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.