=Source.=--_The Times_, July 9, 1867.
LETTER RECEIVED BY MRS. STERN FROM HER HUSBAND, ONE OF THE CAPTIVES IN
ABYSSINIA.
MAGDALA,
_May 1, 1867_.
Another month has passed since I wrote to you, a month like all the
rest in this miserable prison life, full of anxious care and wearisome
inactivity. Sometimes I squat down and try to beguile the tedious
hours by writing sketches of sermons, and by diffusing on closely
written pages the varied incidents of our painful captivity.... In our
immediate neighbourhood matters have not mended much since my last. The
King is still pursuing his work of devastation in the provinces that
are subject to his doubtful sway. The rebels, too, with the disaffected
peasantry for their allies, are doing their utmost to resent the
cruelties of their lately owned ruler and acknowledged chief. The
ruthless ferocity of the King has exhausted the patience of the most
timid and servile, and all appear now to be animated by one deep and
ardent passion--viz., the overthrow of the tyrant. The army he once had
at his behest is scattered in bands of rebels all over the country;
and as he can never recruit again his incredibly diminished hordes,
he will be forced to make this Amba his last asylum and tomb, or,
followed by a few faithful adherents and the most valuable captives,
seek a home in the marshy jungles and entangled feverish villages of
the lowlands. Whatever the issue of the contest may be, our prospects,
humanly speaking, are anything but bright. We have friends near and
around us, but in this land cupidity and avarice dissolve every bond,
even the most tender and sacred; and after all that has transpired,
the pettiest and most contemptible chieftain, if he gets us into his
power, may think that by retaining in his clutches a few defenceless
Europeans he will make his fortune.... About a fortnight ago all the
European employés, with the exception of two old men, were, together
with their wives and children and their property, with Mrs. Rosenthal
and Mrs. Flad, seized. The motives which prompted His Majesty to adopt
such measures of severity towards individuals who have always been most
subservient and obsequious to his whims is still a mystery. The King
brought various trumpery charges against them, which they repelled
with energy. Their property has been partially restored to them, but
they are confined in Debra Tabir, where they are guarded, but not
chained. It is said that the report of Mr. Flad’s returning without the
artisans, etc., furnished the ostensible cause for their imprisonment.
This outburst of unprovoked resentment augurs nothing auspicious for
us, and probably our position, as the majority of us expected, will
not be enhanced by Mr. Flad’s return. Negotiations and delays might
have averted the storm, but now as it seems looming nearer and nearer,
we say, “Thy will be done.” You and all interested in our liberation,
notwithstanding all that has been written from hence, must have been
grievously deceived about the character of the King. Presents with
another man might have effected our deliverance, but King Theodorus,
though not loath to accept the one, wants the hostages as well--a
security, as he imagines, for ever-increasing concessions.
_May 2._
I just add a line to my letter of yesterday, as it is doubtful whether
the opportunity for writing will not before many days have elapsed
become exceedingly difficult, if not utterly impossible. The return of
Mr. Flad, the disappointment of the King in not obtaining the requested
accession to his white victims, and the consciousness that neither
intrigue nor cunning will avail him to extort fresh concessions from
the British Government, or the generosity of the British Christians,
all, I believe, combine to bring before long our melancholy and doleful
history to a crisis. Every day, nay, every hour, we expect to be
transferred to the common prison, and to get hand-chains again. Only
a week ago upwards of 200 prisoners, among whom are many persons of
high rank, were ordered to be executed. This indiscriminate massacre,
which has probably been prompted by the want of guards to protect them,
indicates no improvement in the tyrant’s temper. We fear that wilful,
wicked misrepresentations, and cruel, unpardonable selfishness united
in concealing the true state of our position and the well-known designs
of the King....