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high posts of Ras and Betwudet of the empire, which last office appears to be somewhat analogous to that which Pharaoh conferred upon Joseph, when he set him over his house."

These respective monarchs, however, not being long able to retain the sovereignty (as I have related more particularly in my former journal), the crown fell, according to the preponderance of the different provinces, into other hands, until it was at length agreed by Ras Welled Selassé and Guxo, Governor of Gojam, (who succeeded to the power of Fasil) that Ayto Egwala Sion, son of Ischias, should be placed on the throne. Some religious disputes having subsequently arisen between these powerful chieftains, it had occasioned a rupture, which, since my return, has again thrown the country into a civil war; the Emperor, in the mean time, remaining neglected at Gondar, with a very small retinue of servants, and an income by no means adequate to the support of his dignity; so that, as he possesses neither wealth, power, nor influence in the state, royalty may be considered, for a time, almost eclipsed in the country.

The duties of the Ras's situation, who may be regarded as an independent ruler, are extremely arduous, some notion of which may be formed by a reference to the map, where the extent of the country under what may be called "his personal jurisdiction," is marked out. Throughout this extensive district, all crimes, differences and disputes, of however important or trifling a nature, are ultimately referred to his determi

nation, all rights of inheritage are decided according to his will, and most wars are carried on by himself in person. To rule a savage people of so many different dispositions, manuers, and usages as the Abyssinians, requires a firmness of mind, and a vigour of constitution, rarely united in the same individual at his advanced age; yet, whenever I have seen him in the exercise of his power, he has shewn a vivacity of expression, a quickness of comprehension, and a sort of commanding energy, that over-awed all who approached him. During his continuance in power, he has made it his uniform practice to treat the different attempts at rebellion with perfect indifference; so that when those concerned in such conspiracies have, in their own imagination, brought affairs to a crisis, he has constantly expressed contempt, rather than alarm at their machinations.

After a second attempt against his life by the same persons, he has been repeatedly known to pardon, and even to permit the parties convicted to attend about his court, priding himself particularly on having never been guilty of the cruelties of Ras Michael, and being led with reluctance to the condemnation of a common culprit; while no possible provocation can induce him "to cut off a limb, put out the eyes," or commit any other of the atrocious acts which stained the character of that extraordinary leader. His common mode of punishing those who conspire against him, is, by taking away their districts; for, as I have heard him often declare,

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are only saucy when their stomachs are full;" a saying peculiarly applicable to the Abyssinians, who, when ruled with a hand of power, make admirable subjects; but when left to their own wills, become intolerably presumptuous and overbearing.

During the three weeks that we stayed at Chelicut, I generally spent a great part of each day with the Ras, being allowed free access to his presence, through a private door communicating between the gardens of our respective habitations. On these occasions, I generally found him engaged in the administration of justice, or in receiving chieftains and ladies of consequence, who came from distant parts of the country to pay their duty; and when otherwise unemployed, invariably occupied in playing at chess, a game to which he appeared greatly devoted. I understood, indeed, that no surer method could be practised for attaining his favour, than that of acquiring a knowledge of this game, and when playing with him, ingeniously to contrive that he should never be the loser. Ayto Debib, who stood high in his favour, was particularly well skilled in this game. In addition, he had acquired, by playing with Mr. Pearce, a perfect knowledge of the game of drafts.

ABYSSINIAN ACTING.

(From the same.)

As I am now upon the holiday sports of the Abyssinians, it may not be amiss to give some account

of this man. Totte Máze, for such was his name, was one of the cleverest mimicks I have ever seen, the command which he possessed over his features almost equalling that which was displayed on the boards of our own theatres by Suet; an actor to whom he bore considerable resemblance. One of his chief acquirements consisted in the singular art of making other people (particularly strangers, who had not been apprized of his intention) imitate the contortions of his own features, a power which I repeatedly saw him exercise with success, and which, on one occasion, drew me into the same kind of ridiculous situation, without my being conscious of the changes in my countenance, until I was roused by a friendly hint from the Ras, who let me into the secret of what he was about. He afterwards performed, at the Ras's request, some finished pieces of acting that evinced very extraordinary native talent.

One of these consisted in the imitation of the behaviour of a chief in battle, who had not been remarkable for his courage. At first he came in very pompously; calling out in an overbearing manner to his soldiers, and vaunting what he would do when the enemy approached. He then mi

micked the sound of horns heard from a distance, and the low beating of a drum. At hearing this, he represented the chief, as beginning to be a little cautious, and to ask questions of those around him, whether they thought the enemy were strong. This alarm he continued to heighten in proportion as the enemy ad

vanced,

vanced, until at last he depicted the hero as nearly overcome by his fears; the musquet trembling in his hand, his heart panting, and his eyes completely fixed, while, without being conscious of it, his legs began to make a very prudent retreat. This part of his acting excited among the spectators its due share of contempt, when, dexterously laying hold of the circumstance, he affected to be ashamed of his cowardice, mustered up his whole stock of courage, and advanced, firing his matchlock at the same moment in a direction exactly contrary to that in which the enemy was supposed to stand, when, apparently frightened at the noise of his own gun, he sank down on his knees and begged for mercy: during this time the expression of his face was inimitable, and, at the conclusion, the whole of the spectators burst into a shout of admiration.

In another representation, he imitated the overstrained politeness of an Amharic courtier, paying a first visit to a superior. On coming in, he fell on his face and kissed the ground, paying most abject compliments to the chief, and, on being invited to sit down, placed himself with well-feigned humility close to the threshold of the door shortly afterwards, on the supposition of a question being asked him by the chief, he arose, and still carrying on the farce, prostrated himself the second time, and gave an answer couched in very polite and artful phrascs, advancing cautiously at the same time into the middle of the room. In this manner he con inued to take advantage of the

attentions paid to him, gradually stealing along, till he got close to the side of the chief, when he assumed an extraordinary degree of familiarity, talked loudly, and, to complete the ridiculous effect of the whole scene, affectedly shoved his nose almost in contact with the other's face. This species of satire afforded great delight to the Tigrians; as they pretend on all occasions to despise the submissive and effeminate manners of the people of Amhara, whom they invariably describe, as "possessing smooth tongues and no hearts."

In addition to his other representations, Totte Máze gave a most admirable imitation of the

mincing step and coquettish manners of the women of Amhara, and of their extreme affectation in answering a few of the most common questions. In all these representations, the tones of his voice were so perfectly adapted to the different characters, and his action so thorougly appropriate, that it gave me very unexpected gratification.

The following instance may be related, as a specimen of the wit usually practised by the jesters of this country; who, like the fools of old times, exercise their ingenuity upon persons of every description, without regard to rank or station. He had, one day, so much offended the Ras by some liberties that he had taken with him, that he ordered him never again to set foot upon his carpet, (which, it may be noticed, extends about half way down the room.)

On the following day, however, to the great surprise of the company, the jester made his appearance,

on the appearance, mounted shoulders of one of his attendants, in which ludicrous situation he advanced close up to the Ras, and with a very whimsical expression of features, cried out, "you can't say that I am on your carpet now." The Ras, who, like most of his countrymen, delights in humour, could not refrain from smiling, which insured the jester's forgiveness. Several other anecdotes were related to me, that displayed much originality, but they were of a description that the reader will probably forgive me for omitting.

The chief amusement of the lower class of the community during this season of festivity, consists in playing at a game called 'kersa,' which is precisely similar to the common English game of 'bandy.' Large parties meet for this purpose; the inhabitants of whole villages frequently challenging each other to the contest. On these occasions, as might be expected, the game is violently disputed, and when the combatants are pretty equally matched, it sometimes takes up the greater part of the day to decide. The victors afterwards return shouting and dancing to their homes, amidst the loud acclamations of their female friends. I also occasionally observed, at Antálo, that the vanquished were received with similar honours, and we often heard them challenging their opponents, in a friendly way, to renew the sport, though at other times, the parties, engaged in these contests, fell into a violent rage, both men and women uttering the most terrible menaces, and pouring forth torrents of abuse;

so that, as frequently happens in our own country, that which was begun in jest, ended in blows; but, even in such cases, they are never known to attack each other with any other weapon than the sticks, or bandies, which they employ in the game. In one instance, Mr. Pearce mentioned an incident which occurred in his presence, where one-half of the town of Moculla was so hotly engaged against the other, that at last the combat became very alarming, and the Ras himself was obliged to interfere, but did not succeed in parting them, till several men had been laid dead in the field. The Ras received an accidental blow in the fray, notwithstanding which, he would not, from a feeling of humanity, which is the distinguishing feature of his character, permit Mr. Pearce to use his pistols, which he had drawn out for the occasion.

ABYSSINIAN BAPTISM.

(From the same.)

After leaving the Ras at Antálo, we proceeded towards Chelicut; and, on our arrival at that place, completed the preparations for our On the foljourney to the coast. lowing day I attended the baptism of a Bedowee boy, at that time living as servant with Mr. Pearce, whom we had persuaded to become a convert to the Christian faith, not only with the view of benefiting the poor boy, but also from being desirous, by this last act, of making an impression on the minds of the Abyssinians favourable to the British character.

I had

I had previously, by the distribution of a few presents, gained the sanction of his friends; and the boy himself was delighted with the change, owing to the inconveniences to which he had been subjected from being a Musselmaun. This ceremony took place on the 5th, at day-break; an early hour being considered as requisite, on account of the subsequent celebration of the sacrament of the communion, which can only be administered fasting.

On reaching the church, we found the head priest, Abou Barea, with about twenty priests of an inferior order, waiting in a small area about thirty yards from the spot, some of whom were engaged in chanting psalms, while the rest were busy in preparing the water and making other necessary arrangements for the occasion. At sun-rise, every thing being ready, an attendant was sent round from the high priest, to point out to cach person concerned the part which he was to take in the ceremony. The officiating priest was habited in white flowing robes, with a tiara, or silvermounted cap on his head, and he carried a censer with burning incense in his right hand: a second of equal rank was dressed in similar robes, supporting a large golden cross, while a third held in his hand a small phial containing a quantity of meiron, or consecrated oil, which is furnished to the church of Abyssinia by the Patriarch of Alexandria. The attendant priests stood round in the form of a semicircle, the boy being placed in the centre, and our party ranged in front. After a few minutes interval, employed

in singing psalms, some of the priests took the boy and washed him all over very carefully in a large bason of water. While this was passing a smaller font called me-te-mak (which is always kept

on the outside of the churches,

owing to an unbaptized person not being permitted to enter the church) was placed in the middle of the area filled with water, which the priest consecrated by prayer, waving the incense repeatedly over it, and dropping into it a portion of the meiron in the shape of a cross. The boy was then brought back, dripping from head to foot, and again placed naked and upright in the centre; and was required to renounce "the devil and all his works," which was performed, by his repeating a given formula four separate times, turning each time towards a different point of the compass. The godfather was then demanded, and on my being presented, I named the child George, in honour of his present Majesty, when I was requested to say the Belief and the Lord's Prayer, and to make much the same promises as those required by our own church. The head priest afterwards laid hold of the boy, dipping his own hand into the water, and crossed him over the forehead, pronouncing at the same moment, "George, I baptise thee, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." The whole company then knelt down, and joined in reciting the Lord's Prayer.

Here, as I was given to understand, the ordinary ceremony of baptism concludes; but as the boy had been a Musselmaun, he

was,

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