The Emperor Theodore--His Rise and Conquests--His Army
and Administration--Causes of his Fall--His Personal
Appearance and Character--His Household and Private Life
CHAPTER II.
Europeans in Abyssinia--Bell and Plowden--Their Career and
Deaths--Consul Cameron--M. Lejean--M. Bardel and Napoleon's Answer
to Theodore--The Gaffat People--Mr. Stern and the Djenda Mission--State
of Affairs at the End of 1863
CHAPTER III.
Imprisonment of Mr. Stern--Mr. Kerans arrives with Letters and
Carpet--Cameron, with his Followers, is put in Chains--M. Bardel
returns from the Soudan--Theodore's Dealings with Foreigners--The
Coptic Patriarch--Abdul Rahman Bey--The Captivity of the Europeans
explained
CHAPTER IV.
News of Cameron's Imprisonment reaches Home--Mr. Rassam is selected
to proceed to the Court of Gondar, and is accompanied by Dr.
Blanc--Delays and Difficulties in communicating with Theodore--Description
of Massowah and its Inhabitants--Arrival of a Letter from the Emperor
CHAPTER V.
From Massowah to Kassala--The Start--The Habab--Adventures of M.
Marcopoli--The Beni Amer--Arrival at Kassala--The Nubian Mutiny--Attempt
of De Bisson to found a Colony in the Soudan
CHAPTER VI.
Departure from Kassala--Sheik Abu Sin--Rumours of Theodore's Defeat
by Tisso Gobazé--Arrival at Metemma--Weekly Market--The Takruries
at Drill--Their Foray into Abyssinia--Arrival of Letters from Theodore
CHAPTER VII.
Entrance into Abyssinia--Altercation between Takruries and Abyssinians
at Wochnee--Our Escort and Bearers--Applications for Medicine--First
Reception by his Majesty--The Queen's Letter translated and Presents
delivered--Accompany his Majesty through Metsha--His Conversation
_en route_
CHAPTER VIII.
Leave the Emperor's Camp for Kourata--The Tana Sea--The Abyssinian
Navy--The Island of Dek--Arrival at Kourata--The Gaffat People and
former Captives join us--Charges preferred against the Latter--First
Visit to the Emperor's Camp at Zagé--Flattery before Coercion
CHAPTER IX.
Second Visit to Zagé--Arrest of Mr. Rassam and the English Officers
--Charges brought against Mr. Rassam--The former Captives are brought
in Chains to Zagé--Public Trial--Reconciliation--Mr. Flad's Departure
--The Imprisonment at Zagé--Departure for Kourata
CHAPTER X.
Second Residence at Kourata--Cholera and Typhus break out in the
Camp--The Emperor resolves to march to Debra Tabor--Arrival at
Gaffat--The Foundry transformed into a Palace--Political Trial at
Debra Tabor--The Black Tent--Dr. Blanc and Mr. Rosenthal seized at
Gaffat--Another Public Trial--The Black Hole--March with the Emperor
to Aibankab--Sent to Magdala, and Arrival at the Amba
CHAPTER XI.
Our first House at Magdala--The Chief has a "little Business" with
us--Feelings of a European when being put in Chains--The Operation
described--The Prisoners' Toilette--How we Lived--Our first Messenger
a Failure--How we obtained Money and Letters--A Magdala Diary--A
Rainy Season in a Godjo
CHAPTER XII.
Description of Magdala--Climate and Water Supply--The Emperor's
Houses--His Harem and Magazines--The Church--Prison-house--Guards
and Gaol--Discipline--A previous Visit of Theodore to Magdala--Slaughter
of the Gullas--Character and Antecedents of Samuel--Our friends,
Zenab the Astronomer, and Meshisha the Lute-player--Day Guards--We
build new Huts--Abyssinian and Portuguese Servants--Our Inclosure
is enlarged
CHAPTER XIII.
Theodore writes to Mr. Rassam about Mr. Flad and the Artisans--His
two Letters contrasted--General Merewether arrives at Massowah--Danger
of sending Letters to the Coast--Ras Engeddah brings us a few
Stores--Our Garden--Successful Results of Vaccination at Magdala--Our
Day Guard again--Second Rainy Season--The Chiefs are Jealous--The
Ras and his Council--Damash, Hailo, Daily Life during Rainy Season--Two
Prisoners attempt to Escape--The Knout in Abyssinia--A Dying Man's
Prophecy
CHAPTER XIV.
Second Rainy Season ends--Scarcity and dearness of Provisions--Meshisha
and Comfou plot their Escape--They succeed--Theodore is robbed--Damash
pursues the Fugitives--The Night Attack--The Galla War-cry, and the
"Sauve qui peut"--The Wounded left on the Field--Hospitality of the
Gallas--Theodore's Letter on the Subject--Mastiate's Troubles--Wakshum
Gabra Medhin--Sketch of Gobaz's Career--He invites the Co-operation
of the Bishop in seizing Magdala--The Bishop's plan--All the rival
Chiefs intrigue for the Amba--Mr. Rassam's Influence overrated
CHAPTER XV.
Death of Abouna Salama--Sketch of his Life and Career--Grievances
of Theodore against him--His Imprisonment at Magdala--The Wallo
Gallas--Their Habits and Customs--Menilek appears with an Army in
the Galla Country--His Policy--Advice sent to him by Mr. Rassam--He
invests Magdala, and fires a _feu-de-joie_--The Queen's behavior
--Steps taken by the Chiefs--Our Position not improved--The
Effects of Smoke on Menilek--Our Disappointment followed by great
Joy--We receive news of the Landing of British Troops
CHAPTER XVI.
Theodore's Proceedings during our stay at Magdala--His treatment
of Begemder--A Rebellion breaks out--Forced March on Gondar--The
Churches are plundered and burnt--Theodore's Cruelties--The Insurgents
increase in Strength--The Designs of the Emperor on Kourata
frustrated--Mr. Bardel betrays the new Workmen--Theodore's Ingratitude
towards the Gaffat People--His Raid on Foggara unsuccessful
CHAPTER XVII.
Arrival of Mr. Flad from England--Delivers a Letter and Message
from the Queen--The Episode of the Telescope--Our Property taken
care of--Theodore will not yield except to Force--He recruits his
Army--Ras Adilou and Zallallou desert him--He is repulsed at Belessa
by Lij Abitou and the Peasants--The Expedition against Metraha--His
Cruelties there--The great "Sebastopol" is cast--Famine and Pestilence
compel the Emperor to raise his Camp--The difficulties of his March
to Magdala--His arrival in Dalanta
CHAPTER XVIII.
Theodore in the Vicinity of Magdala--Our feelings at the Time--An
Amnesty granted to Dalanta--The Garrison of Magdala join the
Emperor--Mrs. Rosenthal and other Europeans are sent to the
Fortress--Theodore's Conversation with Flad and Waldmeier on the
Coming of the Troops--Sir Robert Napier's Letter to Theodore reaches
us--Theodore plunders Dalanta--He abuses Mr. Waldmeier--Reaches the
Bechelo--Correspondence between Mr. Rassam and Theodore--Mr. Rassam
is released from his Fetters--Theodore arrives at Islamgee--His
Quarrel with the Priests--His First Visit to the Amba--Trial of the
two Chiefs--He places a new Commandant over the Garrison
CHAPTER XIX.
We are counted by the new Ras, and condemned to Sleep in one
Hut--Theodore's Second Visit to the Amba--He sends for Mr. Rassam,
and gives orders that Prideaux and myself should have our Chains
taken off--The Operation described--Our Reception by the Emperor--We
are sent for to see "Sebastopol" landed on Islamgee--Conversation
with his Majesty--The remaining Prisoners are freed from their
Fetters--Theodore is unable to plunder his own Property
CHAPTER XX.
All the Prisoners leave the Amba for Islamgee--Our Reception by
Theodore--He harangues his Troops, and releases some of the
Prisoners--He informs us of the Advance of the English--The
Massacre--We are sent back to Magdala--Effects of the Battle of
Fahla--Messrs. Prideaux and Flad sent to Negotiate--Release of the
Captives, and their narrow Escape--Their Arrival in the British
Camp
* * * * *
CONCLUSION
* * * * *
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PASS OF LOOKUM (Frontispiece).
FORT, MISSION HOUSE, AND TOWN OF MASSOWAH
GROVE HOUSE AT MONCULLOU
VILLAGE OF DANKORA IN ATCHEFUR
CHURCH OF KEDUS GEORGIS AND VILLAGE OF NEFASA, AGAU MEDAR
VILLAGE OF KANOA IN WANDIGÉ
VIEW FROM WANDIGÉ OF LAKE TANA
SUMMIT OF ZER AMBA, A FORTRESS NEAR TSCHELGA
* * * * *
_The Fetters on the Cover of this Volume represent the Leg-chains
worn by Dr. Blanc. Their weight is about seven pounds._
PREFACE.
* * * * *
With a view of gratifying the natural curiosity evinced by a large
circle of friends and acquaintance to obtain accurate information
as to the cause of our captivity, the manner in which we were
treated, the details of our daily life, and the character and habits
of Theodore, I undertook the task of writing this account of our
captivity in Abyssinia.
I have endeavoured to give a correct sketch of the career of Theodore,
and a description of his country and people, more especially of his
friends and enemies.
In order to make the reader familiar with the subject, it was also
necessary to say a few words about the Europeans who played a part
in that strange imbroglio--the Abyssinian difficulty. My knowledge
of them, and of the events that occurred during our captivity, was
acquired through personal experience, and also by intercourse with
well-informed natives, during long months of enforced idleness.
In preparing this work for the press, I found it necessary to the
completeness of the narrative, to incorporate some portions of my
Report to the Government of Bombay on Mr. Rassam's mission, which
appeared in an Indian newspaper, and was subsequently republished
in a small volume.
For the same reason I have also included a few articles contributed
by me to a London newspaper.
The sufferings of the Abyssinian captives will be ever associated,
in the annals of British valour, with the triumphant success of the
expedition, so skilfully organized by its commander, whose title,
Lord Napier of Magdala, commemorates the crowning achievement of a
glorious career.
_London, July 23, 1868._
A NARRATIVE OF CAPTIVITY IN ABYSSINIA.
CHAPTER I.
The Emperor Theodore--His Rise and Conquests--His Army and
Administration--Causes of his Fall--His Personal Appearance
and Character--His Household and Private Life.
Lij Kassa, better known as the Emperor Theodore, was born in Kouara
about the year 1818. His father was a noble of Abyssinia, and his
uncle, the celebrated Dejatch Comfou, had for many years governed
the provinces of Dembea, Kouara, Tschelga, &c. On the death of his
uncle he was appointed by Ras Ali's mother, Waizero Menen, governor
of Kouara; but, dissatisfied with that post, which left but little
scope for his ambition, he threw off his allegiance, and occupied
Dembea as a rebel. Several generals were sent to chastise the young
soldier; but he either eluded their pursuit or defeated their forces.
However, on the solemn promise that he would, be well received, he
repaired to the camp of Ras Ali. This kind-hearted but weak ruler
thought to attach to his cause the brave chieftain, and to accomplish
that object gave him his daughter Tawavitch (she is beautiful). Lij
Kassa returned to Kouara, and for a time remained faithful to his
sovereign. He made several plundering expeditions in the low lands,
carried fire and sword into the Arab huts, and always returned from
these excursions bringing with him hordes of cattle, prisoners, and
slaves.
The successes of Kassa, the courage he manifested on all occasions,
the abstemious life he led, and the favour he showed to all who
served his cause, soon collected around him a band of hardy and
reckless followers. Being ambitious, he now formed the project of
carving out an empire for himself in the fertile plains he had so
often devastated. Educated in a convent, he had not only studied
theological subjects, but made himself conversant with the mystic
Abyssinian history. His early education always exercised great
influence on his after-life, giving to his intercourse with others
a religious character, and impressed vividly upon his mind the idea
that the Mussulman race having for centuries encroached on the
Christian land, it should be the aim of his life to re-establish
the old Ethiopian empire. Urged on, therefore, both by ambition and
fanaticism, he advanced in the direction of Kedaref at the head of
16,000 warriors; but he had soon to learn the immense superiority
of a small number of well-armed and well-trained troops over large
but undisciplined bodies of men. Near Kedaref he came in sight of
his mortal foes the Turks, a mere handful of irregulars; yet they
were too much for him: for the first time, defeated and disheartened,
he had, for a while, to abandon his long-cherished scheme.
Instead of returning to the seat of his government, he was obliged,
on account of a severe wound received during the fight, to halt on
the frontier of Dembea. From his camp he informed his mother-in-law
of his condition, and requested that she would send him a cow--the
fee required by the Abyssinian doctor. Waizero Menen, who had
always hated Kassa, now took advantage of his fallen condition to
humble his pride still more; she sent him, instead of the cow, a
small piece of meat with an insulting message. Near the couch of
the wounded chieftain sat the brave companion who had shared his
fortunes, the wife whom he loved. On hearing the sneering message
of the Queen, her fiery Galla blood flamed with indignation. She
rose and told Kassa that she loved the brave but abhorred the coward;
and she could not remain any longer by his side if, after such an
insult, he did not revenge it in blood. Her passionate words fell
upon willing ears; vengeance filled the heart of Kassa, and as soon
as he had sufficiently recovered he returned to Kouara and openly
proclaimed his independence.
For the second time Ras Ali called him to his court; but the summons
met with a stern refusal. Several generals were sent to enforce
the command, but the young soldier easily routed these courtiers;
whilst their followers, charmed with Kassa's insinuating manners
and dazzled by his splendid promises, almost to a man enrolled
themselves under his standard. His wife again exerted her influence,
showing him how easily he might secure for himself the supreme
power, and, as he hesitated, again threatened to leave him. Kassa
resisted no longer; he advanced into Godjam, and carried all before
him. The battle of Djisella, fought in 1853, decided the fate of
Ras Ali. His army had been but for a short time engaged when,
panic-stricken, the Ras left the field with a body of 500 horse,
leaving the rest of his large host to swell the ranks of the
conqueror. Victory followed victory, and after a few years, from
Shoa to Metemma, from Godjam to Bogos, all feared and obeyed the
commands of the Emperor Theodore; for under that name he desired
to be crowned, after he had by the battle of Deraskié, fought in
February, 1855, subdued Tigré, and conquered his most formidable
opponent, Dejatch Oubié.
Shortly after the battle of Deraskié, Theodore turned his victorious
arms against the Wallo Gallas, possessed himself of Magdala, and
ravaged and destroyed so completely the rich Galla plain that many
of the chiefs joined his ranks, and fought against their own
countrymen. He had now not only avenged the long-oppressed Christians,
so often victims of the Galla inroads, but curbed for a long time
the haughty spirit of these clans. At the height of success, he
lost his brave and loving wife. He felt the cruel blow deeply. She
had been his faithful counsellor, the companion of his adventures,
the being he most loved; and he cherished her memory while he lived.
In 1866, when one of his artisans almost forced himself into his
presence to request permission for me to remain a few days near the
man's dying wife, Theodore bent his head, and wept at the remembrance
of his own wife whom he had so deeply loved.
The career of Theodore may be divided into three very distinct
periods:--First, from his early days to the death of his first wife;
secondly, from the fall of Ras Ali to the death of Mr. Bell; thirdly,
from this last event to his own death. The first period we have
described: it was the period of promise. During the second--which
extends from 1853 to 1860--there is still much to praise in the
conduct of the Emperor, although many of his actions are unworthy
of his early career. From 1860 to 1868 he seems little by little
to have thrown off all restraint, until he became remarkable for
reckless and wanton cruelty. His principal wars during the second
period were with Dejatch Goscho Beru, governor of Godjam; with
Dejatch Oubié, whom he conquered, as we have already stated, at the
battle of Deraskié, and with the Wallo Gallas. He could, however,
still be merciful, and though he imprisoned many of the feudal
chiefs, he promised to release them as soon as the pacification of
his empire should be complete.
In 1860 he advanced against his cousin Garad, the murderer of Consul
Plowden, and gained the day; but he lost his best friend and adviser,
Mr. Bell, who saved the Emperor's life by sacrificing his own. In
January, 1861, Theodore marched with an overwhelming force against
a powerful rebel, Agau Negoussi, who had made himself master of all
northern Abyssinia; by cunning and skilful tactics, he easily
overthrew his adversary but tarnished his victory by horrid cruelties
and gross breach of faith. Agau Negoussi's hands and feet were cut
off, and though he lingered for days, the merciless emperor refused
him even a drop of water to moisten his fevered lips. His cruel
vengeance did not stop there. Many of the compromised chiefs, who
had surrendered on his solemn pledge of amnesty, were either handed
over to the executioner or sent to linger for life, loaded with
fetters, in some of the prison ambas. For the next three years
Theodore's rule was acknowledged throughout the land. A few petty
rebels had risen here and there, but with the exception of Tadla
Gwalu, who could not be driven from the fastness of his amba in the
south of Godjam, all the others were but of little importance, and
did not disturb the tranquillity of his reign.
But though a conqueror, and endowed with military genius, Theodore
was a bad administrator. To attach his soldiery to his cause, he
lavished upon them immense sums of money; he was therefore forced
to exact exorbitant tributes, almost to drain the land of its last
dollar, in order to satisfy his rapacious followers. Finding himself
at the head of a powerful host, and feeling either reluctant or
afraid to dismiss them to their homes, he longed for foreign
conquests; the dream of his younger days became a fixed idea, and
he believed himself called upon by God to re-establish in its former
greatness the old Ethiopian empire.
He could not, however, forget that he was unable to cope single-handed
with the well-armed and disciplined troops of his foes; he remembered
too well his signal failure at Kedaref, and therefore sought to
gain his long-desired object by diplomacy. He had heard from Bell,
Plowden, and others, that England and France were proud of the
protection they afforded to Christians in all parts of the world;
he therefore wrote to the sovereigns of those two countries, inviting
them to join him in his crusade against the Mussulman race. A few
passages selected from his letter to our Queen will prove the
correctness of this assertion. "By his power (of God) I drove away
the Gallas. But for the Turks, I have told them to leave the land
of my ancestors. They refuse!" He mentions the death of Plowden
and Bell, and then adds:--"I have exterminated those enemies (those
who killed Bell and Plowden), that I may get, by the power of God,
_your friendship_." He concludes by saying, "_See how the Islam
oppress the Christian!_"
Theodore's army at this time consisted of some 100,000 or 150,000
fighting men; and if we take as the average four followers for every
soldier, his camp must have numbered between 500,000 and 600,000
souls. Admitting, also, the population of Abyssinia to be nearly
3,000,000, about one fourth of the number had to be paid, fed, and
clothed by the contributions of the remainder.
During a few years, such was Theodore's prestige that this terrible
oppression was quietly accepted; at last, however, the peasants,
half-starved and almost naked, finding that with all their sacrifices
and privations they were still far from satisfying the daily
increasing demands of their terrible master, abandoned the fertile
plains, and under the guidance of some of the remaining hereditary
chiefs, retired to high plateaus, or concealed themselves in secluded
valleys. In Godjam, Walkait, Shoa, and Tigré, the rebellion broke
out almost simultaneously. Theodore had for a while to abandon his
ideas of foreign conquest, and did his utmost to crush the mutinous
spirit of his people. Whole rebel districts were laid waste; but
the peasants, protected by their strongholds, could not be reached:
they quietly awaited the departure of the invader and then returned
to their desolated homes, cultivating just enough for their
maintenance; thus, with only a few exceptions, the peasants evaded
the terrible vengeance of the now infuriate Emperor. His immense
army soon suffered severely from this mode of warfare. Each year
the provinces which the soldiers could plunder became fewer; severe
famines broke out; large districts such as Dembea, the granary of
Gondar and of central Abyssinia, lay waste and uncultivated. The
soldiers, formerly pampered, now in their turn half starved and
badly clad, lost confidence in their leader; desertions were numerous;
and many returned to their native provinces, and joined the ranks
of the discontented.
The fall of Theodore was even more rapid than his rise. He was still
unconquered in the battlefield, as, after the example of Negoussi's
fate, none dared to oppose him; but against the passive warfare of
the peasantry and the Fabian-like policy of their chiefs he could
do nothing. Never resting, almost always on the march, his army day
by day becoming reduced in strength, he went from province to
province; but in vain: all disappeared at his approach. There was
no enemy; but there was no food! At last, reduced by necessity, in
order to keep around him some remnants of his former immense army,
he had no alternative left but to plunder the few provinces still
faithful to him.
When I first met Theodore, in January, 1866, he must have been about
forty-eight years of age. His complexion was darker than that of
the majority of his countrymen, the nose slightly curved, the mouth
large, the lips so small as hardly to be perceived. Of middle size,
well knit, wiry rather than muscular, he excelled as a horseman,
in the use of the spear, and on foot would tire his hardiest
followers. The expression of his dark eyes, slightly depressed, was
strange; if he was in good humour they were soft, with a kind of
gazelle-like timidity about them that made one love him; but when
angry the fierce and bloodshot eye seemed to shed fire. In moments
of violent passion his whole aspect was frightful: his black visage
acquired an ashy hue, his thin compressed lips left but a whitish
margin around the mouth, his very hair stood erect, and his whole
deportment was a terrible illustration of savage and ungovernable
fury.
Yet he excelled in the art of duping his fellow-men. Even a few
days before his death he had still, when we met him, all the dignity
of a sovereign, the amiability and good-breeding of the most
accomplished "gentleman." His smile was so attractive, his words
were so sweet and gracious, that one could hardly believe that the
affable monarch was but a consummate dissembler.
He never perpetrated a deed of treachery or cruelty without pleading
some specious excuse, so as to convey the impression that in all
his actions he was guided by a sense of justice. For example, he
plundered Dembea because the inhabitants were too friendly towards
Europeans, and Gondar because one of our messengers had been betrayed
by the inhabitants of that city. He destroyed Zagé, a large and
populous city, because he pretended that a priest had been rude to
him. He cast into chains his adopted father, Cantiba Hailo, because
he had taken into his service a female servant he had dismissed.
Tesemma Engeddah, the hereditary chief of Gahinte, fell under his
displeasure because after a battle against the rebels he had shown
himself "too severe," and our first head-jailor was taken to the
camp and put in chains because he had "formerly been a friend" of
the King of Shoa. I could adduce hundreds of instances to illustrate
his habitual hypocrisy. In our case, he arrested us because we had
not brought the former captives with us; Mr. Stern he nearly killed,
merely for putting his hand to his face, and he imprisoned Consul
Cameron for going to the Turks instead of bringing him back an
answer to his letter.
Theodore had all the dislike of the roving Bedouin for towns and
cities. He loved camp life, the free breeze of the plains, the sight
of his army gracefully encamped around the hillock he had selected
for himself; and he preferred to the palace the Portuguese had
erected at Gondar for a more sedentary king, the delights of roaming
about incognito during the beautiful cool nights of Abyssinia. His
household was well-regulated; the same spirit of order which had
introduced something like discipline into his army, showed itself
also in the arrangements of his domestic affairs. Every department
was under the control of a chief, who was directly responsible to
the Emperor, and answerable for everything connected with the
department entrusted to him. These officers, all men of position,
were the superintendents of the tej makers, of the women who prepared
the large flat Abyssinian bread, of the wood-carriers, of the water
girls, &c.; others, like the "Balderas," had charge of the Royal
stud, the "Azage" of the domestic servants, the "Bedjerand" of the
treasury, stores, &c.; there were also the Agafaris or introducers,
the Likamaquas or chamberlain, the Afa Negus or mouth of the King.
Strange to say, Theodore preferred as his personal attendants those
who had served Europeans. His valet, the only one who stood by him
to the last, had been a servant of Barroni, the vice-consul at
Massowah. Another, a young man named Paul, was a former servant of
Mr. Walker; others had at one time been in the service of Plowden,
Bell, and Cameron. Excepting his valet, who was almost constantly
near his person, the others, although they resided in the same
inclosure, had more especially to take care of his guns, swords,
spears, shields, &c. He had also around him a great number of
pages; not that I believe he required their presence, but it was
an "honour" he bestowed on chiefs entrusted with distant commands
or with the government of remote provinces. Almost all the duties
of the household were performed by women; they baked, they carried
water and wood, and swept his tent or hut, as the case might be.
The majority of them were slaves whom he had seized from slave-dealers
at the time he made "manly" efforts to put a stop to the trade.
Once a week, or more often as the case required, a colonel and his
regiment had the honour of proceeding to the nearest stream, to
wash the Emperor's linen and that of the Imperial household. No
one, not even the smallest page, could, under the penalty of death,
enter his harem. He had a large number of eunuchs, most of them
Gallas, or soldiers and chiefs who had recovered from the mutilation
the Gallas inflict on their wounded foe. The queen or the favourite
of the day had a tent or house to herself, and several eunuchs to
attend upon her; at night these attendants slept at the door of her
tent, and were made responsible for the virtue of the lady entrusted
to their care. As for the ordinary women, the objects of passing
affections or of stronger passions that time had quenched, a tent
or hut in common for ten or twenty, one or two eunuchs and a few
female slaves for the whole, was all the state he allowed these
neglected ladies.
Theodore was more bigoted than religious. Above all things he was
superstitious; and that to a degree incredible in a man in other
respects so superior to his countrymen. He had always with him
several astrologers, whom he consulted on all important occasions
--especially before undertaking any expedition,--and whose
influence over him was unbounded. He hated the priests, despised
them for their ignorance, spurned their doctrines, and laughed at
the marvellous stories some of their books contain; but still he
never marched without a tent church, a host of priests, defteras,
and deacons, and never passed near a church without kissing its
threshold.
Though he could read and write, he never condescended to correspond
personally with any one, but was always accompanied by several
secretaries, to whom he would dictate his letters; and so wonderful
was his memory that he could indite an answer to letters received
months, nay years, before, or dilate on subjects and events that
had occurred at a far remote period. Suppose him on the march. On
a distant hillock arose a small red flannel tent--it is there where
Theodore fixed his temporary abode and that of his household. To
his right is the church tent; next to his own the queen's or that
of the favourite of the day. Then came the one allotted to his
former lady friends, who travelled with him until a favourable
opportunity presented itself of sending them to Magdala, where
several hundreds were dwelling in seclusion, spinning cotton for
their master's shamas and for their own clothes. Behind were several
tents for his secretaries, his pages, his personal attendants, and
one for the few stores he carried with him. When he made any
lengthened stay at a place he had huts erected by his soldiers for
himself and people, and the whole was surrounded by a double line
of fences. Though not wanting in bravery, he never left anything
to chance. At night the hillock on which he dwelt was completely
surrounded by musketeers, and he never slept without having his
pistols under his pillow, and several loaded guns by his side. He
had a great fear of poison, taking no food that had not been prepared
by the queen or her "remplacante;" and even then she and several
attendants had to taste it first. It was the same with his drink:
be it water, tej, or arrack, the cup-bearer and several of those
present at the time had first to drink before presenting the cup
to his Majesty. He made, however, an exception in our favour one
day that he visited Mr. Rassam at Gaffat. To show how much he
respected and trusted the English, he accepted some brandy, and
allowing no one to taste it before him, he unhesitatingly swallowed
the whole draught.
He was a very jealous husband. Not only did he take the precautions
I have already mentioned, but (except in the last months of his
life, when it was beyond possibility for him to do otherwise) he
never allowed the queen or any other lady in his establishment to
travel with the camp. They always marched at night, well concealed,
with a strong guard of eunuchs; and woe to him who met them on the
road, and did not turn his back on them until they had passed! On
one occasion a soldier who was on guard crept near the queen's tent,
and, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, whispered to
one of the female attendants to pass him a glass of tej under the
tent. She gave him one. Unfortunately, he was seen by a eunuch, who
seized him, and at once brought him before his Majesty. After hearing
the case, Theodore, who happened to be in good spirits that evening,
asked the culprit if he was very fond of tej; the trembling wretch
replied in the affirmative. "Well, give him two wanchas [Footnote:
A wancha is a large horn cup.] full to make him happy, and afterwards
fifty lashes with the girf [Footnote: A long hippopotamus whip.]
to teach him another time not to go near the queen's tent." Evidently,
Theodore, with a large experience of the _beau sexe_ of his
country, was profoundly convinced that his precautions were necessary.
On one of his visits to Magdala, one of the chiefs of that amba
made a complaint to him against one of the officers of the Imperial
household, whom he had caught some time before in his lady's
apartment.
Theodore laughed, and said to him, "You are a fool. Do I not look
after my wife? and I am a king."
Theodore was always an early riser; indeed, he indulged in sleep
but very little. Sometimes at two o'clock, at the latest before
four, he would issue from his tent and give judgment on any case
brought before him. Of late his temper was such that litigants kept
out of his way; he nevertheless retained his former habits, and
might be seen, long before daybreak, sitting solitary on a stone,
in deep meditation or in silent prayer. He was also very abstemious
in his food, and never indulged in excesses of the table. He rarely
partook of more than one meal a day; which was composed of injera
[Footnote: The pancake loaves made of the small seed of the teff.]
and red pepper, during fast days; of wât, a kind of curry made of
fish, fowl, or mutton, on ordinary occasions. On feast days he
generally gave large dinners to his officers, and sometimes to the
whole army. At these festivals the "brindo" [Footnote: Raw beef]
would be equally enjoyed by the sovereign and by the guests. At
these public breakfasts and dinners the King usually sat on a raised
platform at the head of the table. No one has ever been known,
except perhaps Bell, to have dined out of the same basket at the
same time as Theodore; but when he desired specially to honour some
of his guests, he either sent them some food from his basket, or
had others placed on the platform near him, or, what was a still
higher honour, sent to the favoured one his own basket with the
remains of his dinner.
Unfortunately Theodore had for several years before his death greatly
taken to drink. Up to three or four o'clock he was generally sober
and attended to the business of the day; but after his siesta he
was invariably more or less intoxicated. In his dress he was generally
very simple, wearing only the ordinary shama, [Footnote: A white
cotton cloth, with a red border, woven in the country.] native-made
trousers, and a European white shirt; no shoes, no covering to the
head. His rather long hair--for an Abyssinian--was divided in three
large plaits, and allowed to fall on his neck in three plaited
tails. Of late he had greatly neglected his hair; for months it had
not been plaited; and to show the grief he felt on account of the
"badness" of his people, he would not allow it to be besmeared with
the heavy coating of butter in which Abyssinians delight. On one
occasion he apologized to us for the simplicity of his dress. He
told us that, during the few years of peace that followed the
conquest of the country, he used often to appear in public as a
king should do; but since he had been by the bad disposition of his
people obliged to wage constant war against them, he had adopted
the soldier's raiments, as more becoming his altered fortune.
However, after his fall became imminent, he on several occasions
clad himself in gorgeous costumes, in shirts and mantles of rich
brocaded silks, or of gold-embroidered velvet. He did so, I believe,
to influence his people. They knew that he was poor, and though he
hated pomp in his own attire, he desired to impress on his few
remaining followers that though fallen he was still "the King."
During the lifetime of his first wife and for some years afterwards,
Theodore not only led an exemplary life, but forbade the officers
of his household and the chiefs more immediately around him to live
in concubinage. One day in the beginning of 1860 Theodore perceived
in a church a handsome young girl silently praying to her patron,
the Virgin Mary. Struck with her beauty and modesty, he made
inquiries about her, and was informed that she was the only daughter
of Dejatch Oubié, the Prince of Tigré, his former rival, whom he had
dethroned, and who was then his prisoner. He asked for her hand,
and met with a polite refusal. The young girl desired to retire
into a convent, and devote herself to the service of God. Theodore
was not a man to be easily thwarted in his desires. He proposed to
Oubié that he would set him at liberty, only retaining him in his
camp as his "guest," should the Prince prevail on his daughter to
accept his hand. At last Waizero Terunish ("thou art pure") sacrificed
herself for her old father's welfare, and accepted the hand of a
man whom she could not love. This union was unfortunate. Theodore,
to his great disappointment, did not find in his second wife the
fervent affection, the almost blind devotion, of the dead companion
of his youth. Waizero Terunish was proud; she always looked on her
husband as a "parvenu," and took no pains to hide from him her want
of respect and affection. In the afternoon, Theodore, as it had
been his former habit, tired and weary, would retire for rest in
the queen's tent; but he found no cordial welcome there. His wife's
looks were cold and full of pride; and she even went so far as to
receive him without the common courtesy due to her king. One day
when he came in she pretended not to perceive him, did not rise,
and remained silent when he inquired as to her health and welfare;
she held in her hand a book of psalms, and when Theodore asked her
why she did not answer him, she calmly replied, without lifting up
her eyes from the book, "Because I am conversing with a greater and
better man than you--the pious King David."
Theodore sent her to Magdala, together with her new-born son,
Alamayou ("I have seen the world"), and took as his favourite a
widowed lady from Yedjow, named Waizero Tamagno, a rather coarse,
lascivious-looking person, the mother of five children by her former
husband; she soon obtained such an ascendancy over his mind that
he publicly proclaimed "that he had divorced and discarded Terunish,
and that Tamagno should in future be considered by all as the queen."
Soon Waizero Tamagno had numerous rivals; but she was a woman of
tact; and far from complaining, she rather encouraged Theodore in
his debauchery, and always received him with a smile. One day she
said to her fickle lord, who felt rather astonished at her forbearance,
"Why should I be jealous? I know you love but me; what is it if you
stoop now and then to pick up some flowers, to beautify them by
your breath?"
Although Theodore had several children, Alamayou is the only
legitimate one. The eldest, a lad of about twenty-two, called Prince
Meshisha, is a big, idle, lazy fellow. Though at Zagé, Theodore
introduced him to us, and desired us to make him a friend with the
English, he did not love him: the young man was, indeed, so unlike
the Emperor that I can well understand Theodore having had serious
doubts of his being really his son. The other children, five or six
in number, the illegitimate offspring of some of his numerous
concubines, resided at Magdala, and were brought up in the harem.
He seems to have taken but very little notice of them: but every
time he passed through Magdala he would send for Alamayou, and play
with the boy for hours. A few days before his death he introduced
him to Mr. Rassam, saying, "Alamayou, why do you not bow to your
father?" and after the audience he sent him to accompany us back
to our quarters.
Waizero Terunish, Almayou's mother, never made any complaint; though
forsaken by her husband, she remained always faithful to him. She
spent usually the long days of her seclusion reading the books she
delighted in--the psalms, the lives of the saints and of the Virgin
Mary--and bringing up by her side her only son, for whom she had a
deep affection. Although she had never loved her husband, in difficult
times she bravely stood by his side. When Menilek, the King of Shoa,
made his demonstration before the amba, and treachery was feared,
she sent out her son and made all the chiefs and soldiers swear
fidelity to the throne. Two days before his death, Theodore sent
for the wife he had not seen for years, and spent part of the
afternoon with her and his son.
After the storming of Magdala, Waizero Terunish and her rival,
Waizero Tamagno, were told to come to our former prison, where they
would meet with protection and sympathy. It fell to my lot to receive
them on their arrival; and I did my utmost to inspire them with
confidence, to assuage their fears, and to assure them that under
the British flag they would be treated with scrupulous honour and
respect.
It was on the 13th of April, 1866, that Theodore, still powerful,
had treacherously seized us in his own house; and strange to say,
on the 13th of April, two years afterwards, his dead body lay in
one of our huts, while his wife and favourite had to seek shelter
under the roof of those whom he had so long maltreated.
Both his queens and Alamayou accompanied the English army on its
march back, Waizero Tamagno left, with feelings of gratitude for
the kindness and attention she had received at the hands of the
English commander-in-chief, as soon as she could with safety return
to her native land, Yedjow; but poor Terunish died at Aikullet. Her
child, Alamayou, the son of Theodore, and grandchild of Oubié, has
now reached the English shore, an orphan, an exile, but well cared
for.