the average misery, suffering, and oppression of oriental countries, marked the social system of Abyssinia when the first attempt at making a treaty on the part of Great Britain with the Ras was made; and altogether the description reads like a medley of all the histories of feudal times, and all the books of eastern travel ever written in modern days. The hardest thing to realize is, that the country is nominally Christian, and that, when King Theodore pathetically invites Queen Victoria to consider how Islam oppresses the Christians, he is lamenting his own misfortunes. Morals there are none among the Abyssinians. Every sensual pleasure is indulged without scruple and without shame. The interests or convenience of the moment are the only rule of conduct; want of tact and ill-temper are the only crimes in their code. They are decidedly a happy people, and of a kindly nature, knowing and caring nothing for the world outside Abyssinia. In Plowden's time, they hardly knew that any other nation existed, and were persuaded that the lands beyond the sea were but a succession of barren deserts. When Europeans came among them, they would ask the strangers whether corn grew in their country, or if there were any women there; and, on the whole, betrayed a singular indifference to the prospects of trade and the increase of wealth held out to them by the enlightenment of their minds on the subject of foreign nations. Of course it is always surprising and unpleasant for Great Britain to learn that she is not wanted or wished for; but it cannot be denied that the Abyssinians and the Japanese were of one mind as to not ardently desiring the blessings of English civilization. The people of Abyssinia possess in their own land all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life in profusion; they have great freedom of speech and action, and they are constitutionally and systematically gay. They meet misfortune and death with perfect fortitude; they are not violent or emotional; when it suits their interests or convenience to commit what we should consider very serious crimes, they go and do it, and tell all the particulars with good-humored laughter. It is difficult to our minds to realize all the influences and results of a social system in which neither crime, detection, nor punishment is recognized as disgraceful, in which, in fact, there is no such thing as disgrace, and consequently no susceptibilty, sensitiveness, or shame; but, if we could succeed in realizing these influences and results, we should understand the people over whom King Theodore assumed his sway, and the wonderful work he is doing. They are sensible, witty, superstitious, dirty, proud, litigious, intensely obstinate, and singularly averse to new ideas. The Jewish origin of many of their institutions is unmistakable, and several of their characteristics are strongly Jewish. They have a written language, but they never use it; all affairs are transacted verbally; in the rare case of a letter being written, it is neither signed, sealed, nor dated. Marriage is a civil contract, dissolved at pleasure, and no distinction is made, in station or provision, between legitimate and illegitimate children. The ties of relationship are strong, from interested motives, as a barrier to the exactions of rapacious governors, and the violence of the soldiery. They do not carry their sentiments to the practical point of sharing their means; on the contrary, incessant lawsuits are carried on between relatives, for land and property; and they will muster in thousands to bewail and avenge the death of one whom they would cheerfully have permitted to starve. Their religion is as anomalous as everything else about them; it is difficult to make out whether they believe anything, but their observances partake of the absurdities of Islamism, the severities of Judaism, and the lowest superstitions interpolated into debased Christianity. Their priests are extremely despotic, and have met all attempts to introduce the Roman Catholic creed with admirably organized massacres, by which the Jesuits have been the chief sufferers. As a nation, they never had any element of progress within themselves, and they never appear to have desired any. Egyptian and Assyrian monarchs spent their lives in erecting huge monuments to their own memory, and the greatest marvels of Indian architecture were reared with a similar purpose. But the Abyssinian kings, practical philosophers in their way, sought only for the daily splendor and enjoyment within their reach, and were perfectly satisfied to be forgotten after their death. No purely national antiquities exist; there is absolutely no record of the history of two thousand years. Coinage and architecture in solid stone have never been attempted, though 172 the Ptolemies set them the example of | In 1854, the condition of Abyssinia with, bore the title of Dejaj. This one The story of his elevation to a rank to which he always believed himself destined, is the most brilliant and the most romantic conceivable. In this confidence in his destiny, and in the prudence with which he concealed his designs until they were ripe for execution, there is a similarity between him and his brother of France; and the results of his reign will be no less remarkable in their sphere and degree than those of the rule of Napoleon III. The first step taken by Dejaj Kasai was the denial of the authority of the Queen, mother of Ras Ali, under whom he governed the provinces near Sennaar. He defeated all the troops she sent against him; but when the Ras sent an immense force, after much treating and mancuvring, he surrendered, and the Ras, not wishing to injure him, accepted his submission, and restored all his former honors. After a while, Kasai again threw off the mask, and fought desperately, against the immensely superior force of the Ras, whom he utterly routed. Some time was consumed in collecting fresh soldiers and materials, and then Kasai beat the two contending "Dejaj," and all their strongholds surrendered to him. The fruits of the last victory were large treasures, accumulated for three generations, the submission or imprisonment of almost all the chiefs in Abyssinia, and the coronation of Kasai, under the title of Theodorus, King of Kings of Ethiopia. Before the murder of Mr. Plowden | nothing can stay him; and he carries shut us out from knowledge of the prog- this belief to the point of indifference to ress of events in Abyssinia, and during external human aid or foreign alliance. the halcyon period when it seemed likely If England, or France, or Russia, any, or that England would make a good thing all, would drive away Islam for him, he in money of his friendship, many inter- would no doubt be well pleased; but as esting particulars were furnished respect- they will not, he resolves to keep "haming King Theodore. The triumph of mering away," undaunted and undiscourhis cause was marked by clemency and aged, on his own account. generosity, and he applied himself, within a week of his coronation, to the succor of the outlying districts of his kingdom, where the Mohammedans were, as usual, persecuting the Christians. At one of those outlying places, Mr. Plowden came up with the new king, whose army consisted of sixty thousand men. He described King Theodore as a young man, vigorous in all bodily exercises, of a striking countenance, peculiarly polite, gentle, and engaging in manner, and possessed of great tact and delicacy. His bodily and mental energy are untiring, his personal and moral daring are boundless; and he proved them amply from the first by the unrelaxed severity with which he treated his soldiery, even when mutinous, and in the face of the foe; by pressing forward extensive reforms, in a country unused to any yoke, even while engaged in unceasing hostilities; and also by his suppression of the power of the great feudal chiefs, when a man less confident in himself, his destiny, and his power, would have sought to conciliate and make use of them. He is terrible in anger, but has great self-command. He is indefatigable in business, his language and ideas are clear and precise, and he manages all his affairs himself; he has neither councillors nor go-betweens. He is fond of splendor, and receives in state, even on a campaign. He is unsparing in punishment, accessible to all, gravely courteous to the meanest, strictly moral in his domestic life, excessively generous, free from cupidity, clement towards the vanquished, to whom he always offers his friendship. Surely a kingly king, is this destined ruler of the Ethiops. The fatalism of King Theodore is a curious trait in his strange character. His pride in his royal and divine right is excessive, and his fanatical religious zeal violent. His faith is of the strongest. Without Christ he declares himself to be nothing; with His aid, he believes that Such of the earlier proceedings of his reign as are known to us are admirable. He suppressed the slave trade in all its phases, only permitting slaves already purchased to be sold to such Christians as should buy them for charity, and set the example in his own case by paying the Mussulman dealers what prices they pleased to ask for any slaves brought to him. Then he immediately baptized his new purchases. He abolished the barbarous practice of handing over murderers to the relatives of their victims, and had them solemnly put to death by his own executioners instead. He directed his attention largely to military discipline, drilling the soldiers himself, and repressing plunder by instituting a regular system of payment for his troops. He began to encourage commerce by abolishing vexatious exactions, and decreeing that duties should be levied at only three places in his dominions. One of his first declarations was, that in time he would disarm the people, and create a regular standing army, armed with muskets only, and that he would convert swords and lances into ploughshares and reapinghooks, and cause a plough-ox to be sold dearer than the noblest war-horse. A wonderful sample of the administrative ability of this extraordinary man is afforded by the system which has created generals in place of feudal chieftains, and organized a new nobility, a legion of honor dependent on the king, and chosen for their daring and fidelity. This is but a brief and faint sketch of the great man who has appeared in the little known kingdom of Abyssinia, to rescue the country from a rapid relapse into hideous barbarism, and to secure for himself a niche in the temple of Fame. A totally uneducated man, so ignorant as hardly to be aware that Europe existed, until Europeans came to treat with him in his sovereign capacity, and still difficult to convince that any king so great dream, a fair vision of the future. Something is to be done when Abyssinia has been raised to the pinnacle of prosperity and greatness, when the empire of Ethiopia is "consolidated "—when the Mohammedan tribes are reduced to submission, and Islam driven from the seaboard: then, Theodorus, King of Kings, will issue forth in irresistible might, at the head of his legions, to conquer Egypt, and march in triumph to the Holy Sepulchre. as King Theodore reigns upon earth; first to acknowledge. This sage and alone, without a counsellor, unaided save powerful monarch, practical, politic, hardby his own genius-well might Mr. Plow-working man of business as he is, has a den say of him, in the measured language which he doubtless did violence to his own feelings of admiration in using "A man who, rising from the clouds of Abyssinian ignorance and childishness without assistance and without advice, has done so much, and contemplates such large designs, cannot be regarded as of an ordinary stamp." To reform and regenerate his kingdom, was the work that lay to his hand when his reign began. He has pursued the task with wonderful courage and ability, proving himself a man whom, notwithstanding the unhappy disputes which have arisen between him and the British Government, Englishmen must heartily admire, and whose greatness they would be the There is grandeur in the wildness of such an ambition; and the romance and imaginativeness of his disposition aid the solid, daring, and practical character of his genius, in setting the true heroic stamp upon the extraordinary career of King Theodore. IN A GONDOLA. (Suggested by Mendelssohn's Andante in G minor, Book I., Lied 6, of the "Lieder ohne Worten.") And the wind seems to sigh through that lattice rust-gnawn Ere her lover came by, and they kissed. "They are clay, As my gondola glides. |