Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 341, March, 1844, Vol. 55 by Various

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Major Harris imputes this disappointment to the accidental opening of one
of the boxes of presents. Royal cupidity had been so strongly excited by
the conjectures of their contents, that the king had evidently been
anxious, in the first instance, to hasten their delivery as much as
possible. Gold and jewels were probably uppermost in the royal conceptions;
but the box happening to contain only the leathern buckets belonging to
the "galloper guns," the spectators were loud in their derision. "These,"
they exclaimed, "are but a poor people! What is their nation 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."

The rainy season was now setting in, and the situation of the embassy
became more comfortless from day to day. Notes were written, and answers
received from the monarch, but the royal interview was still postponed,
partly by the artifice of the knavish governors, who kept a longing eye on
the presents, and partly by the barbarian etiquette of showing the natives
the scorn with which their king was entitled to treat all the nations of
the world.

The residence of the mission in this comfortless place, however, gave a
opportunity of acquiring considerable knowledge of the habits and commerce
of the interior. The chief traffic is in slaves, but coffee is exported
extensively from Hurrna, and large caravans three times in the year visit
the ports, Zeyla and Barbara, laden with ivory, ostrich feathers, ghee,
saffrons, gums, and myrrh. In return are brought blue and white calicoes,
Indian piece goods, Indian prints, silks, and shawls, red cotton yarn,
silk threads, beads, frankincense, copper wire, and zinc.

A fortnight rolled away painfully in this detestable place, which was
named Alio Amba, when a summons came from the monarch in these formal
words:--"Tarry not by day, neither stay ye by night; for the heart of the
father longeth to see his children, and let him not be disappointed."

They now ascended through a country of romantic beauty, to Machalwan, the
place appointed for the interview. The Abyssinian in charge of the embassy,
was now sent forward to obtain permission to fire a salute of twenty-one
guns on the arrival of the troop at the royal residence. This request
seemed to have alarmed his majesty in no slight degree. The most romantic
reports of the ordnance had gone before them. It was currently believed
that their discharge was sufficient to set fire to the ground, to shiver
rocks, and to dismantle mountain fastnesses. Men were said to have arrived,
with "copper legs," who served those tremendous engines; and in alarm for
the safety of his palace, capital, and treasures, the suspicious monarch
still peremptorily insisted on withholding the desired license, until he
should have seen the battery "with his own eyes." It rained incessantly
during the night which preceded the day of presentation, and until the
morning broke; when a great volume of white mist rose from the deep
valleys, and drifted like a scene-curtain across the summit of the giant
Mamrat. The whole troop now began to ascend the mountain; and, as they
approached within sight of the stockaded palace, the escort commenced to
fire their matchlocks. The view here is described as very lovely, and
giving some conception of European variety of vegetation, with tropical
luxuriance. Farm-houses, rich fields, foaming cascades, and bright green
meadows covered with flowers, met the eye on every side; and above all
towered the great Abyssinian range, some thousand feet perpendicularly
overhead, with its summits crested with clouds. The crowd of spectators
was immense, and were repelled only by strokes of the bamboo. At length a
large tent was pitched for the reception of the embassy, the floor was
strewed with heath, myrtles, and other aromatic shrubs; and the weather
having cleared up, "the mission, radiant with plumes and gold embroidery,
moved on." As they reached the precincts of the palace, the artillery
fired a salute, which equally awed and astonished the multitude, the
discharge being followed by universal shouts in the native tongue
of--"Wonderful English! Well done, well done!"

After several further stoppages, they entered the reception hall. It was
circular, and showy. The lofty walls glittered with a profusion of silver
ornaments, emblazoned shields, matchlocks, and double-barreled guns.
Persian carpets and rugs of all sizes, colours, and patterns, covered the
floors; and crowds of governors, chiefs, and officers of the court, in
their holiday attire, stood 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; while in the other, on a
flowered satin ottoman, surrounded by withered slaves and juvenile pages,
and supported by gay velvet cushions, lay "His most Christian majesty,
Sahela Selasse!" The Dech Agulari (state doorkeeper,) 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 entered and made their
bows, pointed them to chairs, which done, it was commanded that all should
be covered.

The monarch was not unworthy of figuring in this pomp. Forty summers, of
which eight-and-twenty had been passed on the throne, had slightly
furrowed his forehead, and grizzled a full bushy head of hair, arranged in
elaborate curls. But, though wanting the left eye, "the expression of his
manly features, open, pleasing, and commanding, did not belie the
character for impartial justice which he had obtained far and wide; even
the robber tribes of the low country calling him a fine balance of gold."

After the delivery of the ambassadorial letters, the exhibition commenced,
which had so long been the envy of the courtiers, and probably the
conversation of the kingdom. The presents were displayed. A rich Brussels
carpet, which completely covered the hall, Cashmere shawls, and
embroidered Delhi scarfs of resplendent hues, excited universal admiration.
The finer specimens were handed to the king. As the various presents
succeeded, the delight increased. A group of Chinese dancing figures,
produced bursts of merriment; and when the European escort, in full
uniform, with the sergeant at their head, marched into the hall, paced in
front of the throne, and performed the manual and platoon exercises, amid
ornamented clocks chiming, and musical boxes playing "God save the Queen,"
his majesty appeared quite entranced. "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 royal footstool. A buzz of
mingled wonder and applause arose from the crowded courtiers; and the
monarch's satisfaction now filled to overflowing. 'God will reward you,'
he exclaimed--'for I cannot!'"

But a more serious and a more striking display was still to follow. The
artillery were to exhibit their powers; and the crowd rushed out, and
scattered over the hill to see its practice. A sheet was attached to the
opposite face of the ravine, the valley rang to the roar of the guns; and
as the white cloth flew in shreds to the wind, under a rapid discharge of
round shot, canister, and grape, amid the crumbling of the rock, and the
rush of falling stones, shouts of admiration rang from hill to hill. This
eventful evening was closed by testimonies of the king's satisfaction, in
the shape of a huge pepper pie from the royal kitchen, with his commands
that his children might feast; and a visit from the royal confessor, a
dwarf enveloped in robes and turbans, and armed with silver cross and
crosier. Seating himself in a chair, he delivered a speech, which affords
as good a specimen of court oratory as any thing that we remember; and
also shows the powerful effect of the presents on the courtly
sensibilities. The speech was as follows:--

"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
Abysinia 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!!"

The embassy were now fixed under the protection of the monarch; and they
were invited to join in the various displays and festivals of the new year,
which the Abyssinians begin on the 10th of September. Of these, the
cavalry review was by far the most showy, as well as the most suited to
the gratification of the British officers. Some parts of this display
seemed to have been borrowed from the days of European knighthood. The
king's master of the horse advanced at the head of his squadrons of picked
household cavalry, "the flower of the Christian lances." Ayto Melkoo,
their leader, was arrayed in a party-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 trappings glittered with a profusion of silver crosses and
devices, and he looked a stately and martial figure, curveting at the head
of his well-appointed lancers.

This warrior, advancing with his line, galloped up in front, and made a
speech in the manner of old heroic times, vaunting his past prowess and
his present loyalty, his troopers accompanying the more succcessful parts
of his speech by striking the lance upon the targe. At the close, he threw
his spears upon the ground, unsheathed his two-edged falchion, gave a howl,
which was answered by a roar from his horsemen, and a discharge of
fire-arms; and the whole made a dash, and charged across the parade.

At the royal command, the British now fired a salute of twenty-one guns,
to the great wonder and astonishment of the wild Galla and the multitude
of spectators. Thirteen governors, (of provinces, we presume,) clothed in
the skins of lions and leopards and covered with silver chains, cuirasses,
and gauntlets, emblems of their gallantry in the field, next passed before
the king, each at the head of his troop, and each making a harangue.
Abyssinia must be a very oratorical country. Last of all, came the tall,
martial figure of Abegoz Moreteh, chief of the tributary Galla of the
south, at the head of his legion, three thousand in number: this "sea of
wild horsemen" moved in advance, to the sound of kettle-drums, their arms
and decorations flashing in the sun, and their ample white robes and long
sable hair streaming in the breeze. At the war-hoop of their leader, "with
the rush of a hurricane the moving forest of lances disappeared under a
cloud of dust." From _eight to ten thousand_ cavalry were in the field;
and the spectacle, which lasted from nine in the morning until five in the
afternoon, was "exceedingly wild and impressive." But the most impressive
display of all was to be supplied by the British. With fire-arms the
people were acquainted already. The "brass galloper," though viewed with
"wonderful respect," was still only an engine on a larger scale than those
to which they were familiarized. But the rocket was a formidable and
splendid novelty. Night had now thrown her mantle round the field, and, by
the king's command, the rocket practice began; the first brilliant rush
into the air was matter of amazement to all. When the rocket started with
a roar from its bed, men, women, and children fell on their faces--horses
and mules broke from their tethers--and the warriors who had any heart
remaining shouted aloud. The Galla tribes, who witnessed the explosion,
ascribed the phenomenon to "potent medicines," and declared, that since
the Gyptzis (British) could, at pleasure, produce comets in the sky and
rain fire down heaven, there was nothing for them but submission to the
king's command.

The review was followed, at some interval of time, by a more substantial
display. Thrice in the year the king summons his rude militia for an
inroad into some of the neighbouring lands; and, as he was particularly
anxious to have the presence of the embassy on this occasion, and as they
conceived it to offer the best opportunity of seeing the country, they
accordingly accepted the invitation. As it is to be presumed that they had
no intention of taking any personal part in this marauding expedition, we
are not disposed to criticise their acquiescence; otherwise there could be
no doubt whatever, that they had no right to assist the king of Shoa in
his foray on his neighbours, more than they would have had a right to
assist his neighbours in their attacks upon the king of Shoa.

The march was peculiar, and even pompous, in its kind. It was
extraordinary to see it preceded by a copy of the Holy Scriptures, under a
canopy of scarlet cloth, and borne on a mule; but, it must be owned,
accompanied by the "Ark of the cathedral of St Michael," which works
miracles, and is regarded as a pledge of victory. Then came the king on a
specially caparisoned mule, surrounded by his guard of shield-bearers, and
flanked by matchlock-men; then came forty damsels, royal cooks, painted
with ochre, and muffled in crimson-striped robes of cotton--a troop
rigorously guarded by attendants with long white wands. Beyond these, as
far as the eye could penetrate the clouds of dust, every hill and valley
teemed with horsemen, camp-followers, sumpter-mules, and men carrying
sheaves of spears, and leading caparisoned horses, all mixed in the most
picturesque confusion. After a march of fifteen miles, the female cooks
halted, like a flight of flamingoes, in a pretty, secluded valley. It was
evident that the day's march was now at an end, and the army halted to
bivouac for the night. In the centre of this straggling camp, which could
not be less than five miles in diameter, was raised a suite of royal tents,
consisting of a gay party-coloured marquee of Turkish manufacture,
surrounded by twelve ample awnings of black serge, over which floated five
crimson pennons, surmounted respectively by silver globes. There was
something of African, or perhaps European, pomp in this proceeding. Until
the royal tents were enclosed from the vulgar eye, the Negoos, ascending
an adjacent eminence with his chiefs and an escort of picked warriors,
remained seated on cushioned _alga_, and under the crimson canopy of the
state umbrella.

When night fell, rockets were fired by the royal command, "to instil
terror into the breasts of the Galla hordes;" and the peak which ran near
the headquarters, was chosen as the most central spot for the display. The
effect, brilliant every where, was here all that even Majesty could have
desired. The "fire-rainers" (the picturesqe name which, we presune, Major
Harris has adopted from the natives) produced delight, wonder, and terror,
in all their degrees; and if the Galla nation were present, they must, to
a man, have solicited chains, rather than be roasted alive by those flying
monsters, which the people seem to have taken for the works of magic, if
not magicians themselves. The display was followed by a repast in the old
heroic style, and which will not be forgotten, should Abyssinia ever give
the world a sable Homer.

"The chiefs and nobles sat down to their feast in the royal pavilion,
where hydromel, beer, and _raw_ flesh were in regal profusion!! After
supper, speeches were made in the Homeric style, boasting of what the
warriors had done, and intended to do. A fragment of one of the
speeches; addressed to the English as the party broke up, gives a
fair idea of Abyssinian table eloquence, 'You are the adorners,' (the
orator had been decorated with a scarlet cloak;) 'you have given me
scarlet broadcloth, and behold I have reserved the gift for this day.
This garment will bring me success; for the Pagan who sees a crimson
cloak on the shoulders of the Amhara,' (Abyssinian,) 'believing him
to be a warrior of distinguished valour, will take, like an ass, to
his heels, and be speared without the smallest danger.'"

The march, and the foray into the country of one of the Galla tribes, are
admirably told, and perhaps are among the best descriptions in the
volumes--exact without being tedious, and deeply coloured without
exaggeration. But we must hasten to other things. This was the monarch's
eighty-fourth foray; and on this we may conceive something of the horrors
of barbarian life, and of the tremendous evils which nations have escaped
whose laws and principles tame down the original evil of man.

We are glad to find that the embassy refused to take any share in this
horrible work, though they fell into some disrepute with the troops, and
even with the monarch, for their remissness. The king had even reserved an
unlucky Galla in a tree, to be shot by his guests. But this they declined,
first, on the pretext of its being the Sabbath, and next, more distinctly
on the ground, that--"no public body was authorized by the law of nations,
to draw a sword offensively in any country not at war with its own." They
then offered the compromise, "that an elephant was esteemed equivalent to
forty Gallas, and a wild buffalo to five, and that they were ready to
shoot as many of both as his Majesty pleased." But the embassy did more
effectual things; the sick and wounded received relief from them to the
extent of their means, and they even prevailed on the king to liberate all
his prisoners. The troops in the foray amounted to about 20,000.

On the return of this destroying expedition, which seems to have turned a
very fine country into a desert, the king made a kind of triumphal entry
into his capital. His costume was splendidly savage. A lion's skin over
his shoulders, richly ornamented, and half concealing beneath its folds an
embroidered green mantle of Indian manufacture; on his right shoulder were
three chains of gold, as emblems 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 on his brow. His dappled
war-horse, in housings of blue and yellow, was led beside him; and in
front his "champion" rode a coal-black charger, bearing the royal shield
of massive silver, with the cross upon it, and dressed in a panther's hide.
The two chief officers of his army rode either side of the crimson
umbrella; at the palace gates, a deputation of priests in white robes
received the conqueror with a benediction and a volley of musketry
announced his arrival. The leader of the royal matchlock-men performed a
war dance before the Ark as it was borne along, and in the inner court the
principal warriors, each carring some human fragment on his lance, flung
then on the ground before the royal footstool, and shouted their war
praise.

The embassy at length attained personal distinction by the death of an
elephant, which one of the party brought to the ground by a two-ounce ball.
The "warriors" were all in astonishment at this feat, to which all had
predicted the most disastrous termiration; and "Boroo, the brave chief of
the Soopa," exclaimed in his delight, "The world was made for you, and no
one else has any business in it!"

The chief object of the embassy was still to be accomplished--the
formation of something that approached to a treaty of commerce. Beads,
cutlery, and trinkets, had been received from the coast; but the beggary
of the nobles for those things was perpetual and intolerable. They called
those ornanents pleasing things, and the cry was constant, "show me
pleasing things," "give me delighting things," "adorn me from head to
foot." It is scarcely surprising that the natives should be enamoured of
European conmodities; for, though an old commerce had subsisted with
Arabia, the supplies brought by the English were of the most exciting kind.
Detonating caps were in great request; treble strong canister powder was
also much in demand. Yet there was some ingenuity amongst themselves; for
a young fellow was taken up for making dollars of pewter. Every spot and
letter had been closely represented with punch and file. "Tell me," said
the king, on the case of this culprit being mentioned to him, "how is that
machine made which in your country pours out the silver crowns like a
shower of rain?" The hand corn-mills, presented by the British Government,
had been erected within the palace walls, and slaves were turning the
wheels with unceasing diligence. "Demetrius, the Armenian, made a machine
to grind corn," exclaimed his majesty in a transport of delight, as the
flour streamed upon the floor; "and though it cost the people a year of
hard labour to construct, it was useless when finished, because the priest
declared it to be the devil's work, and cursed the bread. But, may the
Sahela Selasse die--these engines are the work of clever hands."

The monarch, elated with his knowledge, now determined to build a bridge,
which in three days was completed; and, as was predicted by the quiet
English spectators, in three hours fell down on the very first fresh
produced by the annual rains.

Weaving excepted, the people manufactured nothing; but British commerce
has long been known, though evidently of the coarsest kind. At length, on
his majesty's being told that five thousand looms would bring him more
wealth than ten thousand soldiers, he gradually consented to form a
commercial treaty. The crown had hitherto appropriated the property of
strangers dying in the country. The purchase or display of costly goods by
the subject had been interdicted, and a maxim exhibiting the whole
jealousy of savage life had been established, that the stranger who once
entered was never to depart from Abyssinia. By the articles of the
commercial treaty, all those barbarous prohibitions have been abolished.

As the monarch returned the deed, he made a short speech sufficiently able
and appropriate: "You have loaded me with costly presents, the rainment
that I wear, the throne on which I sit, the curiosities in my
store-houses, and the muskets which hang round my great hall--all are from
your country. What have I to give in return for such wealth? My kingdom is
as nothing."

The hereditary provinces at this day subject to the King of Shoa, are
comprised in a rectangular domain of 150 by 90 miles; an area traversed by
five systems of mountains, of which the culminating point divides the
basin of the Nile from that of the Hawash. The Christian population of
Shoa and Efat are estimated at a million; and the Moslem and Pagan
population at a million and a half. The royal revenues are said to amount
to 80,000 or 90,000 German crowns, arising chiefly from import duties in
slaves, merchandise, and salt. As the annual expenses of the state do not
exceed 10,000 dollars; it is presumed that the king, during his thirty
years' reign, has amassed much treasure, which is regularly deposited
under ground.

We recommend the enquirers into the truth of Herodotus, to examine the
curious illustrations stated in these volumes; and, among the rest, the
kingdom of pigmies. The geographer will find ample interest in tracing the
course of the Gochob, a sort of central Nile; and the naturalist, botanist,
and entomologist, will find abundant information in the very interesting
and complete appendices on those subjects. The history of the Christian
missions of early ages is an excellent chapter, and the general statistics
of religion.

The practical religion of the Abyssinian Christian is of the very lowest
degree of formality. Fasts, penances, and excommunications, form the chief
discipline; but the penitent can always provide a substitute for the two
former, and the latter is always to be averted by money. Spiritual
offences, however, are rare; for murder and sacrilege alone give umbrage
to the easy conscience of the natives of Shoa. Abstinence and largesses of
money are equivalent to wiping away every sin. Their creed advises the
invocation of saints, confession to the priest, and faith in charms and
amulets. Prayers for the dead, and absolution, are indispensable; and, as
a more summary mode of relieving the burdens of the flesh, it is
pronounced, that all sins are forgiven from the moment that the kiss of
the pilgrim is imprinted on the stones of Jerusalem, and that even kissing
the hand of a priest purifies the body from all sin. A creed of this order,
which makes spiritual safety dependent, not upon personal purification of
mind and divine mercy, but upon forms which are unconnected with either,
and which even can be executed by a substitute, of course excludes the
necessity for morals of any kind. All is corruption--"Born amid falsehood
and deceit, cradled in bloodshed, and nursed in the arms of idleness and
debauchery, the national character almost defies the missionary."

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