HISTORY 
 
 M'BIA AND ABY IA.. 
 
 BY REV 
 
 EL R 
 
 i 
 nia 
 
 i 
 
 R, 8 2 CLIFF- ST RE 
 
 "eotype Edit: 
 
 1833
 
 

 
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 ■

 
 J 
 
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 E G$? T 
 
 W'OSIA 
 
 ;^ ST" \ ... ABTSSIB'IA
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA, 
 
 NEW- YORK: 
 
 J. <fc J. HARPER, 82 CLIFF-STREET. 
 
 1833.
 
 Harper's Stereotype Edition. 
 
 NUBIA 
 
 AND 
 
 ABYSSINIA: 
 
 COMPREHKNDISG THEIR 
 
 CIVIL HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, ARTS, RELIGION, LITERA- 
 TURE, AND NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 BY THE REV. MICHAEL RUSSELL, LL.D. 
 
 Author of " View of Ancient and Modern Egypt," 
 " Palestine, or the Holy Land," &c. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP, AND SEVERAL ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. & J. HARPER, 
 
 NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET, 
 
 AND SOLD BY THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 1833.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 There is no country in the world more interest- 
 ing to the antiquary and scholar than that which was 
 known to the ancients as " Ethiopia above Egypt," 
 the Nubia and Abyssinia of the present day. It 
 was universally regarded by the poets and philoso- 
 phers of Greece as the cradle of those arts which 
 at a later period covered the kingdom of the Pha- 
 raohs with so many wonderful monuments, as also 
 of those religious rites which, after being slightly 
 modified by the priests of Thebes, were adopted by 
 the ancestors of Homer and Virgil as the basis of 
 their mythology. A description of this remarkable 
 nation, therefore, became a necessary supplement 
 to the "View of Ancient and Modem Egypt," 
 which has been some time before the public* 
 
 In tracing the connexion of the primitive people 
 who dwelt on the Upper Nile, with the inhabitants of 
 Arabia and of the remoter east, I have availed my- 
 self of the latest information that could be derived 
 from Continental authors, as well as from the vol- 
 umes of such of our own travellers as have ascended 
 above the Second Cataract. The work of Heeren 
 
 * [No. XXIII. of the Family Library.]
 
 8 PREFACE. 
 
 on the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Car- 
 thaginians, Ethiopians, and Egyptians, possesses 
 considerable value, not less on account of the in- 
 genious views which it unfolds, than for the happy 
 application of ancient literature to the illustration 
 and embellishment of the main hypothesis. 
 
 The reader will be surprised at the extent and 
 magnificence of the architectural remains of Nubia, 
 which, in some instances, have been found to rival, 
 and, in others, even to surpass the more celebrated 
 buildings of Egypt. It will no longer be denied by 
 any one who has seen the splendid work of Gau, 
 that the pattern or type of those stupendous erec- 
 tions, which continue to excite the admiration of the 
 tourist at Karnac, Luxor, and Ghizeh, may be de- 
 tected in the numerous monuments still visible be- 
 tween the site of the famed Meroe and the falls of 
 Es Souan. The more learned among professional 
 artists are now nearly unanimous in the opinion that 
 the principles of architecture, as well as of religious 
 belief, have descended from Ethiopia to Egypt ; re- 
 ceiving improvement in their progress downward, 
 till at length their triumph was completed at Dios- 
 polis, in the palace of Osymandias and the temple 
 of Jupiter Amnion. 
 
 The late expedition of Ishmael Pasha into Sen- 
 naar and the other countries bounded by the two 
 great branches of the Nile has added materially to 
 our topographical knowledge of that^portion of Af- 
 rica, — one of the least frequented by Europeans. 
 Cailliaud, English, and Linant have supplied to the 
 geographer some important notices relative to the
 
 PREFACE. 9 
 
 position of certain towns and mountains, of which 
 only the names had formerly been conveyed to our 
 ears. The Publishers have taken the utmost pains 
 to imbody in the map prefixed to this volume the 
 results of the latest discoveries accomplished by 
 British, French, and American travellers, under the 
 protection of the Turkish army. 
 
 But no consideration associated with the history 
 of Ethiopia is more interesting than the fact that the 
 Christian religion, received about fifteen hundred 
 years ago, continues to be professed by the great 
 majority of the people. In regard to the mixture 
 of Jewish rites with the institutions of the gospel, 
 still observable among the Abyssinians, I have sug- 
 gested some reflections which seem calculated to 
 throw a new light on that obscure subject. Of the 
 literature of the same nation, so far as the relics 
 could be collected from their chronicles and books 
 of devotion, a suitable account has been given : 
 connected in some degree with the brighter pros- 
 pects which may yet be entertained by the friends 
 of theological learning as arising from the well- 
 directed efforts of certain benevolent associations in 
 this country. 
 
 For some valuable information, not hitherto pub- 
 lished, I am indebted to William Erskine, Esq., of 
 Blackburn, late of Bombay, who kindly placed in 
 my hands two large manuscript volumes, containing 
 Travels and Letters written in the East. Among 
 these is a number of communications from Mr. Na- 
 thaniel Pearce, during his residence in Abyssinia, 
 addressed to several British residents at Mocha and
 
 10 PREFACE. 
 
 Bombay, and embracing the more prominent events 
 of his history between the years 1810 and 1818. 
 
 In like manner, I have to express my obligations 
 to Captain Armstrong of the Royal Artillery, who, 
 in the course of his travels in Nubia, made draw- 
 ings and measurements Of the principal temples as 
 far south as Wady Haifa. By means of these I 
 have been enabled to ascertain the exact dimensions 
 of several of those structures, the views of which 
 have been given by some recent tourists with more 
 attention to elegance than to professional accuracy 
 in the details. 
 
 In order to render this little volume as complete 
 as possible, the Publishers obtained the assistance 
 of two eminent naturalists, Mr. Wilson and Dr. 
 Greville ; to the former of whom the reader owes 
 the instinctive chapter on Zoology, while to the 
 latter he is under a similar obligation for the Botan- 
 ical outline, in which are ably described the vegeta- 
 ble productions of the Abyssinian provinces. 
 
 To complete the plan entertained with respect to 
 Africa, there remains yet one volume, which will 
 appear in due time, on the History, Antiquities, and 
 Present Condition of the Barbara States. 
 Edinburgh, March, 1833.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Difficulties to be encountered by the Historian of Ethiopia — Record of 
 Monuments; their Uncertainty — Obstacles which opposed the Know- 
 ledge of the Ancients— Supposition that Civilization descended the Nile 
 — Progress of Oriental Emigration — Resemblance of Nubian Temples 
 to those of India— Fame of Ancient Ethiopians— Ambiguity of the 
 Term — Two great Classes of Africans— Mixture of Arabians — Opinion 
 of Heeren as to Language— Discoveries of Hornemann and Lyon — 
 Tuaricks and Tibboos — Nubians— Abyssinians — Hypothesis of Heeren 
 — Connexion of Commerce and Religion— Chain of Temples— Similar 
 Connexion among Jews and Christians— Early Improvement of Ethio- 
 pians mentioned in Scripture— Defence of tlie Opinion that Egypt 
 derived Learning and Science from the Upper Nile Page 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Plan to be followed in this Chapter— Nubian Valley— Sterility— Former 
 Cultivation — Doudour — Derr— Ibrim— Wady Haifa— Second Cataract 
 — Beauty of Country in Dongola — Benefits of the Nile — Temple of 
 Soleb — Elegance of the Building — Kingdom of Merawe — Gebel el 
 Berkal — El Belial — Hypothesis in regard to Me roe— Opinions of. 
 Ptolemy; Herodotus, Strtfbo— Sheygyans — Ishmael Pasha — Third 
 Cataract — Berber — Shendy el Garb—Shendy— Junction of the White 
 and Blue Rivers — Sennaar — Climate — Inhabitants — Manufactures — 
 Expeditions by the Troops under the Pasha— Bravery of the Natives 
 — Description of the City of Sennaar — Advance of Egyptian Army into 
 Fazoslo — El Quenbyn— Kilgou— Singueh— Conflicts with the Natives 
 at Taby and Gassi— Reception at Fazoglo— Return to Sennaar — 
 Aquaro— River Toumat — Quamarnyl— Ishmael disappointed as to Gold 
 and Slaves — Poncet's Account of Sennaar — Abyssinia— Its Extent 
 —Political Geography— Kingdoms and Provinces — Amhara— Tigre — 
 Shoa, and the Eastern Coast 31
 
 Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CIVIL HISTORY OF NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Variety of Opinion in regard to Ethiopians— Aboriginal and mixed with 
 Arabians— Queen of Sheba— Book of Axuin — Abyssinians converted 
 to Christianity— Extent of their Dominions— Wars in Arabia— Arrival 
 of Portuguese— History of Nubia — Cambyses— Macrobians — Table of 
 the Sun — Explanation by Heeren — Ptolemy Euergetes — War with 
 Candace— Success of Petronius — Period of Darkness respecting Ethio- 
 pia — Prester John— Mission of Covilbam — Of Matthew — Alvarez — 
 Camp of the Abyssinian Monarch -Interview with David III. — Ordi- 
 nation of Clergy— Stephen de Gama— Bermudez the Abulia— Oviedo — 
 Peter Paez — Jerome Lobo— Hatred towards Catholics- I'oncet— Bruce 
 — State of Abyssinia— Pas Michael— Ozoro Esther— Manuscripts col- 
 lected by Bruce— History of Abyssinia — Revolt of Judith— Restoration 
 of the Line of Solomon — List of Kings— Galla — War among Chiefs- 
 Bruce goes to the Sources of the Nile— Fasil — The Juniper — The 
 Lamb— Ketla Yasous — Mr. Salt — Outline of History— Pearce — His 
 Vlventiires under Welled Selasse— Death of Ras— Demise of the 
 King— Rise of Subegadis— Invasion of Nubia by Ishmael Pasha— Bat- 
 tles with Sheygyaus— Act of Generosity— Cruelty of Egyptian Arrnv 
 —Character of Stieygyans— Expedition of Ibrahim— Death of Ishmael 
 — Spirit of Insurrection in conquered Provinces SO 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF NUBIA AND" ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Rule for determining the Antiquity and Filiation of ancient States— Con- 
 nexion between Egypt, Ethiopia, and India— Excavated Temples— 
 Girshe, Seboua, and Derr — Different Orders of Architecture— Temple 
 of Osiris at Ebsarnboul — Labours of Bel/.oni. Irby, and Mangles— Mag- 
 nificence of Interior, and Description of the various Halls — Dis- 
 coveries of Mr. Bankes— Visit of Delturdar Bey— Sir F. Henniker— 
 Temple of Isis— Cave of Elephanta— Temples of Salsette and Ellora— 
 Comparison with those of Ethiopia — Temples of Soleb, of Kalabshe, 
 and Dondour— Opinion of Gau— Mixed Greek and Egyptian Forms— 
 Gebel el Berkal — Principal Temple there— Pyramids— El Belial — 
 Progress in the Arts— Succession of Buildings— 5leroe— Bruce, Strabo, 
 Cailliaud — Assour— Pyramids— M. Rftppel— Naga and Messoura — 
 Large Temple— Opinion of M. Heeren— Of Cailliaud— Ruins at 
 Mandeyr and Kely— Constitution of Government at Meroe - — Its Ter- 
 mination — Remains at Axum— Obelisk — Errors of Bruce— Corrections 
 by Salt— Axum Inscription— Adulis— Inscription — Cosmas— Reference 
 to Dr. VineeiU — Luxor and Karnac — Sacred Ship— Bond of Religion 
 —Lineage of the Gods— Hebrew Tribes^Decline of Learning in 
 Ethiopia 138 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 RELIGION AND LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 
 
 Abyssinia received Christianity at an early Period— Influence of Re- 
 ligion on its Political State and Civil History— Story of Frumentius—
 
 CONTENTS. XU1 
 
 Jewish Ceremonies mixed with the Gospel— Ariaii Heresy — Constats 
 tius — Invasion of Arabia— Heresy of Eutyches — Conversion of Nu- 
 bians—Justinian and Theodora— Zara Jacob— His Letter to the Monks 
 of Jerusalem— Council of Florence — Pagans of Samen — Arrival of 
 Paez— Dispute with Clergy — The King Za Denghel becomes Roman 
 Catholic— His Letter to the Pope — Accession of Susneus— His Adher- 
 ence to the Roman Form — Rebellion — Formal Declaration in favour 
 of Popery— Death of Pa«z — Arrival of Mendez— His Proceedings as 
 Patriarch— Encroachments and Tyranny— The King, alarmed, insists 
 on Moderation — Rebellion— Basilides, or Facilidas, the Prince — Hopes 
 of the People— Letter from the Pope — Additional Concessions— Popery 
 abolished — Jesuits banished — Capuchins — Franciscan Friars — At- 
 tempt by Louis XIV.— Poncet and Brevedent — Massacre of Catholic 
 Priests— Arrival of Abuna — His Proceedings — The Psalter— Doctrines 
 of Abyssinians — Zaga Zaba, Ludolf, and Lobo — Mode of Worship — 
 Form of Churches — Circumcision, Baptism, and Communion — Prayers 
 for the Dead — Fixedness of Manners and Habits — Sabbath — Chro- 
 nology — Last Attempt of Catholics — Literature — Resemblance to Jew- 
 — Books — Philosophy — Law — Medicine— Modern Translations. . . 195 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MANNERS AND CtJSTOMS OF ETHIOPIA. 
 
 Present State of Abyssinia— Weakness of the Monarch— Nature of Suc- 
 cession— Court of Justice— Modes of Punishment — Similarity to the 
 Persians— Humane Maxims— Aversion to eat with Strangers— Com- 
 plexion and Features— Marriage Ceremonies — Manner of Christening 
 — Whimsical Practice to preserve the Life of Children— Superstitions — 
 Buda— Singular Anecdotes — The Zaekary — Strange Delusion of Tigre- 
 fer— Mode of Cure— Example witnessed by Mr. Pearce — Case of his 
 own Wife— Trembling Picture— The Crying Cross — Delusion by a 
 Dofter— Opinion of Welled Selasse — Chastisement of the Dofter — 
 Astonishing Mimic — Diseases and Death ascribed to Demons — Fevers 
 —Small-pox— Inoculation— Practice of Galla— Scrofula— Tape-worm — 
 Customs at Funerals— Criers— Lawyers— Practice in regard to Pun- 
 ishment of Murderers — Agriculture— Cookery — Usages at the Table — 
 Cutting of the Shulada — Narrative of Bruce — Disbelieved in Europe — 
 Questioned by Mr. Salt— Description of a Feast — Mode of Feeding at 
 Table— Attempt to reconcile Bruce and Salt — Change of Manners in 
 the Interval — Character of the Nobility and Higher Classes — Rigid 
 Fasts— Disorderly Conduct of the Clergy— Extract from Purchas's Pil- 
 grims—Conclusion 242 
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 EXHIBITING THE MORE REMARKABLE FEATURES IN THE 
 GEOLOGY OF NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Want of attention to this subject on the part of Travellers— Primitive 
 Rocks — Granite, Gneiss, Porphyry, Quartz, and Serpentine — Similar 
 Structure towards the Eastern Frontier— Mountains of Cosseir— Mar- 
 ble — Emerald Mountains — Batn-el-Hadjar — Dar Mahass— Primary 
 Rocks— Secondary Formation at Berber — Primitive Strata reappear — 
 El Queribyn— Fazoglo— Singueh— Mountains of Abyssinia— Taranta 
 
 B
 
 XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 — Lamalmon— Canza— Singular Shapes— Occasioned by Periodical 
 Rains— Theory of the Earth— Reflections 277 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 NOTICES REGARDING SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES IN 
 THE ZOOLOGY OF THE COUNTRIES DESCRI3ED IN THE PRE- 
 CEDING CHAPTERS. 
 
 Peculiarity in the Physical Structure of the Inhabitants of Upper Egypt- 
 Animals numerous in Abyssinia — Monkeys — Bats— Canine Animals — 
 ' Fennec— Hyenas— Lynxes— Feline Animals— Supposed Origin of our 
 Domestic Cat— Jerboa— Different Kinds of Wild Hog— Hippopotamus 
 — Rhinoceros — Equine Animals — fiiraffe — Antelopes — Birds of Prey — 
 Lammergeyer— Vulture — Owls — Pigeons— Hornbills — Parrots — Bus- 
 tard—Storks—Water Fowl— Reptiles— Crocodile —Cerastes— Fishes 
 —Shells— Pearl Muscles— Insects— Tsaltsalya Fly— Locusts 284 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE VEGETATION AS FAR AS IT IS 
 KNOWN — BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE MOST REMARKABLE AND 
 USEFUL PLANTS. 
 
 Vegetation of the Country— The Baobab— Acacia vera — Tamarind — Kan- 
 tuffa — Kuara — True Sycamore — KolquaH — Cusso— Balsam of Mecca 
 — Wooginoos — Coffee-tree — Wansey — Ensete — Doum-tree — Dhourra 
 — Teff— Papyrus 318 
 
 ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 Map of Nubia and Abyssinia To fact the Vignette. 
 
 Vignktte— Great Pyramid at El Belial. 
 
 View of the Temple of Soleb from the North-east Page 41 
 
 View of El Queribyn 62 
 
 Ozoro Esther 109 
 
 Kefla Yasous 120 
 
 View of the Temple of Samne 158 
 
 Ethiopian Hog— Addax— Fennec 291 
 
 Saddle-billed Stork 309
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 CHAPTER T. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 Difficulties to be encountered by the Historian of Ethiopia— Record of 
 Monuments ; their Uncertainly — Obstacles which opposed the Know- 
 ledge of the Ancients— Supposition that Civilization descended the Nile 
 — Progress of Oriental Emisration — Resemblance of Nubian Temples 
 to those of India — Fame of Ancient Ethiopians— Ambiguity of the 
 Term — Two great Classes of Africans — Mixture of Arabians — Opinion 
 of Heeren as to Language— Discoveries of Hornemann and Lyon — 
 Tuaricks and Tibboos — Nubians — Abyssinians — Hypothesis of Heeren 
 — Connexion of Commerce and Religion— Chain of" Temples— Similar 
 Connexion among Jews and Christians— Early Improvement of Ethi- 
 opians mentioned in Scripture— Defence of the Opinion that Egypt 
 derived Learning an1 Science from the Upper Nile. 
 
 In attempting to trace the history of the countries known 
 to the ancients by the name of Ethiopia, we have to en- 
 counter the numerous obstacles which arise from the absence 
 of a national literature, as well as from a succession of 
 conquests made by a variety of barbarous tribes. Here 
 indeed, as in Egypt, we possess the record of monuments 
 which indicate the genius and religion of the people by 
 whom the land was occupied at a very distant period ; but 
 it is manifest that, in reading the language supplied by the 
 arts, it must be extremely difficult to avoid the ambiguity in- 
 separable from their expression in regard to the precise date 
 at which they flourished. The ruins of cities, of temples, 
 and of obelisks may no doubtbear evidence to the wisdom 
 of former ages, to the power of conquerors, and to the spirit 
 of magnificence which threw a transient splendour even 
 over the path of destructive armies ; still, we cannot dis- 
 cover in them the genealogy of the nations to whom they
 
 16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 were indebted for their origin, nor the earliest rudiments oi 
 that mechanical skill of which they illustrate so strikingly 
 the progress and the perfection. A cloud hangs over the 
 horizon of that remote antiquity with which we are desirous 
 to become acquainted ; and as the current of time carries 
 us still farther away from the point whither our researches 
 are directed, we can hardly be said to enjoy the encourage- 
 ment which arises from the hope of a successful result. 
 
 Egypt, from its vicinity to the Mediterranean, as also to 
 the great thoroughfare which connects Asia with Europe, 
 was comparatively well known to the historians of Greece. 
 An intercourse was long maintained between the philoso- 
 phers of that country and the priesthood of the Nile, which 
 has proved the medium of much valuable information re- 
 specting the early kingdoms of Thebes and Memphis. But 
 the difficulty of penetrating into Western Ethiopia checked 
 at once the ardour of ambition and the enterprise of science. 
 Neither the arms of Cambyses nor the curiosity of P)'thag- 
 oras could find a path into the regions of the Bahr el Abiad, 
 so as to lay open the wonders of Meroe, or reveal to Europe 
 the mysteries of its learning, its science, and its religious faith. 
 
 There is little doubt, however, that the treasures of 
 knowledge, like the fertilizing current of the Nile, have de- 
 scended the valley which, beginning at Sennaar, terminates 
 at Alexandria ; and, moreover, that the progress of civiliza- 
 tion must originally have taken the same direction, moving 
 from the south towards the north. The ancient historians 
 are unanimous in the opinion, that the City of a Hundred 
 Gates owed its foundation to a people who dwelt above the 
 Cataracts ; and that at a more recent period, when Lower 
 Egypt began to possess a rich soil fitted for all the purposes 
 of agriculture, and prove itself equal to the maintenance 
 of a large population, the principal seat of government was 
 removed to Memphis. A similar cause perhaps, at a still 
 later date, gave rise to the removal of the capital to its pres- 
 ent position, as well as to the erection of the several towns 
 which from time to time have occupied the productive plains 
 of the Delta. 
 
 To account for the facts just stated, we must suppose that 
 the stream of emigration which, issuing from the mouths of 
 the Euphrates, pursued its course both eastward and west- 
 ward along the coast of Asia, had at an early age reached
 
 INTRODUCTION*. 17 
 
 the Straits of Bab el Mandeb. The adventurers, instead 
 of proceeding up the Red Sea, which is remarkable for its 
 dangerous navigation, appear to have made their way into 
 Abyssinia by some of those mountain-passes that still con- 
 nect the Arabian Gulf with the higher valleys of the Nile. 
 There is indeed the best reason to believe that those lateral 
 defiles which form the line of communication between the 
 sea and the great rivers of Ethiopia witnessed the earliest 
 expeditions from the East ; consisting of those daring spirits 
 who, in the pursuits of commerce, or in search of more 
 fertile lands, or of hills enriched with gold, pushed their 
 discoveries into Habesh, Nubia, and Sennaar. 
 
 The most obvious confirmation of the opinion now stated 
 may be drawn from the striking resemblance which is known 
 to subsist between the usages, the superstitions, the arts, 
 and the mythology of the ancient inhabitants of Western 
 India and those of the first settlers on the Upper Nile. The 
 sanctuaries of Nubia, for example, exhibit the same features, 
 whether as to the style of architecture or the forms of 
 worship which must have been practised in them, with the 
 similar temples that have been recently examined in the 
 neighbourhood of Bombay. In both cases they consist of 
 vast excavations hewn out in the solid body of a hill or 
 mountain, and are decorated with huge figures, which 
 shadow forth the same powers of nature, or serve as em- 
 blems to denote the same qualities in the subordinate divini- 
 ties which were imagined to preside over the material 
 universe. 
 
 We have elsewhere mentioned, as a proof of this h} T poth- 
 esis, the very remarkable fact, that the sepoys who joined 
 the British army in Egypt imagined that they found their 
 own temples in the ruins of Dendera, and were greatly in- 
 censed at the natives for neglecting the ancient deities whose 
 statues are still preserved. So strongly, indeed, were they 
 themselves impressed with this identity, that they proceeded 
 to perform their devotions with all the ceremonies practised 
 in their native land. There is a resemblance too in the 
 minor instruments of their superstition — the lotus, the lin- 
 gam, and the serpent, — which can hardly be regarded as 
 accidental. But it is, no doubt, in the immense extent, the 
 gigantic plan, the vast conception, which appear in all their 
 sacred buildings, that we most readilv discover the influence 
 B 2
 
 18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of the same lofty genius, and the endeavour to accomplish 
 the same mighty object. The excavated temple of Guerfeh 
 Hassan, for example, reminds every traveller of the cave of 
 Elephanta. The resemblance, indeed, is singularly striking, 
 as are in fact all the leading principles of Nubian architec- 
 ture, to that of the Hindoos. They differ only in those 
 details of the decorative parts which trifling points of 
 variation in their religious creeds seem to have suggested ; 
 but many even of the rites and emblems are precisely the 
 same, especially those of the temples dedicated to Iswara, 
 the Indian Bacchus. In either country, the hardest granite 
 mountains have been cut down into the resemblance of 
 splendid buildings, the fronts of which are adorned with 
 sculpture. In both, also, large masses of rock have been 
 excavated into hollow chambers, whose sides are decorated 
 with columns and statues carved out of the same stone, or 
 lifted up into the air in the form of obelisks and pillars. By 
 whom and by what means these wonderful efforts have been 
 accomplished is a mystery sunk too deep in the abyss of 
 time ever to be clearly revealed. But we need only compare 
 the monolithic temples of Nubia with those of Mahabali- 
 poor, the excavations of Guerfeh Hassan with those of 
 Elephanta, and the grottoes of Hadjur Silsili with the caverns 
 of Ellora, to be convinced that these sacred monuments of 
 ancient days derived their origin from the same source.* 
 
 It is universally admitted that, if we except the ancient 
 inhabitants of Egypt, there is no aboriginal people of Africa 
 who have so many claims to our attention as the Ethio- 
 pians, a nation which, from the remotest times to the 
 present, has been regarded as one of the most celebrated 
 and the most mysterious. In the earliest traditions of 
 nearly all the civilized tribes of the East, the name of this 
 remarkable section of mankind is to be found ; and when 
 the faint glimmering of fable gives way to the clearer light 
 of history, the lustre of their character is still undiminished. 
 They continue the object of curiosity and admiration ; and 
 we discover that the most cautious and intelligent writers of 
 Greece hesitated not to place them in the first ranks of 
 knowledge and refinement. The praise bestowed upon 
 them by Homer is familiar to the youngest reader. He 
 
 * View of Ancient and Modern Egypt, (Family Library), p. 23.
 
 INTRODUCTION*. 19 
 
 describes them, not only as the most distant of the human 
 race, but also as the most righteous and best beloved by 
 the gods. The inhabitants of Olympus condescended to 
 journey into their happy land, and partake of their feasts ; 
 while their sacrifices were declared to be the most agreeable 
 that could be offered to them by the hands of mortals. In 
 the Iliad, Thetis informs her son that 
 
 " The sire of gods and all th' ethereal train, 
 On the warm limits of the farthest main, 
 Now mix with mortals, nor disdain to grace 
 The feasts of Ethiopia's blameless race. 
 Twelve days the powers indulge the genial rite, 
 Returning with the twelfth revolving light."* — Pope, 
 
 To what, it has been asked, shall we attribute this early 
 renown of one of the most sequestered nations of the earth 1 
 How did its fame penetrate the formidable desert with 
 which it is surrounded, and which even now presents an 
 almost insuperable bar to every one who attempts to reach 
 its ancient capital 1 To suppose the allusions contained in 
 the foregoing passage to be the mere offspring of the poet's 
 fancy, will not be allowed by any reader who is at all ac- 
 quainted with the nature of early tradition. But if they are 
 more than fiction, — if the reports concerning this wonderful 
 people are founded in truth, — then they become of the 
 greatest importance to ancient history, and possess the 
 strongest claims to our notice. T 
 
 But it must not be concealed that considerable ambiguity 
 attaches to the term Ethiopian ; because it was applied by 
 all classes of writers among the Greeks, not so much to 
 denote a country bounded by certain geographical limits, as 
 to describe the complexion of the inhabitants, whatever 
 might be their position with respect to other nations. It 
 will not seem strange, therefore, that we find Ethiopians 
 scattered over a considerable part of the ancient world. 
 Africa, no doubt, contained the greater portion of them ; 
 but it is equally true that a large tract of Asia was occupied 
 by a race who bore the same designation ; and as India 
 was often made to comprise the southern division of the 
 former continent, so, in like manner, Ethiopia was frequently 
 
 * Zeus yap t-' u>K£avov fi£r' anvnovag AldioTrrjag.- — Lib. i. v. 123. 
 t Heeren's Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 294.
 
 20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 described as including Southern India. Homer, who seems 
 to have collected all the fragments of historical and geogra- 
 phical knowledge which were scattered among the learned 
 of his age, recognises the distinction now explained, and 
 speaks of the Ethiopians as extending from the rising to 
 the setting of the sun. 
 
 " But now the god, remote a heavenly guest. 
 In Ethiopia, graced the genial feast 
 (A race divided, whom, with sloping rays, 
 The rising and descending sun surveys) ; 
 There on the world's extremest verge revered i 
 With hecatombs and prayer, in pomp preferr'd, 
 Distant he lay." * 
 
 The ancient historians were wont to divide the Africans 
 into two great classes, the Libyans and the Ethiopians ; to 
 whom Herodotus adds the Greeks and Phenicians, who as 
 settlers occupied the northern coasts. This division was 
 generally followed by succeeding writers, although with 
 little accuracy in the use of names ; and while we admit 
 that there might be no real difference in the lineage of the 
 two principal families now pointed out, it is at least 
 manifest that they presented to the eye of the Grecian 
 geographers such peculiarities, especially in the colour of 
 the skin, as seemed to justify the discrimination which we 
 find established in their works. But it is obvious, at the same 
 time, that there was a greater affinity between the Ethio- 
 pians on the eastern shores of the Arabian Gulf and those 
 on the African side, than between these last and the other 
 swarthy tribes in the interior of Libya. Herodotus, indeed, 
 observes that the Asiatics have straight hair, while such as 
 dwell above Egypt have it very much curled. It is certain, 
 however, that all the black inhabitants of Africa do not dis- 
 play this quality ; for many of the natives of the Upper 
 Nile, though their skins are of a very dark hue, have hair 
 resembling that of Europeans, being neither curled nor 
 woolly. 
 
 The father of history mentions a circumstance which is 
 not less true at the present time than it was at the remote 
 period in which he lived. He relates that, in the extensive 
 district which stretches from the first cataract to Sennaar, 
 
 * Atdioirac, rot 6i%da SeScuarat, eaxaToi avbp&v 
 'Oi fitv dvoonivov vtrcpiovos, li 6' aviovroi;. — Odysx,, lib. v. 23-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 there were two different classes of inhabitants, very easily 
 distinguished from each other. The one, described by him 
 as aboriginal, be includes under the general appellation of 
 Ethiopians ; while the other, which appeared to have sprung 
 from an Arabian race, must have removed into the country 
 at an early epoch, where they continued, even in his day, to 
 follow a wandering mode of life. That such was the case 
 under the Persian government is evident from what we are 
 told respecting the army of Xerxes, whom they must 
 have attended in his expedition into Greece. The Arabians 
 and Ethiopians are associated by the historian under one 
 leader. " Arsanes, son of Darius by Artystone a daughter 
 of Cyrus, commanded the Arabians and the Ethiopians 
 who came from beyond Egypt."* In later times the Arabs 
 seem to have possessed a still larger portion of Nubia, and 
 to have occupied the banks of the Nile from Philae to the 
 neighbourhood of Meroe ; a fact which is confirmed by Pliny, 
 on the authority of Juba, the Numidian king, who wrote a 
 work on the geography of Africa, f 
 
 It would now be extremely difficult to draw a precise line 
 of distinction between the original tribes and those whose 
 lineage might perhaps be traced to the Arabian immigrants. 
 The latter have not only dwelt in the land more than two 
 thousand years, and mingled freely with the older stock, 
 but their language also has been so generally adopted by 
 the natives, that it can no longer be employed as a decisive 
 characteristic. Heeren is, however, of opinion that all who 
 do not speak Arabic must be aboriginal, as he considers it 
 very improbable that the Asiatic settlers would exchange 
 their more improved tongue for the rude dialect of barbarous 
 hordes, to whom, in all respects, they would naturally con- 
 sider themselves superior. But no one, who views all the 
 difficulties of the case, will maintain that, after the lapse of 
 twenty-three centuries, tbe line of descent can be otherwise 
 marked than by those physiological qualities in feature and 
 form which neither length of time nor the most intimate 
 mixture can altogether obliterate. 
 
 From the discoveries made by recent travellers in the 
 western parts of Africa, it is no longer doubtful that there 
 
 * Herodotus, book \ii. c. 69. t Heeren, vol, i. p. 306.
 
 22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 has existed in it, from very ancient times, a numerous 
 people who arc neither Moors nor negroes. Hornemann 
 and Lyon have made us acquainted with two nations in 
 that quarter, who appear to have possessed all the vast 
 range of country which stretches from the shores of the 
 Mediterranean to the banks of the Joliba. They are indeed 
 divided into many tribes ; but all speak the same language 
 which is entirely different from the Arabic, and is found, in 
 fact, to be no other than that which is used by the Berbers 
 in the Atlas Mountains. With regard to their colour, 
 though it certainly is not uniform, the difference seems to 
 depend in a great measure on the place of abode and the 
 manner of living; and, properly speaking, it amounts to 
 nothing more than a mere variation of tint, which is lighter or 
 darker according to circumstances. The western portion of 
 this race are white, as far as the climate and their habits will 
 allow it. Others are of a yellow cast, like the Arabs ; 
 some are swarthy ; and in the neighbourhood of Soudan 
 there is a tribe which is said to be completely black. Their 
 lineaments, however, do not at all resemble those of the 
 negro. They are slimly made, and rather tall. Commerce 
 is their principal occupation, which they carry on between 
 the interior and the countries bordering on the northern 
 coast. Their moral character has been favourably estimated ; 
 and it is thought that, if their talents were duly cultivated, 
 they would probably become one of the first nations in 
 the world.* 
 
 The account of Hornemann is confirmed by Captain Lyon, 
 who asserts that the Tuaricks, one of the tribes here al- 
 luded to, are the finest race of men he ever saw ; tall, 
 straight, and handsome, with a certain air of independence 
 which is very imposing. They are generally white ; the 
 dark-brown of their complexion being only occasioned by 
 the heat of the climate. Their weapons are a long sword 
 and a dagger, without which no one is ever seen abroad, and 
 an elegant spear highly ornamented and sometimes made 
 entirely of iron. Their language has been already described 
 as the Berber, which they maintain to be very ancient, and 
 i« still spoken extensively in Western Africa. 
 
 The Tibboos are a different people from that now 
 
 * Hornemann, p. 129.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 described, in appearance, manner of living, and even in 
 language. Their colour is a bright black ; but their features 
 partake not in the smallest degree of the negro character. 
 They have aquiline noses, fine teeth, and lips formed like 
 those of Europeans. In the language of Herodotus, how- 
 ever, they would be included among Ethiops; having the 
 dark skin, which, in his estimation, formed tbe distinguish- 
 ing mark of all the nations to whom he applied that term. 
 
 It is probable that the Nubians, those at least who do not 
 boast an oriental extraction, are of the same race with the 
 ancient Berbers, the progenitors of the Tuaricks, and per- 
 haps of the Tibboos. They were not known by their pres- 
 ent name till the era of the Grecian kings of Egypt. It 
 is first mentioned by Eratosthenes ; and soon afterward 
 came into common use, both as a general denomination for 
 all the tribes dwelling on the banks of the Nile from Es 
 Souan to Meroe, and also in a more limited sense for the 
 inhabitants of the modern Dongola. Their language, of 
 which Burckhardt has given us some specimens, is quite 
 different from the Arabic ; and in this, as well as in their 
 external appearance, they present an affinity to the natives 
 of the Arabian peninsula. They are of a dark-brown 
 colour, with hair somewhat curled, either by nature or art, 
 but not at all woolly. Their visage has no resemblance to 
 the negro physiognomy. The men are well formed, strong 
 and muscular, with fine countenances. They are very 
 thinly clad ; but are all armed with a spear five feet long, a 
 dagger, and a large shield made of the skin of the hippopot- 
 amus.* 
 
 In ascending the Nile we meet with several other tribes, 
 who, it is very probable, either belong to the Nubian race, 
 or derive their descent from a common origin. They 
 possess good forms and features, manifest a warlike dispo- 
 sition, and carry into the field of battle the same kind of 
 weapons which were used by their remote ancestors. 
 They commonly fight on horseback, and are armed with a 
 double-pointed spear, a sword, and a large buckler. Hence 
 the fine passage in the book of Jeremiah : " Come up, ye 
 horses ; and rage, ye chariots ; and let the mighty men 
 
 * Burckhardt's Travels in Nubia, p. 144. Wadding ton and Hanbury, 
 Travels in Ethiopia, p. 5'J.
 
 24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 come forth : the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle 
 the shield."* 
 
 When the traveller who has reached the junction of the 
 two great branches of the Jsile turns his face eastward in 
 the direction of the Arabian Gulf, he finds his notice 
 attracted to a variety of tribes whose genealogy it is 
 extremely difficult to determine. The Abyssinians, properly 
 so called, are, we may presume, the descendants of a 
 people who at various times have migrated from the oppo- 
 site shores of the Red Sea, and who, in pursuit of commerce, 
 or of a safe retreat from powerful enemies, disputed with 
 the natives the possession of their singular country. But 
 we refrain from entering into details on this subject, as we 
 shall have a better opportunity in the next chapter for 
 considering the geographical relations of the several states 
 which extend from Masuah to the borders of Sennaar. 
 We shall therefore at present only bestow a few remarks on 
 an hypothesis, illustrated with not less ingenuity than 
 learning by Heeren, in regard to the early civilization and 
 commerce of the African nations, especially the inhabitants 
 of Meroe, Thebes, and their dependent colonies at Ammo- 
 nium, Adule, Azab, and Axum. 
 
 It is established by the clearest testimony of ancient 
 history, that at a very remote period the Ethiopians carried 
 on a considerable trade, in which the Arabians, long known 
 as navigators and voyagers to India, bore a prominent part, 
 as might indeed be inferred from the relative position of the 
 several countries. Of this international traffic in the 
 southern regions the strongest evidence still remains ; and 
 there is no doubt that the gold of Africa, the spices of India, 
 and precious productions of Arabia, occupied the laborious 
 carriers of the desert long before the date of our histo- 
 rical records. The prophet Isaiah notices the commerce of 
 the Egyptians and Ethiopians, in a manner which renders 
 it perfectly clear that these celebrated nations had already 
 enriched themselves by their exertions in this branch of 
 indnstry. " The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of 
 Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come 
 over unto thee, and they shall be thine."t 
 
 * Chap. xlvi. 9. t Chap. xlv. 14.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 Commerce and religion, we are reminded by the author, 
 were always indissolubly connected in the East. The 
 long journeys in the desert, and the marauding habits of 
 the roving barbarians by whom the wilderness was infested, 
 rendered some spiritual influence necessary for its protec- 
 tion ; and hence it is presumed that mercantile transac- 
 tions were usually conducted in the vicinity of temples, and 
 sometimes within their walls. " Mecca remains still, 
 through its holy sanctuary, the chief mart for the com- 
 merce of Arabia." The situation of Nubia has always 
 made it the grand route for caravans between Ethiopia and 
 the countries on this side of the desert. At the present 
 day a communication of that kind is maintained across the 
 waste from Upper Egypt to Sennaar and Atbar, the ancient 
 Meroe. This was indeed the natural emporium for the 
 produce of Inner Africa ; being the extreme point of the 
 gold-countries towards the land of the Pharaohs, while, from 
 its proximity to Arabia Felix, it constituted the most appro- 
 priate mart for goods conveyed from the remoter East. 
 
 Of the vast trade still carried on there modern travellers 
 have given us ample accounts ; observing at the same time 
 that the great salt-works, whence the surrounding country 
 is supplied, are but at a short distance from Shendy. The 
 commerce with Egypt being established, it is manifest that 
 Meroe must have extended its traffic far into the south of 
 Africa ; and M. Heeren is even inclined to doubt whether 
 the extensive ruins at Axum, Azab, Meroe, and Adule, 
 really belonged to cities, supposing them rather to have been 
 extensive places of trade, adorned with temples, and appro- 
 priated to caravans, — an hypothesis to which he is led by 
 the nature of the country, and the wandering life pursued 
 by its inhabitants. In a word, the conclusions which he 
 draws from a minute examination of all the notices which 
 history has preserved relative to those ancient states are, 
 that a commercial intercourse existed between Southern 
 Asia and Africa, between India and Arabia, and thence 
 between these countries and Ethiopia, Libya, and Egypt, — 
 that its principal seat for Africa was Meroe, the chief route 
 of which, he thinks, is still pointed out by a chain of ruins 
 extending from the shores of the Indian sea to the Mediter- 
 ranean, — that Adule, Axum, and Azab were links of it 
 between Arabia and Meroe ; and that Thebes and Ammo- 
 C
 
 2(3 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mum united the Nile, Egypt, and Carthage, — and, finally, 
 that its chief stations were sacerdotal establishments, the 
 head of which was Meroe, whence all the colonies were 
 sent out. Hence he draws an inference, which will not be 
 hastily questioned by any competent judge, that the first 
 seats of commerce were also the first seats of civilization. 
 Exchange of goods led to exchange of ideas ; and by this 
 collision of mind was first struck out the sacred flame of 
 humanity.* 
 
 The connexion between merchandise and the usages of 
 religion was not confined to the wandering tribes of Africa, 
 but may be traced throughout the ancient world wherever 
 men collected in great numbers to celebrate the rites of a 
 national faith. As the adoration presented to the gods was 
 not thought complete without the addition of more expen- 
 sive offerings, the worshipper repaired not to the stated 
 festival unless accompanied with beasts for sacrifice, or with 
 frankincense and other spices to perfume the air. The 
 vicinity of a temple was thus naturally converted into a 
 market, more especially at the holy seasons of the year. 
 In the sacred Scriptures the reader will discover numerous 
 facts which establish the view now given of the relation 
 between commerce and piety. Even the consecrated fane 
 at Jerusalem was contaminated by the presence of dealers, 
 who sought their own advantage rather than the honour of 
 the Great Being whom they professed to venerate. A 
 similar abuse was long tolerated in the Christian church ; 
 and hence most of the periodical transactions of a commer- 
 cial nature became associated with the names of the more 
 popular saints. Every one knows that the fericz, or holy- 
 days of the Roman communion, supplied the term for our 
 fairs in all the counties of Great Britain. 
 
 There is accordingly no small appearance of truth in the 
 observations of Heeren relative to the mutual influence of 
 religion and traffic among barbarous tribes. The sight of 
 a magnificent temple in the wilderness secured at once a 
 demand and a protection for the commodities which the wan- 
 dering merchantmen brought from afar. It may still remain 
 a question, whether the sanctuary was erected for the 
 assurance of the caravan ; or whether the Arab and Ethio- 
 
 * Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 475.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 pian bent their course through the desert in a line indicated 
 by those religious establishments. But there can he no 
 reasonable ground for doubt that the dwellers on both 
 shores of the Red Sea respected the worship of Jupiter 
 Amnion, as the means whereby they at once added to their 
 wealth and secured their acquisitions. 
 
 We must not neglect to mention that the nomadic tribes, 
 who continue to carry on the trade between Egypt and 
 Abyssinia, appear in the same character in one of those 
 triumphant pageants which Ptolemy Philadelphus exhibited 
 on his accession to the throne. When the procession of 
 the Nubian caravan appeared, " there came," says an 
 ancient writer, " a train of camels, carrying three hundred 
 pounds of frankincense, crocus, cassia, and cinnamon, 
 together with two hundred pounds of other costly spices and 
 drugs. These were followed by a host of Ethiopians armed 
 with lances ; one band of these bore six hundred elephants' 
 teeth, another two thousand pieces of ebony, and another 
 sixty vessels of gold, silver, and gold-dust." 
 
 But the appearance of Indian produce in the western 
 world was familiar to all classes of men long before the 
 days of the Grecian kings of Egypt. The spices of the 
 East, especially cinnamon, come as early before us as the 
 Mosaical records ; and in such quantities, too, as plainly 
 show that they must already have formed an important 
 article of commerce. The holy oil of the sanctuary required 
 the following ingredients : " Moreover the Lord spake unto 
 Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, 
 of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon 
 half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of 
 sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, and of cassia 
 five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and 
 of oil-olive an hin. And thou shalt make it an oil of holy 
 ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apoth- 
 ecary : it shall be an holy anointing oil."* 
 
 The reader will observe that most of the ingredients 
 specified in this sacred order were derived from the shores 
 of Hindostan, and must have been objects of commerce 
 among the traders of Arabia, who repaired thither in ships, 
 year after year, to exchange for them the commodities of 
 
 * Exodus xxx. 22, 23, 24, 25.
 
 28 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 their own land, as well as of Ethiopia and the more 
 southern parts of the African continent. In the history of 
 the patriarch Joseph, mention is incidentally made of the 
 same traffic carried on by the inhabitants of the desert, the 
 progeny of Ishmael. The earlier annals of this intercourse, 
 which connected in the bonds of mutual benefit and intel- 
 ligence the most cultivated nations of the ancient world, 
 are irrecoverably lost ; and it is in vain that we attempt by 
 conjecture or investigation to supply their absence. The 
 facts of which we are in possession justify a retrospect of 
 not less than four thousand years, if we follow the light of 
 that scriptural chronology which has obtained the sanction 
 of nearly all the learned ; and our researches are thereby 
 removed to a period when the nations of Europe had not 
 even begun to assume a settled form, or to dispute with one 
 another the territory on which the foundations of their 
 power were afterward to be laid. 
 
 In tracing the progress of civilization in Egypt, we 
 arrived at results which argued a very high antiquity. We 
 found reason to ascribe to the Pharaohs of the eighteenth 
 dynasty the gigantic labours of Thebes, and the magnificent 
 palaces which adorned either side of the Nile in that stu- 
 pendous capital. What an astonishing era of art, fully two 
 thousand years before the Augustan age at Rome ! 
 
 But the vast works at Karnac, Luxor, and Medinet Abou 
 are much less ancient than the buildings which have been 
 discovered above the Cataracts. The eye of science has 
 recently been invited to countries which stretch southward 
 along the Upper Nile, and to examine the memorials of 
 kingdoms whose names have not yet been enrolled in the 
 eternal tablets of history. In Nubia and Ethiopia, says a 
 foreign writer, numerous and primeval monuments proclaim 
 so loudly a cultivation contemporary, ay earlier than that of 
 Egypt, that it may be conjectured with the greatest confi- 
 dence that the arts, sciences, and religion proceeded from 
 Nubia to the lower country of Mizraim ; that civilization 
 descended the Nile, built Memphis, and, finally, somewhat 
 later, wrested by colonization the Delta from the sea. From 
 Meroe and Axum downwards to the Mediterranean, there 
 arose, as is testified by Diodorus, improved and powerful 
 states, which, though independent of each other, were con-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 nected by the same language, the same writing, and the 
 same religion.* 
 
 Thus we find, that in proportion as we ascend into the 
 early ages of human history the closer becomes the con- 
 nexion between Egypt and Ethiopia. The Hebrew writers 
 seldom mention the one without the other ; and the inhab- 
 itants of both are usually described as a commercial people. 
 When Isaiah celebrates the victories of Cyrus, their sub- 
 mission is spoken of as his most magnificent reward. 
 When Jeremiah extols the great victory of Nebuchad 
 nezzar over Pharaoh-Necho at Carchemish, the Ethiopians 
 are allied to the Egyptians ; and when Ezekiel threatens 
 the downfall of Egypt, he unites it with the most distant 
 Ethiopia. W T hence this general and early spread of a name 
 which glimmers in the oral history of so many nations, and 
 which is renowned as well by Jewish poets as by Grecian 
 bards ] Whence this fame of the Ethiopians, while the 
 deserts which surrounded their land seemed to form an 
 eternal barrier between them and the inhabitants of the 
 north 1 These questions cannot be satisfactorily answered, 
 except by allowing the early civilization which history and 
 tradition unite in ascribing to the sacerdotal states that 
 sprang from Meroe. 
 
 We are not ignorant that, in maintaining the obligations 
 of Egypt to the more ancient Ethiopia for her learning, 
 civilization, and knowledge of the arts, we have to encounter 
 the opposition of several learned writers, whose opinions on 
 this subject have been determined by an inspection of the 
 Nubian valley. It is obvious, no doubt, that the narrow 
 limits of the latter country, hemmed in between a double 
 range of barren mountains, which occasionally protrude 
 their rocks to the very margin of the river, could not have 
 supplied the means of luxurious refinement to a great nation. 
 But it is equally certain, on the other hand, that beyond 
 the confines of Nubia there are extensive and most fertile 
 regions, which, aided by the periodical overflow of the Nils 
 and the influence of a tropical sun, were capable of sup- 
 porting in the utmost comfort a very large population. 
 Besides, Ethiopia, from her natural position, surrounded by 
 deserts which no stranger could penetrate, and by mountains 
 
 * Lcttres <le Turin. 
 C2
 
 30 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 almost inaccessible, enjoyed a degree of security highly 
 favourable to her progress in the liberal arts ; while the 
 adventurous inhabitants of the contiguous wildernesses, who 
 carried on her trade, connected her with Arabia and India 
 on the one hand, and with the shores of the Mediterranean 
 on the other. It was not perhaps till the days of Solomon 
 that the Red Sea was uesd as the channel of trade for Syria 
 and Palestine, when the mariners of Arabia had acquired 
 sufficient confidence to navigate all the gulf, and to visit the 
 shores of the ocean beyond the straits. Prior to that 
 period the rich produce of the East was conveyed by the 
 erratic hordes of the desert, who, preferring the short pas- 
 sage at Azab or Masuah, pushed forward with their loads 
 to the upper regions of the Nile. 
 
 The possession of wealth lays the best foundation for 
 learning and the arts ; and the perusal of ancient history 
 will convince every reader, that in the early stages of 
 society these are devoted to the decoration and advancement 
 of religion. The stately temple is seen to rise long before 
 any attention is paid to the comforts of private life ; and 
 the precious metals, as well as the richest spices and 
 perfumes, are lavished on the instruments of worship, while 
 as yet the blessings of civilization are very sparingly enjoyed 
 by the mass of the people. On this subject, instead of en- 
 tering into details unsuited to the nature of our undertaking, 
 we refer to the Essay by Heeren on the Trade of the African 
 Nations.
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL OTTTT.INFS, FTC 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Geographical Outlines of Nubia and Abyssinia. 
 
 Plan to be followed in this Chapter— Nubian Valley— Sterility— Former 
 Cultivation — Dondour — Derr— Ibrim— Wady Haifa— Second Cataract 
 —Beauty of Country' in Dongola— Benefits of the Nile — Temple of 
 Soleb — Elegance of the Building— Kingdom of Merawe — Gebel el 
 Berkal— El Belial — Hypothesis in regard to Meroe — Opinions of 
 Ptolemy, Herodotus, Strabo— Sheygyans — Ishmael Pasha— Third 
 Cataract — Berber — Shendy el Garb — Shendy — Junction of the White 
 and Blue Rivers— Sennaar— Climate — Inhabitants — Manufactures — 
 Expeditions by the Troops under the Pasha— Bravery of the Natives 
 — Description of the City of Sennaar — Advance of Egyptian Army into 
 Fazoglo— El Queribyn— Kilgou— Singueh— Conflicts "with the Natives 
 at Taby and Gassi — Reception at Fazoglo — Return to Sennaar— 
 Aquaro — River Toumat — Quamamyl — Ishmael disappointed as to Gold 
 and Slaves — Poncet's Account of Sennaar — Abyssinia — Its Extent 
 — Political Geography — Kingdoms and Provinces — Amhara— Tigre— 
 Shoa, and the Eastern Coast. 
 
 It is our intention to consider as one country the exten- 
 sive space which is bounded by the Nile on the west, and 
 the Red Sea on the east ; and which, when measured from 
 south to north, has for its limits the tenth and twenty-fourth 
 degrees of latitude. In this compass we necessarily include 
 Nubia, Dongola, Sennaar, and Abyssinia, the states of the 
 Shangalla, as well as the wild districts inhabited by the 
 ancient Troglodytes and Fish-eaters. There is, it must be 
 acknowledged, a considerable diversity in the lineage of the 
 people, their history, speech, and religious usages ; but at 
 the same time they possess so many things in common, that 
 it appears much more convenient to place them under one 
 point of view than to interrupt the narrative by a detail of 
 minute distinctions. We shall therefore, in delineating the 
 geographical distributions of this large portion of Eastern 
 Africa, ascend the Nile in the footsteps of the best-informed 
 travellers, until we reach the boundaries of recent discovery 
 in the southern provinces of the kingdom of Sennaar ; and, 
 after turning to the bank of the Blue River, make our pro-
 
 32 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 gress eastward through Abyssinia to the shores of the ocean 
 and the Arabian Gulf. 
 
 No sooner does the traveller pass the cataract of Es Souan 
 than he finds himself in Nubia, a country of which it is 
 now impossible to fix the precise extent. Indeed, we cannot 
 otherwise define it than by saying, that it occupies the 
 valley of the Nile from Phila? to Dongola, and is bounded on 
 either side by formidable deserts, which can only be crossed 
 by large bodies of men assisted by that useful animal the 
 camel. The first section, which terminates at Ibrim, has 
 been so long subject to Egypt that it is usually known as 
 Turkish Nubia ; but we are told that the natives of the 
 upper country, who roam in comparative independence as 
 far as the second cataract, restrict the proud name to their 
 own land, which, till lately, spurned the dominion of every 
 foreign sword. 
 
 For a considerable distance above Syene, the mountains 
 press so closely on the banks of the river, that there is very 
 little ground on either side for the purposes of agriculture ; 
 and the small portion that is suitable for raising a crop is 
 continually threatened by the approach of the sand which 
 the winds of the desert carry towards the stream. From 
 the structure of the valley, through which the Nile here 
 forces a passage, it is obvious that there could not at any 
 time have been an extensive population. The labour of 
 man would have exerted its powers in vain against the 
 sterility of nature, which amid rocks and shingle, occupies, 
 by an everlasting tenure, a wide domain in the Lower 
 Nubia. But beyond the parallel of Wady Haifa, as we 
 have already remarked, there is ample space for the great 
 nations which are said to have flourished in Ethiopia. At 
 the southern termination of the second cataract immense 
 plains stretch out from the margin of the river, manifesting 
 even in their present neglected state the most unequivocal 
 symptoms of a prolific soil. 
 
 Nor can there be any doubt that, in former ages, the 
 annual inundation carried its riches much beyond the limits 
 of modern cultivation. The rock}' barriers, which now 
 scarcely oppose an obstacle to navigation, must at one 
 period have checked the current so materially as to throw 
 back the water on all the level land on both sides of the 
 contiguous valley. The voice of tradition in this case is not
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 33 
 
 to be altogether despised. On the contrary, we must believe 
 that there was some ground for the descriptions of the 
 ancient historians, who represent the falls of the Nile as 
 accompanied with a great rush and a deafening noise ; 
 indicating that the rocky shelves, which have been broken 
 and washed down by the weight of the yearly flood, extended 
 from bank to bank at a considerable elevation. Even in the 
 northern district of Nubia, where the dominion of the 
 desert is now indisputably established, the sources of fertility 
 would be much greater than in our days ; and indeed, with- 
 out assuming the means of supporting an affluent people, we 
 shall find no small difficulty in accounting for the costly 
 temples and other edifices, the remains of which may be 
 traced from Elephantine to Sennaar. 
 
 The first five miles after leaving Philse, the course of the 
 navigator is south-by-east, then it turns towards the west, 
 and finally resumes the former direction. The first object 
 that attracts his attention is Debode, a village situated on the 
 left bank of the river, where are the ruins of a small temple. 
 Here the Nile flows in a regular deep stream, for the most 
 part washing the base of the eastern and western moun- 
 tains ; but wherever the inundation has covered the rocks 
 with soil, or has even thrown up mounds of sand and mud, 
 such spots are cultivated and planted with date-trees. A 
 succession of hamlets meet the eye on both sides as the 
 traveller proceeds into the Nubian valley ; but few of them 
 are of so much consequence as to deserve our notice. Don- 
 dour is remarkable for a small temple, still in considerable 
 preservation, of which a distinct idea may be formed by 
 examining the drawing inserted in Mr. Legh's amusing 
 narrative. The greater part of the enclosure is quite 
 perfect and the propylon also is very little injured ; but the 
 inside, it would appear, has never been completed. There 
 are two columns, which must have formed the entrance into 
 the building, and which are ornamented with serpents. The 
 inner shrine, or sekos, consists as usual of three apart- 
 ments ; the first measures eighteen feet in length and 
 twenty in breadth ; the columns are three feet in diameter, 
 and the height, ascending to the top of the cornice is nearly 
 seventeen feet. The winged globes on the architraves of 
 the temple and propylon are supported in the wonted man- 
 ner by two serpents. The hieroglyphics are relieved and
 
 34 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 sculptured in a good style, showing the common objects — 
 priests with jugs offering to Isis, and Osiris, who is repre- 
 sented with the hawk's head, and carrying a crosier in his 
 hand. Behind the structure is a small grotto, which has 
 the appearance of a later date, and is most probably to be 
 attributed to the early Christians ; there being an inscrip- 
 tion with the characters A-\-R among the fragments which 
 are found in the area.* 
 
 These ruins, however, are surpassed in magnificence and 
 interest by those of Guerfeh Hassan and Sibhoi, of which 
 the relics are yet sufficiently entire to enable a scientific eye 
 to delineate their plan and determine their object. It is 
 justly observed, that the period when these edifices were 
 constructed is a matter of pure conjecture ; but it has been 
 remarked, at the same time, that the most striking difference 
 between the temples above and below the Cataracts is the 
 high state of preservation of the stones and outward walls 
 of the former, which have scarcely suffered from the effects 
 of age. From this circumstance, it might at first sight be 
 supposed that these remains of antiquity were more recent 
 than the temples in Egypt ; but that opinion is not war- 
 ranted by any other evidence. It would be difficult, indeed, 
 by any reasonable allowance in dates, to account for the fact 
 now stated ; and the real cause, it is probable, must be 
 sought in the mild unchanging climate which prevails 
 between the tropics. The corroding hand of time works 
 very slowly in the absence of frost and rain, and of those 
 extreme variations of the atmosphere which, in the zones 
 called temperate, wage an incessant war with all the works 
 of human art.t 
 
 Derr, which is at present considered the capital of Lower 
 Nubia, is the residence of a chief who, while he acknow- 
 ledges a nominal subjection to the Pasha of Egypt, seizes 
 every opportunity of setting his authority at naught. The 
 name just used, however, seems to apply to a district rather 
 than a town or any particular collection of houses ; and the 
 abode of the governor himself can only be distinguished by 
 having in its vicinity a few mud cottages, and a somewhat 
 
 * Legh's Narrative of a Journey in Egypt and the Countries beyond 
 the Cataracts, p. 142. 
 \Jb<d. p. 150.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 35 
 
 denser population. But his power, in the absence of law, 
 and supported by three thousand barbarian troops, is ex- 
 tremely formidable. Plundered himself from time to time 
 by the agents of the supreme government, he extorts a 
 revenue from his miserable subjects at the point of the 
 spear. He is constantly surrounded by more than three 
 hundred armed slaves, ready to execute any order of capri- 
 cious cruelty which he may be pleased to issue ; for as his 
 soldiers are his own property, purchased from the dealers 
 of Dongola or Sennaar, they are in his hands the most 
 passive instruments whether for good or for evil. Jealous 
 of interference or inspection, he dreads the approach of 
 strangers. When Mr. Legh and his friend Mr. Smelt made 
 their journey into his district, it was with the utmost reluc- 
 tance that he allowed them to proceed beyond Derr. He 
 began by asking in a very boisterous manner what they 
 wanted, and why they had come. It was in vain they 
 replied, that they were desirous to pay their respects to him, 
 and to see the remains of antiquity with which his country 
 abounded. He answered that there was nothing curious to 
 see; but " I suppose," he added, " you are come to visit the 
 tombs of your ancestors ?" They then solicited permission 
 to go to Ibrim, which he flatly refused ; alleging first there 
 was no object there worthy of their attention, and next that 
 he had no horses to convey them. In short, it was not until 
 his obstinacy had been subdued by the present of a hand- 
 some sword that he yielded his consent to their farther 
 progress. 
 
 The town which the travellers were so desirous to visit 
 is situated on the right bank of the Nile, at the southern ex- 
 tremity of a ridge of mountains, rising in some parts per- 
 pendicularly from the river, so as scarcely to leave room for 
 a road. It stands on the eastern slope of the hill, having a 
 citadel, which, being built on the summit, must formerly have 
 been a strong position. Its height has been estimated at 
 about two hundred feet above the current, which washes the 
 foot of the rock whereon it is placed, and is at this point 
 about a quarter of a mile broad. The walls that enclosed 
 the fortress and the governor's house can still be traced with 
 ease. But no inhabitant now remains ; not a vestige of life 
 is to be seen within its boundaries. The destruction of 
 Ibrim by the Mamlouks, when they passed into Dongola,
 
 36 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 had been so complete that not even one solitary native was 
 to be found wandering among its ruins, nor so much as a 
 date-tree to indicate that it was once the abode of human 
 beings. Burckhardt informs us that those savage horsemen 
 carried away about twelve hundred cows, all the sheep and 
 goats, and imprisoned the most respectable people, for whose 
 ransoms they received upwards of a hundred thousand Span- 
 ish dollars. On their departure they put the aga to death, 
 after having devoured or destroyed all the provisions they 
 could find. This scene of pillage, as might have been ex- 
 pected, was followed by a dreadful famine. , 
 
 Ibrim is said to be the ancient Primmis, and the account of 
 it given by Strabo, as fortified by nature, is confirmed by the 
 actual appearance of the place. But when this geographer 
 states that the Romans, in marching from Pselcha or Ka- 
 labshe, passed over the mounds of sand under which the 
 army of Cambyses was buried, he is imagined to be at 
 variance with Herodotus, who relates that the host of the 
 Persian monarch, when surprised by the clouds of moving 
 dust, was proceeding to chastise the Ammonians. Hence 
 it is inferred that their route must have lain in a direction 
 quite contrary to that of the Romans under Petronius, who 
 was sent to punish the Ethiopians for an irruption into the 
 Thebaid. These remarks, however, are founded on the as- 
 sumption that the Ammonians must necessarily be the in- 
 habitants of the particular district of Libya where the cele- 
 brated temple of Jupiter was erected ; whereas there is 
 reason to believe that a sanctuary, dedicated to the same 
 god under the character of Amnion, stood in the peninsula 
 of Meroe near Shendy, the principal seat of the Ethiopians. 
 It is therefore not at all improbable that the troops of Persia 
 and of Rome followed the same line of march. Near the 
 town of Moscho there is still a position known by the name 
 of Cambysis jErariam — the treasury of Cambyses, — while 
 it is admitted that the legions advanced as far as JVapata, a 
 station considerably farther to the south. 
 
 The space between Ibrirn and the second cataract presents 
 no interest but such as may be attached to its ancient build- 
 ings, more especially the temple of Ebsamboul, which we 
 shall hereafter describe with some degree of minuteness. 
 The obstruction in the river, occasioned by numerous rocks 
 and small islands, which begins at Wady Haifa, continues
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 37 
 
 about a hundred miles, and in the low 6tate of the flood put? 
 a stop to all such vessels as cannot be partly carried overland 
 on men's shoulders. The falls vary according to the period 
 of the inundation ; a fact which may to a certain extent ex- 
 plain the discrepancy between the several authors whose 
 works have been recently given to the world, and who re- 
 ceived very different impressions in the vicinity of the prin- 
 cipal cataract. One tells us that the declivity was so 
 trifling that the descent of the stream, so far from creating 
 a rushing noise, could hardly be perceived by the eye ; 
 while another assures us that it was heard in the night at 
 the distance of about half an hour, or nearly two miles. 
 Burckhardt, whose statement we have just copied, adds, that 
 the valley is very romantic ; that when the inundation sub- 
 sides many small lakes are left among the rocks ; and that 
 the banks of these, overgrown with large tamarisks, have a 
 picturesque appearance among the black and green stones. 
 The tract is called the Dar el Hadjar or Batn el Hadjar, 
 the district of cliffs or bed of shelves. 
 
 An American who engaged in the service of Ishmael 
 Pasha during the expedition to Dongola and Sennaar, and 
 who has published an interesting narrative of his voyage up 
 the Nile, begs his readers to remember that what is called 
 the second cataract is properly a succession of swift rapids, 
 which, as we have already observed, extend fully a hundred 
 miles from Wady Haifa to Sukkot. He counted nine of 
 these ; some of which, particularly the second, fifth, seventh, 
 and ninth, were very dangerous to pass, although the river 
 had subsided but a few feet. Before his party arrived at 
 the fifth, called the Shellal of Ambigool, two boats were 
 wrecked against the rocks which crowd the channel ; and 
 before they could pass the ninth, the Shellal of Dal, several 
 accidents of the same kind took place. To clear these two falls, 
 it was necessary to employ about a hundred men to drag the 
 boats one after another against the current. At the former 
 the stream is interrupted by a ledge of rocks reaching nearly 
 across, over which it precipitates itself. Between this 
 shelve, indeed, and the western shore, there is a practicable 
 passage, wide enough to allow a boat to be hauled up the 
 current, which here runs very furiously.* 
 
 * Narrative of Expedition, p. 5. 
 D
 
 38 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 Near the upper part of the second cataract the country 
 becomes extremely beautiful and fertile ; verifying all the 
 reports respecting the excellence of the soil in the provinces 
 beyond Nubia. In some places the river is not less than 
 five or six miles broad, enclosing numerous islands on which 
 agricultural produce might be increased to almost any 
 amount. The scenes of verdure on the left bank far surpass 
 the finest views of rural magnificence in the Said, while the 
 mode of culture is not inferior to that pursued in the most 
 improved districts of the Lower Nile. The author of the 
 Narrative asserts that some of the grounds watered by the 
 stream might, by the hands of enlightened industry, be 
 made capable of producing every thing which the art of man, 
 operating upon a fine soil under a soft climate, could pos- 
 sibly effect. Many parts of Dongola exhibit the same rich 
 qualities, and present the same hopes to the farmer ; and, in 
 short, it is manifest that nothing besides a good government 
 is required to render those extensive districts the abode of 
 plenty, contentment, and civilization. 
 
 The Nile has with justice been represented as one of the 
 wonders of the globe. Its course has been compared to the 
 path of a good man amid a wicked generation. It passes 
 through a desert, dry, barren, and hideous ; on the portions 
 of which, contiguous to its banks, it deposites the richest 
 soil, which it continually waters and nourishes. This gift 
 has been the source of subsistence to several powerful nations, 
 who have established and overthrown mighty kingdoms, and 
 have originated the arts, the learning, and the refinement of 
 the greater part of the ancient world. Those nations — in- 
 structed and pupils — have perished ; but the remains of 
 their stupendous labours, the pyramids and the temples of 
 Egypt, Nubia, Dongola, and Meroe, are more than sufficient 
 to excite respect for the great people who founded them. 
 
 Under this impression a voyage up the Nile may be con- 
 sidered as presenting an epitome of the life of man. We meet 
 at almost every stage with the monuments of his tyranny, his 
 superstition, or his luxury, but with few memorials of his 
 talents directed to the improvement and protection of his fel- 
 low-creatures. We also everywhere perceive the traces of Al- 
 mighty justice on his crimes. On the banks of this ancient 
 river we behold cities, once famous for power and wealth, re- 
 duced to a heap of sand like the wilderness ; and temples, once
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 39 
 
 renowned, and colossal idols, at one time feared, now pros- 
 trate, and confounded with the dust of the worshippers. 
 The flocks lie down in the midst thereof; the cormorant and 
 bittern lodge in the towers and palaces : their voice sings 
 in the windows, and desolation is in the thresholds. The 
 Nile, meantime, which has seen so many generations rise 
 and disappear, still moves onward to distribute its fertilizing 
 fluid to the countries on its borders ; like the good Provi- 
 dence, which seems unwearied in trying to overcome the 
 ingratitude of man by the many favours it bestows upon him. 
 
 At a considerable distance above the second cataract the 
 traveller encounters the rapids of Doolga, where the river 
 again becomes embarrassed with rocks and small islands. 
 Navigation is so much impeded by these obstructions that 
 hardly any attempt is made to render it the medium of com- 
 merce on the confines of Shendy, or in that extensive reach 
 which terminates at the borders of Sennaar. But between 
 these two cataracts there are many objects that demand 
 attention ; among which, in order to diversify our nar- 
 rative, we shall submit to the reader a brief account of the 
 temple of Soleb, as also of the remarkable peninsula in- 
 closed by a bend of the Nile, and known as the modern 
 Merawe. 
 
 Near the parallel of the twenty-first degree of latitude, 
 and about four hundred paces from the western bank, stand 
 the ruins of the magnificent fane just mentioned. In ad- 
 vancing towards it the eye is first attracted by an elevated 
 stone foundation thirty feet in thickness, extending in front 
 of the temple, and of equal length with the portal. 
 
 The remains of two sphinxes are seen at either side of 
 the approach, where there was a staircase which led to the 
 main building, now in a state of complete dilapidation. 
 The front of the portal, of which only a part is left, is about 
 a hundred and seventy-five feet long ; and the width of the 
 steps is not less than fifty-seven feet. The wall, which is 
 twenty-four feet thick, is not solid, but contains a variety of 
 cells, set apart, it may be presumed, for a variety of uses, 
 no longer obvious to the uninitiated. 
 
 The first chamber is more than a hundred feet in breadth, 
 and eighty-nine in depth ; round three sides of which runs 
 a single row of pillars, while on the fourth there are indi- 
 cations of a double row ; making in the whole thirty
 
 40 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 columns, of which seven are still standing and perfert. 
 They seem all to have been executed from the same model ; 
 the diameter of the base being sixty-seven inches, and the 
 height about forty feet. They are inscribed with hierogly- 
 phics only, and exhibit no figures which can properly be 
 referred to the hand of the sculptor. 
 
 There is a second chamber, in which it is still possible to 
 trace a row of twenty-four pillars resembling those in the 
 first ; but their fragments are scattered about in every di- 
 rection. The very bases of some of them are rooted up, 
 and the mud-foundation on which they stood is completely 
 exposed. So entire yet so partial a ruin, it is remarked, 
 can only be attributed to the sudden yielding of the ground ; 
 for an earthquake would not have spared the columns which 
 remain in other parts of the edifice. 
 
 It is difficult to ascertain the dimensions of the adytum, 
 as no trace of the side-walls can be detected, and only a few 
 feet of the one which had formed the remote end of that 
 splendid sanctuary. It is manifest, however, that it must 
 have contained twelve pillars, and not more, and of these 
 there are three still entire. The rest have fallen chiefly 
 towards the Nile, under the assault of their powerful enemy 
 the desert ; and even one of those which stand is already 
 bo much inclined in the same direction that it must shortly 
 take a place beside the others. The lower parts of all the 
 columns bear representations of figures about three feet 
 high, of which the inferior half is concealed by a tablet in- 
 scribed with hieroglyphics. They are executed in the very 
 best style, as are all the sculptures remaining in the temple, 
 though in some places they have not been finished. Among 
 these Jupiter Amnion appears twice ; and to' him it is more 
 than probable, that the whole structure was originally dedi- 
 cated. 
 
 Mr. Waddington observes, that the temple of Soleb 
 affords the lightest specimen he had anywhere seen of 
 Egyptian or Ethiopian architecture. The sandstone, of 
 which most of the columns are composed, is beautifully 
 etrsaked with red, giving them from a distance a rich and 
 glowing tint. As the walls have almost entirely disappeared, 
 and the roof fallen in, there remains no ponderous heap of 
 masonry to destroy the effect of these beautiful pillars, backed 
 by the mountains of the desert or the clear blue horizon.
 
 D 2

 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 43 
 
 Here the man of taste does not contemplate a gloomy edifice, 
 where heaviness is substituted for dignity, height for sub- 
 limity, and size for grandeur, nor measures a pyramidal mass 
 of stone-work, climbing up to heaven in defiance of nature and 
 propriety. " We seemed," says the traveller just named, 
 " to be at Segesta, at Phigalea, or at Sunium, where lightness, 
 and colour, and elegance of proportion, contrasted with the 
 gigantic scenery about them, make the beauty of the build- 
 ings more lovely, and their durability more wonderful. 
 There is no attempt to imitate or rival the sublimity that 
 surrounds them ; they are content to be the masterpieces of 
 art, and therefore they and nature live on good terms 
 together, and set off each other's beauty. Those works 
 that aim at more than this, after exhausting treasuries, and 
 costing the life and happiness of millions, must be satisfied 
 at last to be called hillocks."* 
 
 Upon inspecting the map of Nubia it will be observed, that 
 at a point near Old Dongola the river turns towards the 
 north-east, and gives an insular form to a large extent of 
 land distinguished as the province or kingdom of Merawe. 
 In this tract (here are some magnificent monuments near the 
 spot which is supposed to have contained the ancient capital. 
 For example, there are the remains of seven temples, of 
 which the largest is 450 feet long (almost equal to St. Paul's) 
 by 159 broad. The principal apartment is 147 feet by 111, 
 and the next is 123 by 102. This edifice is, generally 
 speaking, in a very ruined state ; and some of the materials 
 are in so confused and shattered a position as to indicate 
 that they had been broken down and unskilfully replaced. 
 The other temples are of much smaller dimensions, but 
 several of them more perfectly preserved ; and in two, most 
 of the chambers are excavated in the solid rock. This is 
 part of a lofty eminence, called Gebel el Berkal, or the Holy 
 Mountain, along the foot of which all the monuments are 
 erected. Here are also seventeen pyramids, while at El 
 Belial, seven miles farther up the river, there is a more nu- 
 merous and lofty range of these structures, none of which, 
 however, rival those of Memphis. A general character of 
 ruin pervades the whole, and some, indeed, are reduced to 
 masses of mere rubbish ; a state which seems at least partly 
 
 * Journal of a Visit to some Parts of Ethiopia, p. 290,
 
 44 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 owing to the friable nature of the sandstone used by their 
 architects. The sculptures and ornaments which can still 
 be traced bear marks of very different periods of art ; some 
 being extremely rude and others nearly as perfect as any in 
 the palaces of Egypt. 
 
 The examination of these monuments, whether temples 
 or pyramids, has led to an ingenious hypothesis relative to 
 the site of the ancient Meroe, which is maintained with a 
 considerable show of argument and learning in a popular 
 journal. It is well known, that all the ancient authorities 
 describe the geographical position of the Ethiopian capital 
 as an island formed by the junction of the Nile with the 
 Astapus or river of Abyssinia, and with the Astaboras, which 
 is undoubtedly the modern Tacazze, still called Atbara. 
 The city of Meroe, then, if it stood in the country bounded 
 by the two latter rivers, must necessarily have been above 
 the point at which they unite ; a conclusion fully confirmed 
 by the direct statement of Eratosthenes. Near Shendy 
 accordingly, forty miles above that junction, there has been 
 discovered a range of buildings and pyramids of very con- 
 siderable extent and magnificence. Bruce in his journey 
 observed some of them, and threw out a conjecture that 
 they marked the site of Meroe, and thereby led to the natural 
 inference, that the kingdom recorded in history under the 
 same name must have had its territory between the Tacazze 
 and the Blue river. The judgment of the Greek geographer 
 and of the Scottish traveller have hitherto provailed against 
 every other supposition. It is insinuated, indeed, that M. 
 Cailliaud and Mr. Waddington were not perfectly satisfied 
 with the arguments of their predecessors ; but further con- 
 sideration, or an unwillingness to oppose an impression 
 almost universal, has induced them to acquiesce in the more 
 common conclusion. 
 
 But, says the author to whom we have alluded, " notwith- 
 standing so great a concurrence of authorities, we cannot 
 but think it pretty clear that the city of Meroe was not at 
 Shendy but at Merawe, and that the kingdoms of the same 
 name coincide ; though Meroe in its glory probably extended 
 to Dongola on the one side and Shendy on the other."* 
 
 The first coincidence, it is remarked, is that of name, 
 
 * Edinburgh Review, vol. xli. p. 190.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 45 
 
 which is complete ; for both Burckhardt and W aldington 
 observe, that the modern term, though written Merawe, has 
 the precise sound of Meroe. Resemblance of name, it is 
 admitted, is often accidental, though strict identity is very 
 seldom so ; and amid the general change, it is still common, 
 especially in those unfrequented tracts of Africa, that great 
 capitals, as Axum, Augila, and Es Souan, for example, 
 should continue to enjoy their old appellations. At all 
 events, the author concludes, resemblance, and, still more, 
 sameness, becomes almost decisive when there is a coinci- 
 dence also of circumstance and situation. Now here we 
 have, bearing the name of Meroe, a capital presenting in its 
 vicinity monuments that correspond exactly in character, 
 magnitude, and antiquity to those which ought to mark the 
 site of that celebrated metropolis of Ethiopia. There are no 
 other ruins in that country which can be compared to these ; 
 for, according to the measurements of Cailliaud, those of 
 Shendy are decidedly inferior. The length of the greatest 
 temple there is not quite 280 feet ; of that at Merawe it is 
 450. The elevation of the highest pyramid at the former 
 place is 81 feet ; of that at the latter it is 103. Now all 
 the ancient accounts unite in representing Meroe as without 
 a rival among the cities of Ethiopia ; but if Shendy be Me- 
 roe, says the reviewer, there must have been a much more 
 splendid capital nearer to Egypt, and yet unknown in Egypt. 
 We have then, he concludes, a combination of circumstances 
 in favour of the position of Merawe, which only the most 
 decided proof would be sufficient to negative. 
 
 Such proof, it is conceded, is with some apparent reason 
 supposed to exist in those ancient writings which appear 
 absolutely to require that Meroe must be above the junction 
 of the Nile and the Tacazze. But it is imagined that a 
 closer examination will probably alter our views as to the 
 decisive nature of these statements. It has never been ob- 
 served, says the reviewer, that by far the highest ancient 
 authority is in direct contradiction to them. To this pre- 
 eminence Ptolemy seems fully entitled, from the advanced 
 era at which he lived, the great extension of communication 
 in his time, and, in fact, the more accurate and detailed man- 
 ner in which he lays down his positions. His residence, 
 too, at Alexandria, then the centre of the commerce carried 
 on between Africa and the East, gives peculiar weight to
 
 46 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 his opinions respecting Egypt and the surrounding coun- 
 tries. His observations respecting Meroe are as follows : 
 
 11 Meroe is rendered an island by the river Nile coming 
 from the west, and by the river Astapus flowing from the 
 east. It contains these towns : 
 
 Ixing. Lat. 
 
 Meroe • 01.30* 16.26 
 
 Sacolche 61.40 15.15 
 
 Eser 61.40 13.30 
 
 Village of the Dari 62 12.30 
 
 Then the junction of the Nile and the Astapus 61 12 
 
 Then the junction of the Astaboras and Astapus 62.30 11.30' 
 
 In this table it is clear that Ptolemy places Meroe far 
 below the junction of the Nile with the Astapus, the As- 
 taboras, or any great stream whatsoever. He makes the dif- 
 ference of latitude indeed much too great ; but into this 
 error he appears to have been betrayed by extending his 
 itineraries nearly in a direct line up the river, without 
 allowing for the circuitous course which it pursues above 
 Dongola. Beyond Meroe the knowledge of Ptolemy, it is 
 granted, becomes obscure ; though from Egypt to that point 
 he gives a continued chain of geographical positions, at a 
 time when there is every reason to believe that the inter- 
 course between the two countries was frequent. It seems 
 then scarcely possible that he should have made a mistake 
 as to this particular ; or that so grand a feature should have 
 escaped his notice, as that the Nile, which for more than 
 three hundred leagues had not been augmented even by a 
 rivulet, receives below Meroe so mighty a tributary as 
 the Tacazze. 
 
 The author of the hypothesis whose arguments we are 
 endeavouring to abridge maintains also that the narrative 
 of Herodotus, though less detailed than the other, appears 
 to point to the same spot. According to that ancient writer, 
 travellers ascending the Nile above Elephantine" journeyed 
 first forty days to avoid the cataracts, then embarked, and 
 were conveyed in twelve days to Meroe. The place where 
 they took shipping was, he thinks, probably on the borders 
 of Dongola, where the long line of rapids is found to ter- 
 
 * Longitude from Ferro island, where the first meridian used to b* 
 placed.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 47 
 
 minate. From thence to Merawe twelve days would corres- 
 pond with the same rate of advancing ; whereas, to Shendy, 
 the supposed site of the proper Meroe, that space of time 
 would be much too small. Again, Meroe is stated by this 
 historian to be midway between Egypt and the Land of 
 the Exiles, described by other writers as an island formed 
 by the Nile, and which the reviewer thinks can be no other 
 than Sennaar, where the Blue and White rivers give to the 
 intervening country something of an insular aspect. Now, 
 Merawe, he remarks, is exactly at an equal distance between 
 Egypt and the kingdom just named, whereas Shendy would 
 violate altogether the relation of equality between the two 
 divisions. 
 
 Further, Strabo, following the authority of Eratosthenes, 
 supplies a statement which seems to have a reference to 
 Shendy, and is, says the reviewer, the only one that can 
 cause a doubt. But elsewhere he describes Meroe as 
 " bounded upwards on the south by the junction of the 
 rivers Astapus, Astaboras, and Astasobus." This, he adds, 
 agrees very closely with our idea on the subject, and is quite 
 contrary to that which would represent the Astaboras as 
 the northern limit of Meroe. His statement, also, that this 
 is the last kingdom of the Ethiopians, after which the 
 Nouba? commence and occupy the Nile downwards to 
 Egypt, is still true only in regard to Merawe. 
 
 But, returning to the main objection, the author is aware, 
 it will be asked, How was the idea so prevalent among an- 
 cient geographers, that Meroe was formed by the junction 
 of the great rivers, — and why does Ptolemy himself, in the 
 title of his chapter, admit the same notion, though his state- 
 ment is rather in contradiction to it ? The following re- 
 marks, he thinks, will afford a sufficient explanation of the 
 manner in which the mistake originated. 
 
 All who are conversant with the early history of geography 
 must be aware of the many errors with which it abounds. 
 Among these none are more frequent than such as respect 
 the continuous course of great rivers, and the distinction 
 between islands and large peninsulas. The latter terms, 
 indeed, are often used as synonymous, though perhaps only 
 through the influence of this original blunder. Now, the 
 reader need only look at the map of the country here con- 
 sidered as Meroe, under its modern name of Merawe, inter-
 
 48 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 sccted by what might almost be called three parallel branches 
 of the Nile, in order to perceive how probable it is that the 
 first imperfect account should represent it as an island en- 
 closed by three separate rivers. The original opinion, indeed, 
 which is still to be found in Mela and Pliny, was, that the 
 Astapus and Astaboras were branches of the Nile itself, 
 first separating and forming Meroe into a species of delta, 
 and then reuniting ; an idea' which seems to have a peculiar 
 reference to the parallel streams of the modern Merawe. 
 Then, after it was found that the Nile in this neighbourhood 
 received some large tributaries, it was very natural to con- 
 sider them as the river-branches employed in the formation 
 of Meroe. The original idea of it, as of an island enclosed 
 by these streams, appears to have become rooted in the 
 minds of geographers, even after they had obtained a know- 
 ledge of the facts by which their opinion was directly con- 
 futed.* 
 
 " Such are the considerations," say the reviewers, " which, 
 tii our apprehension, establish the identity of the ancient 
 with the modern Meroe. If the discussion has been tedious, 
 it should be remembered that it involves not merely a 
 curious problem in geography, but the site of monuments 
 calculated to throw light on the arts and history of one of 
 the most celebrated nations of antiquity. "t 
 
 In describing the local peculiarities of Nubia, we could 
 not omit all notice of so able an attempt to oppose the settled 
 opinions on this interesting point, although we do not con- 
 cur in the conclusions to which the author has permitted 
 himself to be carried. We can hardly imagine it possible 
 that any geographer who had examined the country could 
 be so far deceived by the winding course of the Nile as to 
 regard the several sections of the stream which run north- 
 by-west, south-west, and north, as three separate and dis- 
 tinct rivers bearing different names. Besides, the ancient 
 writers uniformly mention a junction of the currents ; for 
 even Pliny and Pomponius Mela, to whose statement some 
 importance is attached by the reviewer, while they coun- 
 tenance the supposition that the Astapus and Astaboras 
 might be branches of the Nile, relate most unambiguously, 
 that they reunited with their parent waters, — a view of the 
 
 * Pom. Mela. lib. ix e. 10 ; Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. ix. 
 f Edinburgh Review, vet xh. p 193.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 49 
 
 case which necessarily implies a point of meeting. It is 
 obvious, in the next place, that no one who had observed 
 the direction of the current in the two portions of the Nile 
 which wash the eastern and western shores of Merawe, 
 could ever hold the opinion that they anywhere unite and 
 become one river ; for while on the left-hand it flows towards 
 the south-west, on the right-hand it runs nearly due north. 
 We may also remark, that the Land of the Exiles is not 
 usually restricted to Sennaar, but is rather imagined to have 
 been situated near the sources of the Abyssinian river, 
 where the curvature of the channel produces the appear- 
 ance of an island. On this supposition, the estimate of 
 Herodotus, who places Meroe at an equal distance between 
 Egypt and the province occupied by the military refugees, 
 will apply with sufficient accuracy to Shendy, the region 
 enclosed by the Tacazze and the Bahr el Azrek. 
 
 Between Dongola and Merawe, the country, many parts 
 of which are rich and beautiful, is occupied by a race of 
 men called Sheygyans, remarkable for valour in the field as 
 well as for a roaming manner of life, and in some respects 
 more allied to the freebooter than to the agriculturist or sol- 
 dier. After being forced from their lands by Ishmael they 
 took refuge near Shendy, from which position, as they 
 found him still advancing southwards, they sent messengers 
 demanding terms of peace. The pasha replied, that the 
 only conditions on which they could obtain their request 
 were, the surrender of their horses and arms, and a return 
 to their own territory, where they were to bind themselves 
 to live tranquilly, and without disturbing their neighbours. 
 The ambassadors answered that they would not give up 
 their hcgrses and arms. The Egyptian commander rejoined, 
 that he would go to Shendy and take them ; thev said, 
 "Come!" 
 
 It is reported, that previous to the advance of the Turkish 
 force from Wady Haifa, deputies from the chiefs of Sheygya 
 arrived at the camp, to ask for what reason the pasha me- 
 naced them with war. He replied, " Because you are rob- 
 bers, who live by disturbing and pillaging the countries 
 around your own." They observed, that they had no 
 other means to live. Ishmael said, " Cultivate your land, 
 and live honestly." They answered with great simplicity, 
 "We have been bred up to live and prosper by what you 
 E
 
 50 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 call robbery ; we will not work, and cannot change our 
 manner of living." The invader thundered in their ears, 
 " I will make you change it !" We shall hereafter have 
 occasion to revert to the history of these undaunted bar- 
 barians ; meantime we trace the progress of discovery up- 
 wards along the course of the Nile, which from Dongola to 
 Sennaar is yet almost entirely unknown to the European 
 reader. 
 
 In passing Merawe the river flows from the north-east, 
 and accordingly, although the traveller is ascending the 
 stream, he has, in fact, turned his back upon the country to 
 which his inquiries are directed. As this remarkable curve 
 in the Nile was not fully ascertained till the period when the 
 son of the Egyptian pasha made his famous expedition into 
 Sennaar, we have endeavoured to assist the comprehension 
 of the reader by adjusting our map. 
 
 Ishmael attempted to force his boats through the obstruc- 
 tions of the cataract ; but every effort failed, except in re- 
 gard to those which did not draw more than three feet of 
 water. By the assistance of all the male population on the 
 banks, nine of the class now described were dragged as far 
 as Berber, after an incessant toil of fifty-seven days. Mr. 
 English, who accompanied the Turkish armament, observes 
 that the river is spotted with an infinity of islands and 
 rocks. In some of the passages where it was deep, the cur- 
 rent was as swift as a mill-sluice, which made it necessary 
 to employ the crews of perhaps twenty boats to drag up 
 one at a time. In other places where the water was shal- 
 low, they were sometimes compelled to pull them by main 
 force over the stones at the bottom. He is decidedly of 
 opinion, that when the river is full and the flood strong, this 
 cataract must be almost impassable upwards ; as, on ac- 
 count of the strange direction of its course, little or no aid 
 can be derived from the wind. Besides, the rush in some 
 parts, from the straitness of the passages between the rocks 
 and islands, must in the time of the inundation be very 
 furious ; while, from the natural obstacles which cover the 
 shore, the cordel used for dragging could hardly overcome 
 the difficulties which would be incessantly presented. 
 
 The canja belonging to Ishmael, — probably the first boat 
 that ever passed the third cataract of the Nile, — accomplished 
 the voyage to Berber, after having been lifted three times
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 51 
 
 over impracticable shallows. The natives had never before 
 seen a vessel impelled by sails. They called it a " water- 
 mare :" comparing it by this appellation to the swiftest 
 animal with which they are acquainted. They ran in crowds 
 to the bank of the river to see it mount the current without 
 the aid of oars. 
 
 The Melek of Berber, whose name is Nousreddin, ap- 
 pears to occupy a moveable capital, or rather to select for 
 that purpose any one of the numerous villages which skirt 
 the eastern side of the Nile. The houses are built of clay, 
 and roofed with unhewn timber ; that of the king is like 
 the rest, only somewhat larger. The country is fertile and 
 well cultivated ; abounding in dhoura, cotton, barley, fine 
 horses, camels, dromedaries, kine, sheep, goats, and fowls. 
 The natives, though resembling the Fellahs of Upper 
 Egypt, are not, generally speaking, either so handsome or 
 so well formed; and many of them have defective teeth, 
 occasioned, it is thought, by the habit of chewing tobaceo, 
 which is c( a very inferior quality in that district. In their 
 deportment they are extremely mild and polite. Every man 
 you meet gives the greeting of peace, and shows a disposi- 
 tion to accommodate the stranger in all things reasonable ; 
 an effect which is ascribed to the circumstance, that they 
 are in a great degree a commercial people, as Berber is 
 every year visited by numerous caravans from Abyssinia, 
 Sennaar, Darfur, and Kordofan.* 
 
 The territory of Berber does not appear to be very exten- 
 sive, only stretching along the banks of the river from the 
 third cataract for about eight days' journey upwards. On 
 the eastern side it is separated from Shendy by the Bahr 
 el Uswood or Black River. The cultivable land reaches 
 generally to the distance of one or two miles from the mar- 
 gin of the stream, by which it is regularly overflowed at the 
 season of the inundation, and rendered very fruitful. The 
 country contains abundance of salt, which the natives find 
 in the hilly ground along the borders of the desert. It is 
 
 * Narrative of Expedition, p. 112. We are told by Mr. English, that 
 the ordinary price of a virgin wife in Berber is a horse, which (he bride- 
 groom is obliged to present to the father of the girl he demands in mar- 
 riage. " I remember asking a young peasant of whom I bought pro- 
 vision one day, why he did not marry ] He pointed to a colt in the yard, 
 and told me that when the colt became big enough, he should take a 
 wife."— Narrative, p. 122.
 
 52 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 mixed with calcareous earth which is separated by washing, 
 and the usual process of evaporization. The metropolis 
 which Nousreddin honours with his court appears to have 
 houses sufficient for a population of five or six thousand ; 
 but the actual inhabitants, it is probable, seldom amount to 
 that number. The language is Arabic, perfectly intelligible 
 to the natives of Egypt, but containing some words at pres- 
 ent disused in that kingdom. There is a mixture of He- 
 brew terms in the ordinary speech of the people, common, 
 we may presume, to both those ancient dialects ; and it is a 
 remarkable circumstance, that the chiefs of Dongola, Shey- 
 gya, Berber, Shendy, and Halfaia should bear the same 
 title which is employed in the Jewish Scriptures to designate 
 the petty sovereigns of Canaan. 
 
 On the western side of the Nile, opposite to the island or 
 peninsula of Meroe, there is a large village called Shendy 
 el Garb, — that is, Shendy on the west bank. The road to 
 it from Berber leads through a country consisting of im- 
 mense plains of fertile soil, extending many milefe from the 
 river, and for the most part covered with herbage. There 
 are numerous hamlets, situated at a considerable distance 
 from the stream, in order to be secure from the inundation. 
 The houses are generally built with straw roofs neatly 
 thatched, and having a decided slope ; a proof that this 
 country is within the reach of the annual rains. When 
 visited by the Egyptian army, the current at El Garb was 
 much contracted, although its bed was frequently found to 
 extend more than a mile and a half in breadth. The town, 
 which is respectable in its appearance, contains about six 
 thousand inhabitants, and has three market-places, where 
 the people of the country exchange their dollars and dhoura 
 for a variety of useful commodities. 
 
 Shendy, on the east bank, is also the capital of the coun- 
 try which surrounds it, and can boast of a population not 
 less numerous than its rival on the other shore. Large 
 areas, walled round for the reception of the merchandise 
 brought by the caravans, are to be seen in various parts of 
 the town ; the streets are wide and airy ; and regular mar- 
 kets are established, where, besides meat, butter, grain, and 
 vegetables, are also to be purchased spices imported from 
 Jidda, gum-arabic, beads, and other ornaments for the 
 women. It stands about half a mile from the river, sur-
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 53 
 
 rounded by land rather indifferent in its qualities ; so that 
 the place derives its sole importance from being the staple 
 of the traffic, including slaves, which continues to be carried 
 on between Sennaar, Mecca, and Egypt. 
 
 This portion of ancient Ethiopia possesses a great interest, 
 as connected with the junction of the two principal branches 
 of the Nile, the White, and the Blue rivers, — a distinction, 
 as will soon appear, that arises from the very different 
 colour of their waters. The latter, or Abyssinian stream, is 
 not half as broad as the other at the point where they meet; 
 the Bahr el Abiad being about a mile and a quarter from 
 bank to bank. It is also troubled and whitish, and has a 
 peculiar taste bordering on positive sweetness. The Turkish 
 soldiers said that " the water of the Abiad does not quench 
 thirst ;" a notion probably originating in the circumstance 
 that they w T ere never tired of drinking it, so Iio-ht and 
 pleasant was it to the palate. The Bahr el Azrek, or Nile 
 of Mr. Bruce, was perfectly pure and transparent, but by no 
 means so agreeable as a beverage ; a fact which the author of 
 the Narrative ascertained by drinking first of the one, and 
 then walking about two hundred yards across the point and 
 drinking of the other. 
 
 The Abyssinian branch enters the Bahr el Abiad nearly 
 at right angles ; bat such is the mass of the latter that the 
 former cannot mingle its waters with it for many miles below 
 their junction ; and as the one is light-coloured and the 
 other dark, the eastern part of the united river is black and 
 the western side white for more than a league after their 
 meeting. The latter colour is occasioned by a very fine clay 
 held in a state of suspension, and to which the singular fla- 
 vour that distinguishes the Abiad is undoubtedly to be as- 
 cribed. Below the point of union the Nile presents a truly 
 magnificent spectacle. Between Halfaia and Shendy it 
 traverses a deep gloomy defile formed by rocky hills, and runs 
 with considerable force about twelve or fifteen miles. On 
 emerging from this strait it again spreads itself out majest- 
 ically amid immense plains bounded only by the horizon ; and 
 after receiving the Bahr el Uswood, it displays a current not 
 less than two miles broad even before the inundation. 
 
 During his stay in Sennaar, the American officer endeav- 
 oured to obtain information from the people of the country, 
 as well as from the caravan-merchants whom he happened 
 E2
 
 54 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 to meet, in regard to the two great rivers which compose 
 the Egyptian Nile. He was told that the source of the 
 eastern or Abyssinian branch is in the Gebel el Gumara, or 
 Mountains of the Moon, about sixty days' march of a camel, 
 in a direction nearly south. It receives, at various dis- 
 tances above their city, several streams which come from the 
 south and east, taking their rise in an alpine range that 
 stretches into the dominions of the Galla. The course of 
 the Bahr el Abiad, they assured him, is nearly parallel to 
 that of the Azrek, but that its source is much more remote, 
 although, like the other, among the eminences of the Gebel 
 el Gumara. It is also augmented by the accession of a 
 number of tributaries, which issue from mountains southward 
 of Sennaar. On his asking whether the White River were 
 open and free from shellals or rapids, they answered, that 
 at a place called Sulluk, about fifteen days' march above 
 Shendy, there was one which they believed boats could not 
 pass. When he inquired whether, by following the banks 
 of the said river, or of the one which empties itself into it 
 from the west, it were possible to re^ch a city called Tombat 
 or Timbuctoo, they replied that they knew nothing of 
 such a place, having never been farther west than Kordofan 
 or Darfur. 
 
 This was all he could learn ; but he himself is disposed 
 to believe that the main stream of the Abiad cannot have its 
 source in the same latitude with the Azrek : because "it com- 
 mences its rise twenty days sooner than the other ; while 
 the colour of its water proves that it flows through a tract 
 of country differing in quality of soil from the regions per- 
 vaded by the eastern current. He is further inclined to think, 
 that the Nile of Bruce has not its principal fountain in Abys- 
 sinia, but rather in the lofty range assigned for its origin 
 by the people of Sennaar.. On viewing the mass of water 
 that passed downward while he w r as in the kingdom now 
 mentioned, even before the flood had attained two-thirds of 
 the usual magnitude it acquires during the rainy season, he 
 thought it very improbable that the main source of such a 
 river was not distant more than three hundred miles. 
 
 The territory included between the Abiad and the Azrek 
 is usually called El Gezira, or the Island ; because, in the 
 season of the rains, the numerous rivers which run into
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 55 
 
 them from the mountains in the south encompass the dis- 
 trict with their spreading waters. 
 
 Mr. English is satisfied that the representations made of 
 the climate of Sennaar are much exaggerated. Except 
 during the rainy part of the year, the country presents an 
 elevated plain, not only dry, but well ventilated by the breezes 
 from the south and east, which are generally cool, because 
 they come either from, the mountains of Abyssinia or from 
 the huge ridges that compose the Gebel el Gumara. He 
 was there at midsummer, and at no time did he find the 
 heat very uncomfortable, provided he was in the open air 
 and under a shade. Within doors, he allows, the temper- 
 ature was much raised ; and, in the absence of the proper 
 means to secure comfort, its effects were extremely dis- 
 agreeable. The houses, he adds, were full of lizards, which, 
 if you lie on the floor, you may feel crawling over you all 
 night. He saw a singular species of snake or serpent. It 
 was about two feet long, and not thicker than a man's thumb, 
 striped on the back, with a copper-coloured belly and a flat 
 head. It had four legs, which did not appear to be of any 
 use, as they were short, and seemed to hang from the lower 
 part of his sides. All its motions, which were quick and 
 rapid, were made on the belly, after the usual manner of 
 serpents.* 
 
 As to domestic customs and habits, there is a general re- 
 semblance among all the nations who occupy the borders of 
 the Nile from Es Souan to Sennaar, though the inhabitants 
 differ somewhat in complexion and character. Those in 
 the province of Sukkot, for example, are not so black as the 
 Nubians and the Dongolese. They are also frank and prepos- 
 sessing in their deportment. The last-mentioned class are 
 dirty, idle, and ferocious ; a description which might likewise 
 be applied to the Sheygyan, were it not that, so far from 
 beino- indolent, he is either an industrious peasant or a 
 daring freebooter. The natives who dwell near the third 
 cataract have the reputation of being honest and obliging ; 
 although it must be admitted, that in point of civilization 
 they are much inferior to the people of Berber, the most im- 
 proved of all the tribes on the Upper Nile. The inhabitants 
 of those extensive tracts, of which Shendy and Halfaia are 
 
 * Narrative of Expedition, p- 15-5.
 
 56 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 the capitals, are a sullen, crafty, and rather bloodthirsty race ; 
 while the peasants of Sennaar, those especially who were 
 found at a distance from the principal town, were compara- 
 tively mild and virtuous. Throughout the whole of these 
 countries there is one general characteristic in which they 
 resemble the Indians of America, — courage and self-respect. 
 The chiefs, we are told, after coming to salute Ishmael Pasha, 
 made no scruple of sitting down opposite to him, and entering 
 into conversation without the slightest embarrassment, in 
 the same manner as they are accustomed to do with their 
 own meleks, with whom they are very familiar. With the 
 greatest apparent simplicity, they were wont to propose very 
 troublesome questions to the invader; such as, " O great 
 sheik, what have we done to you or your country that you 
 should come so far to make war upon us 1 Is it for want 
 of food in your own land that you come to seek it in ours ?" 
 
 The manufactures of the several clans beyond Wady 
 Haifa are limited to the following articles : Earthen-ware 
 for domestic use, and bowls for pipes : Gotton cloth for gar- 
 ments ; knives, mattocks, hoes, ploughs, and water-wheels 
 for agriculture ; horse-furniture, including most excellent 
 saddles, very neatly fabricated ; stirrups in the European 
 form, and not like those of the Turks, such as are made for 
 the chiefs being usually of silver ; large iron spurs ; bits 
 with small chains for bridles, to prevent them from being 
 severed by the stroke of an enemy's sabre ; long and double- 
 edged broadswords, with the guard frequently made of a 
 precious metal ; iron heads for lances, and shields made of 
 elephants' skin ; to which may be added, very beautiful 
 straw-mats worked by the women. 
 
 When the Sultan of Sennaar surrendered his country to 
 the disposal of the grand seignior, the pasha sent notices 
 to all the chiefs of the kingdom, making known to them this 
 act of submission, and demanding their allegiance and 
 homage. But the leader of the mountaineers in the south- 
 western district, not only refused to acknowledge Ishmael 
 as his lord-paramount — he even scorned to look on his 
 letter. Similar replies were made by the governors on the 
 eastern side of the Nile, who, while they declined to recog- 
 nise the act of their sovereign, called him a coward and a 
 traitor for giving up his dominions to a stranger. This 
 resolute conduct on their part led to two expeditions, from
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 57 
 
 which some valuable information has been gained in respect 
 to the distant provinces that they were sent to subdue. 
 
 The divan eifendi at the head of three hundred men 
 crossed the Nile, and soon crushed every attempt made by 
 the spirited barbarians to oppose the new government. 
 " We marched," says he, " without resistance for eight 
 days in the direction of the rising sun, through a country, 
 fine, fertile, and crowded with villages, till we came to 
 some larger ones near a mountain called Catla, where we 
 found four or five hundred men posted in front of them to 
 resist our march. They were armed with lances, and pre- 
 sented themselves to the combat with great resolution. 
 But on experiencing the effect of our firearms they took to 
 Qight towards the mountain ; two hundred of them were 
 hemmed in and cut to pieces, and three of their chiefs were 
 taken prisoners, as well as all the inhabitants we. could find ; 
 after which we returned." 
 
 On being asked with regard to water at a distance from 
 the river, the effendi replied, that " there were wells in 
 abundance in all the numerous villages with which the 
 country abounds, and also many rivulets and streams, which 
 at this season descend from the mountains." The troops, 
 he added, had forded two small rivers, probably the Rahad 
 and the Dender, the scenery all around being very fine, and 
 presenting many beautiful birds and insects. He brought 
 one of these last with him, which proved to be a scarabaeus, 
 covered with a close crimson down, exactly resembling 
 scarlet velvet. The people of the country he described as 
 very harmless, and exceedingly anxious to know what had 
 brought the Egyptian army to Sennaar to trouble them.* 
 
 But the other expedition under Hagi Achmet was at- 
 tended with still more important results. This officer, one 
 of the roughest under the command of Ishmael, was 
 intrusted with four hundred cavalry and three able lawyers, 
 a force which was deemed sufficient either to persuade or 
 compel the reluctant mountaineers to submission. He 
 marched rapidly during ten days in a direction almost 
 south-west of Sennaar, through a well-peopled country, 
 without encountering any resistance till he came to the lofty 
 ridge of Bokki inhabited by pagans, the followers of 
 
 * Narrative of Expedition, p. 176.
 
 58 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 the chief who had rejected the pasha's letter. They were 
 drawn up on high ground not easy to be approached ; but 
 their position was soon stormed, and after a desperate 
 struggle they found that spears and swords, though wielded 
 by vigorous hands, were not a match for firearms. They 
 fled to another mountain in the rear of that in which they 
 had first taken post ; and being again attacked with cannon 
 and musketry, they were obliged to retreat to a third strong- 
 hold, still deeper in the recesses of their hills, and inacces- 
 sible to cavalry. On this occasion, however, part of them 
 were surrounded by the horsemen of Achmet, and fifteen 
 hundred put to the sword. Believing that he had given 
 them ample proof that resistance on their part was un- 
 availing, and finding that his troops were suffering much 
 from the continual rains, Hagi, after sweeping the villages 
 of all the people who remained, resumed his march to 
 the camp of his master. In the course of their journey 
 his men had to ford several deep rivers, already rushing 
 in full stream from the mountains ; and before they 
 reached Sennaar both they and their horses were much 
 exhausted.* 
 
 The natives of Bokki are described as a hardy race, tall, 
 stout, and handsome. They are said to be pagans, worship- 
 pers of the sun, which, however, they consider it profane 
 to look at. The prisoners resembled in their dress the 
 savages of America ; being nearly covered with beads, 
 bracelets, and trinkets, made of pebbles, bones, and ivory. 
 Their complexion is almost black. Their manners and 
 deportment are prepossessing, bearing the stamp of simpli- 
 city and confidence, together with that air of self-esteem 
 which is never offensive in the mere child of nature. The 
 arms of these people excited great surprise ; they consisted 
 of well-formed and rather elegant iron helmets, coats-of- 
 mail made of leather and overlaid with plates of iron, long 
 lances, extremely well fabricated, and a hand weapon ex- 
 actly resembling the bills anciently used in England by the 
 yeomanry. With such instruments of assault they were 
 very formidable in personal combat. They had never seen 
 firearms, but, nevertheless, withstood them with great 
 intrepidity. They said that a fusee was a coward's weapon, 
 
 * Narrative, p. 193.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA.. 59 
 
 who stands at a safe distance from his enemy and kills him 
 with an invisible stroke. 
 
 We have been more minute than usual in our details 
 respecting the state of society among the people above the 
 junction of the rivers, because till the famous expedition of 
 Ishmael Pasha, no European in modern times had visited 
 that remote country. Of the city of Sennaar itself, which 
 in the days of Poncet was remarkable for its population, 
 little now remains besides a heap of ruins. There are 
 indeed in some of its quarters several hundred habitable but 
 almost deserted houses ; and at every step the traveller 
 treads upon portions of burnt bricks, among which are often 
 found fragments of porcelain and even of marble. The 
 most conspicuous buildings now are a mosque and a large 
 palace adjoining to it. The former is in good preservation ; 
 its windows are covered with bronze gratings skilfully 
 manufactured, and the doors are handsomely and curiously 
 carved. The interior, when viewed by the American officer, 
 was desecrated by uncouth figures of animals portrayed 
 upon the walls with charcoal. This profanation had been 
 perpetrated by the infidels who dwell in the mountains, a 
 march of thirteen days southward of the capital ; and who 
 at some period not very long past had taken the town, and 
 left upon the walls these tokens of their disrespect for the 
 religion of the Prophet. 
 
 The palace is large, but in ruins, except a single pile of 
 building in the centre, which is six stories high, and has 
 five rows of windows. When stationed on the roof, the 
 visiter obtains the best view that is anywhere to be had of 
 this barbarian metropolis ; which appears to be about three 
 miles in circumference, of an oblong form, and stretched 
 along the western bank of the Abyssinian Nile. In exam- 
 ining the structure of the older description of houses, the 
 most remarkable thing in the eye of a European is the 
 workmanship of the doors. These are composed of planks 
 carefully planed and jointed, frequently adorned with carv- 
 ing, andf strengthened or studded with very broad-headed 
 nails ; the whole inimitable by the present population of Sen- 
 naar, The houses themselves are rarely of more than one 
 story in height, having roofs terraced with fine clay spread 
 over mats laid upon rafters. Such is the present appearance 
 of a town that has evidently been once rich and flourishing,
 
 60 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 but which, during eighteen years prior to the date of the 
 Egyptian expedition, had been the victim of repeated wars 
 and rebellion. 
 
 The country in the neighbourhood of Sennaar consists of 
 wide plains, in which are numerous and spacious villages. 
 A long rugged mountain, the only one in sight, stands about 
 fifteen miles to the westward of the town. Below it is a 
 small but pretty island, whose inhabitants earn a livelihood 
 by raising vegetables for the market ; and the opposite 
 bank of the river presents several verdant patches devoted 
 to the same object. At a greater distance the ground ap- 
 peared to be chiefly covered with trees and brushwood, 
 among which were seen a number of elephants in search of 
 food. 
 
 We have hitherto followed the progress of the invading 
 army under the command of Tshmael, the son of Mohammed 
 Ali, guided by the narrative of the American officer in the 
 service of that prince. Cailliaud and his friend M. Letorzec 
 were likewise attached to the camp, and enjoyed the counte- 
 nance of the military chief, who appears to have shaped his 
 conduct towards them under the impression that the know- 
 ledge of his exploits in Upper Nubia would be commu- 
 nicated to Europe through the medium of their writings. 
 From Sennaar to the remote Singueh we accompanied the 
 French author, whose work is not only the most recent, but 
 also the most satisfactory on this branch of our geographical 
 survey. In truth, there is no other publication in the lan- 
 guages of the West to which we can have recourse ; and 
 we may add, that no Frank traveller in the memory of man 
 has ever penetrated into those distant provinces on the Blue 
 River, which about ten years ago were "traversed by the 
 Egyptian troops in their celebrated expedition against the 
 meleks of the south. It may be noticed, that before the 
 army commenced their march, the Pasha Ibrahim, after- 
 ward so well known in Greece, had joined his brother with 
 a reinforcement, and, was prepared to share with him the 
 perils of a new campaign. 
 
 It was on the 5th of December, 1821, that these chiefs 
 left Sennaar at the head of their respective divisions, and 
 proceeded along the western bank of the Abyssinian Nile. 
 After a few days they separated ; Ishmael keeping near 
 that stream, and the other holding more to the westward, in
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 63 
 
 the direction of the Bahr el Abiad. Ibrahim had twelve 
 hundred men under his command ; his colleague had fifteen 
 hundred ; while an equal number was left to guard the 
 camp and secure the new conquests. 
 
 The march through a country impeded with wood was 
 necessarily tedious, and seldom relieved by the occurrence 
 of any interesting events. The invaders, who were sup- 
 plied with a few pieces of cannon, required the aid of 
 camels and other beasts of burden, which on some occa- 
 sions increased the difficulties of their passage. It was not, 
 therefore, till the 17th day of the month that, after having 
 seen a number of inferior villages, they arrived at El Que- 
 ribyn, a small town built on the declivity of a hill, and 
 flanked on either side by a rocky eminence. 
 
 After a number of observations, M. Cailliaud ascertained 
 the position of this place to be in 12 degrees and about 7 
 minutes of north latitude, and in 31 degrees 30 minutes of 
 east longitude, reckoning from Paris, or 33° 50' east from 
 London. El Queribyn is dependent on Sennaar ; and the 
 inhabitants, being assured that no injury would be inflicted 
 on them, remained in their huts, of which the annexed 
 drawing, says the author, exhibits a correct representation. 
 
 Proceeding still towards the south, though verging occa- 
 sionally in an eastern direction, the troops under Ishmael 
 pursued their march into Fazoglo. Envoys had previously 
 arrived from the melek of that country, expressing his 
 readiness to submit to the Pasha of Egypt ; suggesting 
 at the same time that his arms might be successfully em- 
 ployed against the unbelieving pagans who inhabit the 
 neighbouring mountains. This hint coincided but too closely 
 with the main object of the general, which was to capture 
 the natives and send them to the lower provinces as slaves, 
 or to find employment for them in the gold mines said to 
 abound in their rocky frontier. An attack on the defence- 
 less Caffres soon followed, attended with very revolting 
 circumstances. About seventy prisoners, chiefly women, 
 crowned the first attempt of the Turks against that simple 
 race, who were entirely ignorant of the use of firearms. 
 
 Advancing to Kilgou, a village situated on a hill, Ishmael 
 gave orders to attack it with such impetuosity as would 
 preclude either escape or defence. His instructions were 
 executed with the utmost promptitude ; the rocks were
 
 64 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 scaled, and a great number of the inhabitants found them- 
 selves in the grasp of an enemy whom they had not only 
 not provoked, but whose approach they had not anticipated. 
 The resistance, however, did honour to their courage and 
 ingenuity. They retreated to their fastnesses on the higher 
 grounds ; and the soldiers, when they attempted to follow 
 them, saw their ranks thinned by huge masses of stone 
 rolled down the sides of the mountains, or by spears which 
 were handled with great dexterity. The pasha himself, 
 who advanced at the head of a party of Mamlouks, made a 
 very narrow escape from the darts of the mountaineers. 
 A colonel of Albanians was pierced with many wounds, and 
 left on the field. Still the issue of the combat was unfa- 
 vourable to the bold barbarians. Their missile weapons 
 were exhausted, and the bravest of their number slain ; in 
 which circumstances they were compelled to place their 
 whole confidence in flight towards precipices, where their 
 assailants could not pursue them except by musket-shot. 
 Ishmael sustained a loss of forty wounded and twelve killed ; 
 but he considered himself amply indemnified by the capture 
 of five hundred and seventy-two prisoners, as also by the 
 intelligence that a hundred and eighty of his opponents had 
 fallen. 
 
 The inhabitants of this district, whom M. Cailliaud de- 
 scribes as negroes, have curled hair, thick lips, and project- 
 ing cheek-bones ; but few of them showed flat noses, while 
 many had even fine features. Among all who were brought 
 into the camp he did not discover one that could speak Ara- 
 bic. We may add that Kilgou is in lat. 11° 33' 35" north, 
 and long. 33° 56' east. 
 
 The two great objects of gold and slaves, which had 
 animated the zeal of Ishmael throughout the whole of this 
 expedition, induced him to extend his march from the vil- 
 lage just named towards the mountains of Taby and Gassi, 
 where he expected to make a large addition to his human 
 booty. His disappointment may therefore be conceived, 
 when he found that the inhabitants of the numerous hamlets 
 which were scattered along its declivities were prepared, not 
 only to meet his soldiers among the ravines and precipices, 
 but also to attack his camp in the night. Unwilling to 
 protract a war where his loss would probably have exceeded 
 any advantage he might gain, he gave orders to strike his
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 65 
 
 camp, and march upon Fazoglo, the ruler of which had 
 already proffered his friendship and allegiance. 
 
 The Egyptian prince, on approaching this capital, was 
 met by Hassan at the distance of five leagues, accompanied 
 by his ministers riding on beautiful Abyssinian horses, and 
 surrounded by a hundred guards armed with lances. When 
 Ishmael came in sight, the melek and his attendants dis- 
 mounted, and advancing on foot prostrated themselves before 
 him. The king made him a present of two valuable steeds. 
 Meanwhile the guards stepped forward, and after raising 
 the wonted shout, formed into line, dropped down on one 
 knee, and turned the point of their spears to the ground in 
 token of submission. In return for this kind reception, the 
 pasha gave orders that his troops should not pass through 
 the villages, lest the inhabitants should receive any injury 
 from the soldiers, whose license, he acknowledged, he could 
 not always check. 
 
 For the reason just stated M. Cailliaud did not enter 
 Fazoglo on that occasion ; though he was soon afterward 
 permitted by the general to pay it a visit. He found it a 
 small place, and altogether unworthy of the extensive prov- 
 ince to w T hich it gives a name. It stands about a quarter 
 of a mile from the western bank of the Blue River, which is 
 here about three hundred paces broad, and at the distance 
 of a four hours' march northwards from Yara. The posi- 
 tion of the latter, as determined by sundry astronomical 
 observations, was found to be lat. 11° 14' 47" north. 
 
 Before proceeding towards Sennaar, the pasha, who had 
 not obtained the number of slaves which he thought neces- 
 sary to complete his triumph, renewed the scenes of Kilgou 
 and Taby at a hill named Aquaro. The natives, full of 
 courage, and confident in their numbers and position, had 
 sent notice to Ishmael when at Fazoglo, that if he came to 
 their mountains they would break his legs. After a fruit- 
 less treaty, meant to deceive the simple Ethiopians, an 
 attack was made on their villages, which were situated on 
 the highest ground. The use of cannon and other firearms 
 enabled the Turks to succeed so far as to carry off, at the 
 expense of thirty-five killed and wounded, about a hundred 
 women and children. 
 
 Aquaro does not exceed a thousand feet in height, and is 
 not more than a quarter of a league from east to west. It 
 F2
 
 66 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 belongs to a district called Dar el Keyl, under the govern- 
 ment of a chief, Abou Zinguir. The son of Mohammed 
 Ali was very desirous to make an impression here, satisfied 
 that the result of any decided success would soon realize 
 itself in the submission of the neighbouring tribes. But, 
 happily for these poor people, his first attempt was far from 
 answering to his expectation. 
 
 The army next directed its march towards the south-west, 
 with the view of reaching the Toumat, a river which in our 
 English maps is denominated the Maleg. It flows from the 
 remoter parts of Abyssinia, and after following some time a 
 north-western direction turns to the east, and falls into the 
 Bahr el Azrek about the eleventh degree of latitude. At 
 the point where it was reached by the pasha its breadth was 
 fully six hundred feet ; the banks were covered with herba- 
 ceous plants and beautiful shrubs, and it meanders through 
 a vast plain finely studded with trees of various kinds. To 
 the north-west were seen in the distance the mountains of 
 Guincho and Soudeh, while in the south-east arose those of 
 Khackenkaro, inhabited in part by pagan negroes. M. 
 Cailliaud was able to ascertain that the camp on the Toumat 
 was situated in lat. 11° 2' 30" north, and in long. 34° 33' 
 east from Greenwich. 
 
 On the 16th of January, 1822, the pasha led his troops 
 across the river, and kept his face still towards the south and 
 west. After a march of three days he arrived at a small 
 town called Abqoulgui, in the province of Quamamyl, 
 whither he was drawn by the report of productive gold 
 mines. The village now mentioned is in lat. 10° 38' 45" 
 north, and in long. 34° 53' 10" east from London. On the 
 south is seen blending with the horizon the mountain of 
 Mafis, and in the west the long chain which bears the name 
 of Obeh. The territory is washed by the Toumat, running 
 here nearly from south to north, and by a number of torrents 
 more or less deep which fall into it. This district is re- 
 puted the richest of any in auriferous substances, and that in 
 which the natives have devoted themselves with the greatest 
 activity and success to the acquisition of the precious 
 metals. 
 
 But the hopes of Ishmael were completely blasted in re- 
 gard to the immense treasures which he expected to find in 
 the mountains of Quamamyl. After spending seventeen
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 67 
 
 days in gathering sand, washing it, and collecting the 
 minute particles of gold which it appeared to contain, he 
 resolved to push his researches still farther into the south, and 
 examine the mines reported to have been worked in the 
 lofty range of Singueh or Quebeych, under the tenth decree 
 of latitude. After a toilsome march of two days he was 
 doomed to experience a renewal of his disappointment. 
 The natives, more vigilant and politic than those at Kilgou, 
 attacked his lines day and night, stole his horses, inter- 
 rupted his supplies, and exhausted the remaining strength 
 of his weary troops. At length he found it necessary to 
 yield to circumstances, and on the 11th of February he 
 struck his tent and began his retreat to Fazoglo. 
 
 M. Cailliaud, who had approached nearer to the equator 
 than any other European on the course of the IVile, endea- 
 voured to collect, from the guides attached to the army, 
 some information respecting the White River and the coun- 
 tries contiguous to their own. Of the Bahr el Abiad they 
 could tell nothing more than that it comes from the distant 
 west, where a savage people dwell, who use poisoned arrows 
 and eat the bodies of their enemies. He learned that the 
 territory of Singueh is dependent on Dar F6q, and consti- 
 tutes the most southern province of Bertat. It extends a 
 march of two days southward as far as Fadassy, a place 
 which comprehends several villages, and borders on the 
 lands of the Galla. They gave him the names of many 
 torrents and streams which at various points fall into the 
 Nile ; but the account is so extremely vague, and the 
 nomenclature so inaccurately expressed, that we despair of 
 being able to communicate to our readers any portion of the 
 knowledge which the laborious Frenchman took so much 
 pains to acquire. 
 
 At Fazoglo the two travellers, Cailliaud and Letorzec, 
 left the pasha with the view of returning to Egypt, and on 
 the 18th of February they embarked on the IVile to proceed 
 by water to Sennaar. They passed through a very deso- 
 late tract of country, seeing hardly a single human habita- 
 tion on either side of the river. The stream was very 
 much encumbered with rocks and small islands, which 
 were not passed without considerable danger ; and at the 
 cataract of El Querr, where the water rushes downward
 
 68 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 with considerable force, they had nearly experienced the 
 fate of Mungo Park in his attempt to explore the Niger. 
 It was not till the 26th of the same month that they found 
 themselves in safety under the walls of Sennaar, and in 
 front of the house which they had formerly occupied. 
 
 Most readers are aware that this town, the capital of an 
 extensive kingdom, which, according to our maps, occupies 
 so large a portion of Eastern Africa between the White 
 River and the Red Sea, was visited by Doctor Poncet in the 
 year 1699, and by the celebrated Bruce in 1772. The de- 
 scriptions given in their several works are extremely in- 
 teresting, more especially when compared with those of 
 Calliaud, the last traveller who has ascended above the 
 junction of the two great branches of the Nile. The pious 
 author of the " Voyage to Ethiopia" tells us that " this city, 
 which contains near a league and a half in compass, is very 
 populous, but has nothing of neatness, and besides is ill 
 goveined. They number in it near a hundred thousand 
 souls. The houses are only one story high, and are ill 
 built ; but the flat roof which covers them is very convenient. 
 As to the suburbs, they are only wretched cottages covered 
 with reeds. The king's palace is surrounded with high 
 walls of brick baked in the sun, but has nothing regular in 
 it : you see nothing but a confused heap of buildings with- 
 out symmetry or beauty. The apartments are furnished 
 richly enough with large carpets after the manner of the 
 Levant. 
 
 " We were presented to the king the day after our arrival. 
 The first thing was to make us put off our shoes ; this is a 
 point of ceremony which all strangers must observe ; for as 
 to the native subjects of that prince, they never appear before 
 him but barefooted. We entered immediately after into a 
 large court paved with little square tiles of different colours, 
 after the manner of Fayence. Round it stood the guards 
 armed with lances. When we had almost passed over the 
 court they obliged us to stop short before a stone, which is 
 near to an open hall where the king usually gives audience 
 to ambassadors. There we saluted the king according to 
 the custom of the country, falling upon our knees and thrice 
 kissing the ground. That prince is nineteen years of age, 
 black, but well shaped and of a majestic presence, not having
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 69 
 
 thick lips nor flat nose, like the most of the people. He was 
 seated upon a rich bed under a canopy, with his legs across, 
 after the oriental fashion ; and round him twenty old men 
 seated after the same manner, but somewhat lower. He was 
 clothed in a long vest embroidered with gold, and girt with 
 a kind of scarf made of fine calico. He had a white turban 
 on his head ; and the old men were clad much after the same 
 manner. At the entrance of the hall, the prime minister 
 standing complimented the king in our names, and delivered 
 back his answer to us. Then we saluted the prince a second 
 time, as we had done in the court, and we presented him 
 with some crystals and other curiosities of Europe, which he 
 graciously accepted. He ordered his guards to attend us to 
 our lodgings, and afterward sent us great vessels filled with 
 butter, honey, and other refreshments : and moreover two 
 oxen and sheep. 
 
 " This prince dines twice a week at one of his country- 
 houses, which is at a leagueVdistance from the town. The 
 order he observes in his march is this : Between three and 
 four hundred horsemen, mounted on fine horses, make the 
 first appearance. After these comes the king, attended by a 
 great number of footmen and armed soldiers, who with a 
 loud voice sing forth his praises, and play upon the tabor, 
 which makes no unpleasant harmony. Seven or eight hun- 
 dred young maids and women march together with these 
 soldiers, and carry upon their heads great round baskets of 
 straw, of different colours and finely made. These baskets, 
 which represent all sorts of flowers, and the covers whereof 
 are pyramid-wise, are filled with copper dishes tinned over, 
 and full of fruits and several meats ready dressed. These 
 dishes are served first before the king, and are afterward 
 distributed among those who have the honour to attend 
 upon him. Two or three hundred horsemen follow in the 
 same order as those that went foremost, and close the whole 
 march. The king, who never appears in public but with 
 his face covered with a silk gauze of various colours, sits 
 down to table as soon as he is arrived. His usual diversion 
 is to propose prizes to the lords of his court, and to shoot 
 with them at a mark with a gun, at which they are not yet 
 very expert. After they have spent the best part of the 
 day in this exercise, they return in the evening to the town, 
 observing the same order as at their setting out in tho
 
 70 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 morning. This entertainment is regularly taken on Wed- 
 nesday and Saturday every week."* 
 
 In regard to the character of the people, their mode of 
 living, dress, commerce, diseases, superstitions, and general 
 habits, the details supplied by Poncet are not at variance 
 with those given by Bruce more than seventy years after- 
 ward. The merchants still retained a considerable share 
 of the trade with Arabia, and even the western parts of 
 India. 
 
 The latter does not mention the number of inhabitants 
 in Sennaar at the time he paid his visit ; simply remarking 
 that it was very populous, and contained many good houses 
 after the fashion of the country.t He adds that the dwell- 
 ings of the great officers consisted of two stories ; an im- 
 provement since the period of the French traveller, who 
 found them generally restricted to one floor. But its pres- 
 ent condition, — a mass of ruins interspersed with a few 
 paltry huts, — indicates the melancholy events which have 
 recently filled up its history, and deprived it at once of its 
 wealth and power. It is not consistent, however, with our 
 plan to enter more minutely into the annals of that declin- 
 ing state ; we therefore proceed to the eastern bank of the 
 Nile, with the view of exhibiting a brief outline of the 
 provinces which constitute Abyssinia, the proper Ethiopia 
 of early authors. 
 
 The kingdom which bears this name was, in the estima- 
 tion of the writers who flourished in the middle ages, the 
 region now called Abyssinia ; a country concerning which, 
 even at the present day, we have not much certain or 
 authentic information. The accounts given by the Arabian 
 geographers, Bakoi, Edrisi, and more particularly by Mac- 
 rizi, show nothing so clearly as that the Mohammedans 
 have had little intercourse with this Christian empire. The 
 only knowledge which till lately was possessed by the 
 learned of Europe was almost entirely derived from the 
 Portuguese travellers Alvarez, Bermudez, Paez, Almeida, 
 and Lobo, whose works were abridged by Tellez, and illus- 
 trated with some ability by Ludolf, the Strabo of Eastern 
 Africa. To these we may add the few notices furnished by 
 Thevenot and Poncet. An important narrative by Petit-la- 
 
 * Voyage to Ethiopia by M. Poncet, M.D. p. 20, &c' 
 t Travels, vol. vi. p. 382.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 71 
 
 Croix, dated in 1700, partly drawn up from information 
 furnished by Abyssinians whom the author had known in 
 Egypt, exists in manuscript in the library at Leyden. The 
 volumes of Bruce and Salt are well known to every reader; 
 to which a species of supplement has very recently been 
 provided by the publication of the Life and Adventures of 
 Nathaniel Pearce. 
 
 Confined to such materials, the geographical outlines of 
 that ancient kingdom have not been exhibited with unim- 
 peachable precision. The limits which separate the Abys- 
 sinians from the Nubians, from the Galla on the south-west 
 and south, and from the territory of Adel on the south-east, 
 have hitherto depended on the uncertain issue of frequent 
 appeals to arms. But if we include the coasts of the Red 
 Sea, and the provinces occupied by the savages just named, 
 we may assign to this empire a length of 560 miles, and a 
 breadth of 640 ; measuring from the 15th to the 7th degree 
 of latitude, and from the 34th to the 44th degree of east 
 longitude. 
 
 Although we are certain that the term Ethiopian is of 
 Greek origin, and was applied to every people of a deep 
 complexion, the Abj-ssinians nevertheless still call them- 
 selves Itiopawian, and their country Itiopia. But they un- 
 doubtedly prefer the denomination of Agazi or Ghez for the 
 kingdom, and Agazian for the inhabitants. The name of 
 Habesh, given to them by the Mohammedans, and from 
 which is derived the European appellation, is an Arabic 
 word, signifying a " mixed race," on which account the 
 natives scornfully disclaim it.* 
 
 Regarded in a general point of view, Abyssinia forms an 
 extensive table-land gently inclining to the north-west, and 
 having two great steeps on the east and south ; the first 
 looking towards the Arabian Gulf, the second to the interior 
 of Africa. It is doubtful whether these vast declivities con- 
 sist of regular chains, or are only crowned with isolated 
 mountains like Lamalmon and Amba Gedion, the configura- 
 tion of which appears to be very extraordinary. They 
 shoot up almost everywhere in sharp peaks, which are as- 
 cended by means of ropes and ladders, bearing no slight 
 resemblance to the ramparts and turrets of deserted towns. 
 
 * Ludolf, Hist, ^thiop. lib. i. c. i.
 
 72 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 Father Tellez imagines that the loftiest of these summits 
 are higher than the Alps ; but we find none of them capped 
 with snow, except perhaps those of Samen in the province 
 of Tigre, and of Namera in the district of Gojam.* 
 
 As to the political geography of Abyssinia, there prevails 
 a great degree of doubt even among the writers of best 
 reputation. Ludolf speaks of nine kingdoms and five 
 provinces. Thevenot, from the information of an Ethiopian 
 ambassador, says there are seven kingdoms and twenty-four 
 provinces. Bruce mentions nineteen provinces ; and, lastly, 
 Petit-la-Croix enumerates thirty-five kingdoms and ten 
 provinces once belonging to the Abyssinian monarch, of 
 which he retains only six kingdoms and a half, with the ten 
 provinces. We cannot enter into such details as might seem 
 necessary to explain these topographical distributions, or to 
 trace the line which divides one section of the country from 
 another. An inspection of the map, and a due attention to 
 the itineraries which we shall have occasion to introduce, 
 will afford much more valuable assistance to the compre- 
 hension of the reader, than the most laboured delineations 
 of obscure and ever-changing boundaries. 
 
 When we cross the Blue River, about the twelfth degiee 
 of latitude, we find ourselves in the province or kingdom of 
 Dembea, consisting of fertile plains surrounding the Lake 
 Tzana, and containing Gondar, the modern capital. This 
 city, according to the report of a native communicated to 
 Sir William Jones, almost equals Cairo in extent and popu- 
 lation. Bruce, however, reduces the number of inhabitants 
 to about fifty thousand, if we may proceed on the usual prin- 
 ciple of assigning five individuals to a family ; a statement 
 which we shall afterward find does not fall short of the 
 truth. The same province contains the town of Emfras, 
 comprehending about three hundred houses. 
 
 To the south of Dembea the Nile winds round the king- 
 dom of Gojam, which it thereby reduces to the form of a 
 peninsula. This part of the river has a most magnificent 
 cascade, the whole body of its water falling down from a 
 height of forty feet, with tremendous force and noise, into a 
 basin, where it wheels round in numerous eddies. This 
 
 * Lobo, Hist B. i. p. 141; Ludolf, lib. vi: Make Brun, vol. iv 
 P 135.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 73 
 
 province, although abounding in all sorts of productions, de- 
 rives its principal riches from numerous herds of cattle. 
 
 Eastward of Gojam are seen the countries of Beaemder 
 and of the Edjow Galla. The former is remarkable for its 
 fine flocks of sheep. Its inhabitants are very warlike, and 
 send into the field a formidable contingent of horsemen. 
 
 Amhara, a little farther to the south, has always been 
 esteemed one of the principal provinces of Abyssinia, and 
 contains a numerous as well as brave race of men. Here 
 is the famous state-prison of Amba Geshen, which is now 
 succeeded by another in the district of Begemder. It 
 seems to be composed of steep mountains, having a cavern, 
 either natural or excavated by the hands of man, into which 
 the prisoners are made to descend by means of a rope. 
 Here the monarch causes to be kept under his own eye all 
 those princes of his family from whom he thinks that he has 
 any thing to apprehend ; and it is often to this tomb of liv- 
 ing beings that the grandees of the kingdom repair to select 
 the ruler whom they are about to call to the throne. 
 
 Lasta is a mountainous country, inhabited by tribes who 
 are pleased to pronounce themselves independent, and who 
 possess a considerable source of wealth in their mines of 
 iron. Shoa consists of a large valley very difficult of ac- 
 cess, and which has given occasion to one of the most beau- 
 tiful fictions in the English language, the romance of Ras- 
 selas. The province of Damot, situated beyond the Lake 
 of Tzana, is celebrated for gold mines and cattle with 
 monstrous horns. Lobo, who dwelt some time there, extols 
 it as the most delightful country he had ever seen. The air 
 is temperate and healthy, the mountains beautifully shaded 
 with trees, without having the appearance of wild or 
 irregular forests. Vegetation never falls asleep in that rich 
 soil and happy climate. The operations of sowing and 
 reaping are common to all the seasons of the year ; and the 
 whole scene has the aspect of a pleasure-garden, which 
 never fails to reward with a most plentiful return the labour 
 bestowed upon it. 
 
 We may remark in passing, that all the provinces now 
 described, if we except Shoa, are usually at the present day 
 comprehended under the grand division of the empire which 
 takes the name of Amhara. This is the region, as we are 
 told, which gives customs and manners to the modern
 
 74 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 Abyssinians ; while the Amharic, being the dialect used at 
 court, has obtained the distinction of the royal language, 
 and is spoken through at least one-half of the kingdom. 
 It appears to be compounded of the Ethiopic and a variety 
 of terms derived from the tongues of Africa, influenced 
 deeply by those modifications which are sooner or later ex- 
 tended to all unwritten forms of speech. 
 
 In recent times the most important section of the empire 
 is that which embraces the province of Tigre, bounded, as 
 Mr. Salt informs us, on the north by the Bekla, Boja, 
 TakuC", and several wild tribes of Shangalla ; on the west 
 by the mountains of Samen ; and by the Denakil, Doba, and 
 Galla territories, on the east and south ; including not less 
 than four degrees of latitude, and nearly an equal extent in 
 a longitudinal direction. The high range of the Samen 
 hills, stretching from Waldubba to the south of Lasta, to- 
 gether with the line of the Tacazze, which flows in a north- 
 easterly course along its base, sufficiently point out the 
 natural boundary between Tigre and Amhara. 
 
 This large and very populous district contains a number 
 of cities which make a considerable figure in the history of 
 Ethiopia, more especially Axum, Dixan, Chelicut, and An- 
 talo. The first of these was the ancient residence of the 
 Abyssinian monarchs, who still go thither for the purpose of 
 being crowned. It is true that the learned are not agreed 
 respecting the antiquity of this place, which appears not to 
 have been known either to Herodotus or Strabo, and is first 
 mentioned by Arrian in the Periplus of the Erythraean sea. 
 We shall have occasion in a future chapter to describe some 
 of its architectural remains ; meantime it will be sufficient 
 to observe, that the modern town reckons about six hundred 
 houses, but displays no remarkable buildings. On the east- 
 ern frontier stands Antalo, which during the visit of Mr. 
 Salt was the seat of government, being the residence of the 
 viceroy Ras Welled Selasse. It consists of about a thou- 
 sand hovels constructed of mud and straw, in the midst of 
 which rises the palace, distinguished for magnitude rather 
 than by the elegance of its plan or workmanship. In this 
 province is the monastery of Fremona, which has always 
 been the chief establishment of the Jesuits. It is about a 
 mile in circumference, surrounded by walls flanked with 
 towers and pierced for small arms. In Mr. Bruce's eyes it
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 75 
 
 had more the air of a castle than of a convent, and ap- 
 peared to him to be the most defensible place that he had 
 seen in Abyssinia. Generally speaking, Tigre is fertile and 
 well peopled ; but the inhabitants are described as a very 
 ferocious, bloodthirsty, corrupt, and perfidious race. 
 
 On the western side of the provinces now described are 
 Sire, Samen, Wogara, which is sometimes called Wojjerat, 
 Walkayt, and Waldubba. This last is occasionally ex- 
 tolled as one of the granaries of Abyssinia. The humid 
 vales of Sire produce numerous palms and a variety of fruit- 
 trees ; enjoying, besides, all the beauty which arises from 
 the vicinity of Tacazze, whose banks are covered with the 
 most luxuriant verdure. Nor is Samen, which when 
 viewed from a distance appears only as a series of moun- 
 tain-chains, in any degree destitute of agricultural wealth. 
 On the contrary, the table-land of Amba Gedion, which has 
 so steep an ascent as to render it almost inaccessible, is said 
 to be sufficient both in extent and fertility to support many 
 thousands. It was the fortress of the Abyssinian Jews, 
 who were once masters of the province. 
 
 The more remote districts in the south are chiefly under 
 the yoke of the ferocious Galla and other savage tribes hos- 
 tile to the government of Gondar. To the eastward are the 
 countries of Angote and Bali ; and we are told of those of 
 Gooderoo, Fatgar, of Efat, of Cambat, and particularly of 
 the kingdom of Enarea, which, from Brace's account, 
 seems to be an elevated plain, watered by several rivers 
 which have no visible outlet, and deriving from its lofty 
 position the comfort of a temperate climate. The natives 
 are said to trade with the people of Melinda on the Indian 
 Ocean, and with the inhabitants of Angola on the Ethiopic. 
 The hilly district of Kaffa, it is presumed, must be conter- 
 minous with Enarea on the south. But we have already 
 alluded to the obscurity which still prevails respecting the 
 interior of the empire, and more especially those regions on 
 its distant boundaries towards the south and south-east. 
 
 The high grounds which divide Abyssinia from the coast 
 of the Red Sea are known among geographers as consti- 
 tuting the country of the Troglodytes or cave-dwellers. 
 The nature of the soil and climate has in all ages kept the 
 inhabitants in a uniform state of savage wretchedness.
 
 76 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 Separated into tribes, and subject to hereditary chiefs, they 
 lived formerly, and in many parts still continue to live, on 
 the produce of their flocks, consisting principally of goats, 
 aided by a little skill in the art of fishing. The hollows of 
 the rocks are their ordinary dwellings ; a kind of lodging 
 which was anciently adopted in many other countries of the 
 world. We find traces of such a usage at the foot of Cau- 
 casus and of Mount Atlas, in Mcssia, in Italy, also in 
 France and Spain, and even in some parts of our native 
 land. In Sicily there is an example of a whole town 
 formed by excavation in the body of a hill. But of all the 
 races who have dwelt in caverns, the Troglodytes of the 
 Arabian Gulf have longest preserved the habits and the 
 name.* 
 
 Mr. Belzoni, who in his excursion to the Red Sea came 
 near the countries now under consideration, met with a 
 fisherman who was probably a fair specimen of that class 
 of the inhabitants. He lived in a tent only five feet broad, 
 with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law. He had no boat, 
 but went forth on his vocation seated on the trunk of a 
 doomt-tree, and accompanied by the youth who made part 
 of his family. This very simple raft was ten or twelve feet 
 long, at each end of which was a piece of wood attached in 
 a horizontal direction, so as to prevent the log from turning 
 round. At one of the points a small pole was stuck upright 
 to serve as a mast, on the top of which there was a slight 
 spar secured horizontally like that below. A woollen shawl 
 thrown over it, and fastened at each end as well as to the 
 slip of wood, formed a kind of sail ; while the two fisher- 
 men, mounted on the trunk as if on horseback, by means of 
 a cord attached to their substitute for canvass, took more or 
 less wind as was required. But, as the traveller remarks, " it 
 is only when the wind blows either from north or south that 
 such a contrivance can serve ; for if it blows from the east 
 they cannot set off their boat from the shore; or if it blows 
 from the west it will carry them too far out to sea. When the 
 fishermen are thus at some distance from the shore, I know 
 not by what means the rest of the operation is executed ; 
 but from what I could see, they darted their long thin spear 
 
 * Make Brun, vol. iv. p. 145; Narrative of Discovery and Adventure 
 in Africa.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 77 
 
 at the fish when they happened to see any, and by these 
 means they procured their subsistence."* 
 
 Beginning at the confines of Egypt, and proceeding 
 southward, the reader will observe that the coast makes a 
 great concave sweep, forming what is called both by ancient 
 and modern geographers Foul Bay. At the bottom of this 
 gulf is the port of the Abyssinians, and behind is the coun- 
 try known by the name of Baza or Bedja. According to 
 the Arabian authors, it is a kingdom separated from Nubia 
 by a chain of mountains, rich in gold, silver, and emeralds. 
 The accounts supplied from antiquity, respecting the name 
 and boundaries of this province, are very discordant. The 
 term Baza, it is thought, may be found in that of the prom- 
 ontory called Bazium by the ancients, and now Ras el 
 Comol. The inhabitants, who are denominated Bugeha by 
 Leo Africanus, Boguites in the inscription at Axum, and 
 Bedjah by the greater number of Arabian historians, lead a 
 nomadic and savage life. They derive an abundant sub- 
 sistence from the milk and flesh of their camels, cattle, and 
 sheep. As every father exercises a patriarchal rule in his 
 own family, they have no other government. Full of loyalty 
 to one another, and hospitable to strangers, they at the 
 same time continually rob the neighbouring agriculturists 
 and the trading caravans. Bruce asserts that they speak a 
 dialect of the Abyssinian language ; but Abdallah maintains 
 that they belong to the race of Berbers or Barabras. M. 
 Quatremere has endeavoured to demonstrate the identity of 
 the Bedjahs with the Blemmyes of the ancients ; though 
 the descriptions of these writers apply perhaps with greater 
 precision to the Ababdehs, the inhabitants of the desert 
 which expands between the Nile and the Arabian Gulf.f 
 
 Suakin is chiefly entitled to notice as being one of the 
 principal ports which now connect Abyssinia with the oppo- 
 site coast ; having in this respect superseded the more an- 
 cient harbour of Aedod, the Gidid of Portuguese authors. 
 It is in fact a Turkish town, and is garrisoned by troops 
 under the command of the governor of Mecca. Passing 
 the promontory of Ras-Ahehas the traveller comes to a 
 desert shore lined with islets and rocks. It was in this 
 
 * Narrative of Operations. &c. vol. ii. p. 69. 
 
 t Quatremere, Hist. Geog. sur l'Egypte, vol. ii. p. 135-139 ; Strab. Geo- 
 graph, lib. xvii. c. 1. 
 
 G2
 
 78 GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINES OF 
 
 wild region that the Ptolemys procured the elephants which 
 they required for the use of their armies ; and here Lord 
 Valentia found a large harbour, to which he gave the name 
 of Port Mornington. About the sixteenth degree of lati- 
 tude is the island of Dhalac, the largest in the Red Sea, 
 being more than sixty miles in circumference. It produces 
 goats with long silky hair, and furnishes a sort of gum-lac, 
 which exudes from a particular shrub. The celebrity it 
 once enjoyed for pearls has long since passed away ; the 
 specimens which are now procured being of a yellow colour 
 and little esteemed. 
 
 In a gulf formed on the coast stands Masuah, which, 
 though situated on an arid rock, possesses a safe harbour, 
 and may now be regarded as the main approach to Abys- 
 sinia from the east. Near it is Arkeeko, which has also the 
 advantage of a good anchorage, rendered however of small 
 value by its exposure to the prevailing winds. This low, 
 sandy, and burning coast is occupied by some nomadic 
 tribes, the Shiho, who are very black, and the Hazorto, who 
 have a copper-coloured complexion. These people, like the 
 ancient Troglodytes, inhabit holes in the rocks, or hovels 
 made of rushes and seaweed. Leading a pastoral life, they 
 change their dwelling as soon as the rains have produced 
 a little verdure on their parched soil ; for, as is well known, 
 when the wet season ends on the coast it begins among the 
 mountains. They are said to have abjured their allegiance 
 to the sultan, and acknowledged the supremacy of the native 
 monarch. 
 
 The portion of the shore now delineated used to be called 
 the Midre Baharnagash, or the Land of the Sea-king, whose 
 government formerly extended from Suakin to the Straits 
 of Babel Mandeb. Baroa, its ancient capital, situated on 
 the Mareb, was in Bruce's time in the hands of the naib of 
 Masuah ; and it is still considered as the key of Abyssinia 
 towards the gulf. Farther to the south the coast takes the 
 name of Dancali, or, according to Niebuhr, Denakil, con- 
 sisting of a desert plain, and supplying no valuable pro- 
 duction except salt. Beyond the straits, terminating the 
 Arabian Gulf, succeeds the kingdom or province of Adel, a 
 country concerning which our information is so imperfect, 
 that we presume not to tantalize the reader with an appear- 
 ance of facts having no better foundation than ingenious
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 79 
 
 conjecture. On the shores of the ocean are the Somaulies, 
 a people who are supposed to possess the lands which in 
 ancient times belonged to the Macrobian Ethiopians men- 
 tioned by Herodotus, and celebrated for an unusual length of 
 life. Of these we shall have occasion to take some notice 
 in the sequel ; meantime we proceed to, give a tabular view 
 of the Abyssinian provinces, which will serve much better 
 than the most minute description to illustrate the distribu- 
 tion, the extent, and the relative position of the several 
 parts of that great empire. 
 
 I. ASIHARA. 
 
 1. Amhara Proper. 
 
 5> Begemder. 
 
 2. Dembea. 
 
 6. Angote. 
 
 3. Damot. 
 
 7. Walaka. 
 
 4. Gojam. 
 
 8. Marrabet. 
 
 II. TIGRE. 
 
 1. Tigre Proper. 
 
 7. Avergale. 
 
 2. Agame. 
 
 8. Samen. 
 
 3. Enderta. 
 
 9. Temben. 
 
 4. Wojjerat, or Wogara. 
 
 10. Sire, or Shire" 
 
 5. Wofila. 
 
 11. Walkayt. 
 
 6. Lasta. 
 
 12. Waldubba. 
 
 RE BAHARNAGASH, OR DISTRICT OF THE PRINCE 
 
 1. Masuah. 
 
 6. Amphila. 
 
 2. Arkeeko. 
 
 7. Madir. 
 
 3. Weah. 
 
 8. Arena. 
 
 4. Zullo. 
 
 9. Duroro. 
 
 5. Tubbo. 
 
 10. Jarvela. 
 
 IV. INDEPENDENT STATES IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 1. Shoa. 
 
 7. Cambat. 
 
 2. Efat. 
 
 8. Hurrur. 
 
 3. Gooderoo. 
 
 9. Gidm. 
 
 4. Enarea. 
 
 10. Adel. 
 
 5. Gurague. 
 
 11. Bali. 
 
 6. Kaffa. 
 
 12. Dawaro. 
 
 We do not think it expedient to encumber our pages 
 with the more minute geographical distinctions, which are 
 not only expressed in language extremely uncouth, but are 
 moreover applied to districts whose limits are still undeter- 
 mined. The curious reader will find numerous details in 
 the works of Bruce, Salt, Lord Valentia, Niebuhr, and Malte 
 Brun, darkened however by an unnecessary variation in the 
 nomenclature, and sometimes, we are sorry to add, by the 
 cloud of ignorance and of controversy.
 
 80 CIVIL HISTORY OP 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Civil History of Nubia and Abyssinia. 
 
 Variety of Opinion in regard to Ethiop ; ans — Aboriginal and mixed with 
 Arabians— Queen of Sheba— Book of Axum— Abyssinians converted 
 to Christianity — Extent of their Dominions — Wars hi Arabia — Arrival 
 of Portuguese— History of Nubia— Cambyses — Macrobians— Table of 
 the Sun— Explanation by Heeren — Ptolemy Euergetes— War with 
 Candace — Success of Petronius— Period of Darkness respecting Ethio- 
 pia — Prester John — Mission of Covilham — Of Matthew — Alvarez — 
 Camp of the Abyssinian Monarch— Interview with David III. — Ordi- 
 nation of Clergy — Stephen de Gama — Bermudez the Abuna— Oviedo — 
 Peter Paez— Jerome Lobo— Hatred towards Catholics — Poncet— Bruce 
 —State of Abyssinia— Ras Michael— Ozoro Esther — Manuscripts col- 
 lected by Bruce— History of Abyssinia— Revolt of Judith— Restoration 
 of the line of Solomon— List of Kings— Galla— War among Chiefs — 
 Bruce goes to the sources of the Nire— Fasil— The Jumper — The 
 Lamb— Kefla Yasous— Mr. Salt— Outline of History— Pearce— His 
 Adventures under Welled Selasse — Death of Ras— Demise of the 
 King — Rise of Subegadis— Invasion of Nubia by Ishmael Pasha— Bat- 
 tles with Sheygyans— Act of Generosity — Cruelty of Egyptian Army 
 —Character of Sheygyans— Expedition of Ibrahim— Death of Ishmael 
 — Spirit of Insurrection in conquered Provinces. 
 
 In regard to all ancient nations which had no immediate 
 intercourse with the Hebrews, the Greeks, or the Romans, 
 the historical notices are extremely obscure or altogether 
 fabulous. On this account we remain in comparative 
 ignorance of every thing which respects the origin of 
 the two interesting countries whose annals we are now 
 about to trace. Ethiopia, it is true, is repeatedly men- 
 tioned in the Sacred Volume ; but all the allusions to 
 it are conveyed in language so general, that we are 
 not supplied with a satisfactory light relative to the lin- 
 eage of the people, their first form of government, their 
 religion, or their laws. Hence there prevails among 
 modern writers a great variety of opinion on all the heads 
 now specified ; and more particularly in reference to the ex- 
 traction and language of the early colonists who occupied 
 the country which stretches from the Red Sea to the Nile,
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 81 
 
 and from Sennaar to the borders of Egypt. The remarks 
 of Herodotus, the first European historian whose attention 
 was drawn to Nubia, apply to a period which will be 
 deemed comparatively recent, if the date be measured by 
 the antiquity claimed for the surrounding nations ; being 
 confined to the enterprise of Cambyses, who, stimulated by 
 the fame of certain golden mines, wished to carry his arms 
 beyond the sources of the Bahr el Azrek. 
 
 It is not our intention to exhaust the patience of the 
 reader on merely hypothetical views respecting the origin 
 of the various tribes which now dwell on the banks of the 
 Upper Nile and the western side of the Red Sea. The 
 more probable opinion, as we have already suggested, is 
 that they are descended from a race of aboriginal Africans, 
 who in the course of time mixed with the primitive inhab- 
 itants, and among the Sabaeans and Hamyrites, with whom 
 they established an early connexion. This opinion is fur- 
 ther confirmed by the fact that, in the history of Arabia 
 Felix, collected from several indigenous authors by Schul- 
 tens, the Abyssinians are described as a different people 
 from the natives of the eastern shore of the gulf. It is ad- 
 mitted, that in the intercourse carried on with the opposite 
 coast vast numbers of Arabians must have mingled with 
 the Axumites ; but still it appears that in feature, colour, 
 habit, and manners they form a distinct order of men.* 
 
 The Abyssinians themselves, although perfectly ignorant 
 of the time and circumstances which marked the settlement 
 of their ancestors on the western shores of the Arabian 
 Gulf, have insisted upon connecting their original faith, 
 
 *The learned editor of Brace's Travels founded, on the radical dis- 
 tinction between the languages of Esypt and Arabia, an argument that 
 the former country could not have been peopled from the latter ; and, by 
 the same process of reasoning, arrived at the conclusion that the Egyp"- 
 tians and Ethiopians were of the same lineage, and probably descended 
 from a Libyan tribe quite unconnected with the oriental Cushites. In 
 the Appendix to the seventh volume, however, of the last edition of that 
 work, Dr. Murray inserted a " Chronological Table of the Kings of Abys- 
 sinia," in which he remarks, " that the Abyssinians, being undoubtedly a 
 colony of Arabs from Hamyar or Yemen, can have no just pretensions 
 to any affinity with the Jews." In maintaining the Arabic origin of the 
 Abyssinians, Dr. Murray contradicts the general current of tradition, 
 and is hardly consistent with himself.— See Appendix to volume ii. No. 
 2, entitled, "Additional Proofs that Egypt was peopled from the South 
 and the Confines of Ethiopia.
 
 82 
 
 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 their civil polity, as well as the pedigree of their royal house, 
 with the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon at 
 Jerusalem. The events now alluded to are incorporated in 
 a treatise called the Chronicle of the Kings of Abyssinia ; 
 the author of which says, " We write the law and custom 
 of the government of Ibn Hakim (or Menilec), the son of 
 Solomon. With him came the twelve doctors of the law 
 that form the right-hand bench in judgment." He next 
 mentions the other officers of eminence who came along 
 with this prince ; such as " the master of the horse, high 
 chamberlain, and he who carried the Ten Commandments 
 and holy water." This work, of which the authority does 
 not stand high, is sometimes entitled Kebir Zaneguste, or 
 Glory of the Kings. It is regarded indeed by the natives 
 as a faithful repository of their ancient history ; though the 
 slightest attention to it will convince the reader that it is the 
 production of an ignorant monk, who used the Septuagint 
 translation of the Bible as the groundwork of a ridiculous 
 fable, with the sole view of ministering to the vanity of his 
 countrymen.* 
 
 The chronicle begins with a list of the emperors, from 
 Arwe, or the Serpent, to Menilec, some of whom are said 
 to have reigned several centuries. From this son of Solomon 
 downwards the succession has an aspect somewhat more 
 probable, though no dependence can be placed upon its 
 accuracy. 
 
 T. M. 
 
 Haduna reigned 9 
 
 Za Wasih 1 
 
 Zah-Dir 2 
 
 Za Awezena 1 
 
 Za Berwas 29 
 
 Za Mataazi 1 
 
 Zabaesi Bazen 16 
 
 And in the 8th year of his reign 
 Christ was born. 
 
 T. M. 
 
 Menilec reigned 9 
 
 Za Hendadyn 1 
 
 Awda 11 
 
 ZaAwsyn 3 
 
 ZaTsawe 3 10 
 
 Zagesyn half a day 
 
 Za Maute 8 4 
 
 ZaBahse 9 
 
 Kawude 2 
 
 Kanazi 10 
 
 In a subsequent part of this catalogue is found Zahekale ; 
 which is without doubt the name of the sovereign who 
 reigned in Abyssinia at the time when the Periplus of the Ery- 
 thraean Sea was written. The author of that work, adopting 
 
 * Bruce's Travels, vol. iii. p.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 83 
 
 the slight modification required by the Greek language, 
 calls him Zoskales ; and, according to the native document 
 just quoted, he is represented as having ruled between the 
 years 76 and 99 of the Christian era. It is, as Mr. Salt 
 remarks, an extraordinary circumstance that this date should 
 agree very nearly with the period to which Dr. Vincent has 
 attributed the appearance of the celebrated treatise by 
 Arrian, namely, to the tenth year of Nero, or A. D. 64, making 
 a difference of not more than twelve years, — a singular co- 
 incidence, which necessarily adds a very important confir- 
 mation to both accounts.* 
 
 In the same list, extracted from the Chronicle, are the 
 names of the princes who swayed the sceptre when the 
 Axumites were converted to the Christian religion. From 
 the narrative of Rufinus and other ecclesiastical writers, it 
 is manifest that the person named Frumentius was the Abba 
 Salama or Fremonatos, as he is elsewhere denominated, 
 who, after having resided some time in Abyssinia, was 
 raised to the rank of a bishop by Athanasius, the patriarch 
 of Alexandria. It subsequently appears, that during the 
 following reign, when the Arians gained the ascendency, 
 the Emperor Constantius sent an embassy through Theo- 
 philus an Indian, with a letter addressed to the ruling sov- 
 ereigns Aizana and Saizana, for the purpose of persuading 
 Frumentius to relinquish the doctrines of his patron, and to 
 adopt those of his successor Georgius. That such mon- 
 archs governed Abyssinia is clearly proved by the inscription 
 which Mr. Salt discovered at Axum ; and though there may 
 be some slight chronological difficulties to overcome, there is 
 little doubt that the names of the two princes who swayed 
 the joint sceptre in the year 356, — the date of the imperial 
 mandate, — have been satisfactorily ascertained. 1 
 
 At this period, the middle of the fourth century, the power 
 of the Abyssinian kings seems to have been fully estab- 
 lished, and their conquests to have extended over part of 
 Arabia, and from Zeyla up to the junction of the Tacazze 
 with the Nile. Such at least are the limits of the jurisdic- 
 tion implied in one of the Adulitic inscriptions, published 
 by the author whose name we have just recited, and which 
 is understood to commemorate the transactions of a native 
 
 * Salt's Abyssinia, p. 463. t Ibid. y 464.
 
 84 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 sovereign, and in all probability the same prince who erected 
 the monument at Axum. 
 
 About two hundred years elapse before the Abyssinians, 
 or Axumites, as they were then denominated, assume again 
 a prominent place in the page of history. But at the ter- 
 mination of this interval, owing to the complete command 
 which they had already gained in the Red Sea, they began 
 to take the lead in the politics of Eastern Africa. Hence 
 they are frequently mentioned both in the Greek and Arabian 
 authors ; whose accounts in general are extremely con- 
 sistent ; though, from the variation in names and other 
 sources of obscurity, no small trouble has been experienced 
 in reconciling them to each other. 
 
 In the sixth century the arms of Abyssinia appear to 
 have been attended with considerable success against the 
 Persians in Arabia, who about this period laid claim to a 
 large portion of that peninsula. But it is admitted that the 
 conquest of Yemen was not attended with advantages 
 equivalent to the hazard and glory of the war by which it 
 had been gained ; for the troops sent over became so enam- 
 oured of the country that they permanently settled there, 
 and soon lost every tie, except a nominal allegiance, which 
 had bound them to the parent state. In the year 592, as 
 nearly as can be calculated' from the dates given by the 
 native writers, the Persians, whose power seems to have 
 kept pace with the decline of the Roman empire, sent a 
 great force against the Abyssinians, possessed themselves 
 once more of Arabia, acquired a naval superiority in the 
 Gulf, and secured the principal ports on either side of it. 
 
 It is uncertain how long those conquerors retained their 
 acquisition ; but, in all probability, their ascendency again 
 gave way to the rising greatness of the Mohammedan 
 power ; which soon afterward overwhelmed all the nations 
 contiguous to Arabia, spread to the remotest parts of the 
 East, and even penetrated the African deserts from Egypt 
 to the Congo. Meanwhile Abyssinia, though within two 
 hundred miles of the walls of Mecca, remained unconquered 
 and true to the Christian faith; presenting a mortifying 
 and galling object to the more zealous followers of the 
 Prophet. On this account, implacable and incessant wars 
 ravaged her territories ; as the native princes on the eastern
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 85 
 
 borders were supplied with money and arms by the sher- 
 iffes, whose attention never ceased to be directed to the 
 conquest of that country. She lost her commerce, saw 
 her consequence annihilated, her capital threatened, and 
 the richest of her provinces laid waste ; but her con- 
 stancy to the true religion remained unshaken, and her 
 belief afforded throughout the protracted struggle the most 
 vigorous motives to her patriotism. Yet. there is reason 
 to apprehend that she must shortly have sunk under the 
 pressure of repeated invasions, had not the Portuguese 
 arrived at a seasonable moment to aid her endeavours 
 against the Moslem chiefs. 
 
 The event now mentioned took place about the middle of 
 the sixteenth century, when Claudius sat on the throne, who, 
 as well as his father David, to whom he had just succeeded, 
 had been for some years engaged in a defensive war 
 against Mohammed Gragne, king of A del, one of the most 
 bloodthirsty barbarians whose names history has recorded. 
 The appearance of European troops, as might be expected, 
 soon changed the aspect of affairs ; and after many despe- 
 rate battles in which the Portuguese were chiefly engaged 
 under their brave commander Diego de Gama, the Moors 
 were driven back, their leader killed, and their armies nearly 
 destroyed. The fleet, meantime, riding triumphant in the 
 Red Sea, cut off from the invaders all hope of succour, and 
 prevented the approach of those reinforcements which would 
 have been sent by the Arabian governors. 
 
 But, before we enter into any details relative to the inter- 
 course of Abyssinia with the nations of the West, we must 
 return for a short space to the consideration of certain notices 
 contained in the works of Greek and Roman writers, re- 
 specting the more ancient condition of the country on the 
 Upper JVile. 
 
 We have already alluded to the expedition undertaken by 
 Cambyses, the Persian monarch and conqueror of Egypt, 
 against the M aerobian Ethiopians, whose country was said 
 to possess vast quantities of gold. With this view he se- 
 lected an embassy from among the Ichthyophagi, or fish- 
 eaters of Elephantine, who understood their language, and 
 sent them to the sovereign of the distant nation with pres- 
 ents, consisting of a purple robe, a golden necklace, brace- 
 lets, perfumes, and a cask of palm-wine. The Macrobian 
 H
 
 86 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 monarch soon discovered that these ambassadors were spies. 
 He looked at the gifts of which they were bearers, and im- 
 mediately returned the robe, the perfumes, the bracelets, 
 and the necklace, taking these last for a species of fetter. 
 The wine, which he found very agreeable, he was pleased 
 to retain. He asked how long the Persians lived, and what 
 their king was accustomed to eat. They informed him that 
 he subsisted chiefly on bread, describing at the same time 
 the nature of corn ; and added, that the greatest age to 
 which his subjects attained was eighty years. He answered, 
 that he was not surprised at their living no longer, consid- 
 ering the rubbish on which they fed ; and that probably 
 they would not live even so long were it not for their good 
 drink, in which he allowed they certainly excelled the Ma- 
 crobians. Upon being asked in his turn to what age his 
 people arrived, and upon what they subsisted, he replied a 
 hundred years and sometimes longer, and that their food 
 was boiled flesh and milk. He sent to Cambyses, as an 
 acknowledgment of his gift, a great bow, and told the am- 
 bassadors to inform their master, that when he could bend 
 it as easily as one of his own countrymen, he might under- 
 take an expedition against the Macrobians. 
 
 When the spies expressed astonishment at the length of 
 life in Ethiopia, they were conducted, says Herodotus, to a 
 certain fountain, in which having bathed they became shi- 
 ning as if anointed with oil, and emitted from their bodies 
 the perfume of violets. But they asserted that the water 
 was of so unsubstantial a nature, that neither wood nor any 
 thing still lighter than wood would float on its surface, but 
 every thing instantly sank to the bottom. If their represen- 
 tation in this respect was true, the constant use of it, con- 
 cludes the historian, may probably explain the extreme 
 length of life which the Ethiopians attain.* 
 
 There was shown to the envoys, as one of the most re- 
 markable things in that strange land, what was called the 
 
 * Thalia, chap. 23. " Cada Mosto, who made a voyage to Senegal in 
 the year 1455. affirms that the natives made use of a certain oil in the pre- 
 paration of their food, which possessed a threefold property ; that of smell- 
 ing like violets, tasting like oil of olives, and of tinging the victuals 
 with a colour more beautiful than saffron." — Beloe's Herodotus. 
 
 It is not improbable that the fountain of the Macrebians was supplied 
 with an essence similar to the one now described, extracted from the 
 imlp or kernels of certain fruits
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 87 
 
 Table of the Sun. This was a meadow in the skirts of the 
 city, in which much boiled flesh was laid ; placed there by 
 the magistrates every night, and free to all who might 
 choose to eat it during the following day. The inhabitants, 
 whose inquiries were not allowed to be very profound, were 
 taught to say that the earth brought it forth. The ambas- 
 sadors were next led to the prison, where the captives 
 were bound in golden fetters ; brass among the Ethi- 
 opians being one of the greatest rarities. Finally, they 
 were conducted to see the sepulchres or tombs, which are 
 represented as being made of glass in the following manner : 
 The corpse, after being prepared as in Egypt, is covered 
 over with plaster, upon which is painted the portrait of the 
 deceased as like as possible. It is then placed in a case of 
 glass or native crystal, which they dig up in great abun- 
 dance. The dead body remains in this frame, without any 
 disgusting appearance or smell, a whole year ; the nearest 
 relation keeping it in his house and offering it sacrifices ; 
 after which it is taken into the city and deposited with the 
 others. 
 
 After executing their commission the envoys returned ; 
 and Cambyses, we are told by the Greek historian, was so 
 incensed at their recital, that he determined to proceed in- 
 stantly against the Ethiopians, without even providing for 
 the necessary sustenance of his army, or reflecting that he 
 was about to visit the utmost boundaries of the earth. 
 The moment that he heard the report of the Icthyophagi, like 
 one deprived of all the powers of reason, he commenced his 
 march with the whole body of his infantry, leaving no forces 
 behind but such Greeks as had accompanied him to Egypt. 
 On his arrival at Thebes he selected from his host about 
 fifty thousand men, whom he ordered to make an incursion 
 against the Ammonians, and to burn the place from which 
 the oracles of Jupiter were delivered ; he himself with the 
 remainder of his troops marched against the Macrobians. 
 Before he had performed a fifth part of his intended expedi- 
 tion, the provisions Which he had carried with him were totally 
 consumed. The soldiers proceeded to eat the beasts which 
 carried the baggage ; but these also soon failed. If, observes 
 Herodotus, after these incidents Cambyses had permitted his 
 passions to cool, and had led his army back again, he might.
 
 88 civil history ofr 
 
 notwithstanding his indiscretion, still have deserved praise. 
 But instead of this, his infatuation continued, and he per- 
 severed in his march. His men, as long as the earth af- 
 forded them any sustenance, were content to feed on roots 
 and plants ; but no sooner had they arrived among the sands 
 of the desert, than some of them were prompted by famine 
 to proceed to the most horrid extremities. They drew lots, 
 and every tenth man was destined to satisfy the hunger of 
 the rest. When the king received intelligence of this fact, 
 he became alarmed at the idea of his troops devouring 
 one another, and resolved to abandon his design. After 
 losing a great part of his army, he arrived in due time at 
 Thebes, from whence he proceeded to Memphis, where he 
 permitted the Greeks to embark for their own country.* 
 
 It is generally agreed that the Macrobians, or long-lived 
 Ethiopians, occupy the country which stretches eastward from 
 the straits of Bab el Mandeb along the African coast. The 
 following extract from Cosmas, usually called Indicopleustes, 
 relates, it is probable, to the same people, and perhaps affords 
 an explanation of the least credible part of the narrative 
 given by the spies of Cambyses, — their notice in regard to 
 the Altar or Table of the Sun. " The land of frankincense," 
 says he, "lies at the farthest end of Ethiopia, fifty days' 
 journey from Axum, at no great distance from the ocean, 
 though it does not touch it. The inhabitants of the neigh- 
 bouring Barbaria, or the country of Sasu, fetch from thence 
 frankincense and other costly spices, which they transport 
 by water to Arabia Felix and India. This country of Sasu 
 is very rich in gold mines. Every year the king of Axum 
 sends some of his people to this place for gold. These are 
 joined by many other merchants, so that altogether they 
 form a caravan of about five hundred persons. They carry 
 with them oxen, salt, and iron. When they arrive upon 
 the frontiers of the country they take up their quarters, and 
 make a large barrier of thorns. In the mean time, having 
 slain and cut up their oxen, they lay the pieces of flesh, as 
 well as the iron and salt, upon the thorns. Then come the 
 inhabitants and place one or more parcels of gold upon the 
 wares, and wait outside the enclosure. The owners of the 
 
 * Herodotus, Thalia, chap. 25. 
 
 *
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 89 
 
 flesh and other goods then examine whether this be equal 
 to the price or not. If so, they take the gold, and the others 
 take the wares ; if not, the latter still add more gold, or 
 take back what they had already put. down. The trade is 
 carried on in this manner because the languages are different, 
 and they have no interpreter : it takes about five days to 
 dispose of the goods they bring with them."* 
 
 From this statement, M. Heeren concludes, with much 
 show of reason, that the Altar of the Sun is the market- 
 place in which the trade with the strangers is transacted. 
 When we consider that even now almost all the commerce 
 of Africa is carried on under the protection of sanctuaries 
 and temples, we can scarcely wonder that religious notions 
 should be connected with this mercantile establishment, 
 upon which, perhaps, the subsistence of the inhabitants 
 depended. 
 
 This kind of dumb trade will not appear strange to those 
 Who are acquainted with the usages of barbarous nations in 
 other parts of Africa, where the practice is still continued. 
 When it is said that the chiefs of the people laid the flesh 
 down at night, and that in the .day any one who chose might 
 eat of it, while the inhabitants at large reported that it 
 sprang from the earth, we are only to infer, that this impor- 
 tant trade was conducted under the inspection of the public 
 magistrates ; that every one took what he thought proper on 
 leaving an equivalent ; and that, as the merchants who sup- 
 plied it came from a distant land, and were not themselves 
 seen in the transaction, a vulgar error, like the one men- 
 tioned, might very naturally arise. By the boiled flesh no- 
 ticed by Herodotus must probably be understood dried flesh, 
 as this is the usual way it is preserved in those regions, 
 where, as Mr. Bruce informs us, it is still considered a great 
 dainty.* 
 
 The views now stated derive a strong confirmation from 
 the fact, that a trade in similar commodities continues to be 
 carried on at the present day. Lord Valentia, who crossed 
 over from Mocha, has given us some interesting information 
 on this head, upon which we may rely, and which, besides, 
 has the merit of being as new and accurate as it is authentic 
 
 * Cosmas, p. 138, 139. This author wrote about the year 535. 
 f Heeren's Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 333 
 
 H2
 
 90 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 " The coast from Bab el Mandeb to Guardafui is inhabited 
 by the Somaulies, a very dark race with woolly hair, neither 
 completely negroes nor Arabians. They are not savages, 
 as Bruce has depicted them, but a friendly, well-disposed 
 people. Their country is the natural staple for the com- 
 merce between Africa and Arabia, and in it the greatest 
 marts are found. Gums, myrrh and frankincense, cattle and 
 slaves are the commodities exported ; in exchange for which, 
 as well as for gold and ivory, they receive the productions 
 of the East, including those from the remoter parts -of 
 India."* 
 
 After the attempt of Cambyses on the upper Nile, some 
 centuries elapsed before the ambition or covetousness of 
 Europeans again carried their arms beyond the first cataract. 
 There remains, indeed, some evidence that Ptolemy Euer- 
 getes, one of the successors of Alexander, made an attempt 
 to add Ethiopia to his Egyptian dominions ; but as he 
 appears to have advanced by the way of the Red Sea, and. to 
 have aided his troops by means of a naval armament, his in- 
 vasion was not attended with any such results as to secure 
 a place among the monuments of history. It was not till 
 the reign of Augustus, about twenty years before the be- 
 ginning of the Christian era, that the Romans, who had al- 
 ready rendered themselves masters of the kingdom of the Pha- 
 raohs, came into collision with the independent states which 
 still flourished near the ancient Meroe. 
 
 Strabo and the historian Dio agree in tracing the origin 
 of the war with Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, to the 
 effort made by iElius Gallus, who appears to have com- 
 manded in Upper Egypt, to subdue Arabia. This expe- 
 dition is at the same time remarkable for being the only one 
 which that warlike people ever attempted against the inhab- 
 itants of the Desert. The burning sands and pestilential 
 winds of the Arabian plains taught the subjects of Caisar, 
 that, courage, even when seconded by the most perfect dis- 
 cipline, cannot overcome the obstacles opposed by the laws 
 of nature.f 
 
 As the neighbouring provinces of the Thebaid were left 
 
 * Valentia's Travels, vol. ii. p. 370. 
 
 f The conquest of Arabia, indeed, seems to have been viewed as one of 
 those events, which, if realized, would celebrate the good fortune rather 
 than the wisdom of him who accomplished it. Horace, in allusion to the
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 91 
 
 destitute of troops, the soldiers of Candace, after forcing the 
 garrisons of Philse, Syene, and Elephantine, committed 
 great ravages on the low country, demolished the emperor's 
 statues wherever they appeared, and finally collected a 
 very considerable booty. Petronius, who was at that time 
 prefect of Egypt, feeling that it was inconsistent with the 
 dignity of the Roman name to allow this insult to remain 
 unpunished, hastily assembled about ten thousand men, 
 and proceeded against the Ethiopians. 
 
 The invaders were not qualified to resist in the open field 
 an attack by the legions ; for their armour consisted chiefly 
 of a huge buckler of raw hide, hatchets, and spears headed 
 with iron. Only a few could boast of swords, a weapon to 
 which they were not accustomed. The issue of a battle in 
 such circumstances could not remain long doubtful, how- 
 ever unequal the numbers opposed. The warriors of Can- 
 dace accordingly, after a brief conflict, fled, and were 
 pursued by Petronius into the farthest recesses of their 
 difficult country. The queen, unable to defend her capital, 
 had retired to a strong-hold, whence she sent messengers to 
 make proposals for peace ; but the Roman general would 
 not listen to conditions until he had reduced and plundered 
 the royal city Napata, the true position of which it is now 
 not easy to determine. 
 
 His success, however, did not secure to him the advan- 
 tages of a permanent conquest. Finding himself about 900 
 miles above Syene, and being assured that if he advanced 
 he should have to encounter all the horrors of a sandy 
 desert, without provisions or water, he resolved to return ; 
 leaving in Primmis, a town situated on the Nile below the 
 great cataract, a garrison of four hundred men, with sup- 
 plies for two years. Candace made an attempt to surprise 
 
 fotal enterprise of Gallus, indulges in pleasantry at the expense of hi* 
 friend Iceius, who appears to have been seized with a military rage. 
 " Icci, beatis nunc Arabum invides 
 Gazas, et acrem militiam paras 
 Non antedevictis Sabeeae 
 Regibus."— Ode xxxx.. lib.i. 
 lcciu-, the blest Arabia's gold 
 Can you with envious eye behold : 
 Or will you boldy take the field, 
 And teach Sabaea's king* to yield 1
 
 92 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 this fort and expel the Roman soldiers ; but the vigilance 
 of Petronius was not to be deceived in a matter of such inv 
 portance. Still he could not fail to perceive that no object 
 worthy of the expense and exertions which must be in« 
 curred would be obtained by the prosecution of the war. 
 He was therefore the more easily induced to enter into a 
 negotiation with the queen, who, finding that she was un* 
 equal to her enemies in the field, had renewed her solicita- 
 tions for peace. It is related, that when she was told she 
 must send ambassadors to Ccesar, she asked who he was, 
 and where he lived. Guides were supplied to conduct hef 
 envoys to Augustus, who happened to be at Samos. He 
 received them favourably ; and not only acceded to the re* 
 quest of their mistress, but relieved her from the tribute 
 which Petronius had thought proper to impose. 
 
 We have already remarked that the situation of Napata 
 cannot be satisfactorily determined ; and we may now add, 
 that the obscurity which prevails in regard to this point 
 arises from the indistinct statements left by the ancient 
 geographers. Pliny, with a view to describe the expedition 
 of Petronius, mentions a variety of towns which he reduced 
 on his march, and adds, that the greatest distance to 
 which he attained was eight hundred and seventy miles 
 southward from Syene. But he likewise gives the sub- 
 stance of a report made by certain spies, or exphratores, 
 6ent by Nero to ascertain the distance from the borders of 
 Egypt to Meroe ; and agreeably to this authority he places 
 Napata five hundred and twenty-four miles above Es Souan. 
 If, indeed, we suppose that the longer measurement refers 
 to the course of the river or the route pursued by the army, 
 and that the shorter denotes the distance in a straight line, 
 the result will nearly coincide with the estimated space be- 
 tween Phila? and Merawe, or even the position of the 
 modern Shendy. Hence Napata may be placed either in 
 the kingdom of Dongola near the Gebel el Berkal, where 
 there are the remains of magnificent buildings, or beyond 
 the Tacazze, on the site of the renowned Meroe. 
 
 As the historians have simply recorded that the Primmis 
 or Premnis, where the Roman prefect established his gar- 
 rison, was below the great cataract, geographers, misled by 
 this ambiguous description, have given the name in question 
 both to the town of Old Dongola and to Ibrim. The allu-
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 93 
 
 sion, it is obvious, will apply to either ; for while the one is 
 only a little removed from the Falls of Wady Haifa, the 
 other is at no great distance from similar rapids, usually 
 designated the third cataract. Perhaps, in the modern 
 Ibrim, we may allow ourselves to discover a contraction of 
 the more ancient appellation Primmis ; for if the Latin ter- 
 mination be removed, and one labial consonant substituted 
 for another, we obtain a very similar sound. It is therefore 
 probable, that the fortress which Petronius selected for the 
 soldiers whom he deemed it expedient to leave in Nubia as 
 a check on the Ethiopian queen, was that situated on the 
 strong rock which overhangs the Nile in the province of 
 Wady Seboua. 
 
 The name of the female sovereign to whom reference has 
 just been made, will naturally associate itself in the mind 
 with the narrative contained in the eighth chapter of the 
 Acts, where we read of " a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of 
 great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, 
 who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to 
 Jerusalem for to worship." As more than fifty years elapsed 
 between the expedition of Petronius and the mission of 
 Philip the deacon into the desert of Gaza, it is not probable 
 that the ruler mentioned in the sacred narrative is the same 
 individual who had to solicit peace from Augustus Caesar. 
 It is more likely that the appellation was hereditary in the 
 royal house, and was conferred on the reigning monarch in 
 the manner observed by the Pharaohs, the Greek princes in 
 Egypt, and the Roman emperors. There is, indeed a tra- 
 dition, that the people of the Upper Nile were long governed 
 by queens ; and the practice, still followed in some parts of 
 Dongola, of placing a young woman at the head of their 
 armies, may have originated in that usage. 
 
 From the facts brought to light by the invasion of Pe- 
 tronius it is manifest, that about the commencement of the 
 Christian era there was in Ethiopia an independent kingdom 
 apparently unconnected with Abyssinia. The dominions 
 of Candace appear to have extended over the valleys watered 
 by the river, and perhaps over part of the neighbouring 
 deserts with which these fertile plains are encompassed. 
 There is no allusion made by Strabo or Dio to the territories 
 which stretch towards the Red Sea ; and it is remarkable 
 that, among the various catalogues of sovereigns obtained 
 
 \
 
 91 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 by Bruce and Mr. Salt during their residence in the former 
 country, the name of this celebrated queen has not been 
 found. 
 
 The subsequent history of this particular section of 
 Ethiopia is shrouded in utter darkness. We know not 
 when the successors of Candace ceased to enjoy power, or 
 by what series of events their throne was cast down ; 
 whether by the regular assault of Abyssinian armies led by 
 an ambitious prince, or by the inroads of the savage tribes 
 who occupied the mountains of the south and the wilds of 
 the Libyan Desert. More than a thousand years passed 
 away, during which no European acquired any knowledge 
 of Nubia, or set a foot within its borders : on which account 
 we can only conjecture that the zeal of the Moslem, soon 
 after the triumph of their califs over Egypt, might induce 
 them to carry their conquests along the banks of the Nile ; 
 or that the Galla and those other barbarous hordes, who 
 have so often alarmed the emperor at Gondar, may have 
 extinguished the lights of civilization which once illumined 
 the remote regions of Meroe. 
 
 A similar obscurity prevails for seven or eight centuries 
 in regard to Abyssinia, which is only occasionally bright- 
 ened by the uncertain information afforded by the ecclesi- 
 astical writers, who laboured to connect its affairs with those 
 of the patriarchate of Alexandria. It is not till the epoch 
 when the Portuguese, attracted at once by their zeal for reli- 
 gion and their love of gold, penetrated into Eastern Africa, 
 that our inquiries respecting its history and condition begin 
 to be rewarded with any degree of success. In relating the 
 progress of discovery made by this people along the western 
 coast, we had occasion to observe,* that, among the splendid 
 objects by which their exertions were animated, by far the 
 most prominent was that of reaching the territory of the 
 prince whom they denominated Prester John.f Vain were 
 
 * Narrative of Discovery and Adventure in Africa, 
 
 t " Rex Habessinorumvix alio quam Presbyteri Johannis titulo notus 
 hucusque fuit Europaeis, quem illi Lusitani imposuere. Occasio fuit 
 talis. Petrus Petri filius Lusitanias princeps, M. Pauli Veneti librum 
 (qui de Indorum rebus mulia), speciatirh vero de Presbytero Johanne 
 aliqua magnifice scripsit), Veneiiis secum in patriam detulerat ; qui 
 (Chronologicis Lusitanorum testantibus), praecipuam Johanni Regi 
 ansam dedit Indicae navigationis, quam Henricus Johannis I. filius, 
 patruus ejus, tentaverat, prosequenda?.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 95 
 
 all the inquiries made on that shore for this mysterious 
 monarch ; but intelligence was received of a Christian prince 
 ruling over Abyssinia, whom at length they thought they 
 might conclude to be the royal priest. As soon, too, as the 
 Portuguese sovereign had conceived the idea of penetrating, 
 by a voyage round the Cape, into the Indian Seas, a know- 
 ledge of the neighbouring kingdoms became very important. 
 To meet this double object, Covilham and De Payva were, 
 in 1487, despatched, the one to enter Abyssinia, the other 
 to penetrate to the shores of India. The former died in the 
 vicinity of the Red Sea ; but the latter was fortunate enough 
 to reach Calicut and Goa on the coast of Malabar ; whence 
 he crossed to Sofala in Eastern Africa, and even obtained 
 some information respecting the southern boundary of that 
 continent. Having made the circuit of the Indian Ocean, 
 he was enabled, on his return to the Arabian Gulf, to trans- 
 mit the most flattering accounts as to the practicability and 
 advantage of the projected voyage. Both in going out and 
 returning, he collected many particulars as to the empire of 
 Abyssinia, and determined to crown his discoveries by visit- 
 ing the court of that interesting monarchy. Iscander or 
 Alexander, then the reigning king, received him in the most 
 cordial manner, and conducted him to the royal residence 
 at Shoa. Treated with the highest honours, he was either 
 persuaded or compelled to take up his residence in the 
 country, whence he never returned to Europe. 
 .. About 1510, Helena, then queen of Abyssinia, anxious 
 to obtain the alliance of Portugal against the Turks, sent 
 Matthew, an Armenian merchant, ambassador to Lisbon. 
 He went by the circuitous route of India, where his dignity 
 not being at first recognised, he was somewhat roughly 
 treated, and detained several years. When at last, in 1513, 
 
 " Caeterum inter praestantissimos historieorum constat, regem quen- 
 dam Christianum olim in extrema Asia, haud procul regno Ttnduc, 
 Catayam versus, regnasse, magna potentia et fama, qui a Persis vicini- 
 oribus, ad significanda illius sacra, Prester Chan, h. e. Chanus seu 
 Princeps adoratorum, i. e. Christianorum, ut quidam putant ; vel, ut 
 Scaliger vult. Fristegeani, i. e. Apostohcus, dictus fuit. Utcunque 
 deinum id nominis pronunciaveris, ab Iialis, tunc temporis commercia 
 Orientis tractantibus, auditum, et per Europam vulgatum, imperitum 
 vulgus pro Italico Preste vel Prcte Gianni sive Giovanni accepit; et sic 
 Presbyteri Johannis nomen apud omnes Europae populos inolevit." — 
 Ludolphi Hist. ^Ethiop. lib. ii. c. 1.
 
 96 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 he reached Lisbon, the court received him with all that 
 delight which might be expected on seeing realized the flat- 
 tering vision of Prester John, which had so long glittered 
 before their eyes. After the most favourable reception, he 
 was sent back with a fleet, which, in 1515, proceeded to 
 India under Lope Soarez, who was appointed to succeed 
 Albuquerque. There went out also as ambassador to 
 Prester John, Duarte Galvam, a statesman of capacity and 
 experience, but already arrived at the advanced age of 
 eighty-six. The governor, soon after his arrival in India, 
 sailed for the Red Sea ; but the other, whose years indeed 
 rendered him very unfit for such an expedition, sunk under 
 the climate, and died at the island of Camaran. The ships, 
 meanwhile, met with so many disasters, that they never 
 reached the port of Masuah. Soarez quitted the gulf, and 
 the enterprise was not resumed till he was succeeded by a 
 more able commander, named Lope Sequeira. This officer 
 sailed from Goa on the 13th February, 1520, and arrived at 
 Masuah on the 24th April. At the neighbouring port of 
 Arkeekoo he had an interview with the Baharnagash, who, 
 as vassal to the monarch of Abyssinia, held sway over a 
 wide extent of maritime territory. He gave the Portuguese 
 a cordial welcome, and undertook to convey to court both 
 Matthew and a European embassy. At the head of this 
 mission Sequeira placed Rodrigo de Lima, with eight or ten 
 subordinate members, among whom was a friar, Francisco 
 Alvarez, who afterward wrote a narrative of the expedition. 
 The embassy left Arkeeko on the 30th April, and on the 
 4th May arrived at the monastery of St. Michael, which 
 was dependent on a more extensive establishment called 
 Bisan, or that of the Vision. Here they were attacked by 
 an epidemic malady, which proved fatal to the merchant and 
 to one of his countrymen. To escape its malignant influ- 
 ence they hastened forward, first to Bisan and then to 
 Dobarwa, the residence of the Baharnagash, to w T hich he 
 had now returned. On this occasion he received them rather 
 coldly, and not without reluctance afforded them the means 
 of proceeding. The passage, too, of the high and rugged 
 mountains of Tigre was found rather formidable. Violent 
 storms of wind and rain often compelled them to seek 
 shelter under the rocks ; while the fury of the torrents and 
 the roaring of the gale through the immense woods could
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 97 
 
 not be heard without alarm. Numerous wild animals stalked 
 around, showing no fear at the presence of man ; apes were 
 tometimes seen in bands of several hundreds. On de- 
 scending into the plain, they found it desolated by the more 
 dreadful scourge of locusts. When the inhabitants saw the 
 air darkened by those destructive insects, they became, it is 
 said, " as dead men," crying out, " We are undone, for the 
 locusts come !" Great numbers of both sexes were ob- 
 served flying to other districts in search of food, their own 
 lands having been entirely consumed by this dreadful visit- 
 ation. 
 
 Amid these difficulties and annoyances, the mission slowly 
 reached the southern province of Angote, which they found 
 a delightful region, watered by numerous streams, and having 
 seedtime and harvest continued throughout the year. The 
 viceroy invited them to a feast, where they found neither 
 chair, tablecloth, nor towel. Mats were spread on the floor, 
 and a wooden board was covered with round cakes ; over 
 which was placed the delicate dish, which Alvarez scarcely 
 dares to mention, — " pieces of raw flesh, with warm blood," 
 — which the governor and his ladies devoured with delight. 
 But the Portuguese could not allow these dainties to enter 
 their lips. The wine also, or rather hydromel, " walked 
 about with great fury ;" the mistress of the house, though 
 concealed behind a curtain, taking an ample share. 
 
 In proceeding to the court or camp of the Abyssinian 
 monarch, Alvarez saw the lofty hill on which, by a singular 
 and jealous policy, the princes of the blood-royal are con- 
 stantly confined. It was of g-reat extent, begirt by a circuit 
 of lofty and perpendicular cliffs appearing to reach almost 
 to the sky. On its summit was a large plain, whence other 
 hills 'arose interspersed with valleys, of which the most 
 beautiful was chosen as the retreat of the august prisoners. 
 The strangers having approached too near it, were advertised 
 of their error by a sudden shower of stones. 
 
 After passing through theprovinces of Amhara and Shoa, 
 the embassy, on the 16th October, came in view of an almost 
 endless range of tents and pavilions overspreading an im- 
 mense plain. This was the grand array or regal camp of 
 the King of Abyssinia, who, engaged in continual war, had 
 at this time no other capital. They forthwith advanced be- 
 tween two rows of about 40,000 persons, among whom a
 
 98 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 hundred were constantly employed with whips in their hands 
 to maintain order. On this occasion they saw only the 
 cabeata, or chief priest and minister, who conveyed several 
 courteous messages between them and the monarch, whom, 
 however, they neither saw nor heard. But on the 20th 
 they were again sent for, when they observed an elevated 
 seat, which they call a bed, with rich curtains of silk and 
 gold concealing the king from their view, but not preventing 
 their holding some conversation with him. His first address 
 was not altogether cordial ; he even showed some jealousy 
 of their motives in coming to Abyssinia ; but he listened to 
 their explanations, and at length showed on the whole a 
 more friendly disposition. 
 
 Finally, on the 1st November, they were admitted to a 
 more formal audience, when a series of curtains were 
 raised, each richer than the other, till at last one, the richest 
 of all, was lifted, behind which appeared Prester John seated, 
 in a splendid dress of silk and gold, and holding in his hand 
 a silver cross. This prince, who was David III., is described 
 as a young man of about twenty-three, of low stature, and 
 " of the colour of ruddy apples." The discourse soon turned 
 upon the authority of the pope and the communion of Rome, 
 which the ambassador represented to be the only true 
 church, and to which Abyssinia was bound to submit. The 
 emperor resisted this claim, and seems to have maintained 
 the theological argument with considerable acuteness. Re- 
 specting the marriage of priests, he quoted the decrees of 
 councils, of which the envoy was obliged to confess his own 
 ignorance. He asked also whether, supposing the pope 
 were to order any thing contrary to Scripture, it would be 
 obeyed ; and the Portuguese not venturing an absolute 
 negative, the king declared that his people had no idea of 
 such a servile submission. 
 
 The ambassador afterward accompanied the king, with 
 the abuna or ecclesiastical primate, to the great monastery 
 of Machan Celacen, where he witnessed the high cere- 
 monies of baptism and the ordination of priests and clerks ; 
 but the practical details connected with these offices afforded 
 much room for animadversion. The number of priests or- 
 dained was 2356 ; and the examination — a very short and 
 superficial one, — had no other object than to ascertain 
 whether they were able to read. The qualifications of the
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 99 
 
 clerks were necessarily still lower, as they were admitted 
 of all classes and ages, a great proportion being mere in- 
 fants. Among these ecclesiastical functionaries there was 
 a continued crying, " as of so many young kids," on account 
 of being kept so long from suck ; and Alvarez was seriously 
 alarmed at the administration of the host, lest these tender 
 throats should have choked on the coarse dough of which 
 it was formed. He assures his readers, that he remonstrated 
 strongly with the abuna on this premature elevation to the 
 dignities of the church, as well as other practices, the ir- 
 regularity of which was candidly admitted by that prelate. 
 
 The embassy, after remaining five years in Abyssinia, 
 sailed from Masuah on the 28th April, 1526, with presents 
 and a letter for the king of Portugal. Thus the communi- 
 cation between the two courts was continued, and the 
 reluctance which the emperor at first showed to embrace 
 the Catholic religion was overcome in a surprising degree. 
 In 1535, the place of abuna, or head of the church, was 
 conferred upon Bermudez, a Romish priest then resident in 
 the country. This nomination was accompanied with a 
 request which throws some light upon its motive. The 
 country being hard pressed by the Moors of Adel, the gov- 
 ernment of Lisbon was urged to send a body of troops to 
 defend it against those enemies of the faith. Bermudez 
 himself repaired to Goa to hasten the sailing of the desired 
 expedition. The ardour of the Portuguese youth for this 
 species of crusade drew forth a much greater number of 
 volunteers than were desired by the viceroy, who despatched 
 only 450 under Don Stephen de Gama ; and though that 
 officer fell early, his followers, by their superior arms and 
 discipline, rendered essential services. The Moors were 
 defeated, and obliged to sue for peace ; after which the 
 Catholic zeal of the monarch remarkably cooled, to the in- 
 finite rage of the abuna, who made remonstrances so vio- 
 lent, that open hostilities ensued between the two nations. 
 The Portuguese, notwithstanding their small numbers, 
 were able to maintain a defensive position, till at length 
 the king, by a stratagem, got the chief priest into his power, 
 and sent him into an honourable exile, as governor of Efat, 
 an extensive province. It is described by him as consisting 
 of a valley so deep, and enclosed by such high and craggy 
 mountains, that the entrance appeared to resemble the descent
 
 100 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 into hell. After taking possession, however, he found it an 
 agreeable and fertile district ; the inhabitants even made 
 cotton cloths, and practised other arts, better than the rest 
 of the Abyssinians ; yet they were pagans, " barbarous and 
 evil." It contained gold, which abounded still more in the 
 neighbouring countries ; one of which paid in tribute two 
 full-grown lions, three whelps, and several hens and chick- 
 ens, all framed of this precious metal. Bermudez seems 
 to have exercised his sway in a very tyrannical manner. 
 He and his people amused themselves by firing muskets 
 over the heads of the natives, enjoying their terror at the 
 effect of these unknown weapons ; and this, on some occa- 
 sions, was done so recklessly, that several persons were 
 killed. The king, incensed at these pastimes of the gover- 
 nor, confined him on the top of a high mountain ; but, being 
 rescued by the valour of his countrymen, a compromise was 
 at length effected, in virtue of which he received lands, 
 ample possessions, and a new title ; however, he soon after- 
 ward left the country. . 
 
 The king of Portugal and the pope were for some time 
 discouraged by the unfavourable result of this mission. But 
 a convert who came to Rome assured them, that the failure 
 was entirely owing to the brutal conduct of Bermudez, and 
 that a judicious agent might yet add Abyssinia to the domain 
 of the Catholic church. Nugnez Barretto was accordingly 
 invested with this office; but when, upon reaching the Red 
 Sea, he learned that it was infested by Turkish ships, his 
 courage failed. Oviedo, however, the second in rank, with 
 some priests of an inferior order, boldly pushed forward, 
 and arrived in safety. On reaching the royal camp, he was 
 received in the most friendly manner, and immediately ad- 
 mitted to an audience. But instead of tempering his zeal 
 with any measure of discretion, he seems to have studiously 
 overacted the part of Bermudez. Representing to the king 
 the enormous errors into which he had fallen, the mission- 
 ary called upon him immediately to bring his subjects into 
 a state of spiritual allegiance to the. Roman see. His 
 majesty replied, that he was exceedingly well inclined to 
 the Portuguese, and would grant them ample possessions, 
 with liberty to convert the whole nation if they could ; but 
 that to compel the people to change their religion would 
 create great discontent, particularly as they were at present
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 101 
 
 quite satisfied with their abuna. He promised, however, to 
 consult his friends on the subject. Oviedo, though most 
 Indignant that a third party should be addressed on such an 
 occasion, agreed to pause, and meantime challenged the 
 Abyssinian doctors to a conference. This was readily ac- 
 cepted. Being supernaturally aided, as he conceived, he 
 gained the most complete victory over his opponents ; but 
 unhappily they considered their own triumph as equally deci- 
 sive, and hence affairs stood exactly as they were before. 
 The Catholic, indignant at such blindness, and seeing no 
 hope of effecting any thing by persuasion, determined to have 
 recourse to the most violent measures. Assuming the full 
 papal authority, he issued a rescript, devoting the whole na- 
 tion to the judgment of the church, and even to be spoiled by 
 the faithful in every possible manner, " in person and goods, 
 in public and private." Such a decree, without any means of 
 enforcing it, occasioned, of course, a violent persecution 
 against the mission. Oviedo was banished to a remote and 
 desolate mountain, where he nearly perished with famine. 
 He transmitted the most earnest entreaties to the king of 
 Portugal to despatch fifteen hundred men, with which he 
 undertook to conquer all Abyssinia ; but this proposal, 
 though seriously pondered, was never reduced to practice. 
 The next missionary was Peter Paez, sent out in 1589, 
 — a man of superior talents and address, who, instead of 
 attempting to carry his objects by threats and violence, 
 successfully applied himself to conciliate at once the sov- 
 ereign and the nation. It is to be regretted that his narra- 
 tive, which is supposed still to exist, and would probably 
 supply the fullest account of the country yet written, has 
 never been given to the public ; only some detached ex- 
 tracts from it being found in the General History of Ethio- 
 pia, by Tellez. He derides the pompous descriptions which 
 former travellers had given of this empire, the palace of 
 whi.h, instead of containing, as had been pretended, spa- 
 cious halls and superb domes, resembled more the humble 
 cottao-e in which JEneas was received by Evander. The 
 imperial table presented none of those conveniences which 
 in Europe are by the humblest citizen considered indispen- 
 sable ; neither plate, nor knife, nor fork, nor spoon, nor 
 chair to sit upon. Women entered bearing baskets of 
 junk, resembling broad-brimmed hats, whence they drew 
 12
 
 102 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 numerous cakes, with which they entirely covered the board 
 Above these they placed the chief delicacy, pieces of raw 
 and warm flesh, which were wrapped in the cakes, in por- 
 tions so enormous that it appeared quite impossible for any 
 mouth to admit them. The attendants, however, forced 
 these pellets between the jaws of their masters, and con- 
 tinued to stuff the guests, one after another, " as if they 
 were stuffing a goose for a feast." All this while deep 
 silence reigned, and eating engrossed the universal atten- 
 tion ; but as soon as the table was cleared, the cups were 
 introduced, and began to circulate with the utmost freedom. 
 
 As there was nothing in Abyssinia which could be called 
 a house, Paez undertook to erect one for the monarch, such 
 as in Europe might be considered a handsome villa. It 
 was exceedingly difficult to instruct the native architects in 
 the use of the hammer and chisel, in the operation of cut- 
 ting, rounding, and hewing the stones, as well as in the 
 various processes of carpentry ; but when this had been in 
 some degree effected, and the people saw high walls of hewn 
 stone ascending, and one story rising above another, they 
 considered it little less than a miracle. By these and other 
 personal services, the priest so ingratiated himself at court, 
 that he prevailed upon the king, not only to embrace the 
 Catholic faith himself, but to make it the established religion 
 of his dominions. This missionary, moreover, is generally 
 supposed to have visited the sources of the Nile ; his de- 
 scription of them, indeed, quoted by Kircher, closely corres- 
 ponds with that afterward given by Bruce. 
 
 The Romish religion continued to maintain its ground, 
 and about the year 1620 was professed with ardour by the 
 king, Socinios or Segued, who applied for a fresh supply of 
 clergymen. In compliance with this request, Jerome Lobo 
 set sail from GOa in January, 1624. The approach to Abys- 
 sinia was then very difficult, as the Turks were masters of 
 the Red Sea ; and an attempt to reach it from the mouth 
 of the Arabian Gulf, by the southern country of Cambat, 
 had been frustrated by the ruggedness of the territory and 
 the barbarous character of the people. Lobo, much at a 
 loss, sought to open up a new path by Melinda, which, 
 however, could only have been suggested by deep ignorance 
 of African geography. On landing at Pate, or Patta, he 
 was warned of the dangers attending this route, which
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 103 
 
 would soon bring him among the Galla, one of the most 
 savage races in existence. His zeal however still urged 
 him onwards, till he reached the kingdom of Jubo, the natives 
 of which were barbarians indeed ; eating raw flesh, adornincr 
 themselves with the entrails of cows, and killing such of 
 their children as happened to be born on plundering ex- 
 cursions. He found the king in a tolerably large straw-hut, 
 surrounded by courtiers, bearing each a long staff, which, 
 whenever the stranger entered, they employed in driving him 
 back to the door. Lobo, who had attended by permission/ 
 having inquired the cause of such an ungracious salutation, 
 was assured that it was the regular mode of reception at 
 this court ; and they swore on the head of a sheep, be- 
 smeared with butter, that they would do him no injury. It 
 was rather annoying to be attended by men whose kindness 
 was thus expressed ; and when the traveller heard that nine 
 nations, equally savage, and engaged in continual war, 
 intervened between Jubo and Abyssinia, he thought it high 
 time to seek an entrance by another channel. He therefore 
 returned to Patta, whence he sailed, and, having passed the 
 Straits of Bab el Mandeb, landed at Baylur in Dancali ; the 
 sovereign of which country, being dependent on Abyssinia, 
 had been instructed to provide for his safety and comfort. 
 Having waited on the monarch, at his capital, which con- 
 sisted of twenty mud-cabins and six tents, he was ushered 
 into the palace, where one apartment sufficed for the prince 
 and his horse. The good priest had no reason to complain 
 of his reception, though extraordinary efforts were made to 
 extort presents from him ; but by using the name of the 
 King of Abyssinia, he escaped all violent exaction. To 
 reach his destination, however, it was necessary to pass ex- 
 tensive deserts, including the great plain whence salt is 
 supplied to the whole empire ; and here hunger, thirst, the 
 bites of serpents, and the attacks of plunderers, created 
 much suffering and alarm. At length he arrived at Fremona, 
 the missionary head-quarters, and began to enter upon his 
 functions ; but he soon found that, though supported by 
 royal authority, his doctrine was viewed by the great body 
 of the people with the utmost aversion. On entering a 
 village, he'was surprised to hear all the inhabitants joining 
 in one chorus of shrieks and lamentations ; and on in-
 
 104 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 quiring what dreadful calamity had befallen them, was 
 informed that it was nothing but his own arrival, and that 
 they were deploring the fate of such of their countrymen 
 as they feared would be entrapped by his fatal tenets. 
 Wherever he went he found a similar impression prevail ; 
 and on attempting to address them, and especially on pre- 
 senting the Host, which they believed to be strained from the 
 juices of the animals held most odious in Abyssinia, they 
 uniformly fled at full speed. It had also been imagined that 
 the landing of missionaries coincided with the appearance 
 of locusts ; and iti this instance that absurd prejudice was 
 unfortunately strengthened. Lobo had the pain of wit- 
 nessing the distress occasioned by that plague, and saw the 
 monastery besieged by crowds of starving creatures, who 
 unjustly imputed to him their miseries. 
 
 He afterward visited the southern province of Damot, 
 which, as we have already stated, appeared in his eyes the 
 most delightful country he ever beheld, shaded with noble 
 trees, having seed-time and harvest at all seasons. He 
 describes also the sources of the Nile, as if he had visited 
 them ; but whether he actually did so, or merely wrote from 
 information communicated by others, has never been clearly 
 ascertained. 
 
 For some years the Catholics, generally odious to the 
 nation, were supported and protected by the ruling power. 
 The king, however, having sunk into a state of dotage, the 
 administration fell into the hands of his son, who himself 
 had long entertained a secret antipathy to this body, and 
 under whose sanction the great men found themselves at 
 liberty to give vent to their long-cherished animosity. They 
 proceeded to the most violent extremities ; and the mission- 
 aries learned that a plan was actually matured for delivering 
 them all into the hands of the Turks. In their distress they 
 sought refuge with a chief in Tigre, who had raised the 
 standard of rebellion ; but by this step they exposed them- 
 selves to the very calamity which they had hoped to escape. 
 He sold them to the Pasha of Suakin, a furious Mussulman, 
 who had repeatedly expressed the delight with which he 
 would kill every one of them with his own hand. From 
 this dreadful situation, however, they were rescued by a high 
 ransom, and conveyed to Goa. The persecution continued
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 105 
 
 till 1638, when all the monks remaining in the country were 
 barbarously put to death, and the Roman religion finally 
 rooted out of Abyssinia. 
 
 About twenty years after, Signor Baratti, an Italian gen- 
 tleman, made his way into that country, where he found the 
 enmity against the Catholic church still unabated. The 
 native clergy had even drawn up a special creed to guard 
 against its errors. They declared that the Virgin, the 
 apostles, and martyrs ought indeed to be reverenced, but 
 not to be worshipped, or to have prayers addressed to them ; 
 that the Bishop of Rome has no authority over the church 
 in general ; that the cross is a mere badge of the Christian 
 profession, having no virtue in itself; and that the marriage 
 of priests to one wife is lawful. It would thus appear that 
 they were much more rational in their doctrines than those 
 who had made such efforts for their conversion. 
 
 In 1698 Poncet, whose name we have already mentioned, 
 and who had practised as a physician at Cairo, received an 
 invitation from the King of Abyssinia, who stood in need 
 of his medical skill. He followed a different route from 
 any former traveller, taking his departure from Upper Egypt 
 with the Sennaar caravan. During four days they passed 
 through a desert of moving sand, where the gentlest breeze 
 raised a cloud that darkened the air. They then reached 
 the great oasis of Elwah, which they found a delightful spot, 
 filled with palm-trees and gardens, and the fields covered 
 with senna. They next proceeded across a branch of the 
 Great African Desert, and he was the first who gave to 
 Europeans an idea of its excessive dreariness. He describes 
 it as destitute of every species of shrub or plant, and pre- 
 senting only the dead bodies and scattered bones of men and 
 camels. Even when he reached the Nile at Moscho, culti- 
 vation, which extended only a league in breath, was sustained 
 by artificial means, water being raised from the river in 
 machines worked by oxen. Dongola appeared a poorly-built 
 town, almost choked by the sand which blew in from the 
 surrounding wastes. From Korti he crossed the desert of 
 Bahiouda, les- desolate than the former.; whence passing 
 by Derri and Gerri, he arrived at Sennaar. Having spent 
 three months in that city, as we have elsewhere observed, he 
 proceeded on his journey eastward, crossing several ranges 
 of mountains, amid vast forests of trees unknown in Europe.
 
 106 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 Abyssinia now possessed a capital called Gondar, instead of 
 the moveable camp in which the kings formerly travelled from 
 place to place. It was an extensive town, with 1 00 churches, 
 yet consisting in fact of a vast cluster of cottages ; and 
 there being no shops, the goods were exposed in mats in a 
 large open space. Poncet, having succeeded in curing the 
 emperor, was sent home by way of Tigre and Masuah, 
 without meeting any of those perils which are usually 
 encountered by unprotected adventurers. 
 
 A long period now elapsed, during which Abyssinia was 
 almost forgotten, when it was brought again into notice, and 
 more fully described than ever, by one of the most enter- 
 prising of modern travellers. This was James Bruce, a 
 writer who has been much accused of exaggeration and even 
 of inaccuracy in his statements ; yet it seems now generally 
 admitted that, with the exception of a few incidents some- 
 what highly coloured, his narrative is substantially correct. 
 
 Fortified with a firman from the Porte, and with a letter 
 from the SherifTe of Mecca, he landed on the 19th Sep- 
 tember, 17G9, at Masuah, where, notwithstanding all these 
 securities, he narrowly escaped being robbed and murdered 
 by the Naib of Arkeeko, a brutal and unprincipled chief. 
 He sailed to Arkeeko, which he left on the 15th November, 
 and proceeded over Taranta, a high mountain-range which 
 separates the coast from the interior. This eminence was 
 covered to the top with noble trees, often so close together 
 as to resemble arbours ; the chief species being the cedar 
 and the kol-quall, the latter peculiar to that country. There 
 were many beautiful birds without song, while others, des- 
 titute of beauty, had pleasing notes, but quite different from 
 those of England. In the caves of these mountains, or in 
 little conical wooden cabins, dwell the Hazorta and the Shiho, 
 pastoral tribes, who possess numerous herds, especially of 
 goats, which, according to the season, they drive to the top 
 of the mountains or to the lower valleys. They hold at 
 defiance the powers of the plain, but have themselves so 
 little reputation for hospitality that their treatment of trav- 
 ellers gave rise to the Abyssinian proverb, " Beware of the 
 men who drink two waters." 
 
 At the foot of Taranta, Bruce passed through Dixan, 
 lately belonging to the Baharnagash, or Lord of the Sea, 
 who, we have already observed, had been one of the most
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 107 
 
 powerful princes in this part of Africa. His territory was 
 now very much narrowed, and he was reduced to a complete 
 dependence upon the governor of Tigre. Bruce found him 
 in a village near Dixan, a good-humoured simple person, 
 with a very beggarly train. A general poverty indeed per- 
 vaded this district, which the inhabitants sought to relieve 
 Dy stealing. 
 
 The traveller came next to Adowa, which ranked as 
 capital of Tigre, though it is only a large village. Near it 
 was Fremona, the great convent at which the Portuguese 
 missionaries had fixed their head-quarters. After passing 
 through the province of Sire, a wide and fertile plain, 
 bounded by the broad and luxuriantly-wooded course of the 
 Tacazze, Mr. Bruce entered Sarnen, a country containing 
 the loftiest mountains in Abyssinia, which the companions 
 of Alvarez represented as even far surpassing in height the 
 Alps and the Pyrenees. He and Salt, however, have ascer- 
 tained them to be much inferior, though the occasional ap- 
 pearance of snow on their summits indicates in this climate 
 a very high elevation. Their forms are often peculiarly 
 rugged and precipitous, being compared by Bruce, though 
 with some exaggeration, to pyramids pitched on their apex. 
 He was obliged to pass Lamalmon, a lofty ridge, which lay 
 on his way to Gondar. He had a difficult and rather dan- 
 gerous clamber along a narrow rugged path on the edge of 
 a precipice, but found on the top a broad plain well culti- 
 vated, where the cool air restored- his vigour, which had 
 suffered under the suffocating atmosphere of the lower 
 valleys. He then descended, and at length descried, in the 
 midst of a thick grove, Gondar, the capital of Abyssinia. 
 
 The most dreadful commotions agitated at that moment 
 the interior of the country. He relates that Ras Michael, 
 the governor of Tigre, had murdered Joas, the king, and 
 set up in his room Tecla Haimanout, a youth of fifteen, in 
 whose name he exercised the real sovereignty. Michael had 
 married Ozoro Esther, daughter to the queen-dowager, whose 
 beauty and rank made her the most distinguished female in 
 Abyssinia. Another political interest distracted the king- 
 dom. On its southern border were numerous tribes of the 
 Galla, a race regarded even by the Abyssinians, who them- 
 selves have to "boast of so little refinement, as uncouth, 
 savage, and horrible. They have numerous cattle, which
 
 108 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 supply them with food, and whose entrails, worn round the 
 waist or plaited in the hair, though often in a putrid state, 
 are used as the favourite ornaments of their persons. They 
 were wont in former times to ride upon cows ; hut recently 
 they have obtained a breed of small active horses, and the 
 irregular cavalry thus mounted constitutes their chief mili- 
 tary force. They can endure severe privations, perform the 
 most rapid marches, and cross broad rivers holding by the 
 horses' tails. In battle they make a sudden and rapid onset 
 with shrill and barbarous howls, which few troops can with- 
 stand. By their numbers and ferocity they had overrun 
 many of the finest provinces of Abyssinia, and had even 
 formed an alliance with the royal family, which, however, 
 was held in horror by the people in general. Their chiefs, 
 Gusho, Povvussen, and Fasil, temporized with Ras Michael, 
 in the hope of speedily destroying him. 
 
 Mr. Bruce found himself for some time an object of con- 
 siderable neglect. The violent passions which agitated the 
 contending parties left little room for curiosity ; and his 
 character of Frank, combined in their eyes with that of 
 Catholic, excited a mingled feeling of aversion and contempt. 
 He was first drawn into notice by his medical skill. Ay to 
 Confu, son to Ozoro Esther, had been seized with the small- 
 pox, and as he was treated in the usual manner of the 
 country, by being wrapped in enormous loads of clothes, and 
 having the external air wholly excluded, the disease seemed 
 approaching to a fatal termination. A great Abyssinian 
 saint, who had not eaten or drunk for twenty years, having 
 failed in his attempts to cure the prince, the stranger was 
 called in as a last resource, and by improved treatment soon 
 produced a most favourable change. His attentions on this 
 occasion, with the general attractions of his person and 
 manner, rendered him a decided favourite with the princess, 
 through whom he was introduced to the first circles at the 
 imperial court. 
 
 One principal cause of the importance attached to the 
 travels of Bruce is the acquisition of many valuable manu- 
 scripts made by him while resident in Abyssinia. His work 
 contains a history of that country, translated chiefly from 
 records supplied to him in the native language ; and though 
 there may be some slight discrepancy, as to dates and the 
 order of events, the narrative is amply confirmed by all the
 
 Ozoro Esther.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. Ill 
 
 information which it has been possible to procure from other 
 sources. The Chronicle of Axura, already mentioned, 
 proved the depository of a great variety of facts in regard 
 to the regal successions ; its object being " to show forth the 
 glory of Rome and Ethiopia," two nations which were 
 imagined to divide between them the sovereignty of the 
 world, in direct inheritance from Adam. Of this treatise 
 Mr. Bruce brought two copies from Gondar; the one 
 written in an older hand, divided into chapters, containing 
 an appendix on Abyssinian history and customs ; the other 
 beautifully but more incorrectly written, without sections, 
 and supposed to have been a transcript made for him while 
 living in that city. He arranged the several manuscripts on 
 the modern annals of Abyssinia into five volumes, the first 
 of which is the newest copy of the Book of Axum. The 
 second volume, however, is esteemed far more authentic. It 
 is, says Dr. Murray, written in a very neat but small hand 
 on thin parchment, and appears to be about a hundred years 
 old. It contains ninety-three leaves, of which eleven are on 
 the Adeline war of Amda Sion, seven on the history of Zera 
 Jacob, eight on that of Beda Mariam, interspersed with 
 some chapters relating to his father.* 
 
 In this volume, we are assured, there are many curious 
 particulars relating to the monarchy, both in its prosperous 
 and declining state ; though the monkish annalists often 
 give abundance of minute facts without assigning any 
 cause. Many pages are filled with wild declamatory 
 speeches full of Scripture quotations ; in which the reader, 
 expecting to find historical notices, is miserably disappointed. 
 But there are not wanting passages replete with natural 
 feeling, bold enough to surprise, and sufficiently tender to 
 melt the heart. The construction of an oriental language, 
 it is true, gives a somewhat turgid air to these performances ; 
 which, however, with all their defects, are fully entitled to a 
 place among the chronicles of cur own Gothic ages.f 
 
 The third volume of the collection begins with the history 
 of Susneus, in seventy-five- leaves and ninety-nine chapters. 
 It is the best written of the whole, and being at the same 
 time minute, accurate, and interesting, supplied Mr. Bruce 
 with nearly all the incidents mentioned in that reign. The 
 
 * Brace's Travels, vol. iii. p. 409. t Ibid.
 
 112 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 character is small and neat ; great attention has been be- 
 stowed in correcting the errors of the transcriber, and in 
 removing statements of facts which were either doubtful or 
 offensive. The Roman faith is reprobated wherever it ia 
 mentioned ; but the edifices with which the Franks orna- 
 mented the kingdom are described with much admiration, 
 though with little art. It contains an epitome of the history 
 of Facilidas, together with some diffuse observations on the 
 reign of Hannes the First. 
 
 The fourth volume is occupied with the annals of Yasous 
 Tallak, of Tecla Haimanout the First, of Tiflis, and of 
 David the Fourth. The fifth presents an account of the 
 government under Bacuffa, his son Yasous the Second, and 
 Joas his grandson, who was murdered in the year Mr. Bruce 
 entered Abyssinia. The history of Ras Michael forms an 
 interesting episode in the latter portion of the narrative, and 
 fully authenticates the character given of him by that cele- 
 brated traveller.* 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iii. p. 413. The following is a list of the Ethiopic MSS. 
 brought from Gondar by Mr. Bruce :— 
 
 I. The Old Testament, in five large quarto volumes, each about a foot 
 in length and breadth. These contain all the books in our canon, except 
 the Psalms and several of the Apocrypha. 
 
 II. Two copies of the Gospels, in four volumes, two of which are in 
 small quarto, answering in size to the two volumes which contain the 
 writings of the apostles and the rest of the New Testament, mentioned 
 in No. IV. 
 
 III. The Synodos, or Constitution of the Apostles, beautifully written, 
 and containing about 300 folia. An analysis of this large volume is given 
 by Ludolf in his Commentarius ad Historiam Abyssinia?. It forms what 
 is called a kanoun, or positive law of the church, beyond the letter of 
 which the clergy have no judicial powers. 
 
 IV. The Acts of the Apostles and all the Epistles in our canon, with 
 the Revelation of St. John, in two small quarto volumes, uniform with 
 the Gospels before mentioned. 
 
 V. A Chronicle of the Kings of Abyssinia, from Arwe to Bacuffa, with 
 a very curious preface on the law and customs brought from Jerusalem 
 by Ibn Hakim, the son of Solomon. From this preface is extracted the 
 information respecting the great officers of the Negus, given in the intro- 
 duction to the history of Abyssinia. As the MS. contains a perpetual 
 chronicle of all the princes, from Icon Amlac to Bacuffa inclusively, it 
 has been of great use in preserving entire the chain of history, which is 
 broken in the larger annals. It consists of about 120 folia of the quarto 
 size. 
 
 VI. The Kebir Zaneguste, or Glory of the Kings, the celebrated Book 
 of Axum, described at length in the text. 
 
 VII. The Annals of Abyssinia in five volumes quarto; the principal 
 source of the history given in the third volume of Bruce's work. Of 
 these we have already specified the contents.
 
 KUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 113 
 
 The annals of Abyssinia may be divided into three great 
 portions. The first comprehends the period which elapsed 
 before the interruption of the ancient royal race by the suc- 
 cessful rebellion of Judith, or Goudit as she is sometimes 
 called ; the second embraces the interval during which the 
 usurping dynasty exercised the supreme power ; and the 
 last extends from the restoration of the line of Solomon in 
 the person of Icon Amlac down to the present day. 
 
 In regard to the most ancient division, the light of history 
 does not direct our researches much further than to ascertain 
 the names and order of the several monarchs who mounted 
 the throne. We have already given the list from Menilec 
 to Bazen, who swayed the sceptre at the beginning of the 
 Christian era. From him to Dalnaad, under whom the 
 government was overthrown, there were about sixty sove- 
 reigns, whose united reigns amount to nearly nine hundred 
 and fifty years. For their titles, which could not in any 
 respect prove interesting to the general reader, we willingly 
 refer to the volumes of Bruce and Salt, where they are given 
 at full length, and with as much precision as could be 
 derived from records not everywhere free from obscurity. 
 
 Judith is said to have been of a Hebrew family, the de- 
 scendant of one of those men of rank in the Jewish tribes 
 who, upon the conversion of the Abyssinians to the Chris- 
 tian faith, withdrew into the strong mountains of Samen, 
 where they exercised during several generations a separate 
 and independent authority. She is described as a woman 
 of great beauty and talents, who, inflamed with zeal for the 
 religion of her fathers, resolved with the aid of her country- 
 men to subvert the doctrine of Christ and destroy the apos- 
 tate race of Solomon. To accomplish these views, she 
 began by attacking the young princes, confined according to 
 national usage on the high hill of Darao, and massacred 
 them all, with the exception of an infant, who was conveyed 
 
 VTTI. The Synaxar (Zwalapia), or Lives of the Ethiopic Saints, 
 arranged according to their order in the national calendar, in four volumes 
 quarto. Most of the idle legends contained in this book are translations 
 from the Greek and Coptic. The saints are nothing inferior to their 
 western brethren in strength and faith. They perform greater miracles, 
 live more ascetic lives, and suffer more dreadful martyrdoms, than these 
 holy men; all which is nothing surprising in the native country ot 
 eredulity, superstition, and religious zeal. 
 K %
 
 114 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 into the loyal province of Shoa. The conqueror imme- 
 diately took possession of the throne, and removed the seat 
 of government to Lasta ; where, after enjoying supreme 
 power in her own person not less than forty years, she 
 transmitted it to her descendants, who continued to rule 
 over the greater part of Abyssinia about the space of three 
 centuries. 
 
 During all this period, and indeed down to the year f 255, 
 very little is known respecting the affairs of the country. 
 The Arabian authors mention from time to time that the 
 clergy sent to Egypt to have an abuna consecrated, — 'that 
 the sceptre had again fallen into the hands of a Christian 
 king, though not of the race of Solomon, — and occasionally 
 indicate the name and title of the actual monarch. 
 
 About the middle of the thirteenth century the kingdom 
 was restored to the representative of the ancient house, 
 whose family continued to flourish in Shoa, where indeed 
 their hereditary right had never been called in question. 
 This event was accomplished by the interposition of Tecla 
 Haimanout, a native monk of Abyssinia, who had been raised 
 to the episcopate, and is known as the founder of the 
 famous monastery of Devra Libanos. He prevailed upon 
 the reigning sovereign to abdicate the throne in favour of 
 Icon Amlac, in virtue of a treaty by which it was provided 
 that a portion of land should be given to the retiring prince, 
 — that one-third of the kingdom should be ceded for the 
 maintenance of the church, — and that no Abyssinian should 
 thereafter be elected abuna, but that the head of the eccle- 
 siastical body should always be named by the patriarch of 
 Egypt. The following catalogue is collected from various 
 chronicles, and presents at least an approximation to the 
 truth of history. 
 
 Icon Amlae 1255 
 
 Woodem Arad 1269 
 
 Kudma Asgud ) 
 
 Asfa Asgud V 1284 
 
 Theodorus 1401 
 
 Isaac 1402 
 
 Andreas 1417 
 
 Hesbinaan 1424 
 
 Senfa Asgud N j Amda Yasous ) 
 
 Bed elNain V 1429 
 
 Isba Nain ) 
 
 Zara Jacob 1434 
 
 Beda Mariam 1468 
 
 Bar Asgud 1287 
 
 Egba Sion 1292 
 
 Amda Sion 1301 
 
 Sef Arad 1331 
 
 Grim'asfare 1359 Secunder, his son i . .„- 
 
 David 1369 Amda Sion { H '*
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 115 
 
 1558 
 
 1562 
 
 Socinios 1607 
 
 Facilidas 1632 
 
 Yohannis , '. .1665 
 
 Yasous Tallak .1680 
 
 Tecla Haimanout 1699 
 
 Theophiius 1706 
 
 Oustas 1709 
 
 David 1714 
 
 Bacuffa 1719 
 
 Yasous 1729 
 
 Ayto Yoas 1753 
 
 The fate of the last of these kings has been already men- 
 tioned. From Mr. Salt's volume we have derived this sup- 
 plementary list : 
 
 N*od 1491 
 
 Levana Denghel ) ,—., 
 
 David \ lo0/ 
 
 Claudius 1539 
 
 Men as Adamas > 
 Segued \ ' 
 
 Sertza Denghel, or 
 Malac Segued, and 
 
 his son Yacob, 
 Za Denghel 
 Yacob restored 1604 
 
 Tecla Haimanout reigned 8 years 
 
 Solomon 2 — 
 
 Tecla Georgis 5 — 
 
 Yasous 4 — 
 
 Haimanout 1 — 
 
 Iskias 6 — 
 
 I'.eda Mariam 2 — 
 
 Yunus. two months 
 
 Adimo 2 year* 
 
 Ayto Gualoo, or Eg- "i 
 wala Sion, who ac- 
 cording jo the latest ! 
 accounts was sue- ( 
 ceeded by Itsa Yoas | 
 hi 1818. J 
 
 H 
 
 The modern history of Abyssinia is confined to a narra- 
 tive of insurrections and petty wars, either against the gen- 
 eral government or among the subordinate chiefs them- 
 selves. When Mr. Bruce resided there, the main power 
 was in the hands of Ras Michael the governor of Tigre, 
 who, while he acknowledged a nominal subjection to the 
 king, directed all the weighty affairs of state. The most 
 formidable enemies of the crown were the princes of the 
 Galla, who. not only claimed a right to be heard in all public 
 matters, but occasionally asserted a degree of independence 
 quite inconsistent with monarchical rule. The Ras at- 
 tempted to gain Powussen, the chieftain of Begemder, by 
 giving to him his granddaughter in marriage. Festivities 
 of the most unrestrained description followed this event, 
 which it was expected would secure peace to .the kingdom, 
 and gratify the more powerful of the Galla tribes. 
 
 But the gay scenes at Gondar were soon succeeded by a 
 furious intestine war among the persons by whom they 
 were celebrated. Several of the Galla leaders, among 
 whom was Michael's new relative, united in a conspiracy to 
 destroy him. He escaped only by a precipitate retreat into 
 the province of Tigre, across the swollen stream of the 
 Tacazze. The triumphant confederates entered Gondar, 
 and set up as king a worthless youth called Socinios, in
 
 116 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 whose name they administered all the affairs of state. Mr. 
 Bruce, the adherent of Michael, lost all his honours, but was 
 allowed to live unmolested with Ozoro Esther and her 
 mother, in their palace of Koscam. This uneasy situation 
 he sought to vary by an attempt to fulfil the grand object of 
 his ambition ; namely, to reach the sources of the Nile, 
 which he was assured were situated in a high pastoral 
 region eastward of the Lake of Dembea. 
 
 The country now to be visited was under the sway of 
 Fasil, a rude but powerful Galla chieftain, who had promised 
 to protect the traveller, and from whom accordingly a 
 favourable reception was expected. He was found in a little 
 tent, wrapped in a lion's skin, and sitting upon a handful of 
 straw spread on the floor. After the first salutation had 
 passed, he seemed disposed to take no further notice of him ; 
 when Bruce, receiving from his guide a hint to speak, re- 
 minded the governor of his promises, and solicited his per- 
 mission and aid to visit the source of the Abay, the name 
 here given to the Abyssinian Kile. Fasil, without any cere- 
 mony, started various objections, in the course of which he 
 allowed it to transpire that he considered Franks, as he 
 reproachfully termed them, as little better than boys and 
 women, and unfit to travel in a land of warriors. The 
 visiter then burst into a furious passion, loaded him with 
 reproaches, boasting that with a handful of Europeans he 
 would trample all his bands of naked savages in the dust. 
 In the midst of this tirade the blood burst from his nose, and 
 his attendants hurried him out of the tent. No sooner had 
 he cooled, than he bitterly repented of the unseasonable in- 
 temperance which had apparently cut him off for ever from 
 the fondest object of his heart, and On which he mpant to 
 establish his fame with future ages. It soon appeared, how- 
 ever, that this high and fierce bearing had been suited to 
 the personage to whom it was addressed ; for he learned that 
 Fasil was giving directions for his proceeding early next 
 morning. By daybreak horses were ready ; but the servants 
 mounted him on a steed so unruly that, but for his eques- 
 trian skill, his life would have been in danger. The Galla 
 leader declared himself wholly ignorant of this trick, and 
 gave Mr. Bruce full liberty to cut the groom in pieces. He 
 sent forward with him Woldo, a huge half-naked savage, 
 holding a stick, which he continually brandished ; also a
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 1 17 
 
 horse, intended not to be ridden but led before him, and 
 which, serving as the credentials of his coming from Fasil, 
 would secure him against all violence. The animal accord- 
 ingly met everywhere the profoundest homage, and was 
 only pitied for being employed in so mean a service as that 
 of escorting a Frank. After passing through Dingleber, 
 which commanded a fine view of the LakeDembea, he saw 
 a band on the opposite side of the river, which, Woldo 
 stated, belonged to the Jumper, under whose auspices they 
 must now place themselves ; whispering, that he was the 
 greatest thief and murderer in all the country ; and on 
 Bruce's remonstrating as to this choice of a protector, he 
 added, " So much the better." With two whistles and a 
 yell he brought fifty men to assist in conveying over the 
 baggage, and they found the Jumper busy at his toilet, rub- 
 bing his naked body with melted tallow, and embellishing 
 his locks with the entrails of a cow. He was tall, lean, 
 sharp-faced, with small eyes, and resembling somewhat a 
 lank greyhound. He showed no signs of curiosity or judg- 
 ment, but prodigious bodily activity, and was accounted the 
 greatest spoiler of all the Galla. He recommended them to 
 his brother the Lamb, whom they found encamped in the dry 
 bed of a river, watching the proceedings of a neighbouring 
 market, whence, however, all had absented themselves on 
 his account. He appeared equally stupid and indifferent, 
 though he bestowed much courtesy on Fasil's horse. The 
 gentleness of his character, which had procured him this ap- 
 pellative, was shown by his murdering men and children 
 only, and usually sparing the female sex. When the party, 
 after taking leave, had proceeded a considerable distance, 
 they were alarmed by a confusion of wild and barbarous 
 cries, and on looking round saw a band of savage horsemen 
 brandishing their lances in the air. They put themselves 
 in the best possible attitude of defence, till they heard the 
 cry " Fasilali !" This company was under the direction 
 of their friend the Lamb, who, having heard of their being 
 in danger from a party of Agow horse, had galloped up to 
 defend them. Mr. Bruce was so much pleased with this 
 attention, that he presented the barbarian with a huge piece 
 of raw beef, in the course of eating which, he expressed 
 severe disappointment at not having met the Agows, and 
 being thereby supplied with an opportunity of showing how 
 dexterously he would have cut them all in pieces.
 
 1 18 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 The traveller lost no time in following out his main ob- 
 ject, and was conducted to the village of Geesh, where the 
 Nile, as it was termed, was only a scanty rivulet ; and he 
 stepped across it fifty or sixty times in triumph. He then 
 viewed, with still higher rapture, the two fountains which 
 unite in forming this celebrated stream. In fact, however, 
 he laboured under an error ; the main source of the Egyp- 
 tian river, as we have already stated, not being here, but in 
 a remote part of Africa, south of Darfur, and called in its 
 upper course the Bahr el Abiad. But that the Abyssinian 
 Dranch is the Nile had been the belief of most geographers 
 in latter times, and nothing could ever induce him to relin- 
 quish it. He stoutly denies also, though seemingly on 
 elender grounds, the claim of Paez to be considered the first 
 discoverer even Gf these interesting springs. 
 
 Mr. Bruce now returned to Gondar ; on his way to which 
 he was hospitably entertained by Shalaka Welled Amlac, 
 a friendly chief, in his palace, which consisted of one large 
 apartment sufficient to accommodate his wives, family, 
 horses, and mules, - and was hung round with trunks of 
 elephants killed by his own hand. In the capital our coun- 
 tryman was at first ill received ; but the fortune of war soon 
 enabled Ras Michael to enter that city and expel from it 
 the Galla chiefs. A time of agreeable relaxation was then 
 expected ; but that leader, now triumphant, and enraged at 
 the treachery of many of the citizens, gave full scope to the 
 vindictive propensity which stains his memory. The streets 
 streamed with blood, and Mr. Bruce could not stir out 
 without seeing dead bodies lying even in the court of the 
 palace. Shuddering with horror, he began anxiously to 
 negotiate for permission to return to Europe; but he was, 
 in the mean time, obliged to accompany the army to the 
 battle of Serbraxos, where he distinguished himself, and 
 was rewarded with a gold chain and a splendid suit of 
 apparel. In that action the Ras's forces kept possession of 
 the field ; but his loss was so great, while the Galla con- 
 stantly received new reinforcements, that he was compelled 
 to fall back upon Gondar, where he was soon enclosed, 
 and reduced almost to the state of a prisoner. 
 
 Amid these agitations, the traveller gladly embraced the 
 permission which he at last obtained to return home. He 
 passed first through the woods and marshes of Ras-el-Foel,
 
 • 
 
 Kena Yasous.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 121 
 
 of which he had been made the nominal governor. At 
 Tcherkin he was vastly surprised to meet his great friend 
 Ozoro Esther, who had with her Tecla Mariam, the greatest 
 beauty in Abyssinia ; and they were soon joined by her son 
 Ayto Confu. This party, like himself, had retired from the 
 disturbed vicinity of the court, and he spent a fortnight 
 with them in festivity, as well as in hunting the elephant 
 and rhinoceros, which abound in those vast forests. 
 
 Among the principal characters who figured at court, in 
 the camp, and in the field, none was entitled to higher 
 respect than Kefla Yasous. His conduct at the battle of 
 Limjour, where the royal troops were thrown into conster- 
 nation by the arrival of Fasil, saved the kin a, and prevented 
 the disastrous effects of a hasty retreat. The portrait here 
 given is understood to be a faithful likeness of that brave 
 warrior, while it represents the headdress of an Abyssinian 
 chief after a successful contest either with a personal or a 
 public enemy. The horn displayed on the forehead will 
 illustrate the allusions made in Sacred Scripture to the horn 
 of the righteous, and to the lifting up of the horn on high 
 while the proud man speaketh with a stiff neck. 
 
 It was in the year 1771 that Mr. Bruce left Abyssinia, 
 uncertain as to the effect of recent events on the fortunes of 
 his most intimate acquaintances. There could be no doubt 
 that the Galla had obtained the ascendency in the capital, 
 and were now in a condition to dictate to the monarch, who 
 held his throne at their pleasure. Nor was it till 1805 
 that Mr. Salt, who accompanied Lord Valentia in his voy- 
 age from India, made an excursion into that country, and 
 thereby found the means of adding somewhat to our know- 
 ledge of its actual situation. 
 
 Five years afterward he was intrusted with a mission 
 to the court of Gondar ; but it deserves to be noticed, that 
 on neither occasion was he able to penetrate farther than 
 to the northern division of the "Tigre. He found, however, 
 that all Bruce's great friends and enemies, Ras Michael, 
 Ozoro Esther, Ayto Confu, and Guebra Mascal, were dead. 
 Welled Selasse, whom that traveller had known as a prom- 
 ising young man of twenty-four, had, on the death of the 
 Old Lion, as Michael was called, raised himself to the dig- 
 nity of Ras, and to the government of all the provinces 
 which the other had ruled. Meantime Gusho, the Galla 
 L
 
 122 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 chief, was master of Gondar, and contended with Selasse; 
 for the supreme sway, with the right of nominating a person 
 who should bear the empty title of king. 
 
 The enmity between these two potentates was so great 
 as to render it impossible to proceed from the one to the other, 
 and thus baffled all Mr. Salt's attempts to reach the capital. 
 There remained, indeed, a third division of Abyssinia, con- 
 sisting of the southern provinces of Shoa and Efat, which 
 appeared still to be governed by a prince descended from 
 the ancient royal family. But these districts have not been 
 visited by any recent traveller, though they unquestionably 
 form one of the finest parts of the kingdom, and contain a 
 greater proportion, perhaps, than any other of the ancient 
 Ethiopian learning. It is enough to mention, however, 
 that they cannot be approached without passing through the 
 lands of those barbarous tribes who at present enjoy the 
 supreme power in the neighbouring regions. 
 
 During Mr. Salt's first visit he was supplied by Ligantur 
 Metcha, a priest of some rank, with a sketch of the political 
 changes which had taken place subsequently to the departure 
 of Bruce. The character of Joas, the events of his reign, 
 and his assassination by Ras Michael, as related by that 
 author, were all fully confirmed. He w 7 as succeeded by 
 Hannes, who, after holding the sceptre only five months, 
 died of disease, and not by poison, as it is recorded in the 
 Travels. Tecla Haimanout, the son of that prince, a re- 
 markably fair and handsome man, next mounted the throne. 
 He was greatly attached to the Ras, who, during his reign, 
 was often in a state of open hostility with Fasil of Gojam, 
 whom he beat at the battle of Fagitta, a short time, as Met- 
 cha remembered, before Bruce came into the country. A 
 powerful party was afterward formed against Michael, and 
 Gusho was made Ras ; upon which the old warrior retired 
 to his province of Tigre. After governing eight years, 
 Tecla Haimanout was driven from his throne by Wordo 
 Wussun (Powussen), and soon after died in retirement at 
 Waldubba, leaving one son. Welled Solomon. 
 
 Upon this vacancy Ayto Solomon, though in no respect 
 related to his predecessor, succeeded to the throne, sup- 
 ported by the forces of Begemder and Gojam. The reign 
 of this prince continued only two years, and at his death, 
 Tecla Georgis, brother of Tecla Haimanout, was raised to
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 123 
 
 the sovereign authority by Confu Adam and Ras Ayto, who 
 then commanded the provinces of Gojam, the Agows, and 
 Damot. Soon after his accession (1801) died Ras Michael, 
 in the eighty-eighth year of his age, and was succeeded in 
 the government of Tigre by Welled Gabriel, his son. Tecla 
 Georgis, having reigned only five years, was dethroned, 
 and after wandering long through various parts of the coun- 
 try, finally retired to the mountains of Waldubba. To him 
 succeeded Yasous the Third, who was raised to the supreme 
 power by Ras Ayto. The new king died of the small-pox, 
 after reigning four years, and through the united interest 
 of Ayto and Welled Gabriel was replaced by Beda Mariam: 
 the latter of these chiefs, a short time afterward, was slain 
 in battle by Ras Ally of Begemder. 
 
 After sitting two years on the throne, Mariam was deposed 
 by the Ras just named, assisted by the Edjow Galla ; upon 
 which he went to Samen, where he lived under the protec- 
 tion of Ras Gabriel. His successor was Ayto Ischias, son 
 of the late Sultan Yasous, who, after having enjoyed the 
 sovereignty six years, was dethroned by Ras Merrid, son of 
 Ayto of Gojam, and obliged to flee from his capital. In 
 conjunction with this commander, Ras Welled Selasse 
 raised Ayto Solomon, son of Tecla Haimanout, to the head 
 of affairs ; but he was not able to maintain himself in his 
 royal estate, though supported by the powerful interest of 
 Tigre, for after two years he was obliged to seek protection 
 in the house of his friend the governor of that province. 
 
 It was now the turn of Begemder to assume the supe- 
 riority, and Ras Iserat accordingly thought himself entitled 
 to place Ayto Yunus on the throne. This sovereign, how- 
 ever, had not ruled more than three months, when Guxo, 
 chief of the Edjow Galla, removed him, and elevated Ayto 
 Edimo, brother of Tecla Georgis, who, having lived but two 
 years, was succeeded by Ayto Gualoo, the monarch whom 
 Mr. Salt found in possession of power. 
 
 This narrative, communicated to the traveller, is, as he 
 himself remarks, very probably true, because it agrees with 
 the circumstances of the country ; and the period of the 
 several reigns taken together exactly coincides with the 
 time which had elapsed since the days of Joas the First. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the royal family were no 
 longer confined to the mountains of Wechn6, this custom
 
 124 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 having been some years abolished. They now lived in a 
 state of dependence on the chiefs of the several provinces. 
 Welled Gabriel, the son of Michael, commanded in Tigre 
 eight years, after which Guebra Mascal was appointed by 
 Tecla Georgis ; but the latter had scarcely taken possession 
 of his province when he was attacked by Welled Selasse, 
 then at the head of an army in Enderta, who seized his 
 person, and after keeping him some time in confinement, 
 gave him a village, where he spent the remainder of his 
 life. Selasse" was master of Tigre at the period under our 
 consideration, and, as we shall afterward find, he continued 
 to enjoy it many years. 
 
 At the departure of Mr. Salt from Abyssinia in 1805, he 
 left behind him a sailor belonging to the Antelope, whose 
 name was Pearce, and who, having deserted from one of 
 his majesty's ships, and wounded a soldier on duty at Bom- 
 bay, preferred the choice of a new country to the hazard of 
 punishment and disgrace at home. He had spent five years 
 among the half-civilized natives of Tigre, sometimes under 
 the protection of the Ras, who had promised to befriend 
 him, and occasionally trusting to his own resources, when 
 his patron, in the character of British envoy to the Abyssinian 
 emperor, appeared again in the Red Sea. The adventurous 
 mariner, who had not neglected to acquire a competent 
 knowledge of the language and manners of the people, 
 proved extremely useful to Mr. Salt in his attempt to pene- 
 trate through the rebellious provinces, in order to deliver to 
 his imperial highness the letter and presents with which he 
 was charged. He communicated at the same time a short 
 account of the occurrences which had taken place during 
 his residence in that strange land. He does not conceal 
 that his turbulent and restless disposition frequently made 
 him forfeit the countenance of his superiors, and even re- 
 duced him to great distress ; but his zeal, courage, and 
 ability, whenever an opportunity occurred for their exercise, 
 never failed to restore him to the approbation of the prince 
 as well as to the full enjoyment of all his privileges. 
 
 An occasion of this nature presented itself in March, 
 1807, when a powerful league was formed by several of the 
 most formidable chiefs in the interest of Ras Michael's 
 family, for the destruction of Welled Selasse. The latter, 
 indeed, raising a powerful army, quickly reduced the insur-
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 125 
 
 gents to unqualified submission ; but while the negotiations 
 for peace were going on a plot was formed by some of the 
 confederates to burn the Ras in his quarters at Adowa, 
 where, in the full confidence of victory, he lay at some dis- 
 tance from his troops, and very slenderly attended. The 
 scheme had nearly succeeded, and part of the building was 
 already in a blaze, when Pearce, who was encamped with 
 the army outside of the town, being awakened by the glare 
 of light, seized his musket, and hastening to the spot, rushed 
 undauntedly through the flames to the assistance of the 
 old man. The fire was soon extinguished and the con- 
 spirators punished. The Englishman was immediately 
 replaced in the good graces of the governor, who increased 
 his pay, gave him a white mule as a mark of distinction, 
 and appointed him to a situation of trust and honour. 
 
 But the jealousy of his enemies and his own impetuous 
 temper, quickly occasioned an absolute rupture between him 
 and the Ras ; upon which he threatened to go over to his 
 great rival Gojee ; a menace which so incensed the aged 
 ruler that he told Pearce, though he would prevent his 
 putting that plan in execution, he might go anywhere else 
 he thought proper provided he never appeared in his pres- 
 ence again. In consequence of this dispute he left Antalo, 
 and for some time led a wandering life in different districts 
 of Abyssinia, till he heard that Welled was on the point of 
 being once more attacked by the Galla, under the furious 
 leader whose name has just been specified. This intelli- 
 gence made him forget his quarrel ; and, accordingly, col- 
 lecting what forces he was able to muster, he directed his 
 march towards the capital of Tigre. 
 
 On his arrival, we are told, many of the chiefs expressed 
 their astonishment at seeing him, and strongly urged him 
 not to venture into the presence of Selasse ; but Pearce, 
 proudly conscious of the motives that had prompted him to 
 return, felt no apprehension, and requested an audience, to 
 which he was instantly admitted. As he approached the 
 old Ras, he thought he saw, as he himself expresses it, 
 something pleasant in his countenance, as he turned to one 
 of his officers and said, pointing to the English sailor, 
 " Look at that man ! he came to me a stranger about five 
 years ago, and not being satisfied with my treatment left 
 me in great anger ; but now that I am deserted by some of 
 L2
 
 126 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 my friends, and pressed upon by my enemies, he is come to 
 fight by my side." He then with tears in his eyes desired 
 Pearce to sit down, ordered a cloth of the best quality to be 
 thrown over his shoulders, and gave him a mule and a 
 handsome allowance for his support. 
 
 Nor did this enthusiastic volunteer belie the expectations 
 that were entertained of him. Soon afterward, the Ras, 
 having assembled his army, marched against the barbarian 
 foes who had attempted to take him at disadvantage. After 
 some skirmishing, mixed with a show of negotiation, Gojee 
 shifted his ground to the plains of Marzella, which he had 
 determined should be the scene of battle, while the other 
 took his station near the sources of the Tacazze. A last 
 effort was tried by the Ras for an accommodation, which 
 was haughtily rejected by the Galla chieftain, and both par- 
 ties prepared for a decisive engagement. In the action 
 w r hich ensued Selasse appears to have arranged his forces 
 with considerable skill ; but an impetuous charge on his 
 centre made by the savage followers of Gojee compelled it 
 to give way. Enraged at the sight, Welled called for his 
 favourite horse ; which being held back by his officers, who 
 felt anxious for his personal safety, he urged his mule for- 
 ward and galloped into the front ; where, by his conspicuous 
 appearance and gallant demeanour, he quickly infused fresh 
 energy into his troops, and retrieved the fortune of the field. 
 On this critical occasion Pearce was among the first to ad- 
 vance ; and the Ras, seeing him in the thick of the fight, 
 cried out, " Stop, stop that madman !" But he called in 
 vain ; for the other dashed on, killed at one blow a Galla 
 chief who was pressing forward at the head of his men, and 
 by his courage throughout the day gained the admiration of 
 all around him. Gojee himself escaped with difficulty, and 
 his whole army was totally routed. In the course of many 
 desperate enterprises in which the Ras was engaged subse- 
 quently to this celebrated victory, Pearce, who always ac- 
 companied him, had several opportunities of distinguishing 
 himself, and of establishing a high character for intrepidity 
 and conduct. 
 
 The facts now stated are the substance of the communi- 
 cation made by this singular man to Mr. Salt, during his 
 residence in Abyssinia as envoy from the British crown. 
 Mr. Pearce, who had resolved still to remain in the country,
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 127 
 
 was joined by Mr. Coffin, supercargo of the ship in which 
 the ambassador went out. The former was earnestly re- 
 quested by his learned friend to keep a regular journal of 
 passing occurrences, and more especially of the adventures 
 in which he himself might be engaged, — a request with 
 which he complied to the utmost of his power. That diary 
 is now in the hands of the public, and affords to the Euro- 
 pean reader the only means of knowing what took place in 
 Abyssinia subsequently to the year 1810. 
 
 The political incidents which diversify the narrative of 
 the seaman are not of sufficient interest to engage the at- 
 tention of the general reader. Welled Selasse found it 
 necessary to be almost constantly in the field, to check the 
 ravages or defeat the pretensions of some ambitious chief. 
 It would seem, indeed, that at one period the Abyssinian 
 monarchy was on the very point of dissolution, and about to 
 be parcelled out among a number of princes or local gov- 
 ernors, according to the amount of the forces which they 
 could muster under their respective banners. The Galla in 
 particular, to whom war is pastime, and plunder one of the 
 legitimate means of subsistence, never ceased their incur- 
 sions into the territory of the more civilized inhabitants ; for 
 although they were frequently beaten by the troops of Tigre, 
 their ranks were never permanently thinned nor their spirits 
 broken. Pearce relates, that the kings living at one time 
 during his stay in the country were as follows : — Tecla 
 Georgis, in Waldubba ; Itsa Ischias, in Gondar ; Ayto 
 Gualoo, then on the throne in that city ; Itsa Yoas, like- 
 wise in the capital ; Itsa Yonas, in Gojam ; and Beda Ma- 
 riana, in Samen. They are all, he adds, related to each 
 .other, and, as they boast, descended from the true race of 
 'Menilec ; "but the kings of Abyssinia have so many wives 
 from far and near that it makes it difficult to determine to 
 whom the crown should descend, and this point is generally 
 decided more by might than by right."* 
 
 In the month of May, 1816, Ras Welled Selassd breathed 
 his last, leaving the province in a very distracted condition. 
 His death was kept secret from the people, every one being 
 sensible of the calamities which would follow. " Welleta 
 Tisral began to scream and lament, which would have given 
 
 ■ Life and Adventures of Nathaniel Pearce, vol. i. p. Ill, 112.
 
 128 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 the alarm, had not one of the slaves knocked her down 
 senseless, and threatened her life if she even sobbed. Every 
 thing was carried away by stealth to the giddam of Temben ; 
 and on the second night a fter his death his body was wrapped 
 up in a clean cloth, and, as if stolen, was taken by the slaves, 
 Mr. Coffin, and Buggerunde Tusfu, over the wall of his 
 garden to the church, where they had already opened the 
 grave of his brother Manasse. Allicar Barhe and the abuna 
 were informed of the event ; but before they arrived the 
 others had taken up the bones of Manasse, which were in 
 a great coffin made out of the door of his house when he 
 ■died in December, 1809. The Ras's body was put beneath, 
 and Manasse^ s bones then laid on the top."* 
 
 The two following years were spent in sanguinary strug- 
 gles for the government of Tigre, which appears to have 
 been more highly valued than the jurisdiction of the king. 
 This great object was at length obtained by Subegadis, a 
 brave intelligent young man, whose elevation had been pre- 
 dicted by Mr. Salt, to whom he was intimately known. He 
 is in stature about five feet ten inches, broad shouldered, 
 and his whole frame partaking of that iron-like and sinewy 
 character which denotes the true child of the hills, and en- 
 ables him to endure without inconvenience the most arduous 
 exertions and the severest, privations. His countenance is 
 handsome, a little inclining to the Roman ; his teeth are 
 white and regular ; his hair is jet black and in profusion, 
 and, which is very remarkable in that country, his large ex- 
 pressive penetrating eye is of a dark-gray. His complexion, 
 as well as that of his family, is fair for an Abyssinian, and 
 indeed he sometimes makes it his boast that he is descended 
 from white people, — a circumstance which the great anti- 
 quity of his race renders by no means improbable. 
 
 From the nature of his pursuits, it was not to be expected 
 that his habits should have been distinguished by a very 
 rigid morality. But the Ras, a little time before Mr. Coffin 
 left the country, when he had become settled in his govern- 
 ment, began to devote his thoughts seriously to religious 
 subjects. He dismissed all his wives with a handsome pro- 
 vision, except the daughter of Hilier Mariam whom he had 
 recently married, and to confirm his promise of remaining 
 
 * Pearce, vol. ii. p. 84.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 129 
 
 faithful to her received the sacrament at the church of Axurn. 
 The last accounts obtained from Abyssinia left Subegadis 
 preparing for a march to Gondar, to establish his power in 
 that quarter of the country ; and, as nearly all the principal 
 chiefs in that neighbourhood were dead, and their armies 
 dispersed, it is more than probable that he accomplished his 
 purpose, and perhaps placed himself on the imperial throne.* 
 
 Ayto Gualoo, the nominal sovereign of the empire, died 
 in May, 1818, a short time before Pearce sailed for Egypt. 
 He was succeeded by his brother Itsa Yoas, who was 
 anointed and crowned on the 14th of June, under th"e pro- 
 tection of the Ras Guxo, who thought fit to prefer him to 
 all his nephews, the sons of the late monarch, who, says 
 Pearce, " are a wild and wretched set." But as Subegadis 
 rose to power through a different interest, it is very prob- 
 able, as we have already suggested, that he may have de- 
 posed King Yoas, and seized the sceptre either for his own 
 hand or for that of some dependent prince whom he has 
 been pleased to honour. 
 
 Leaving the history of Abyssinia we return to the Valley 
 of the Upper Nile, the annals of which acquire a peculiar 
 interest at the very moment when all channels of informa- 
 tion respecting the other are obstructed. We have else- 
 where mentioned the expedition into Nubia and Sennaar 
 under the command of Ishmael Pasha, whose steps we 
 followed with the view of extending our geographical know- 
 ledge of those remote countries. It was, we are told, the 
 ambition of Mohammed Ali to possess all the banks and 
 islands of the Egyptian river, and to be master of all who 
 drink of its waters from its sources to the Mediterranean. 
 His plans of conquest are said to have even comprehended 
 Abyssinia ; but it is understood he relinquished his designs 
 against that kingdom in consequence of a formal assurance 
 that an attack on a Christian state so situated would prob- 
 ably involve him with the British government. He there- 
 fore determined to limit his conquests to Dongola, Dar- 
 Sheygya, Berber, Shendy, Kordofan, Darfur, and Sennaar. 
 
 The army, which amounted to about ten thousand men, 
 included the natives of various countries, — Turks, both 
 European and Asiatic, Arabs, Bedouins, and Moggrebins. 
 
 * Pearce, vol. ii. p. 291. Note by Editor.
 
 130 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 Departing from Cairo in the summer of 1820, Ishmael pur- 
 sued his march without opposition to New Dongola, which 
 he found evacuated by the Mamlouks, who had some months 
 before retired to Shendy. He next advanced into the ter- 
 ritory of the Sheygyans, a people famed for their love of 
 liberty, and celebrated among the surrounding tribes as 
 most vigilant and successful warriors. They acknowledged 
 the authority of two chiefs or meleks, whose names were 
 Shoous and Zibarra ; the former of whom ruled the king- 
 dom of Merawe, while the latter exercised the sovereignty 
 of the lower district, the capital of which is Hannech. 
 
 After a vain attempt at negotiation the pasha resolved on 
 an appeal to arms. The first skirmish appears to have 
 taken place near Old Dongola, where Ishmael, some of his 
 officers, and a few soldiers were suddenly attacked by those 
 brave horsemen of the desert. The assailants were soon 
 repulsed ; but a more serious action followed in the course 
 of a few days in the vicinity of Korti, whither the Sheygyans 
 had retreated. On this occasion the Egyptian commander 
 had with him only six hundred cavalry, some mounted Be- 
 douins, but no cannon. The enemy advanced to the charge 
 with great fury, and uttering loud screams. The Arabs, 
 who rode on dromedaries, and were indifferently armed, 
 could not withstand the impetuosity of the onset. They 
 were driven back on the main body in great disorder ; but 
 at this critical moment the son of Mohammed Ali ordered 
 his more regular troops to check the conquerors by a volley 
 of carbines and pistols. The conflict was no longer doubt- 
 ful. The barbarians fled in dismay, while such of them as 
 fought on foot fell on their faces, holding their shields over 
 their heads, and imploring mercy. 
 
 Mr. Waddington relates, that the Sheygyans are singu- 
 larly fearless in attack, and ride up to the very faces of their 
 enemy with levity and gayety of heart as to a festival, or 
 with joy as if to meet friends from whom they had been long 
 separated. They then give the salami " peace be with you," 
 — the peace of death which is to attend the lance that in- 
 stantly follows the salutation : mortal thrusts are given and 
 received with the words of love upon the lips. This con- 
 tempt of life, this mockery of what is most fearful, is pecu- 
 liar to themselves, — the only people to whom arms are play- 
 things, and war a sport, — who among their enemies seek
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 131 
 
 nothing but amusement, and in death fear nothing but 
 repose.* 
 
 But the result of the affair at Korti appeared in the sub- 
 mission of several of the inferior chiefs, and in the surrender 
 of their strong-holds. The pasha continued his march 
 into the province of Sheygya, where Melek Shoous had col- 
 lected the whole force of the republic with the determina- 
 tion of risking another battle. The position selected by the 
 barbarian was extremely advantageous, and which, had 
 there been no difference in the arms used by the contending 
 hosts, would probably have secured to him a decisive victory. 
 But the mass of peasantry whom he had dragged or induced 
 into the field had no other weapons than lances, shields, and 
 two-edged swords ; and they were placed in the front, rather 
 to receive and exhaust the shot of the Egyptians, than to 
 maintain any effectual resistance in the moment of attack. 
 The pasha posted his troops parallel to the enemy, placing 
 the greater part of his horsemen opposite to the open ground 
 between the mountain and the river, and pushing the artil- 
 lery a little in advance. The natives, uttering loud cries 
 and brandishing their lances, rushed forward ; and many 
 of the infantry, with no other arms than those already de- 
 scribed, threw themselves upon the cannon, and were blown 
 to atoms. 
 
 The desperate courage of these wretched peasants, says 
 the American officer, was astonishing ; they advanced more 
 than once to the muzzles of the pieces, and wounded some 
 of the artillerymen in the very act of loading them. But 
 after feeling the effects of a few rounds, which dashed horse 
 and man to pieces, they fled in dismay, leaving their foot- 
 soldiers " to be rode over and shot down by our cavalry, who 
 destroyed many hundreds of them in the pursuit. I say 
 1 shot down,' for the sabre was found an unavailing weapon, 
 as these people are so adroit in the management of their 
 shields that they parried every stroke. I have seen upon the 
 field where this battle was fought several shields that had 
 not less than ten or fifteen sabre-cuts, each lying upon the 
 dead body of the man who carried it, and who had evidently 
 died by two or three balls shot into him. The soldiers have 
 told me that they had frequently to empty their carbine and 
 pistols upon one man before he would fall." t 
 
 * Travels, p. 98. t Narrative of Expedition, p. 84.
 
 132 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 This unusual valour or military fanaticism has been as- 
 cribed to an assurance given by the magicians, that the 
 armies of Sheygya should prove invulnerable in the pres- 
 ence of the invaders. These wizards supplied the men 
 with heaps of consecrated dust, the sprinkling of which on 
 their persons was to produce the desired effect ; and hence 
 they advanced against the Egyptian line rather in the atti- 
 tude of dancing than of fighting, with countenances express- 
 ive of the utmost confidence and derision.* But being so 
 miserably deceived by the charms in which they had been 
 taught to put their trust, they inflicted a dreadful vengeance 
 on the authors of them ; for their first act after the battle 
 was to put to death the whole race of necromancers, and 
 even to destroy the village where they dwelt. 
 
 It is a singular fact that the pasha had not one man killed 
 in this action, and only one officer and sixteen men wounded; 
 and these, with scarcely any exception, in the back, 
 the natural consequence of their manner of fighting. They 
 discharge all their firearms, and then retire into the rear to 
 reload, while the second and succeeding ranks are firing ; 
 when loaded they advance again, and therefore, after the 
 first round the whole is a scene of confusion. The Sheygya 
 left six hundred men on the field of battle, and they were 
 allowed to remain unburied w T here they fell. Nor did Melek 
 Shoous and his cavalry discontinue their flight till they 
 reached the territory of Shendy, leaving their numerous cas- 
 tles, dependent villages, and a rich beautiful country, in the 
 hands of the conqueror. 
 
 Ishmael, it is said, exerted himself to save the flying 
 enemy, and succeeded in preserving some of the infantry, 
 chiefly Nubians ; being inhabitants of that part of Dongola 
 which was tributary to the Sheygyans, and attached to their 
 army perhaps more by force than from inclination. What- 
 ever truth there may be in this statement, it is admitted by 
 every historian of his campaign that he conducted himself 
 with great genei-osity towards the daughter of the Melek 
 Zibarra, who fell into his hands either in the field or while 
 attempting to escape from her father's residence after the 
 defeat. At all events his treatment of this barbarian prin- 
 cess was very noble ; for when presented to him, though 
 said to be young and beautiful, instead of availing himself 
 
 * Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finati vol. ii. p. 374.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 133 
 
 of the rights of conquest, he ordered her to be richly 
 dressed, and a camel provided for her, and that she should 
 be conducted back immediately to her parent. The latter, 
 upon the first sight of her Egyptian ornaments, turned away 
 his face and asked if she had submitted to be dishonoured ; 
 but when she told him the truth, he embraced her, and 
 seemed disposed to make no further resistance to the young 
 victor, who had so wisely respected the domestic virtues.*" 
 
 Resistance was soon subdued by the superior arms and 
 discipline of the Turkish army. The cannon-shot, and more 
 especially the destructive effects of the shells, taught the 
 brave Sheygyans that courage alone could net save them 
 from the bondage with which they were threatened. Yet 
 even in this case, as Mr. Waddington remarks, their 
 terrors were derived from their superstition. A shell 
 was thrown into one of the castles, where it rolled and 
 bounded from side to side, as if endowed with the fac- 
 ulty of self-motion ; and the natives collecting around it, 
 were much amused with its appearance until it burst and 
 wounded several of them. Then they fled, exclaiming 
 that the " spirits of hell were come against them, and were 
 too strong for them." To the last they had no fear of man 
 or his inventions ; but, astounded by the power and novelty 
 of the means employed to destroy them, they came to the 
 hopeless conclusion, that a supernatural agency of the most 
 malignant kind had conspired with their mortal foes to 
 complete their subjection. 
 
 Cailliaud, in describing the conflict to which we now 
 allude, maintains that the barbarians were drunk. Some 
 of them, says he, threw themselves on the weapons of the 
 enemy, holding in their hand a vessel full of an intoxicating 
 liquor, and appeared as joyful as if employed at a feast. 
 Others cast dust at the heads of the Turks, as a mark of 
 their contempt ; while a third party saluted them as breth- 
 ren and friends. t Perhaps the dust mentioned by the 
 French traveller might be the charmed earth which the wiz- 
 ards had prepared, as the means of securing to their coun- 
 trymen a cheap and certain victory over their invaders. 
 
 * " When our troops approached the casUe of Melek Zibarra, his 
 daughter, a girl of about fifteen, fled in such haste that she dropped one 
 of her sandals, which I have seen. It was a piece of workmanship 
 as well wrought as any thing of the kind could be even in Europe." — 
 Narrative, p; 85. 1 Voyage a Merue, tome U p: 58. 
 
 M
 
 134 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 The fury and avarice of the conquerors occasioned many 
 atrocities which, it is maintained, their commander could 
 not altogether prevent ; though the great number of ears 
 and even of heads sent to Cairo indicate that his consent 
 had accompanied some of the worst scenes which disgraced 
 his triumph. Usage alone, says Cailliaud, could excuse 
 the pasha for having encouraged so many frightful mutila- 
 tions. Those shameful trophies were despatched by him to 
 his father as a testimony of his brilliant success. 
 
 Giovanni Finati, who, with the artist Linant employed 
 by Mr. Bankes, followed the path of the Egyptian army, 
 confirms beyond all question the remarks of Cailliaud. The 
 exasperation of the soldiers at having been so gallantly op- 
 posed, and their greediness of plunder or reward, drove them 
 to horrible excesses and outrages ; so that it was no wonder 
 that a single victory did not suffice, and that a high-spirited 
 people continued to do all they could against their oppress- 
 ors. The signs of this, he adds, were but two visible ; 
 " for half the natives whom we met, many even of the 
 women, were deprived of one or both of their ears, others 
 mutilated in their limbs ; while bones and carcasses, and 
 hovels that had been burnt, were everywhere to be seen by the 
 way." The persecution seemed, in fact, to have been car- 
 ried almost to extermination. The whole district was laid 
 waste, and thereby reduced, at least for the time, to a sullen 
 obedience. 
 
 Before we leave the people of Sheygya we may repeat 
 the tribute which has usually been bestowed on their hos- 
 pitality and literature ; qualities hardly to be expected 
 among tribes whose doom it was to live by their swords. 
 Burckhardt assures us that they are renowned for their kind- 
 ness to strangers, and that the person of their guest or com- 
 panion is held sacred. If a traveller possesses a friend 
 among them, and has been plundered on the road, his prop- 
 erty will be recovered, even if it has been taken by the king 
 himself. They all speak Arabic exclusively, and many of 
 them write and read it. Their learned men are held in great 
 respect by them ; they have schools, wherein all the sciences 
 are taught which form the course of Mohammedan study, 
 mathematics and astronomy excepted. " I have," says he, 
 " seen books copied at Merawe, written in as fine a hand 
 as that of the scribes of Cairo," They are also famous for
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 135 
 
 various kinds of manufactures especially for a superior de- 
 scription of mat, in which they surpass all the natives of 
 Mahass and Dongola.* 
 
 We have elsewhere delineated the march of the pasha 
 from Shendy to-the tenth degree of latitude ; describing his 
 reception at Sennaar, and the various success which at- 
 tended his exertions against the natives of the hill-country 
 beyond El Querebyn and Fazoglo. After passing Dar- 
 Sheygya he met no enemy who could oppose him in regular 
 combat, although his progress *was occasionally checked by 
 the mountaineers in the east and south, whose rocks he in- 
 vaded in search of gold. 
 
 In regard to Ibrahim, his brother, who commanded the 
 army whose object it was to explore the unknown regions 
 on the banks of the Bahr el Abiad, we are not in possession 
 of any more minute details than were communicated to 
 Cailliaud by M. Asphar, a Coptic surgeon who had accom- 
 panied the expedition. We learn generally, that after a 
 march of fourteen days from the Bahr el Azrek, or Nile of 
 Abyssinia, the troops under Toussoun Bey arrived at Dinka, 
 a town situated on the White River, about the eleventh de- 
 gree of latitude, or nearly in the parallel of Fazoglo. As to 
 the manners and usages of the inhabitants, we find not that 
 they differ materially from those of the tribes farther to the 
 north. The stream is described as being very broad at that 
 point ; but its precise dimensions are not stated by the phy- 
 sician, whose curiosity did not extend to such matters. 
 Upon inquiry, the natives assured the Turks that the ne- 
 groes who possess the countries beyond them are cannibals, 
 and employ poisoned arrows in battle ; and that on the 
 western side of the river there are other negroes, called 
 Shillooks, not less barbarous. Having spent eight days at 
 the town already mentioned, the troops returned by the way 
 of EI Querebyn to Sennaar, which they reached some time 
 before the division under Ishmael had concluded their cam- 
 paign in the neighbourhood of Singueh. 
 
 The long absence of the army, added to a succession of 
 unfavourable rumours that were circulated by the disaf- 
 fected, had disposed some of the chiefs near the junction of 
 the rivers to make an attempt to throw off the yoke which 
 
 *Burckhardt's, Travels, p. 65,
 
 136 CIVIL HISTORY OF 
 
 had been so violently imposed. Certain examples of se- 
 verity, deemed necessary by the pasha, contributed also not a 
 little to inflame their minds. But the following occurrence 
 accelerated the rupture, and paved the way for the melan- 
 choly fate which terminated the career of Ishmael. With 
 the view of raising a supply of provisions or money, he in- 
 sisted on Nimir, the tributary melek of Shendy, to meet his 
 cousin, who ruled on the opposite bank, with whom he had 
 been some time at variance, and into whose company he had 
 made a vow never to enter. This excuse, however, was 
 treated with disdain, and he .was commanded to attend. 
 The melek reluctantly complied ; but when a large demand 
 was made on his territory, he boldly observed that the whole 
 country was ruined, and could not possibly meet such a 
 claim. The pasha checked him with great haughtiness, 
 and even struck him across the face with his pipe. A com- 
 mon interest and offended pride now reconciled the cousins, 
 and made them act in concert with equal promptitude and 
 secrecy. Ishmael's quarters were at Shendy, though this 
 fatal conference had taken place on the opposite bank, where 
 his retinue and guard were very small, occupying merely a 
 few huts and tents. There was indeed a detachment of 
 troops at no great distance ; but it was agreed between the 
 confederates that, while Nimir should attack the pasha and 
 his personal attendants, the other should fall upon the sol- 
 diers, or at least keep them in check. That very night, 
 accordingly, each of them contrived to collect a considerable 
 force ; and no sooner did the melek hear the firing begin at 
 Mettamat, where the advanced guard was stationed, than 
 he slew the sentinels who surrounded the cottage where 
 their commander slept, and immediately heaped up a pile 
 of straw and brush-wood, which he set on fire. Alarmed by 
 the dreadful situation in which he found himself placed, Ish- 
 mael sprang to his feet, and seizing a sabre endeavoured to 
 force his way through the flames ; but Nimir, who longed 
 for the opportunity of wiping away the stain which had 
 been inflicted on his honour, was ready to strike the blow, 
 and slew him with his own hand. Surprise on the one part, 
 and ferocity on the other, afforded little time for resistance ; 
 and in a brief space, accordingly, not a single Egyptian 
 soldier was left alive in Shendy or the neighbouring districts. 
 Cailliaud, who had already left the country, was supplied
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 137 
 
 ■with some details relative to this tragical event. He tells 
 us that the Pasha's medical officer, a native of Greece, was 
 spared at the first, but only that he might afterward be 
 subjected to a more cruel death. The barbarians began by- 
 extracting all his teeth, which they divided among the 
 several chiefs of the province, who sewed them carefully in 
 little leather bags to wear on their persons as a species of 
 amulet ; for, in the opinion of these superstitious people, 
 the possessor of a physician's tooth has no malady to fear. 
 Having completed this cruel operation, they deprived their 
 victim of life. 
 
 The ruler of Egypt, informed of the unhappy destiny which 
 had befallen his favourite Ishmael, gave orders to Mohammed 
 Bey, his daughter's husband, who was then serving in 
 Kordofan, to inflict on the people of Shendy a suitable 
 punishment for their treachery. Nimir and his accom- 
 plices had indeed taken flight, and sought refuge in Darfur ; 
 but the great body of his subjects, who were necessarily 
 ignorant of the plot, could not remove themselves from the 
 fury of the avenger. Nor did the son-in-law of Ali, who 
 was noted for cruelty of disposition, fail to discharge with 
 the utmost punctuality the office which was intrusted to him. 
 Passing the White River, he marched by Sennaar into 
 Shendy, where he found innumerable, victims to sacrifice to 
 the manes of the murdered general. His excessive rigour, 
 however, produced the effect which always arises from a 
 similar policy. An insurrection took place in all the con- 
 quered districts, from Singueh to the Lower Nubia, which 
 not only weakened the influence of Eg} 7 pt among the native 
 rulers, but has created additional obstacles either to a suc- 
 cessful negotiation or to a permanent conquest.* 
 
 Mohammed Ali has not since made any further attempt 
 on the countries beyond the Cataracts. His expectations 
 as to gold and precious stones were entirely disappointed ; 
 while in regard to slaves, whether for domestic purposes or 
 for recruits to his black regiments, he finds that there is 
 greater economy in dealing with the traders from Kordofan 
 and Darfur, than in sending an expedition of ten thousand 
 soldiers into their perilous deserts. The affairs of Greece 
 and of Syria have now more importance in his eyes ; and 
 
 * Cailliaud, tome iii. p. 337 ; Giovanni Finati, vol. ii. p. 418. 
 M2
 
 138 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 Ibrahim, whose health gave way under the parching sun and 
 pestilential exhalations of Sennaar, has since distinguished 
 his military talents in the fields of the Morea, under the 
 walls of the celebrated Ptolemais, and on the plains of 
 Damascus. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Architectural Monuments of Nubia and Abyssinia. 
 
 Rule for determining the Antiquity and Filiation of ancient States— Con- 
 nexion between Egypt, Ethiopia, and India — Excavated Temples — 
 Girshe, Seboua, and Derr— Different Orders of Architecture— Temple 
 of Osiris at Ebsamboul — Labours of Belzoni, Irby, and Mangles— Mag- 
 nificence of Interior, and Description of the various Halls— Dis 
 coveries of Mr. Bankes — Visit of Delturdar Bey — Sir F. Henniker — 
 Temple of Isis— Cave of Elephanta— Temples of Salsette and Ellora— 
 Comparison with those of Ethiopia — Temples of Soleb, of Kalatshe, 
 and Dondour— Opinion of Gau— Mixed Greek and Egyptian Forms — 
 Gebel el Berkal —Principal Temple there — Pyramids —El Belial- 
 Progress in the Arts— Succession of Buildings — Meroe" - Bruce, Strabo, 
 Cailliaud — Assour — Pyramids — M. Riippel — Naga and Messoura — 
 Large Temple — Opinion of M. Heereu — Of Cailliaud — Ruins at 
 Mandeyr and Kely-^-Conslitufion of Government at Meroe— Its Ter- 
 mination—Remains at Ax um -Obelisk — Errors of Bruce — Corrections 
 by Salt— Axum Inscription— Adulis — Inscription— Cosmas— Reference 
 to Dr. Vincent— Luxor and Kamac — Sacred Ship— Bond of Religion 
 — Lineage of the Gods— Hebrew Tribes— Decline of Learning in 
 Ethiopia. 
 
 In the absence of written records, there can be no doubt 
 that the arts, more especially those which are connected with 
 religion, are our best guide in tracing the affiliation and 
 relative antiquity of early nations. Various circumstances, 
 it is acknowledged, constantly interfere to diminish the ac- 
 curacy of all such calculations as have no other basis, and 
 to weaken our confidence in the most cautious inferences to 
 which we are led by the researches of the mere archaeologist. 
 This ambiguity applies in a particular manner to the de- 
 ductions of authors respecting the period during which any 
 class of monuments may be supposed to have been erected.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 139 
 
 But it will not be denied, at the same time, that wherever 
 we find a striking similarity in the works, the habits, the 
 opinions, and the taste of ancient communities, we may 
 safely admit the conclusion that there must have been some 
 intercourse between them. 
 
 Proceeding on this broad principle, every one who has 
 examined the remains of Eastern kingdoms has been struck 
 with the conviction that the people of Egypt, of Nubia, and 
 of India have derived their notions of religious architecture 
 from the same source. In all the three countries are beheld 
 similar excavations in the living rock, carried to an immense 
 extent, and decorated with colossal figures ; huge masses of 
 building raised above ground, and displaying a profusion of 
 statuary and carving ; and also those monolithic shrines, or 
 chambers cut out in a single stone, which seem to defy all 
 the mechanical powers that modern invention has supplied 
 to the arts. That the land of the Pharaohs was indebted to 
 Ethiopia for the rudiments, and perhaps even for the finished 
 patterns, of architectural skill, is no longer questioned by 
 any writer whose studies have qualified him to form a 
 judgment. Gau, whose splendid work on Nubia has ac- 
 complished every thing which the antiquary could desire, 
 hesitates not to maintain as one of his first principles, that 
 the country just named was the cradle of Egyptian archi- 
 tecture, and that its monuments embrace the whole period 
 during which this art flourished in the latter. In other 
 words, he states that all the architecture of Egypt has its 
 types in the buildings of Nubia, from the first rude effort 
 to cut a temple in the rock to the construction of those de- 
 tached edifices which were afterward erected under the 
 government of the Greeks and Romans.* 
 
 When we consider the troglodyte habits of the natives in 
 all hot climates, the eagerness with which, by retiring into 
 caverns, they shun the alternate plagues of the solar beams 
 and the drenching rain, we shall not be surprised to learn 
 that they prepared, in similars recesses, a dwelling for their 
 gods, and a convenient asylum for the rites of their religion. 
 At a later period, when they began to enjoy the blessings 
 of security and wealth, and had opened their minds to the 
 sentiments of taste, they appear to have added to their ex- 
 
 * Gau's Nubia, Preface. British Museum, p. 130.
 
 140 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 cavated temples the ornament of a portico, a propylon, and 
 sometimes even to have hewn down the face of the moun- 
 tain itself into the form of a splendid building. The progress 
 of a corresponding refinement has been traced both in India 
 and Nubia. We may distinguish, says Gau, in the archi- 
 tectural history of this period three great epochs ; the first 
 comprehends the temples cut in the sides of hills ; the second 
 those which are detached from the rock-cut chambers, but 
 retain the colossal masses of the primitive type ; and the third 
 embraces the small edifices of Maharraga, Gartaas, Dondour, 
 and several structures in Egypt. 
 
 In laying before our readers some account of the monu- 
 ments, which continue to perpetuate the genius and power 
 of the ancient inhabitants of the Upper Nile, we shall follow 
 the line of research suggested by the distinguished author to 
 whom we have just referred, and describe them according to 
 the simplicity of their formation, which, under the light they 
 are now contemplated, is equivalent to their comparative age. 
 
 We may however remark in the outset, that although 
 Gau, as a professional writer, has the merit of reducing to 
 scientific principles the distinguishing features of the several 
 orders of building, the notion of measuring their relative 
 antiquity by a reference to the simplicity of their structure 
 had suggested itself to other authors on more general grounds. 
 Waddington, for example, discovered at Gebel el Berkal two 
 temples, which, from being excavated in the solid rock and 
 having only their exterior chambers formed of masonry, 
 resemble those of Girshe, Seboua, and Derr. The smaller 
 of the two has six halls or apartments, five of which are 
 cut in the body of the mountain ; while the other, which 
 constitutes the entrance, and is thirty-six feet square, stands 
 on an artificial stone foundation, by means of which it is 
 elevated to the height of the rock wherein the former are 
 hollowed out. For the dimensions of the temple and of its 
 subordinate parts we refer to the original work, where they 
 appear to be given with much accuracy. It is necessary 
 however to observe, that near the adytum, or sacred shrine, 
 there are figures of Jupiter Ammon and of Horus. There 
 are vestiges of hieroglyphics, too, in all the chambers. On 
 the whole, the learned author concludes, from the plainness 
 of the masonry, from the rudeness and decay of the re- 
 maining sculptures, and from the raggedness and decompo-
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 141 
 
 sition of the walls, though they had been sheltered probably 
 for ages by the solid rock from the sun and wind, that this 
 is older than any' of the temples of Egypt or even of Xubia.* 
 
 Burckhardt visited the ruined structure at Seboua ; be- 
 fore which, he tells us, is a propylon similar to that of Gorne 
 at Thebes. The pronaos has five columns without capitals 
 on each of its longest sides : in front of each, and joined to 
 it, is a colossal figure (like those at Gorne) sixteen feet in 
 height, having the arms crossed upon the breast, with the 
 flail in one hand and the crosier in the other. Opposite to 
 the entrance there lies on the ground a huge statue, the head 
 and bust of which are buried in the sand : it probably stood 
 on the side of the gate, like the colossi at Luxor ; it is a 
 male figure, and in the same attitude as those on the facade 
 of the temple of Isis at Ebsamboul. In front of the propylon, 
 and about thirty yards distant from it, are two statues ten 
 feet in height, and seven paces from each other ; their faces 
 are towardsthe river, and they are attached by the back to a 
 stone pillar of equal elevation ; they are rudely executed, 
 proportion being so little observed that the ears are half the 
 length of the head ; they both wear the high bonnet, and 
 represent unbearded males. An avenue of sphinxes leads 
 from the bank to the temple ; but the greater part of them 
 are now buried. Four remain by the side of the two last- 
 mentioned statues, differing from each other in shape and 
 size, but all having the bodies of lions with the heads of 
 young men, and the usual narrow beard under the chin. 
 " The whole fabric appears to be of the remotest antiquity, 
 and to have been imitated by the more modern architects 
 of Egypt ; for the propylon and the pronaos, with its colossal 
 figures, are found at Gorne on a larger scale ; the two 
 statues in advance of the propylon are the miniatures of 
 those in front of the Memnonium ; and the sphinxes are 
 seen at Karnac."t 
 
 The sculptures, as well from the friable nature of the 
 stone as from their great age, are much obliterated ; but a 
 Briareus with two bodies may still be distinguished on the 
 outside wall of the propylon. A similar remark applies to 
 the rock-cut temple of Derr, on which the same repre- 
 sentation is seen ; the pattern, as it would appear, for those 
 
 * Journal of a Visit to some Parts of Ethiopia, p. 169. t Travels, p. 90.
 
 142 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 more magnificent labours of the statuary which adorn the 
 ruins at Luxor and Edfou. It is deserving of notice, how- 
 ever, that the excavated fane at Derr has no construction in 
 front like that of Gebel el Berkal ; no outer chambers, or 
 pronaos, or propylon, formed of stone and mortar. It shows, 
 says Gau, in its marks of age, and in the imperfection of its 
 execution, traces of the highest antiquity, and of the infancy 
 of the art. This infant state is easily recognised in all parts 
 of the architecture, and in the remnants of the primitive 
 sculpture ; as, for example, the statues with their barks to 
 the pillars of the pronaos, and that in the niche of the sanc- 
 tuary, which is a portion of the solid rock. The bas-reliefs 
 of the interior walls show, on the contrary, the progress 
 which the arts made in the interval between the commence- 
 ment and the completion of this excavation. In fact, it 
 appears that this, which is certainly one of the oldest monu- 
 ments in Lower Nubia, contains in itself a -history of the 
 gradual improvement of architecture and sculpture as ap- 
 plied to sacred places. Here, as elsewhere, the procession 
 of the ship is exhibited on the walls of the adytum ; an 
 emblem to which we shall hereafter call the attention of the 
 reader, as being connected at once with the ancient current 
 of population, andwith the origin of many of the religious 
 opinions that were common to Egypt and Ethiopia. 
 
 The temple of Girshe evidently belongs to the more 
 simple order of structures, and indicates a very imperfect 
 condition of all the arts connected with architecture. There 
 is a portico, consisting of five square columns on each side, 
 cut out of the rock, with a row of circular ones in front con- 
 structed of - several blocks, and which originally supported 
 an entablature. Of these only two remain. Before each 
 of the square-sided columns stands a colossal statue of 
 sandstone about eighteen feet high, holding a flail in one 
 hand, the other hanging down. They all represent male 
 figures, with the narrow beard under the chin, and the high 
 sphinx-cap on the head ; the shoulders being covered with 
 hieroglyphical inscriptions. On both sides of the portico is 
 an open alley hewn in the rock, from whence, perhaps, the 
 materials of the first colonnade were taken. The pronaos, 
 which is entered from the portico by a large gate, is eighteen 
 paces square, and contains two rows, three in each, of im- 
 mense columns or rather props, for they are without capi-
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 143 
 
 tals, measuring five feet by seven in the plan. In front of 
 each of these is a colossal figure more than twenty feet in 
 height, representing the usual juvenile character, with the 
 corn measure or bonnet on his head, the hands crossed upon 
 the breast, and holding the flail and crosier. All those 
 statues are rudely executed ; the outlines of their bodies 
 being very incorrect, and their legs mere round blocks ; yet 
 they had a striking effect in this comparatively small apart- 
 ment. " Indeed," says Burckhardt, " accustomed as I had 
 been to the grandeur of Egyptian temples, of which I had 
 examined so many incomparable specimens, I was neverthe- 
 less struck with admiration on entering this gloomy pronaos, 
 and beholding these immense figures standing in silence 
 before me. They immediately recalled to my memory the 
 drawings I had seen of the caves near Surat and other 
 Indian excavated temples, which in many respects bear a 
 strong resemblance to those of Nubia. On the side-walls 
 of the pronaos are four recesses or niches, in each of which 
 are three statues of the natural size, representing the dif- 
 ferent symbolical male and female figures which are seen 
 on the walls of the temples of Egypt. The centre figures 
 are generally clothed in a long dress, while the others are 
 naked. All these, as well as the colossi, are covered with a 
 thick coat of stucco, and had once been painted ; they must 
 then have had a splendid appearance. A door leads from 
 the pronaos into the cella, in the middle of which are two 
 massy pillars, and on either side a small apartment, which 
 was probably a place of sepulture ; in the floor of each are 
 high stone benches which may have served for supporting 
 mummies, or perhaps as tables for embalming the bodies 
 deposited in the temple. Of the sculpture and hieroglyphics 
 with which the walls of this temple were covered very little 
 is now discernible, the sandstone being of a very friable 
 nature and soon falling to decay. Added to this, the walls 
 are quite black with smoke from the fires kindled by the 
 neighbouring shepherds, who often pass the night in the 
 temple with their cattle ; enough, however, still remains to 
 show that the sculptures are rudely executed. The colossal 
 figures are in good preservation, particularly those of the 
 pronaos."* 
 
 * Burckhardt's Travels, p. 99, 100.
 
 144 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 We need hardly observe that this is the same place which 
 by other travellers is called Guerfeh Hassan, or Gwersh 
 Hassan, and is described with much minuteness in several 
 of their works. Sir F. Henniker says of it, — "Here is an 
 excavation in the mountain, on entering into which the 
 astonishment and delight that seizes your mind is equal to 
 that which would be felt on entering a room twice as high 
 as rooms generally are, and in which stand six giants three 
 times as tall as a tall man. They are drawn up in line, three 
 on either side, but do not improve upon examination ;. for 
 they are so ill-proportioned, that they appear to have been 
 made by a stonecutter's journeyman rather than by a sculp- 
 tor ; the ankle is thirty-three inches in circumference, but 
 the foot is only a yard long, and from the sole to the knee it 
 is scarcely more."* 
 
 But of all the temples belonging to the class of excava- 
 tions that of Ebsamboul is by far the most striking. The 
 desert in the course of centuries had so completely over- 
 whelmed it with sand, that nothing more appeared to the 
 eye of the traveller through Nubia than the bust of one of the 
 colossal figures which were placed in front of the entrance. 
 The dimensions of this statue were, however, so great as to 
 excite a deep feeling of curiosity among all who examined 
 it. Finati, who was in the service of Mr. Bankes, relates, 
 that when he stood upon a level with the necklace he could 
 hardly reach the beard, while one of the sailors climbed and 
 sat across upon the ear ; yet the countenance, he adds, seen 
 at its proper distance, appeared very beautiful. 
 
 At a later date a party, consisting of Mr. Belzoni, Captains 
 Irby and Mangles, Giovanni himself, who attended in 
 character of janizary, and two. servants, undertook to re- 
 move the sand, so far at least as to ascertain whether there 
 were a door or any other access to the interior. They at 
 first relied upon the assistance of the natives, who willingly 
 entered into terms ; but the increasing fatigue, the hopeless 
 nature of the undertaking, and perhaps other motives which 
 were never very distinctly understood, induced them to 
 break their engagement. If our travellers neglected the 
 means of attracting and conciliating the people, they proved 
 at least that they knew admirably well how to make shift 
 
 * Notes during a Visit, p. 154.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 145 
 
 without them ; for no sooner was ail external aid withdrawn, 
 than with a zeal and spirit, and a perseverance not to be ex- 
 ceeded, the}' undertook at a very hot season of the year, and 
 with a scanty supply of necessaries, to complete the labour 
 in their own persons. They continued working day after 
 day in the sand, from sunrise till after dark, relieving each 
 other in turn every four hours, and stripping to the skin for 
 the exertion. Some of the number, says Finati, and espe- 
 cially the two captains, did each with -his own hands the 
 work often Nubians.* 
 
 Alluding to the scanty supply of food amid their unremit- 
 ting toil, he remarks, that " one of the expedients resorted 
 to for driving us to desist or forcing us to terms was to 
 starve us out of the place, and in consequence little or 
 nothing was brought thither for sale ; it was very rare that 
 we had any meat during all our slay, and no milk or butter 
 latterly, so that we were frequently reduced to a meal or 
 two of dhoura corn boiled in water, with occasionally a glass 
 of date-brandy after it." 
 
 After a continuance of these exertions and privations up- 
 wards of three weeks, a corner of the doorway at length 
 became visible. At that very moment, when fresh clamours 
 and new disputes were going on with the natives, Finati, 
 being the slenderest of the party, crept through into the in- 
 terior, and was thus perhaps, as he himself remarks, the first 
 that entered it for a thousand years. Unlike all the other 
 grottoes in Egypt and Nubia, its atmosphere, instead of pre- 
 senting'a refreshing coolness, was a hot and damp vapour, 
 resembling that of a Turkish bath, and so penetrating, that 
 paper soon became as much saturated with moisture as if it 
 had been dropped into the river. It was, however, a con- 
 soling as well as an unexpected circumstance, that the run 
 of sand extended but a very little inside the door, while the 
 remainder of the chambers were all clear and unencumbered. 
 
 The first impression convinced them that it was evidently 
 a very large place ; but their astonishment increased when 
 they found it to be one of the most magnificent of temples, 
 enriched with beautiful intaglios, paintings, and colossal 
 figures. The pronaos is fifty-seven feet long and fifty-two 
 wide, supported by two rows of square pillars in a straight 
 
 * Life and Adventures, vol, il. p. 201. 
 
 N
 
 146 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 line from the front to the door of the sekos. Each pillar has 
 a figure not unlike those of Medinet Abou, finely executed, 
 and very little injured by time. The tops of their turbans 
 reach the ceiling, which is about thirty feet high ; the pillars 
 are five feet and a half square. Both these and the walls 
 are covered with splendid carvings, the style of which is 
 somewhat superior, or at least bolder, than that of any in 
 Egypt, not only in the workmanship, but also in the sub- 
 jects. They exhibit battles, storming of castles, triumphs 
 over enemies, and numerous sacrifices. Some of the 
 colours are much injured by the close and heated atmo- 
 sphere, the temperature of which was so great that the ther- 
 mometer must have risen to a hundred and thirty degrees. 
 
 The second hall is about twenty-two feet high, thirty- 
 seven wide, and twenty-five and a half long. It contains 
 four pillars more than three feet square ; and the walls are 
 also covered with fine hieroglyphics in pretty good preserva- 
 tion. Beyond this is a shorter chamber, but of the same 
 width, in which is the entrance into the sanctuary. At each 
 end of it is a door leading into smaller apartments in the 
 same direction with the adytum, each eight feel by seven. 
 The sanctuary itself is twenty-three feet long and twelve 
 feet broad. It presents a pedestal in the centre, and at the 
 end four colossal figures in a sitting posture ; all in good 
 order, not having been mutilated by any violent means. 
 
 On the right side of the great hall, entering into the 
 temple, are two doors at a short distance from each other, 
 which lead into two separate rooms ; the first thirty-nine 
 feet in length and eleven and a half wide ; the other forty- 
 eight feet and a half by thirteen feet three inches. At the 
 end of the former are several unfinished hieroglyphics, of 
 which some, though merely sketched, give fine ideas of their 
 manner of drawing. At the lateral corners of the entrance 
 from the first into the second chamber are doors, each of 
 which conducts into an apartment twenty-two feet and a 
 half long and ten feet broad. These rooms open into others, 
 forty-three feet in length and eleven feet wide. 
 
 But the most remarkable subjects in this temple are a 
 group of captive Ethiopians in the western corner ; the 
 hero killing a man with his spear, another lying slain 
 under his feet ; and the storming of a castle in the vicinity. 
 The outside or external front is truly magnificent. It is a
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 147 
 
 hundred and seventeen feet wide and eighty-six feet high ; 
 the space from the top of the cornice to the top of the door 
 being sixty-six feet six inches, and the dimensions of the 
 door itself twenty feet. There are four enormous colossal 
 figures in the attitude of sitting ; the largest indeed in 
 Nubia or Egypt, except the great sphinx at the Pyramids, 
 to which they approach in the proportion of nearly two- 
 thirds. From the shoulder to the elbow they measure fif- 
 teen feet six inches ; the ears three feet six inches ; the 
 face seven feet ; the beard five feet six inches : across the 
 shoulders twenty-five feet four inches : their height is about 
 fifty-one feet, not including the caps, which are about four- 
 teen. On the top of the door is a statue of Osiris twenty 
 feet in length, with two colossal hieroglyphic figures, one 
 on each side, looking towards the god. The temple has, 
 besides a cornice with hieroglyphics, a torus and a frieze 
 under it ; the first is six feet broad, the last four feet. 
 Above the cornice is a row of sitting monkeys, (wenty-one 
 in number, which are eight feet high and six across the 
 shoulders. Belzoni remarks that it must have had a fine 
 landing-place, now buried under the sand ; adding, that it is 
 the best and largest temple excavated in the solid rock in 
 Nubia between the first and second cataracts, or even in 
 Egypt.* 
 
 Finati states that the floors of all the apartments were 
 covered over with a very black and fine dust, which, ob- 
 serving its resemblance to the remains of decayed lintels in 
 most of the doorways, he conjectured to be pulverized 
 wood. He observes also, that in the great hall there were 
 eight colossal statues standing, four on a side, which seemed 
 to bear the ceiling on their heads. There were found in it 
 two detached figures of lions with faces of birds, which 
 were dragged out for the purpose of being transmitted to 
 Mr. Salt, with some other loose pieces of statuary collected 
 in the several chambers ; some of these to the right and 
 left being less finely painted than the principal one, and 
 appearing to have been devoted to sepulchral uses. The 
 labour of taking plans and measurements, and some views 
 as well as sketches from historical subjects delineated on 
 the walls, occupied Mr. Beechey a few days ; after which 
 
 * Belzoni's Narrative, vol. i. p. 330.
 
 148 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 the party, who still found the utmost difficulty in obtaining 
 provisions, descended the Nile.* 
 
 At a subsequent period Mr. Bankes visited Ebsamboul ; 
 on which occasion, says his faithful janizary, was achieved 
 a still greater labour, being no less than the uncovering of 
 one of the four colossal sitting figures down to the very 
 feet ; for in the excavation which took place under the 
 auspices of Belzoni, the disinterring of the statues was not 
 accomplished lower than the waist, the doorway in the 
 centre being then the sole aim and object. For this new 
 purpose, therefore, the number of men employed was very 
 great, and almost three weeks were devoted to it. When 
 the work was finished the effect was unusually striking, 
 from the complete preservation in which every part of this 
 enormous statue was found ; and attendant figures, also 
 larger than life, were brought into view, one between the 
 ieet, and one at each extremity of the chair, A few letters 
 scratched on the surface of the legs had, from the antiquity 
 which he was disposed to ascribe to their form, excited Mr. 
 Bankes's curiosity so much, that, judging it likely that the 
 limbs of the_ colossus which was nearest to the door would 
 furnish the best examples, he undertook to pursue the 
 inquiry farther. 
 
 But to accomplish this object it was necessary so far to 
 undo what had been done, that the sand was rolled down 
 again on much of that statue which had been uncovered, in 
 order to lay bare what was wanting of the adjoining figure ; 
 the distance from the river being too great to get rid of the 
 dust altogether without a greater expenditure of time and 
 labour than he could afford. Within three or four days, not- 
 withstanding, a large and long inscription began to make 
 its appearance, and to show itself above the surface by de- 
 grees ; yet it lay so deep, and the position was so awkward 
 for opening it, that it was a work of difficulty and contri- 
 vance to obtain the last line, which was only at length 
 brought about by consolidating the sand with immense quan- 
 tities of water poured upon it. The discovery, however, 
 which delighted all who were concerned in making it, was 
 considered an ample recompense for the toil.f 
 
 " Life and Adventures, vol. ii. p. 208. 
 
 t The inscription, Mr. Bankes informs us, relates to the king Psam- 
 meticus. and is certainly among the very earliest extant in the Greek 
 language.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 149 
 
 But as soon as the writing was copied, the inferior part 
 of the statue was again covered by the sand, which became 
 dry and ran down. The next task was to clear the fourth 
 colossal head, — which had never before emerged above the 
 surface, — for the sake of making a general drawing of the 
 whole ; and the exterior was thus left greatly disencumbered 
 for travellers who might come after, as the level of the drift 
 was lowered many feet throughout its whole extent, espe- 
 cially where it encroaches with the greatest weight upon 
 the front. The inside of the temple, meanwhile, was lighted 
 up every day, and almost all day long, with from twenty to 
 fifty small wax candles fixed upon clusters of palm-branches, 
 which, being attached to upright poles, spread like the arms 
 of a chandelien more than half-way to the ceiling. This 
 enabled Mr. Bankes and the other draughtsmen to copy all 
 the paintings in detail as they stood, almost naked, upon 
 their ladders.* 
 
 While the party were so busied within and without, it 
 happened that the Defturdar Bey, son-in-law of Mohammed 
 Ali, and governor of the upper country, came to investigate 
 on the spot how far the second cataract was practicable for 
 boats, preparatory to the expedition against Dongola and 
 Sennaar, then secretly in contemplation. He stopped, in 
 passing, to pay his compliments to Mr. Bankes, when he 
 was induced to creep into the temple. He was much as- 
 tonished to find so many lights burning, and so many hands 
 employed in such an atmosphere, for purposes which he 
 could not comprehend, and which it was in vain to endeavour 
 to explain to him, for he always returned to the question, 
 " What treasures have they found ]"t 
 
 It is rather unpleasant to reflect, that the labour bestowed 
 at Ebsamboul was not attended with any permanent effects ; 
 for the winds of the desert, and the natural lubricity of 
 sand, soon rendered the approach to the temple nearly as 
 difficult as before. When Sir F. Henniker visited that 
 country, about two years afterward, the doorway was cov- 
 ered up, and the natives informed him that it would require 
 the services of thirty men for twelve days to effect an en- 
 trance. " To prove that they are not to be believed," says 
 
 * Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finati, vcl. ii. p. 314. 
 t Ibid O 317 
 
 N2
 
 150 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 he, " I forced in a pole ; round this I wound a sheet, and 
 having spread another on the surface of the sand to prevent 
 it from flowing down upon us, we succeeded after seven 
 hours' exertion in constructing a kind of wind-sail or chim- 
 ney. By means of this I entered, and immediately beheld 
 eight majestic statues, whose size when compared with that 
 of man, and still more magnified by the dimness that sur- 
 rounds them, calls upon me to corroborate the reports in 
 favour of this temple above all others. Ebsamboul is the ne 
 plus ultra of Egyptian labour, and is in itself an ample 
 recompense for my journey. There is no temple of either 
 Dendera, Thebes, or Philse that can be put in competition 
 with it ; and I am well contented to finish my travels in 
 this part with having seen the noblest monument of anti- 
 quity that is to be found on the banks of the Nile."* 
 
 The fane now described is distinguished as the temple of 
 Osiris ; for it is well known that there are two at a very 
 short distance from each other, the smaller of which is 
 dedicated to Isis, whose name it usually bears. This, as 
 well as the other, is entirely excavated in the sandstone 
 rock, the front of which has been hewn down, and three 
 statues cut out of it ornament either side of the door. 
 These six gigantic figures are sculptured in relief, standing 
 erect, with their arms hanging stiffly down. Beneath each 
 hand is also an upright statue seven feet in height, which 
 does not however reach above the knees of its principal. 
 The part of the rock which has been smoothed for the face 
 of the temple is a hundred and eleven feet long. The de- 
 vices begin on the north side, with a human figure extending 
 his right hand, armed with an instrument like a sickle, to- 
 wards Osiris, who is seated. Before him is a table of hiero- 
 glyphics well executed, probably expressing the object of 
 his application to the divinity. The next ornament is a 
 colossal statue of about thirty feet, wrought in a deep niche 
 of the precipice ; it is standing, and two tall feathers rise 
 up from the middle of the headdress, with the globe or 
 moon on each side. In a projection of the rock, shaped 
 like a buttress and covered with hieroglyphics, is a colossal 
 statue of Isis carved in high relief. The dress of the head 
 is lofty, and enclosed, as usual, between two horns : the hair 
 
 * Notes during a Visit to Egypt, &c. p. 160.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. „ 151 
 
 falls on each shoulder in a round mass ; the left hand is 
 brought across the breast, and holds something like a mace. 
 Then comes a similar projection in the cliff, covered also 
 with hieroglyphics, followed by another niche, in which is a 
 statue more massy than either of the other two, and of 
 large dimensions. The sides of the door are in like manner 
 crowded with hieroglyphics, over which are seated Oiiris 
 and the hawk-headed deity. On each side of the passage 
 in entering offerings are presented to Isis, who holds in her 
 hand the lotus-headed sceptre, surrounded with numerous 
 inscriptions and emblems. Near to a prie6t of Amnion sits 
 a most miserable palsied figure, the very victim of terror ; 
 he holds a feeble scourge in his hand, and is paiuted red ; 
 the other figures are yellow. Close to him there.is a table 
 loaded with sacred gifts, which are offered to a hero or a 
 god, who has his hand extended towards the other in a 
 most threatening attitude. The six columns in the middle 
 of the chamber are also covered with hieroglyphics, and 
 representations of the ram-headed, the hawk-headed, the 
 ibis-headed deity, together with the lion-headed goddess or 
 Isis, all with the globe or moon over them. The capitals 
 of the columns are human heads, and are adorned with nu- 
 merous hieroglyphics. 
 
 In the second chamber similar figures, inscriptions, and 
 devices present themselves. Much interesting sculpture 
 also is lavished upon this as well as upon the third apartment, 
 a great part of which is well executed ; and in a niche at 
 the upper end of the latter is seated a small statue of Nephthe 
 the wife of Typhon.* 
 
 This temple, which is only a few yards from the brink of 
 the river, and about twenty feet above the present level of 
 is water, has been much more completely examined than 
 the larger one, because its approach is at all times free from 
 sand. The front is ninety-one feet long; the depth of the 
 excavation, measured from the door to the extremity of the 
 adytum, is seventy-six feet. A number of ovals, or car- 
 touches, as they are called by Champollion, containing the 
 name and prsenomen of Harnesses the Great, are cut in sev- 
 eral places of the square border that encloses the front of 
 
 * Travels along the Mediterranean and Parts Adjacent. By Rob 
 Richardson, M.D., vol. i. p. 426.
 
 152 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 the temple like a frame, and on the buttresses between the 
 colossal figures. Gau remarks, " that this facade, though 
 cut in the mountain, displays very distinctly the general 
 character of the great propyla, of which it presents the ori- 
 ginal form in bas-relief. We easily recognise the outline 
 of each of the two parts of the propylon with the, doorway 
 between them, and the appendage of the statues, which are 
 so cut out of the rock as to differ in no respect from the 
 colossi, which at a later period were placed in front of the 
 propyla. The interior is in good preservation, with the ex- 
 ception of the statue in the recess of the sanctuary, and it 
 is richly adorned with painted bas-reliefs. The principal 
 colour of the figures is yellow ; the ceiling is blue, a fa- 
 vourite tint for that purpose among the Egyptians ; and a 
 border of three colours runs all round."* 
 
 Every reader is aware that, between the order of religious 
 houses now delineated and a similar class in India, the re- 
 semblance is so great as to have suggested to many eastern 
 antiquaries the notion of a common origin, as well in regard 
 to the mythology as the principles of architecture. Of all 
 the excavated temples in Hindostan, that in the island of 
 Elephanta is the best known in this part of the world, 
 having been frequently described by European travellers. 
 " The entrance into it," says Mr. Erskine, " is by a spacious 
 front, supported by two massy pillars and two pilasters, 
 forming three openings under a thick and steep rock over- 
 hung by brushwood and wild shrubs. The long ranges of 
 columns that appear closing in perspective on every side ; 
 the flat roof of solid rock that seems to be prevented from 
 falling only by the massy pillars, whose capitals are pressed 
 down and flattened, as if by the superincumbent weight ; 
 the darkness that obscures the interior of the temple, which 
 is dimly lighted only by the entrances ; and the gloomy ap- 
 pearance of the gigantic stone figures ranged along the 
 wall, and hewn, like the whole temple, out of the living 
 rock, joined to the strange uncertainty that hangs over the 
 history of the place, — carry back the mind to distant pe- 
 riods, and impress it with thaf kind of religious awe with 
 which the grander works of ages of darkness are generally 
 contemplated." 
 
 * Gau's Nubia, p. 8.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 153 
 
 " The whole excavation consists of three principal parts ; 
 the great temple itself, which is in the centre, and two 
 smaller chapels, one on each side of the great temple. 
 These two chapels do not come forward into a straight line 
 with the front of the chief temple, are not perceived on ap- 
 proaching the temple, and are considerably in recess, being 
 approached by two narrow passes in the hill, one on each 
 side of the grand entrance, but at some distance from it. 
 After advancing to some distance up these confined passes, 
 we find each of them conduct to another front of the grand 
 excavation, exactly like the principal front, which is first 
 seen ; all the three fronts being hollowed out of the solid 
 rock, and each consisting of two huge pillars with two 
 pilasters. The two side fronts are precisely opposite to 
 each other on the east and west, the grand entrance facing 
 the north. The two wings of the temple are at the upper 
 end of these passages, and are close by the grand excava- 
 tion, but have no covered passage to connect them with it. 
 
 " The great temple is about one hundred and thirty feet 
 and a half long, measuring from the chief entrance to the 
 farthest end of the cave, and one hundred and thirty-three 
 feet broad from the eastern to the western entrance. It 
 rests on twenty-six pillars (eight of them now broken) and 
 sixteen pilasters ; and, neither the floor nor the roof being 
 in one plane, it varies in height from seventeen and a half 
 to fifteen feet. The plan is regular, there being eight pillars 
 and pilasters in a line from the northern entrance to the 
 southern entrance of the temple, and the same number from 
 the eastern to the western entrances. The pillars, which 
 all appear to run in straight lines parallel to each other and 
 at equal distances, are crossed by other ranges running at 
 right angles in the opposite direction ; they are strong and 
 massy, of an order remarkably well adapted to their situa- 
 tion and the purpose which they are to serve, and have an 
 appearance of very considerable elegance. They are not 
 all of the same form, but differ both in their size and orna- 
 ments, though this difference also does not at first strike 
 the eye. 
 
 " The figure that faces the principal entrance is the most 
 remarkable in this excavation, and has given rise to num- 
 berless conjectures and theories. It is a gigantic bust rep- 
 resenting some three-headed being, or three of the heads
 
 154 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 of some being to whom the temple may be supposed to be 
 dedicated. One head faces the spectator, another looks to 
 the right, the third to the left ; a fourth maybe imagined to 
 be concealed behind. It may give some idea of its bulk to 
 mention, that from the top of the cap of the middle figure 
 to the bottom of the image is seventeen feet ten inches, 
 while the horizontal curved line embracing the three heads 
 at the height of the eyes is twenty-two feet nine inches in 
 length. 
 
 "Travellers have entertained very different ideas of the 
 degree of genius and art displayed in this temple, and the 
 figures around it ; some are disposed to rate them very 
 high, and speak in rapturous terms of the execution and 
 design of several of the compartments. To me it appears, 
 that while the whole conception and plan of the temple is 
 extremely grand and magnificent, and while the outline and 
 disposition of the several figures indicate great talent and 
 ingenuity, the execution and finishing of the figures in 
 general (though some of them prove the sculptor to have 
 great merit) fall below the original idea, and are often very 
 defective. The figures have somewhat of rudeness and 
 want of finish ; the proportions are sometimes lost, the at- 
 titudes forced, and every thing indicates the infancy of the 
 art, though a vigorous infancy. 
 
 " Nothing presents itself in these excavations which can 
 lead to a satisfactory solution of the important and curious 
 question, In what age or by what dynasty was this vast 
 temple completed 1 One fact is worthy of notice, that a 
 greater number of magnificent cave temples present them- 
 selves in a small space on this coast than are to be met with 
 in any other part of India. The caves of Elephanta, those 
 of Kenneri, Amboli, and some others on the island of Sal- 
 sette, the fine cave of Carli, on the road by the Bor Ghaut 
 to Poonah, the still more extensive and magnificent ranges 
 at Ellora, not to mention some smaller cave-temples in the 
 Concan and near the Adjanta pass, are all on Mahratta 
 ground, and seem to show the existence of some great and 
 powerful dynasty, which must have reigned many years 
 to complete works of such labour and extent."*" 
 
 * Account of the Cave-temple of Elephanta, by W. Erskine, Esq. 
 in Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, vol. i. p. 210, 249.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 155 
 
 We have indulged in this copious extract from an article 
 which is in itself extremely interesting, to enable the reader 
 to compare the excavated temple of Elephanta with those 
 of Ebsamboul. The general plan is the same in both, — 
 massy pillars, huge figures, emblematical devices, and mys- 
 terious ornaments. The serpent and the lotus tend still 
 further to identify the ancient superstitions to the uses of 
 which those stupendous works were undertaken. But no 
 tradition on which we can rely connects the spacious tem- 
 ples of the Upper I\"ile with those of Western India, al- 
 though there can be little doubt that, in remote ages, there 
 was an intercourse more or less regular between their inhab- 
 itants. Gau holds the opinion that the monuments of Hin- 
 dostan are later in their origin than those of Nubia ; and 
 we may remark, as in some degree confirmative of this no- 
 tion, that one of the figures in the cave of Elephanta is 
 described by Mr. Erskine as having thick lips, and bearing 
 in other respects a resemblance to an African countenance. 
 Conjecture on this subject, however, cannot possibly lead 
 to any satisfactory result, because we do not yet possess 
 such knowledge relative tp the architecture, the sculpture, 
 and mythology of the East as would justify a decided con- 
 clusion in regard to their precise objects. 
 
 But the works now mentioned, as well as those which 
 have been found in the neighbouring island of Salsette, are 
 greatly surpassed by the excavations of Ellora in the province 
 of Hydrabad. Here we have a granite mountain in the 
 form of an amphitheatre, completely chiselled out from top 
 to bottom, and filled with innumerable temples. To describe 
 the galleries and columns which support various chambers 
 lying one above another, the stairs, porticoes, and bridges 
 over canals, also hewn out of the solid rock, would be im- 
 possible. Suffice it to state, that the chief temple, called 
 Kailasa, is entered under a balcony, after which we come to 
 an antechamber 138 feet wide and 88 long, with many rows 
 of pillars, and adjoining rooms which may have been 
 apartments for pilgrims or the dwellings of the priests. 
 From this chamber we pass through a great portico and 
 over a bridge into an immense hall, 247 feet long and 150 
 broad, in the middle of which is the shrine, consisting of one 
 mass of rock. This monolith itself measures 103 feet long 
 and 56 wide, while it rises to the most surprising height of
 
 ] 56 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 100 feet in a pyramidal form. It is hollowed out to the 
 height of 17 feet, and supported by four rows of pillars, with 
 colossal elephants which seem to bear the enormous mass 
 and give life and animation to the whole. From the roof 
 of this stupendous sanctuary, which has a gallery of rock 
 round it, bridges lead to other side arches which have not 
 yet been explored. The whole mass besides is covered with 
 sculptures.* 
 
 A more minute comparison of the cave-temples of India 
 with those excavated by the ancient Ethiopians would lead us 
 away from our proper subject. We may venture to remark, 
 however, that there are many points of resemblance between 
 the pagodas of the former country and the regular structures 
 of Egypt, all the parts of which are above ground. For 
 example, the pyramidal entrance to the one is analogous to 
 the propylon of the other, while the large-pillared rooms 
 which support a roof of stone are found frequently in the 
 edifices of both regions. Among the numerous divisions of 
 the cave at Ellora, there is an upper story of the Dasavatara, 
 or the temple of Vishnu's incarnations, the roof of which is 
 supported by sixty-four square-based pillars, eight in each 
 row. This chamber is about a hundred feet wide, and 
 somewhat deeper ; and as to general design may be com- 
 pared with the excavated chambers of Egypt, which are 
 supported by square columns. The massy materials, the 
 dark rooms, and the walls covered with highly-wrought 
 sculptures ; and the tanks near the temple, with their en- 
 closures of stone, and the steps for the pilgrims, are also 
 equally characteristic of a pagoda and an Egyptian temple. 
 To this we may add the high thick wall, of a rectangular 
 form, carried all round the sacred spot. There is a further 
 resemblance worth noticing between some of the Hindoo 
 temples and that of Phtha at Memphis. The latter had four 
 chief entrances, or propyla, turned to the cardinal points of 
 the compass ; and this is also the case with the pagoda of 
 Chillumbrum, and with another at Seringham. The first 
 of these, according to Indian tradition, is one of the oldest 
 in their country ; which opinion is confirmed by the ap- 
 pearance of the principal temple contained within the walls ; 
 but other parts, such as the pyramidal gateways, the highly- 
 
 * British Museum, p. 182.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 159 
 
 finished sculptures, and the chain festoons, must be the work 
 of a later date. It seems probable, then, that this vast re- 
 ligious edifice was the produce of many ages ; each adding 
 something to enlarge and perfect the magnificent under- 
 taking of former times. * 
 
 It is rather hazardous, says the author on whose state- 
 ments we now rely, to point out minor resemblances between 
 Ethiopian and Hindoo buildings, when the latter are so im- 
 perfectly represented. But one of Daniel's views exhibits 
 an example of the latter in the background, which has a 
 very Egyptian appearance. It is near Mahabalipoor. 
 There are four pillars in front, the two extreme ones occu- 
 pying the angles, and having behind them, in a right angle 
 with the first row, three others, of which one indeed may be 
 a pilaster. Thus the front row. and the side rows form a 
 portico, which is covered over with flat stones, exactly in the 
 fashion of the Nile. In the. centre of the wall, at the back 
 part of the gateway, there appears to be ft door.t 
 
 Leaving the rock-temples both in India and Nubia, over 
 the history and design of which so dark a cloud is still sus- 
 pended, we return to an examination of the more perfect class 
 of structures ; the intermediate stage, it is probable, between 
 the excavations just mentioned and the magnificent buildings 
 of Karnac and Luxor. We have already described the ruins 
 of Soleb, which present to the eye of the artist so many 
 things worthy of his admiration, and belong, it has been 
 justly concluded, to an advanced era in the architectural 
 history of the Ethiopian tribes, f We therefore select the 
 temple of Samne,"as an additional specimen of the style 
 now alluded to, which we have also taken the further pains 
 to illustrate by means of the annexed view from the west, 
 supplied by a recent traveller. 
 
 It is built, we are told, of sandstone, and differs in its 
 shape from other Egyptian edifices, though it somewhat 
 resembles in its plan the small chapel at Elephantine. It 
 consists of a principal building about thirty-six feet in length 
 and nine in width. On each side stood originally four small 
 pillars, of which two remain on the one hand and three on 
 the other;, one of the former has a polygonal shaft, tha 
 
 x * British Museum, p..lS6. . t Ibid. p. 187. 
 
 TSee page 30 of this volume.
 
 160 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 remainder being square ; they are fill covered with sculp 
 tures, and the pillars are joined to the main building by 
 blocks of stone, which serve as a roof to the vestibule. The 
 inner walls of the apartment are adorned with hieroglyphics 
 and mystic representation's of the divine worship. On both 
 sides a long ship is delineated, with Osiris in it ; and the 
 group of two figures resting their hands upon each other's 
 shoulders is everywhere repeated. The roof is painted 
 blue, and there are some remains of colour on several of the 
 carvings. 
 
 « Near the back-wall, opposite the main entrance, a statue 
 about five feet in length lies on the floor, the head of which 
 has been-cut off; the arms are crossed" upon the breast, 
 while in one hand is the flail, and in the other the instrument 
 usually called a crosier. On the outer wall Burckhardt dis- 
 tinguished some figures of Mendes, the -Jupiter Amnion of 
 the Greeks and later Egyptians. All the sculptures are 
 rather coarsely executed ; and the lines dividing the com- 
 partments wherein the hieroglyphics are cut are not straight, 
 the effect either of intention or of great ignorance in the 
 first principles of art. But it deserves notice, that the same 
 remark applies to the architectural labours' of the Hindoos, 
 in which there are .constant deviations from rectilinear 
 position, -even in the arrangement of the finest columns. 
 Some of the hieroglyphics on the pillars have evidently teen 
 left unfinished, and those which, are - completed do not 
 appear to have proceeded from the hand of a master. A 
 part of the wall, too, seems to be of a date different from the 
 rest, as it is constructed of stones, at once much larger and 
 better hewn. There must, in fact, have been another similar 
 building near this temple, for the capitals of many columns 
 are scattered about on the ground, and there is a large block 
 of granite covered with hieroglyphics, surrounded with heaps 
 of rubbish. The structure itself is enclosed with ruined 
 edifices, formed of brick, unquestionably of great antiquity, 
 and covering the hill which overhangs the shore. It is 
 concluded that they were places of strength, and connected 
 with certain fortifications, the remains of which can still be 
 detected.* . . r 
 
 \n the volumes of Burckhardt, Captain Light, Legh, 
 
 * Burckhardt, Travis in Nubia, p. 75
 
 NUDIA AND ABYSSINIA. 161 
 
 Richardson, Heriniker, Cailliaud, and Waddington, there is 
 to be found an ample description of the ruinous temples on 
 either side of the Nile, from Sosan to Meroe, occasionally 
 accompanied with excellent drawings and plans. But there 
 is so much sameness in the details, especially as to the 
 measurements, the number of chambers, the statues, 
 columns, inscriptions, and hieroglyphics, that we refrain even 
 from an abridgment of their researches, which, in certain 
 cases, could not be easily understood without the aid of en- 
 gravings and other architectural delineations. We cannot 
 however omit the temple of Kalabshe, which is distinguished 
 for a beautiful propylon, represented in the work of Captain 
 Light in the finest style of art. The remains of the building 
 are an abutment of masonry, that rises, above the bank of 
 the river, at about a hundred and eighty feet from the front, 
 to which there is a paved approach. On each side of this 
 pavement there appears to have been a low of sphinxes, one 
 of which is seen without the head. At the end of it there 
 seems to have been steps leading to a terrace thirty-six feet 
 in breadth, from -Which rises two pyramidal moles eighteen 
 or twenty feet thick, with a gateway between them, forming 
 a facade of not less than a hundred and ten feet. Inside 
 there is a court of about forty feet, which appears to have 
 had a colonnade joining the propylon with the- portico. 
 This last .consists of four columns,' attached for half their 
 height to a wall, raised in the centre to form an entrance. 
 The front of it is plain, with the exception of a winged 
 globe over the gateway. A lateral wall divides it from a 
 suit of four innet apartments, within the first of which there 
 appears to have been a colonnade, as some fragments of 
 shafts and capitals still remain. The three others are 
 covered with the usual hieroglyphics and symbolical figures, 
 the colouring in general being still fresh and bright.* 
 
 The temple of Dondour is likewise worthy of attention, 
 owing to the peculiarities of its style. The greater part of 
 the enclosure, according to Mr. Legh, is quite perfect, and 
 the propylon also has been but little injured. It is obvious, 
 at the same time, that the interior has never been completed. 
 There are two columns which form the entrance into the 
 body of the building, and are ornamented with serpents. 
 
 Light, p. 64. 
 2 
 
 m
 
 1G2 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 The sekos consists, as usual, of three apartments; the first 
 measures eighteen feet in length and twenty in breadth ; 
 the eolumns are three feet in diameter, and about seventeen 
 in height to the. top of the cornice ; the winged globes on 
 the architraves of the temple itself, as well as of the propylon, 
 are supported in the wonted manner by two snakes. The 
 hieroglyphics .are sculptured in a good style, showing the 
 common subjects, — priests, with vessels in their hands, 
 making offerings to Lsi.s and Osiris. . Behind the ruin is a 
 small grotto, which may perhaps be attributed to the early 
 Christians, as there Was found among the fragments' an 
 inscription with the characters A -[- SI. 
 
 This temple has been classed by Gap among those 
 Nubian structures .that belong to the last of the three epochs 
 of art, which he thinks he has discovered in the ancient 
 buildings on this part of the river. It is a parallelogram, the 
 front of which is 21 J feet, and the length 43| ; a proportion 
 which may.be observed in some 6f the Grecian structures. 
 Part of the wall that surrounded the whole is still standing, 
 and an alley appears 'to have led from the gateway to the 
 river, where there was probahjy a flight of steps, of which 
 the traces may be distinctly seen, in the remains of some 
 temples. The sacred houses were of necessit}' placed near 
 the bank in Nubia, for the purposes of ablution and those 
 other religious ceremonies in which* the Tjse of water was 
 essential ; for there was no room for tanks or reservoirs at 
 a distance from the str-eam. In Egypt, on the"contrary, we 
 often find them considerably removed from the Nile ; but, 
 in this case a tank was necessary, and the traces of these 
 artificial basins are still so numerous as to leave no ground 
 for doubt that every holy edifice was provided with them. 
 In India, where we see in institutions still existing so many 
 curious points of resemblance to the ancient ritual of Egypt, 
 there are often great flights of steps leading down to the 
 rivers, forming a safe and convenient approachto-the Ganges, 
 where the pious Brarnin, wl>ile he makes his ablutions, at 
 once discharges a religious duty and enjoys a healthful 
 recreation.* • _ 
 
 It is said, that it is impossible not tp recognise in the pil- 
 lars of Pondour the mixed .Greek and Egyptian form ' r and 
 
 * British Museum, p. K9
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 163 
 
 (he study of it is the more important, as it will afford exact 
 ideas of the kind of buildings erected in the valley of the 
 Nile at .different epochs in the history of the country. 
 "Instead of taking every thing for genuine Egyptian be- 
 cause it is in Egypt or Nubia, we are now enabled, by a 
 more accurate classification of the monuments and the aid 
 of the inscriptions, to rectify former incorrect notions on the 
 subject, and in fact'ta make a real and valuable addition to 
 the history of civilized Egypt. Between the rock-cut tem- 
 ples, such as- those of Derr and Ebsamboul, and the build- 
 ings of a later date, there was an intermediate step that 
 ought to be noticed. The first architectural attempt in Nu- 
 bia would probably be the improvement of some hole in the 
 rock; or, even if the country possessed no natural caves for 
 imitation, the mountains themselves would afford facilities 
 for constructing a durable habitation. A farther step would 
 be, after having got possession'of a hole, to extend the ex- 
 cavation, to form several chambers separated by the native 
 rock, and when a room of larger dimensions was designed, 
 to have square pillars for the support of the roof. In the 
 course of time the outer, front, with the inner walls and 
 pillars, would receive decorations, derived both from the 
 imitations of the natural form of the country and the his- 
 torical remembrances of the nation. But what a prodigious 
 period must have elapsed between the rudest rock-excava ion, 
 such as Derr was in its primitive state, aiul the highly- 
 finished sculptures, of the great temple of Ebsamboul !"*• 
 
 We have already conducted the reader to Gebel el Berkal, 
 where in ancient times ^there must have been an establish- 
 ment of priests, and not improbably an extensive town. 
 The name of Merawe, now bestowed on the district, has 
 very naturally suggested the notion that this was the site of 
 the celebrated Meroe ; an opinion which, after considering 
 it at some length, we haye not hesitated to pronounce un- 
 tenable. But there can be no doubt that it was a place of 
 great importance in a religious point of view, as is fully 
 manifested by the numerous remains of sacred architecture 
 which still meet the eye of the traveller. 
 
 The principal temple is about four hundred and fifty feet 
 kmg, and one hundred and fifty-nine in width ; but it is, as 
 
 * British Museum, p. 141.
 
 164 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 we are assured by Mr. Waddington, so much ruined as to 
 retain nothing of its ancient grandeur and beauty, and even 
 to have rendered the ground-plan, in some places, extremely 
 indistinct. The dimensions of the first chamber are 147 
 feet by 112. On the right hand are the fragments of four 
 pillars, forming part of a row, to which, no doubt, there was 
 one corresponding on the opposite side. There are a few 
 hieroglyphics still visible on the wall, but those on the 
 columns are entirely obliterated. 
 
 The second chamber, which is not so regular as the one 
 just described, seems to have measured 123 feet by 103. 
 Parts of nine pillars composing a colonnade may be ob-> 
 served, though there is only one, 24 feet in height, remain- 
 ing entire. The third apartment is much less, being only 
 about 46 feet square. It contains a row of five pillars on 
 each side, and between every two of those on the right is a 
 sculptured pedestal where statues have formerly stood. The 
 reader may remember, that there are pedestals similarly 
 situated in the second chamber of the temple of Osiris at 
 Ebsamboul, and confined to the same side. 
 
 The dimensions of the fourth chamber are 59£ feet by 14 
 feet five inches. It contains a black granite pedestal, five 
 feet square, beautifully sculptured ; and -here, no doubt, was 
 raised the statue of the god to whom it was dedicated, or the 
 king whose memory it was meant to perpetuate. On the 
 left of this hall, and separated from it by two or three little 
 cells, is a fifth chamber, measuring forty-eight feet three 
 inches by twenty-four feet eight inches, and presenting a 
 larger though similar pedestal, destined, of course, to the 
 same purpose with the other. The holes by which the figure 
 has been joined to it are still observable. 
 
 The sixth chamber is separated from the fourth by two 
 walls, with a narrow passage between them. It is twenty- 
 five feet eight inches in length and nine feet broad, com- 
 municating by means of a door with two little rooms on the 
 right. A single apartment, 36 feet by 10, occupies the space 
 between the former chamber and the exterior wall on its left. 
 
 In regard to the structure at large, Mr. Waddington states, 
 that of two facts he is positively certain ; namely, that its 
 present remains are the work of very different and probably 
 distant periods ; and that even in the composition of those 
 parts which belonged indisputably to the original building,
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 105 
 
 many stones were employed which had been taken from 
 some more ancient edifice. The discovery of a sculptured 
 stone among the mortar in the middle of the thick outer wall 
 proves this point, while the extreme irregularity of the found- 
 ations, and the positions of some of the columns, leave no 
 doubt, he thinks, as to the other. Whether these anoma- 
 lous parts have been additions, or whether they were portions 
 of some older temple left to stand, as chambers in the larger 
 one erected on its site, must now remain uncertain. The 
 propyla are much ruined, and even such sections of them as 
 continue entire are rough and extremely decomposed, re- 
 sembling more nearly the front of the temple of Seboua than 
 any other in Nubia or Egypt. 
 
 Some lineaments of sculptured figures may still- be traced 
 on the inside of the second portal, though in most inexpli- 
 cable confusion. The head of one appears in the place 
 which ought necessarily to be occupied by the feet of the 
 one above it ; while legs and arms are everywhere distrib- 
 uted with an equal disregard to nature ; but all are so 
 extremely defaced that, says. Mr. "Waddington, " I had 
 rather believe my senses to have been deceived than that 
 such absurdities have* been allowed to disgrace one of the 
 noblest buildings ever erected."* 
 
 The peculiar form of Gebel el Berkal, as Riippel remarks, 
 must have fixed attention in. all ages. From the wide plain 
 there rises up, perpendicularly on all sides, a mass of sand- 
 stone nearly four hundred feet high, and about twenty-five 
 minutes' walk in circuit. The unusual shape of this emi- 
 nence must have become still further an object of curiosity 
 from the phenomena with which it is connected. The- 
 clouds, attracted from every pointrto this isolated mass, de- 
 scend in fruitful showers ; and hence we need hardly won- 
 der if, in ancient times, it was believed that the gods paid 
 visits to man, and held communion with him on this sacred 
 mount. Temple arose after temple, and who can say how 
 far many a devotee journeyed to ask advice of the oracle li 
 
 The appearance of those architectural remains suggests 
 the notion of a very remote antiquity. It has been re- 
 marked, in regard to the principal temple, that the traveller 
 
 * Journal of a Visit to some parts of Ethiopia, p. 164. 
 t Ruppel. p 66. quoted in British Museum, p 160
 
 166 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 nowhere observes any sculptures which had been intention- 
 ally erased or disfigured ; proving, it is imagined, that the 
 ruins were in their present state when Christianity was 
 introduced into the country. The idols were already broken, 
 and the ravages of time or of war had been so effectual that 
 they needed not the hand of fanaticism to complete them. 
 But even in the walls of that ancient fane, which had sunk 
 under the pressure. of age so many centuries ago, there are 
 found fragments of a building still older ;' which had decayed 
 before the other was founded, and supplied by its fall ma- 
 terials for the more modern structure. 
 
 The vicinity of Gebel el Berkal is remarkable also for 
 pyramids, which, though much inferior to those of Egypt, 
 had probably the same object, and originated in the same 
 views of vanity or superstition. They are seventeen in 
 number, the largest of which has a base of about eighty feet 
 square, but has suffered too much from years to enable the 
 most practised eye to determine its other dimensions. 
 Several of them have had spacious vestibules, or porticoes, 
 adorned with elegant sculptures and statues. 
 
 At El Belial too, a village situated six or seven miles 
 higher up the Nile and on the opposite bank, are many 
 structures of the same description. There are the remains 
 of nearly forty, eleven of which are larger than any of the 
 perfect ones of Gebel el Berkal. That which possesses the 
 greatest importance has a base of a hundred arid fifty feet 
 square, while its height is a hundred and four feet. It hag 
 been built in stories ;" but is most curious from its containing 
 within itself another pyramid of a different age, stone, and 
 architecture. This interior building, which the other has 
 enclosed like a case, seems to form about two-thirds of the 
 whole mass ; it is of neat workmanship, and composed of a 
 hard light-coloured sandstone, more durable than that which, 
 after sheltering it for ages, has at last decayed and fallen off, 
 and left it once more exposed to the eyes of men.* 
 
 We have in an earlier section of this chapter described 
 the remains of the two temples at Gebel el Berkal, which 
 are partly excavated in the rock and partly constructed, like 
 those of Girshe and Seboua. The existence of such sacred 
 
 * Waddington, p. 17P. A drawing of the pyramid of El Belial forms 
 the vignette to the present volume. .
 
 M'BIA AiND ABVSSIMA* 167 
 
 buildings, it ha6 been remarked, can only be explained on 
 the supposition that they are still older than those in Nubia ; 
 lor, when we take all the facts together, we can hardly 
 imagine that the Egyptian style of architecture originated in 
 the country just named, and spread upward towards Abys- 
 sinia and downward to Thebes and Memphis. In the valley 
 of the Nile, below Syene, a small temple to Typfron the evil 
 deity is often. found near a larger one consecrated to a more 
 beneficent object ,of adoration. For example, there is a 
 tvphonium near the fane of Is-is at Dendera, and one also 
 close to the greater temple at Edfou. At Berkal, in like man- 
 ner, we have the remains of *a similar shrine in one of the 
 two excavated mansions already specified, or rather, per- 
 haps, of a chapel jointly belonging to Isis and Typhon. 
 Eight /of the pillars in the court of this temple, according to 
 Cailliaud, have square capitals with the Isis head on two 
 sides, resembling in this respect those at Dendera; but the 
 upper member of the capital differs somewhat from that in 
 the latter place, while it is exactly the same as the one on 
 the square pillars at Ebsamboul. The sculptures in the 
 adytum are executed m high relief, and painted yellow and 
 blue. On one of the walls, among five figures of- deities, 
 Isis and Ammon are distinctly recognised. * 
 
 Proceeding upward we arrive once more at that mys- 
 terious land which is enclosed at its lower extremity by the 
 Tacazze and the Bahr el Azrek, and where, it is supposed, 
 are still to be found the relics of the primitive faith of Ethi- 
 opia, as well as the tokens of her earliest civilization. There 
 can be no doubt that the most ancient traditions which have 
 reached us through the medium of the Greek historians and 
 philosophers, point with equal steadiness and uniformity to 
 a remote country on the Nile, where the parents of learning 
 and religion had their abode, and whence issued, at different 
 epochs, those benevolent missionaries who carried the rudi- 
 ments of knowledge to Egypt, Gree.ce, the northern shores 
 of Africa, and, finally, to the barbarous coast of Europe. 
 So far are we able to trace the vestiges of refinement and 
 the progress of the arts ; which, attracting our attention in 
 the kingdom of the Pharaohs, carry us gradually towards 
 the south, till we reach a people whose origin is lost in the 
 
 British Museum, p. 161 ; Cailliaud, plate 67 ; Riippel, p. 87.
 
 168 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 obscurity of distant tune, and the names of whose teachers 
 have utterly perished. We indeed find marks of their re- 
 semblance and affinity to nations beyond the Arabian Gulf, 
 and even on the borders of Hindostan ; but all our attempts 
 to identify these fiiil to attain success, because we have 
 neither historical records nor the aid of such other monu- 
 ments as, on such a subject, are necessary to command 
 belief. 
 
 In ascending from the boundaries of Egypt to those of 
 Abyssinia and Sennaar, the traveller may remark 6uch a 
 difference in the style, as web 1 as in the plan of the buildings, 
 as indicates not only a certain progress in the arts, but also 
 a peculiarity in the object contemplated by them. As we 
 formerly observed, the valley of the Nile above the first 
 cataract was once covered on both sides with towns or vil- 
 lages, of which -Pliny has left us the names, amounting in 
 all to about forty. In his time, it is -true, they no longer 
 existed ; and lie informs ifs that they were not destroyed by 
 the Romans,' but' by the earlier- contentions between the 
 Ethiopians themselves and their neighbours the. Egyptians. 
 As Heeren justly remarks, we have no right to suppose that 
 these were flourishing cities, The g^eat works of architecture 
 here as well asVbelow Syene were confined to public edifices ; 
 for the Nubian during the day lived almost entirely in the 
 open air, and his cabin was -litlle more than a resting-place 
 for the night. Hence,' it is not surprising that towns, con- 
 sisting of a mere assemblage of huts, should have so entirely 
 disappeared as to leave behind no trace of their existence. 
 
 But though the dwellings of man have vanished, those 
 of the gods remain. The ruins of a scries of temples on 
 both sides of the river may be distinctly marked, .from Ele- 
 phantine to the junction of the two great branches which 
 compose its stream. The first is the fane of Debode, twelve 
 miles above Philse ; which is followed at nearly the same 
 distance by that of Kardassy, which again is succeeded by 
 that of Teefa or Tafa, five miles farther south. Soon after- 
 ward appear the two temples of Kalabshe" ; one built from 
 the ground, the other hewn in the rocks. At about ten 
 miles above this point are seen the relics of Dondour, and 
 then at a like' interval those of Girshe ; both of which we 
 have described at some length. Ten miles upward is the 
 temple of Dakke ; after a similar space is that of Maher-
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 169 
 
 raga ; and sixteen, miles thence rise to the view the ruins 
 of Seboua, half above ground and half subterranean. 
 Thirty miles farther on stands the temple of Derr ; and 
 after proceeding about sixty miles the traveller beholds the 
 magnificent excavations of Ebsamboul, with their sacred 
 carvings and colossal sentinels. This is followed by Samne ; 
 but at the cataract of Wady Haifa the chain is broken, for 
 it is not until after a journey of a hundred and fifty miles 
 that, not far from the island of Sai, a large temple is seen ; 
 and then, thirty miles farther in the same direction, is dis- 
 covered the edifice of Soleb, which Mr. Burckhardt considers 
 as the most southern of the Egyptian temples. The first 
 series certainly ends here, but a new one begins on the fron- 
 tiers of Meroe ; for about two hundred miles farther along 
 the bank, near the Gebel el Berkal, temples again appear, 
 accompanied with groups of pyramids. Two hundred and 
 forty miles beyond these remarkable ruins we reach the 
 point where the Tacazze or Astaboras falls into the Nile ; 
 forming the celebrated island, as the Greeks were pleased 
 to describe it, to which our attention is now more immedi- 
 ately to be directed.* 
 
 The famous city of Meroe, according to the report of the 
 most intelligent travellers, must have stood a little below 
 the present Shendy, in lat. 17° N., and long. 34° 30' E. 
 Bruce saw its ruins at a distance, concerning which he 
 speaks in the following terms : — " On the 20th of October, 
 in the evening, we left Shendy, and rested two miles from 
 the town and about a mile from the river ; and next day, 
 the 21st, we continued our journey. At nine we alighted 
 to feed our camels under some trees, having gone about ten 
 miles. At this place begins a large island in the Nile, seve- 
 ral miles long, full of villages, trees, and corn : it is called 
 Kurgos. Opposite to this is the mountain Gibbainy, where 
 is the first scene of ruins I have met with since that of 
 Axum in Abyssinia. We saw here heaps of broken pedes- 
 tals, like those of Axum, plainly designed for the statues 
 of the dog ; and some pieces of obelisks, likewise with 
 hieroglyphics, almost totally obliterated. The Arabs told 
 us that these ruins were very extensive, and that many 
 
 * Heeren's Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 349 ; Hiii. Hist. Nat. lib. 
 Ti. c. 35. 
 
 P
 
 170 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 pieces of statues, both of men and animals, had been dug 
 up there. The statues of the men were mostly of black 
 stone. It is impossible to avoid risking a guess that this is 
 the ancient city of Meroe." 
 
 The conjecture of our countryman has been established 
 by the investigations of later travellers ; and we find that 
 those remains of antiquity, of which he obtained a hasty 
 glance, are not confined to one place, but are scattered over 
 a^onsiderable extent of surface. The whole strip of land 
 from Shendy to Gerri teems with them, and must therefore 
 be regarded as a portion of the classic ground of Ethiopia. 
 So far as our information extends at present, these ruins 
 may be included in three principal groups, and associated 
 with the names of Assour, Naga, and Messoura, or Meca- 
 oura as it is written by Cailliaud. The first of these lies 
 to the north of Shendy, about two miles from the river ; the 
 others are at the distance of several leagues from the Nile 
 in a southerly direction, proceeding from the same point. 
 The monuments found here consist both of temples and 
 pyramids ; all private dwellings having been long ago de- 
 stroyed. According to Strabo these last were built of only 
 split palm-trees and tiles: the sand, however, is in many 
 places so covered with bricks that a town must formerly 
 have stood there. In short, it is concluded that the site of 
 the ancient Meroe can be no longer regarded as doubtful. 
 It stood near the present Assour, or between that village 
 and Tenetbey, where are still discovered the remains of a 
 few temples, and of many other edifices constructed of 
 sandstone ; the whole extending, according to the meas- 
 urement of Cailliaud, to a circumference of four thousand 
 feet. 
 
 Eastward of Assour is what has been called the great 
 churchyard of pyramids, the existence of which likewise 
 tends to prove that there was at one period a considerable 
 city in the neighbourhood. It is impossible to behold the 
 number of these monuments without astonishment : eighty 
 are mentioned in the plan of Cailliaud ; but the precise 
 amount cannot be ascertained, as the ruins of many are 
 indistinct. They are divided into three sections, one of 
 which is due east from the assumed situation of Meroe, 
 while the two others are a league from the river, one north 
 and the other south. The northern group is at once the
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 171 
 
 most extensive and best preserved. They certainly appear 
 small compared with the structures of a similar kind in 
 Middle Egypt, the height of the largest not being more than 
 eighty feet; but viewed in reference to number they are 
 much more wonderful. 
 
 Like those at Sakhara, these pyramids are formed of 
 gTanite ; and hence the decay into which they have fallen 
 must suggest a very remote period as the time when the 
 people, to whom they owe their foundation, enjoyed the 
 power and wealth which such monuments imply. The 
 larger class of them have usually attached a small building 
 in the shape of a temple, finished in the Egyptian style, 
 with a propylon and door which lead first to the portico and 
 thence to the sanctuary. It is therefore manifest, if the 
 real entrance is where it is thus indicated, that it was not 
 the intention of the Ethiopian architects to conceal the 
 approach to the repositories of mortality, — an object which 
 w r as accomplished with so much labour by their successors 
 on the Lower Nile. But as none of them have been exam- 
 ined, it is not known whether there be any mummies or 
 sarcophagi in the interior ; and, until such an investigation 
 be completed, we must necessarily remain ignorant, as well 
 of the. object contemplated by such piles of masonry, as of 
 the many arts which might be employed in doing honour to 
 the great. Indeed, according to Strabo, the Ethiopians did 
 not embalm their dead, but buried them in earthen vessels 
 near the sanctuary. The corners of the pyramids are 
 partly ornamented, and the walls of the pylones are deco- 
 rated with sculpture, in some of which the figures appear 
 to be employed in making offerings for the departed ; 
 a representation which renders it extremely probable 
 that they are the tombs of kings and other distinguished 
 persons.* . 
 
 M. Heeren is of opinion that pyramid architecture was 
 native in Ethiopia from the earliest ages ; and also that, 
 if we compare this style of building with the similar one 
 adopted in Egypt, we shall have another proof of what 
 we have elsewhere attempted to establish, that what had 
 its rise in the former country was perfected in the latter, t 
 
 * Heeren's Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 394 ; Cailliaud, Voyage 
 a Meroe, vol. iii. p. 104, &c. 
 t Historical Researches as above.
 
 172 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 The statement of Cailliaud has been confirmed by the 
 narrative of M. Riippel of Frankfort, published in a Conti- 
 nental journal, who also mentions the existence of similar 
 groups of pyramids in Kurgos. On the other side of the 
 Nile, as he relates, his way lay for fifty-seven minutes across 
 a plain of slime or mud. Traces were visible of an ancient 
 canal running parallel to the bed of the river, a proof that 
 this territory was once highly cultivated. Ten minutes 
 after, — for in such circumstances distance is measured by 
 time, — he came to a great mass of hewn and burnt stones. 
 But age had destroyed every thing. With difficulty were 
 some shafts of columns discovered, whose capitals were 
 ornamented with the heads of animals ; v/hence it may be 
 inferred that they once belonged to a temple. Having 
 walked twelve minutes farther on, he observed a number of 
 pyramidical mausolea. There were thirteen, all of hewn 
 stone, forty feet in height, but without an entrance. Near 
 them was a lion's head in black granite, evidently a sitting 
 sphinx. 
 
 After thirty minutes more, towards the east, a group of 
 twenty-one tombs appeared ; some of which were pyramids 
 with indented borders, while others had pointed angles with 
 edges of plainer workmanship. One of these monuments, 
 the most southerly, differs from all the rest, being a pris- 
 matic steeple, standing upon a socle twenty feet square. It 
 has an eastern entrance leading to the hall or gallery, as in 
 the sepulchres at Assour. The walls are ornamented with 
 beautiful sculpture ; the reliefs being like those of Meroe, 
 but in greater perfection, and representing in all cases the 
 apotheosis of the dead. Here is also one of those pyra- 
 mids which has a peculiarity in its approach. On both 
 sides of it are two female figures holding lances in fheir 
 hands, and in the act of piercing with them a band of pris- 
 oners. The drapery, grouping, and keeping of this piece 
 of sculpture surpass every thing of the kind that M. Riippel 
 had seen in Nubia or Egypt, not excepting the magnificent 
 temple of Dendera. 
 
 A little farther to the south-east a third group was de- 
 scried, consisting of nine pyramids, the inner walls of 
 which are diversified with carving. The reliefs in this 
 instance represent female figures only, while in all others 
 they bear a reference to the divinity of heroes' to whom
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 173 
 
 offerings or sacrifices are made. There are none of these, 
 however, so lofty as in the second assemblage ; for some of 
 the latter were at least ninety feet in height, whereas not 
 one of the nine exceeded forty feet in elevation. They 
 were all built of hewn stone without mortar.* 
 
 The antiquities of Naga and Me^soura are of another 
 kind, consisting chiefly of temples. Those of the former 
 place lie about six leagues south-east of Shendy, and nearly 
 the same distance from the Nile ; presenting a larger one 
 in the centre, and various smaller ones scattered about in 
 every direction. The remains of the principal edifice clearly 
 prove to what god it was dedicated. An avenue of statues, 
 being rams couching on pedestals, leads into an open portico 
 of ten columns, out of which, after passing through a 
 similar gallery, we arrive at the pylone. Adjoining this is 
 a colonnade consisting of eight pillars, beyond which there 
 is a hall leading into the sanctuary. The doors, the col- 
 umns, and the walls, are of hewn stone ; the remainder of 
 the structure is composed of bricks, with a coating upon 
 which traces of painting are still visible. The gateways 
 and pillars are sculptured in a style of great beauty, ex- 
 hibiting gods, kings, and queens, with attendants, sacri- 
 fices, and oblations. The building is of vast size, extending 
 in length from the first pylone to the opposite extremity not 
 less than eighty feet. There is also something peculiar in 
 the portico. The duplicate gallery of rams, before entering 
 and after passing it, is not common elsewhere ; and the 
 plan of the whole seems indeed to show that architecture 
 had not yet attained to that perfection which it exhibits in 
 the great works of Egypt. t 
 
 The western temple is smaller, but still more richly em- 
 bellished. On the pylones or gateways the same scenes 
 are represented as in the pyramids of Assour ; a male war- 
 rior on the one side, and a female warrior on the other, de- 
 stroying a number of captives whom they have bound toge- 
 ther by the hair. They are king and queen, as they have 
 both the emblem of dominion on the head-dress ; over each, 
 is a spread eagle with a globe ; and both are magnificently 
 dressed. It is evident, then, as M. Heeren maintains, that 
 
 * See Writings by Edward Ruppel from the Camp near Kurgos, 29th 
 Feb., 1824, in Europasiscbe Blaster, Oct. 24, 1634; quoted by Heeren. 
 t Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 399. 
 P2
 
 174 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 these representations possess many peculiarities, and are 
 not purely Egyptian. This remark does not indeed apply 
 to religious rites ; for there appears nothing here in the 
 worship of Amnion and his kindred gods which is essen- 
 tially different from the usages followed in the Thebaid. 
 The real point of distinction applies to the human person- 
 ages who are performing the duties of piety. The queens 
 appear with the kings, and not merely as presenting offer- 
 ings, but themselves as heroines and conquerors, — a circum- 
 stance which has not yet been discovered in any of the 
 sculptures of Egypt or Nubia. They must therefore, it is 
 presumed, relate to the rulers, male and female, of Meroe, 
 and have been intended to commemorate their deeds. 
 Speaking of this very kingdom, Strabo remarks that, among 
 the Ethiopians, " the women are also armed ;" and we 
 know from other sources, that ladies mounted the throne 
 with the same authority as the other sex. Herodotus men- 
 tions Nitocris among the ancient queens of Ethiopia who 
 governed Egypt ; and in a carving already mentioned, repre- 
 senting the conquest of the former country by Sesostris, 
 there is a female monarch with her sons who appears before 
 him as a captive. A long succession of queens under the 
 title of Candace must have reigned here ; and even when at 
 length the seat of the empire was removed from Meroe to 
 Napata, near Gebel el Berkal, a sovereign of the same name 
 exercised the supreme power. It is therefore quite agree- 
 able to the usage of the Ethiopians to see a queen in a war- 
 like habit near her consort, though it must be admitted to 
 be peculiar to that celebrated people. 
 
 The perfection to which sculpture had been brought at 
 Naga is very striking, there being nothing in the Egyptian 
 statues superior to it, while in boldness of outline it seems 
 even to surpass the finest specimens of the latter. These 
 colossal figures, says Cailliaud, which are ten in number, 
 are remarkable for the richness of their drapery and the 
 character of the drawing ; their feet and arms are stouter 
 than those of Egypt, yet they are in the same style. A 
 similar excellence in the reliefs at Kurgos is extolled by 
 Ruppel.- Are we to suppose, asks M. Heeren, that Ethio- 
 pian artists became thus accomplished ? Or do these monu- 
 ments rather belong to that brilliant period of the empire of 
 Meroe, — the eighth century before our era, — when the
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 175 
 
 dynasty of Tirhako and Sabaco ruled over Upper Egypt, 
 and to whom it would be easy to send artists from below 
 the Cataracts, to adorn their metropolis and perpetuate their 
 fame] 
 
 The third station, called Messoura, is~ equally interesting. 
 Cailliaud, to whom we are indebted both for a description 
 and a drawing, relates, that in an extensive valley in the 
 desert, eight hours' journey from Shendy towards the south- 
 east, and six leagues from the Xile, are very considerable 
 ruins. They consist of eight small temples, all connected 
 by corridors and terraces. It is an immense edifice, formed 
 by the junction of a number of chambers, courts, and tem- 
 ples, and is" surrounded by a double enclosure. From the 
 main structure in the centre the passage to the others is 
 through galleries, or along terraces, varying from three 
 hundred to one hundred and eighty-five feet in length. 
 Each temple has its particular chambers ; and all the build- 
 ings are placed in an exact order, consisting, as has been 
 noticed, of eight temples or sanctuaries, forty-one chambers, 
 twenty-four courts, three galleries, and fourteen staircases 
 or flights of steps. These remains cover a plat of ground 
 two thousand five hundred feet, or about half an English 
 mile in circumference. 
 
 But in this immensity of ruins every thing is on a smaller 
 scale, — the monuments as well as the materials employed. 
 " The largest temple is only fifty-one feet long ; upon the 
 pillars are figures in the Egyptian style ; others in the same 
 portico are fluted like the Grecian ; on the basis of one I 
 thought I discovered the traces of a zodiac. Time and the 
 elements, which have destroyed the ancient Saba, seem to 
 have been willing to spare to us the observatory of Meroe ; 
 but until the rubbish be cleared away a complete plan of it 
 cannot be expected. It excites our wonder to find so few 
 hieroglyphics in all these ruins ; the six pillars which form 
 the portico of the central temple alone present a few exam- 
 ples, for all the other walls are without sculpture. Six 
 hundred paces from the ruins are the remains of two other 
 small temples, as also the outlines of a considerable tank 
 surrounded by little hills, which must have protected it from 
 the sand. But here there are not any traces of a city, no 
 heaps of rubbish, no tombs. If Meroe had stood in this 
 place, the pyramids would not have been built at the distance
 
 176 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 of two days' journey from it. I believe that a seminary of 
 learning was established on this spot ; the form of the build- 
 ing and the architecture seem to prove it ; but the city itself 
 was in the neighbourhood of the sepulchres where the pyra- 
 mids are still found.* 
 
 The same author informs us, that at the distance of a 
 hundred yards in a south-easterly direction from the great 
 enclosure are some other ruins ; among which are the relics 
 of a small temple, resting on six columns, with a regular 
 gateway. The interior is rather more than thirty-six feet 
 in length. The pillars are covered with sculptured figures, 
 including some of mounted elephants led by their guides, — 
 a species of picture which is never seen in Egypt. The 
 nature of these representations, the form of the materials, 
 and the very decayed condition of the whole building, in- 
 duced the traveller to conclude that this little monument is 
 much more ancient than the larger edifices to which our. 
 attention has just been drawn. 
 
 The details now given derive some interest from the con- 
 clusion which Heeren has founded upon them in regard to 
 one point in the ancient religious establishment of Ethiopia. 
 He thinks that the constructions at Messoura were the 
 "Oracle of Jupiter Amnion." "A mere glance at the 
 ground plan," says he, " leads to this idea. It is only thus 
 that the singularity of the foundation can be accounted for; 
 that labyrinth of passages and courts which must be wan- 
 dered through before arriving at the entirely secret temple 
 in the midst. Scarcely could there be a better introduction 
 contrived for reaching the sanctuary."! 
 
 For the support of this opinion he relies chiefly on the 
 authority of Diodorus, who relates that the temple of Jupiter 
 did not stand in the city of'Meroe' but at some distance from 
 it in the wilderness. When, again, the ruler of that king- 
 dom resolved to free himself from the dominion of the priests, 
 he went, says the same historian, with a company of soldiers 
 to the retired or sequestered spot where the sanctuary with 
 
 * Li, etudiant mieux la distribution des differens corps de batimens 
 en mine que j"avais sous les yeux, je demeurai eonvaincu que ce lieu fat 
 jadis consacre a l'enseignement, — on college enfin. — Cailliaud, vol. iii. 
 p. 142. The translation given in Heeren's work is extremely faulty and 
 erroneous. See vol. i. p. 400-404. 
 
 t Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 403
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 177 
 
 the golden temple stood, and taking the inmates by surprise, 
 he put them all to death. Nor is the smallness of the edi- 
 fice any objection to this view of the subject ; for the same 
 remark might be applied to the Ammonium in the Libyan 
 desert. This was probably intended merely for the preser- 
 vation of the sacred ship, which is understood to have been 
 placed between the pillars of the holy shrine. Its situation, 
 too, in the waste, also follows the example now adduced, 
 and will appear still less extraordinary, when we reflect that 
 it was constructed on one of the great trading routes be- 
 tween the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. " Thus we 
 stand," says he, " on that remarkable spot which antiquity 
 regarded as the cradle of the arts and sciences ; where 
 hieroglyphic writing was discovered ; where temples and 
 pyramids had already sprung up, while as yet Egypt re- 
 mained entirely ignorant of their existence."* 
 
 It does not belong to us to weigh the probability which 
 attaches to the opinion now stated. No one will question 
 its ingenuity, or deny that the authorities quoted from 
 ancient writers are suitably applied. But, at the same time, 
 we must not forget the remarks made in regard to the insti- 
 tution at Messoura by M. Cailliaud, who informs his readers 
 that the tradition of the country is, that the name of the 
 place is derived from the old fakirs who once inhabited 
 those vast edifices. The figure of the elephants, too, 
 caparisoned and mounted, rather strengthens the belief that 
 the school of the desert, if it really was a place of education, 
 was connected in its origin or tenets with the learning of 
 the remoter East. There, is, however, no irreconcilable 
 discrepancy between the two conclusions now examined ; 
 for nothing was more common than to have a seminary of 
 priests established near the temples of the gods, and to 
 combine thereby in the mind of the student the practical 
 parts of divine worship with the abstract tenets of the faith 
 into which he was initiated. 
 
 Cailliaud was assured by certain Arabs, as well as by his 
 own guides, that on the road from Naga, or Gibel-Ardan as 
 it is sometimes called, there are several places distinguished 
 for magnificent ruins covered with sculptures. The first 
 stationfthey added, was at the distance of two days' journey, 
 
 • Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 406.
 
 178 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 which corresponds perfectly to Mandeyr, the ancient capital 
 of the Arabian shepherds. A day and a half farther on, at 
 a village called Kely, according to the same authorities, 
 there are other remains which occupy a great extent of sur- 
 face. From thence, they add, there is a road that in the 
 same space of time leads to Abou-Ahraz ; and that near it 
 are wells hewn out in the rock, which tradition carries back 
 to a. very remote antiquity. Agreeably to these statements, 
 there can be no doubt that the line of march hereby indicated 
 is the one which passed from the Nile, in the latitude of 
 Naga, to Axum and the port of Adulis. But the ruins at 
 Mandeyr and Kely have not yet been inspected by any 
 modern traveller. 
 
 We now possess all the certainty which can be attained 
 from the annals of ancient times, that the city of Meroe was 
 situated a little northward of the present Shendy ; and also 
 that a number of dependent establishments, founded on the 
 basis of religion, were scattered over the adjoining desert. 
 
 Before we pass into Abyssinia, we shall quote from 
 Diodorus an account of its constitution and government. 
 The form of this celebrated state, then, was that which we 
 often find in southern regions, more especially at remote 
 periods : it was a hierarchy, where the power was in the 
 hands of a race or caste of priests, who chose a king from 
 among their own order. The laws of the Ethiopians, says 
 the author now named, differ in many respects from those 
 of other nations ; but in none so much as in the nomination 
 of their kings, — which is thus managed : the priests select 
 some of the most distinguished of their brethren, and upon 
 whomsoever of these the god fixes, he is carried in proces- 
 sion, and forthwith acknowledged sovereign by the people ; 
 who falling down adore him as a divinity, because he is 
 placed over the government by the choice of Jupiter Ammon. 
 The person thus appointed immediately enjoys all the pre- 
 rogatives which are conceded to him by the laws, and is 
 supplied with rules for the direction of his conduct ; but he 
 can neither reward nor punish any one beyond what the 
 usages of ancestry and the royal statutes allow. It is a 
 custom among them to inflict upon no subject the sentence 
 of death, even though he should be legally found deserving 
 of that punishment ; but they send to the malefactor one of 
 the servants of justice, who bears the symbol of mortality.
 
 NUBIA AiSD ABYSSINIA. 179 
 
 When the criminal sees this he goes immediately to his 
 house and deprives himself of life. The Greek custom of 
 escaping punishment by fleeing into another country is not 
 there permitted. It is said that the mother of one who 
 would have attempted flight strangled him with her own 
 girdle, in order to save her family from the greater disgrace 
 of having one of its members denounced as a fugitive. But 
 the most remarkable of all their institutions is that which 
 relates to the death of their king. The priests at Meroe, 
 who attend to the service of the gods and hold the highest 
 rank, send a messenger to him with an order to die. They 
 make known to his majesty, that Heaven requires this sacri- 
 fice at his hands, and that mortals should not oppose its 
 decrees ; and perhaps add such reasons as could not be con- 
 troverted by weak understandings prejudiced by an ancient 
 custom.* 
 
 We have already alluded to the catastrophe by which 
 this mode of administration was brought to a close. In the 
 reign of the second Grecian king who sat on the throne of 
 Egypt, when the light of philosophy had already penetrated 
 into Ethiopia, the sovereign of Meroe, whose name was 
 Ergamenes, resolved to shake off the domination of the 
 sacerdotal caste. At the head of an armed band" he pro- 
 ceeded to their principal temple, and subjected the whole 
 body to a general massacre ; by which bold measure, sub- 
 joins the historian, he rendered himself a monarch in reality 
 as well as in title. t 
 
 Heeren very judiciously observes, that in a state whose 
 government so widely differed from any thing to which we 
 have been accustomed, it is reasonable to suppose that a 
 similar peculiarity would apply to the people, who could 
 hardly bear any similitude to the civilized nations of modern 
 Europe. Meroe, he thinks, rather resembled in appearance 
 the larger states of interior Africa at the present day ; a 
 number of small nations of the most opposite habits and 
 manners, some with and some without settled abodes, con- 
 stituting what is called an empire, although the general 
 political band which holds them together is loose, and often 
 scarcely perceptible. In Ethiopia this band was of a two- 
 fold nature ; first, religion or a certain worship resting upon 
 
 * Diod. Bibliothec. Histor. lib. iii. c. 6, t Ibid,
 
 180 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 oracles, and secondly, commerce, — unquestionably the 
 strongest chains by which barbarians could be bound ; for 
 the one gratified the superstitious, and the other the covet- 
 ous and sensual. Eratosthenes relates, that in his time the 
 island comprised a variety of people ; of whom some fol- 
 lowed agriculture, others a nomadic or pastoral life, and a 
 third class the more active pursuits of hunting. All chose 
 what seemed best adapted to the particular district in which 
 they lived.* 
 
 As the line of road through the desert which connects 
 Atbara with Abyssinia has not been trodden in modern 
 times by any native of Europe, we cannot trace the archi- 
 tectural features of the two countries to any distinct point 
 of resemblance. The habits, too, of the people between 
 the Nile and the Red Sea, who, living almost constantly 
 in the field, either as soldiers or as herdsmen, shunned 
 the accommodation of large towns, afforded little encour- 
 agement to the arts of sculpture and design. It is not, ac- 
 cordingly, until we approach the shores of the Arabian Gulf 
 that we find the traces of a civilized condition, and begin 
 to discover the tokens of that refinement and command of 
 the mechanical powers, which excite our surprise in Nubia 
 and Egypt. 
 
 At Axum have been examined the remains of ancient 
 works, which, though different from those at Dendera, 
 Thebes, and Meroe, are sufficiently great to have called 
 forth the admiration of the most competent judges ; in- 
 creasing, at the same time, the curiosity of the philosopher 
 and the engineer in regard to the resources of artificers who 
 could remove from the rock and raise to an upright position 
 
 * Historical Researches, vol. i. p. 419. Strabo, p. 1177-1194. The 
 account given by Pliny of the peninsular tract of Meroe* corresponds re- 
 markably with the indications which still remain of its ancient greatness. 
 " Ipsum oppidum Meroen ab introitu insula? (i. e. a loco ubi confluunt 
 Nilus et Astaboras) abesse LXX millia passuum. Juxtaque aliam insu- 
 lam Tadu dextro subeuntibus alveo qua? porturn laceret. jEdiricia oppidi 
 pauca. Regnare fcerninam Candacen, quod nomen multis jam annis ad 
 reginas transiit. Delubrum Harnmonis et ibi sacrum. Et toto tractu 
 sacella." Lib. vi. 
 
 For some able remarks on the latitude of Meroe", as given by Pliny and 
 Eratosthenes in Strabo. we refer to Dr. Vincent's work on the Commerce 
 and Navigation of the Ancients, vol. ii. p. 91, <fec. This learned writer 
 availed himself of the assistance of Bishop Horsley and Mr. Wales, 
 whose scientific deductions confirmed the statements of the Greek and 
 Roman geographers.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 181 
 
 obelisks exceeding a hundred feet in length. That there 
 was a large city on the ground which still displays so many 
 interesting ruins, there is reason to conclude both from 
 history and tradition, though it has now dwindled down 
 to a few insignificant cottages. The native chroniclers 
 carry back its origin to the days of the patriarch Abraham, 
 while others are disposed to claim for it a still higher anti- 
 quity ; but, as we have already remarked, it was unknown 
 to Homer and Herodotus, and is not commemorated by 
 any Grecian author before the time of Strabo. Nor is 
 there the slightest cause to doubt that, whatever may have 
 been the date of its foundation, it was greatly embellished 
 by the successors of Alexander, who appear to have carried 
 their arms southward along either shore of the Red Sea, and 
 even to have established a temporary throne at Axum. 
 
 When Poncet was in Abyssinia this metropolis was 
 known by the name Heleni. " It has," says he, " a fair 
 monastery and a magnificent church. It is the fairest and 
 largest I have seen in Ethiopia. It is dedicated to St. 
 Helena, and from that church in all likelihood the town 
 has taken its name. In the middle of the spacious place 
 before the church, are to be seen three pyramidical and 
 triangular spires all filled with hieroglyphics. Among 
 the figures of these pyramids I observed upon each face a 
 lock, which is very singular, for the Ethiopians have no locks, 
 and are even unacquainted with the use of them. Al- 
 though you see no pedestals, yet these spires are no less 
 high than the obelisk of the palace before St. Peter's at 
 Rome, placed upon its pedestal. It is believed that this 
 was the country of the Queen of Saba ; several villages 
 depending upon this principality bear to this day the name 
 of Sabaim. They get marble in the mountains which no 
 way yields to that of Europe ; but what is more considerable 
 is, that they also find a great deal of gold even in tilling 
 their ground. They brought me privately some pieces 
 which I found to be very fine. The religious, or monks, 
 of that church are habited in yellow skins, and wear a 
 little cap of the same material and colour."* 
 
 Before Bruce paid his celebrated visit to these curiosi- 
 ties, two of the three great obelisks which the French 
 
 * A Voyage to Ethiopia, made in the years 1698, 1699, and 1700, p. 106. 
 
 Q
 
 182 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 physician found standing had fallen. In the square, which 
 is imagined to have been the centre of the town, there were 
 not fewer than forty in a prostrate condition, none of which, 
 however, had any hieroglyphics upon them. Each consists 
 of one piece of granite ; and on the top of that which is 
 still erect, there appeared to be a patera exceedingly well 
 carved in the Grecian style. Below there is the door-bolt 
 and lock which Poncet speaks of carved on the pillar, as if 
 to represent an entrance through it to some building be- 
 hind. The lock and bolt are precisely those which are 
 used at this day in Egypt and Palestine, but were never 
 seen in Ethiopia. This traveller holds the opinion that 
 the monument now described, and the two larger ones 
 which are fallen, are the work of Ptolemy Euergetes, the 
 second of the Macedonian dynasty. There is, he assures 
 his readers, a great deal of carving upon the face of the 
 obelisk, in a Gothic taste, something like metopes, trig- 
 lyphs, and guttae, rudely disposed, and without order, but, 
 he adds, there are no characters or figures. 
 
 After passing the convent of Abba Pantaleon, and the 
 small obelisk situated on the rock above, " we proceed 
 south by a road cut in a mountain of red marble, having on 
 the left a parapet wall above five feet high, solid, and of 
 the same materials. At equal distances there are hewn in 
 this wall solid pedestals, upon the tops of which we see 
 the marks where stood the colossal statues of Sirius, the 
 Latrator Anubis or dog-star. One hundred and thirty- 
 three of these pedestals, with the marks of the statues I 
 have just mentioned, are still in their places ; but only 
 two figures of the dog remained when I was there, much 
 mutilated, but of a taste easily distinguished to be Egyp- 
 tian. These are composed of granite ; but some of them 
 appear to have been of metal. Axum being the capital of 
 Siris or Sire, from this we easily see what connexion this 
 capital of the province had with the dog-star, and conse- 
 quently the absurdity of supposing that the river derived 
 its name from a Hebrew word, shihor, signifying black. 
 There are likewise pedestals whereon the figures of the 
 sphinx have been placed. Two magnificent flights of steps 
 several hundred feet long, all of granite, exceedingly well 
 fashioned and still in their places, are the only remains of 
 a magnificent temple. In the angle of this platform, where
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 183 
 
 that temple stood, is the present small church of Axum, in 
 the place of a former one destroyed by Mohammed Gragne\ 
 in the reign of King David III. ; and which was probably 
 the remains of a temple built by Ptolemy Euergetes, if not 
 the work of times more remote."* 
 
 In reference to some of the points now stated, the accu- 
 racy of Bruce has been justly called in question, though in 
 a spirit which does little honour to the critic and traveller to 
 whom we owe the correction. During Mr. Salt's first visit 
 to Abyssinia, he was pleased to cast doubt on many parts 
 of his predecessor's narrative, and even to charge him with 
 downright fabrication, in matters of which a more minute 
 inquiry afterward completely established the truth. Of 
 these hasty strictures we shall have occasion to produce 
 some examples, when we come, to review the manners and 
 customs of the inhabitants ; meantime we shall proceed to 
 examine the details in which the former writer has mani- 
 festly failed in exactness of description. 
 
 He tells us, that " within the outer gate of the church, 
 below the steps, are three small square enclosures all of 
 granite, w T ith small octagon pillars in the angles apparently 
 Egyptian ; on the top of which formerly were small images 
 of the dog-star, probably of metal. Upon a stone in the 
 middle of one of these the king sits and is crowned, and 
 always has been since the days of paganism ; and below 
 it, where he naturally places his feet, is a large oblong slab 
 like a hearth, which is not of granite but of freestone. The 
 inscription, though much defaced, may safely be restored. 
 
 nTOAEMAIOT EYEPrETOY 
 BASIAEiZS 
 
 " Poncet has mistaken this last word for Basilius ; but 
 he did not pretend to be a scholar, and was ignorant of the 
 history of this country. "t 
 
 Now it is proved beyond all reasonable skepticism, that 
 there is no inscription whatever on the king's seat, and that 
 the letters which Mr. Bruce has given as Greek are in fact 
 Ethiopic characters, and are found on a slab at the distance 
 of thirty yards from the royal chair. Besides, Poncet makes 
 
 * Travels to discover the Source of the Nile, vol. iv. p. 321. 
 t Travels, vol. iv. p. 323. Second edition.
 
 184 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 not the slightest allusion to any such carving on the stones 
 which compose that relic of antiquity ; and it is now fully 
 ascertained, lhat the reference to a tablet with the word 
 "Basilius" on it, is in the work of another author who 
 wrote at an earlier period. In a word, it must be acknow- 
 ledged that the distinguished traveller whose statements we 
 are now examining, could only have written his account of 
 the ruins at Axum from an indistinct reminiscence, aided 
 by the publications of the Jesuit missionaries ; and that he 
 has accordingly, in more than a single instance, confounded 
 one monument with another. 
 
 Still, it may be suggested, that the errors committed by 
 him are not of so atrocious a nature as to justify the severe 
 remarks of Mr. Salt, who, alluding to his description of 
 the standing obelisk, not only undervalues his acquirements 
 as an artist, but also impeaches his truth and honour as a 
 man. " I am now pefectly satisfied," says he, " that all 
 Bruce's pretended knowledge of drawing is not to be de- 
 pended upon ; the present instance affording a striking 
 example both of his want of veracity and of his uncommon 
 assurance, in giving, with a view to correct others, as a geo- 
 metrical elevation, so very false a sketch of this monu- 
 ment." This intense vituperation, too, is the more mis- 
 applied, inasmuch as, in regard to the very same obelisk, 
 Mr. Salt found it necessary, when he examined it five years 
 afterward, to make two very material alterations ; and 
 hence there is an essential discrepancy between his report 
 of it in Lord Valentia's Travels, and that contained in his 
 own volume, the Travels in Abyssinia. In the former he 
 assigns to it a height of eighty feet, whereas in the latter it 
 is reduced to sixty ; and while, in the beautiful plate with 
 which he adorned his lordship's book, he represents the 
 patera on the top as terminating in rather a sharp point, he 
 admits in his own pages that " it ought to have been 
 round." Two such blunders by so complete a master of 
 the pencil were hardly to be expected, and more especially 
 in one who was so ready to condemn the " pretended 
 knowledge of drawing" in others ! To Bruce, on the 
 other hand, he will not allow the benefit of that very modi- 
 fied candour which regards a mistake in numbers and posi- 
 tion as involuntary, or the mere effect of an imperfect 
 recollection. He asserts, on the contrary, " It appears to
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 185 
 
 me, that nothing but the fallacious presumption that no 
 one, after the difficulties he had described with so much 
 exaggeration, would dare to follow his steps, could have 
 induced him to venture on such unsupported assertions, 
 which the very next European who should travel that way- 
 would so certainly refute."* 
 
 But it must not be concealed that Bruce was more un- 
 fortunate in his omissions than his misstatements ; for he 
 left Axum without seeing a monument to which former 
 travellers had in fact alluded, and which is now regarded 
 as the most valuable relic in that ancient capital. About 
 half a mile from the church, though somewhat concealed by 
 rising ground, is an upright slab eight feet in length, three 
 and a half broad, and one foot in thickness, which contains 
 an inscription in the Greek language illustrative of the an- 
 cient history of the country. The characters, which are 
 fairly and deeply cut, are nearly two inches long. For the 
 preservation of the engraving in so perfect a state it is 
 greatly indebted to a fortunate inclination towards the 
 north, which the nature of the ground has given to the 
 stone, by which that side of it is entirely sheltered from the 
 rain. The translation in Mr. Salt's work is as follows : — 
 
 " (We) Aeizanas. King of the Axomites and 
 of the Homerites, and of Raeidan, and of the Ethi- 
 opians, and of the Sabeans, and of Zeyla, 
 and of Tiamo, and the Boja, and of the Ta- 
 quie, King of Kings, son of god, 
 the invincible Mars — having rebelled 
 on an occasion the nation of the Boja, 
 We sent our brothers 
 Saiazanaand Adephos 
 to make war upon them ; and upon 
 their surrender (our brothers) after subduing them, 
 brought them to us with their families, 
 of their oxen 112. and of their sheep 
 7424, and their beasts bearing burthens ; 
 nourishing them with the flesh of oxen, and giving them a 
 supply of bread, and affording them to drink 
 beer (sowa) and wine (maize), and water in abundance. 
 Who (the prisoners) were in number six chiefs, 
 with their multitude in number *** 
 making them bread every day of wheat- 
 en cakes *2* and giving them wine for a month 
 until the time that they brought the whole body to us; 
 
 * Valentia's Travels, vol. iii. p. 98. 
 Q2
 
 186 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 whom therefore supplying with all things 
 
 fit, and clothing, we compelled them to change their 
 
 abode, and sent them to a certain place of our 
 
 country called M a, and we ordered them 
 
 again to be supplied with bread, furnishing 
 
 to these six chiefs oxen 4*. 
 
 In grateful acknowledgment to him who begat me, 
 
 the invincible Mars, 
 
 I have dedicated to him a soMnn statue, and one 
 
 of silver, and three of brass, for good." 
 
 This inscription, taken by itself, is of no great value, for 
 it merely records the result of a successful attack upon a 
 barbarous tribe ; but it possesses no small importance when 
 applied to the illustration of a dark period in Ethiopian his- 
 tory, as well as to determine the precise date at which the 
 monument itself was erected. Aizana, as was formerly ob- 
 served, was king of Abyssinia, or rather of the Axumites, 
 in the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius ; and there is 
 still extant, in the works of Athanasius, a letter from that 
 popular ruler to the African prince, at the time he was 
 reigning conjointly with his brother Saizana, whose name is 
 also mentioned on the slab. From comparing the date of 
 the imperial communication with the circumstances to which 
 it is known to have had a reference — the disgrace of Fru- 
 mentius and the orthodox clergy — it is concluded that the 
 inscription must have been engraved about the year 330 
 of the Christian epoch.* 
 
 * Valentia's Travels, vol. iii. p. 186. Considering that monument has 
 stood one thousand five hundred years, the circumstance of its being 
 found in so very perfect a state is somewhat remarkable ; and it strongly 
 proves the want of research among the fathers who visited this country 
 in the fifteenth century, as the following account given of it by Tellez 
 will sufficiently prove. "Non procnl abhinc erectum est saxum, tribus 
 cubitis latum, iuseulptum literis partim Graecis partim Latinis, sed tem- 
 poris injuria fere exesis. Hoc indicium est, omnes istas structuras esse 
 artificum Europasorum a temporibus Justini et aliorum Imperatorum 
 Orientalium, qui (teste Procopio) magnam cum regibus Ethiopia? amici- 
 tiam coluerunt. Quamvio tunc temporis mixtura fuerit linguarum 
 Graeeae et Latins quia milites unius et alterius idiomatis in iisdem cas- 
 tris militabant — Verum imaginari mihi non possum mixtam scripturam 
 in illis saxis reperiri, multo minus rationem istius rei valere puto. Ocu- 
 latiores inspectores (aut nimium fallor) aliquando reperient scripturam 
 mere Graecam, atque in ea literas A. B. E. T. I. K. M. N. O. P. T. X. 
 quas Latini cum Gratis communes habent, quamvis non in omnibus 
 ssqualis sint pronuntiationis." 
 
 Hence it is manifest that, when this learned father travelled in Abys- 
 sinia, not only were the contents of the Axum inscription unknown, but 
 it was still doubtful in what language it was expressed.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 187 
 
 Mr. Salt remarks that all the information which could be 
 procured concerning the singular remains at Axum was 
 obtained from the priests ; who, on the authority of their 
 sacred books, related that their ancient monuments and 
 obelisks, originally fifty-five in number, of which four were 
 as large as the one now standing, were erected by Ethiopus, 
 the father of Abyssinia, about one thousand five hundred 
 and forty years ago. They add that the great reservoir, 
 from which every house in the town was formerly supplied 
 with water, was constructed during the reign of King Isaac 
 by the Abuna Samuel, who died at Axum three hundred 
 and ninety-two years ago, and was buried under the daroo- 
 tree, which still remains near the church. They moreover 
 subjoin the interesting fact, that in the year 1070 a female 
 named Jadit (or Judith), who had great authority, came 
 from Amhara, and, excited by a superstitious motive, de- 
 stroyed as far as she was able these remains of ancient art ; 
 threw down the obelisks, broke the altars, and laid the 
 whole place in ruins, — an account by no means improbable, 
 as it is admitted that there is every appearance of many 
 of the largest altars having been shattered by great force, 
 and removed from their place.* 
 
 The great obelisk has been universally admired even from 
 the days of the Portuguese mission, when the knowledge 
 of it was first conveyed to modern Europe. The more 
 minutely it was examined by Mr. Salt, who could compare 
 t,it with others of Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman origin, the 
 more deeply was he struck with the consummate skill and 
 ingenuity displayed in its formation ; and he thought him- 
 self justified in pronouncing it the most perfect monument 
 of its kind.f 
 
 Most of our readers are aware that there was a similar 
 inscription at Adulis, an ancient town near the Bay of 
 Masuah, which was copied by Cosmas Indicopleustes, who, 
 as has been already mentioned, visited that coast in the 
 sixth century. The work into which this record has been 
 transcribed is entitled " Topographia Christiana," and was 
 intended by its author to prove that the earth is a plane, in 
 opposition to the philosophical notion of its being a sphere, 
 which he conceived to be an heretical opinion, and contrary 
 
 * Valentia's Travels, vol. iii. p. 98. t Travels in Abyssinia, p. 405
 
 188 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 to divine revelation. He had himself travelled much, and 
 in the parts he visited he still found they were all on the 
 same level or flat surface with Greece, his native land. 
 His deductions from this hypothesis are rather extraordi- 
 nary ; but the facts he relates, and the countries he de- 
 scribes, are given with all the characters of truth that sim- 
 plicity can afford. 
 
 " Adulis," says he, " is a city of Ethiopia, and the port 
 of communication with Axiomis and the whole nation, 
 of which that city is the capital. In this port we carry on 
 our trade from Alexandria and the Elanitic Gulf: the town 
 itself is about two miles from the shore, and as you enter 
 it on the western side by the road that leads from Axiomis, 
 there is still remaining a chair or throne which appertained 
 to one of the Ptolemys, who had subjected this country to 
 his authority. This chair is of beautiful white marble ; not 
 so white indeed as the Proconnesian, but such as we em- 
 ploy for marble tables : it stands on a quadrangular base, 
 and rests at the four corners on four slender and elegant 
 pillars, with a fifth in the centre, which is channeled in a 
 spiral form. On these pillars the seat is supported, as well 
 as the back of the throne, and the two sides on the right 
 and left. The whole chair, with its base, the five pillars, 
 the seat, the back, and the two sides, is of one entire piece, 
 carved into this form ; in height about two cubits and a 
 half, and in shape like a patriarch's chair." 
 
 At the back of it is a tablet of basanite, or Egyptian 
 granite, three cubits in height : it is now, indeed, fallen 
 down, and the lower part of it broken and destroyed ; but 
 the whole slab, as well as the chair itself, is filled with 
 Greek characters. " Now it so happened, when I was in 
 this part of the country, about five-and-twenty years ago, 
 in the beginning of the reign of Justin the Roman emperor, 
 that Elesban, the king of the Axiomites, when he was pre- 
 paring for an expedition against the Homerites on the 
 other side of the Red Sea, wrote to the governor of Adulis, 
 directing him to take a copy of the inscription which was 
 both on the chair of Ptolemy and on the tablet, and to send 
 it to him. The governor, whose name was Asbas, applied 
 to me, and to a merchant of the name of Menas, to copy the 
 inscription. Menas was a Greek of my acquaintance, who 
 afterward became a monk at Raithu, and died there not long
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 189 
 
 ago. We undertook the business together ; and, having 
 completed it, delivered one copy to the governor and kept 
 another for ourselves. It is from this copy that I now state 
 the particulars of the inscription, and I ought to add, that in 
 putting them together, and drawing my own conclusions 
 from them, I have found them very useful for forming a 
 judgment of the country, the inhabitants, and the distances 
 of the respective places. I ought to mention that we found 
 the figures of Hercules and Mercury among the carvings at 
 the back of the seat." 
 
 Cosmas supplies his readers with a drawing, which was 
 copied from his manuscript by Montfaucon, and is given by 
 Dr. Vincent in the second volume of his work on the Com- 
 merce and Navigation of the Ancients. The inscription 
 on the tablet, or slab, found lying behind the chair, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Ptolemy the Great, king, son of Ptolemy, king, and 
 Arsinoe, queen, gods, brother and sister ; grandson of the 
 two sovereigns, Ptolemy, king, and Berenice, queen, gods- 
 preservers ; descended on the father's side from Hercules 
 son of Jupiter, receiving from his father the kingdom of 
 Egypt, Africa, Syria, Phenicia, Cyprus, Lycia, Caria, and 
 the Cyclades, invaded Asia with his land and sea forces, 
 and with elephants from the country of the Troglodytes and 
 Ethiopians. This body of elephants was first collected out 
 of these countries by his father and himself, and brought 
 into Egypt and tamed for the service of war. With these 
 forces Ptolemy, advancing into Asia, reduced all the country 
 on this side the Euphrates, as well as Cilicia, the Helles- 
 pont, Thrace, and all the armies in those provinces. In 
 this expedition, having captured also many Indian ele- 
 phants, and subjected all the princes to his obedience, he 
 crossed the Euphrates, entered Mesopotamia, Babylonia, 
 Susiana, Persis, Media, and the whole country as far as 
 Bactria, and brought it all under his dominion. In Persis 
 and Susiana he collected all the spoils of the temples which 
 had been carried out of Egypt by Cambyses and the Per- 
 sians, and carried them back again to that country, with all 
 the treasures he had accumulated in his conquests, and all 
 the forces which had attended him on the expedition : all 
 these he embarked upon the canals." 
 
 "This," .«ays Cosmas, "was the inscription on the 

 
 190 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 tablet, so far as we could read it ; and it was nearly the 
 whole, for only a small part was broken off. After that we 
 copied what was written on the chair, which was con- 
 nected with the inscription already given, and ran thus :" 
 
 Our limits will not permit us to insert this commemoration 
 of a series of conquests over the barbarian tribes of Eastern 
 Africa and Arabia, from the borders of Egypt to the shores 
 of the Indian Ocean. There is no doubt, however, that the 
 monarch carried his arms into the hilly parts of Abyssinia, 
 and perhaps into Sennaar and Kordofan. " I reduced," 
 says he, " Ava, and Tiamo, or Tziamo, Gambela, and the 
 country around it ; Zingabene, Tiama, and the Agathai ; 
 Kalaa, and Sememe, among mountains difficult of access 
 and covered with snow. In all this region there is hail and 
 frost, and snow so deep that the troops sunk up to their 
 knees. I passed the Nile to attack these nations, and sub- 
 dued them." In conclusion his majesty says, " Thus, 
 having reduced the whole world to peace under my own 
 authority, I came down to Adulis, and sacrificed to Jupiter, 
 to Mars, and to Neptune, imploring his protection for all 
 that navigate these seas. Here, also, I reunited all my 
 forces (which had been employed on both sides of the Red 
 Sea), and sitting on this throne, in this place, I consecrated 
 it to Mars in the twenty-seventh year of my reign."* 
 
 In the learned work of Dr. Vincent the reader will find 
 much amusing commentary on these inscriptions, and an 
 account of all the places in Asia and Africa mentioned by 
 the boastful conqueror. Mr. Salt thinks that the two 
 records, on the chair and on the tablet, apply to different 
 sovereigns at an earlier and a later period ; considering the 
 first as a record of the victories of Ptolemy in Asia, and the 
 second as a memorial of the exploits of an Abyssinian king. 
 For the reasons on which these several opinions are sup- 
 ported we refer to his learned dissertation inserted in the 
 third volume of Lord Valentia's Travels. f 
 
 We refrain from any farther details respecting the archi- 
 tectural monuments of ancient Ethiopia ; but we cannot 
 
 * See Vincent's Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, in his second volume, 
 p. 530-542. Montfaucon's Nova Collectio Patrurn, 2 vols. fol. Paris, 
 1706. Lord Valentia's Travels, vol. iii. p. 192. 
 
 t See p. 195.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 191 
 
 conclude this chapter without adding a few reflections on 
 that magnificence and power of which they are now the 
 only remaining tokens. While we find all our efforts fruit- 
 less in attempting to trace the rise of those political in- 
 stitutions which conferred upon Egypt a glory at once so 
 early and so permanent, we are rewarded with an unex- 
 pected success in marking the vestiges of religious archi- 
 tecture as we follow its progress more than four hundred 
 leagues along the valley of the Nile. We detect the work- 
 ings of the same mighty spirit, from the rock-cut temples 
 of Nubia to those masterpieces of human skill and perse- 
 verance, the temples of Thebes and the pyramids of Djizeh. 
 The structures of Luxor and Karnac excite an astonish- 
 ment that increases in proportion to the care with which 
 they are examined. The hypostyle hall at the latter place, 
 for example, is represented as the most stupendous and 
 sublime of all the remains of Egyptian palaces or temples. 
 Every thing connected with it is colossal ; its area is nearly 
 58,000 square feet, and its roof is supported by a hundred 
 and thirty-four pillars, some of which are little short 
 of eleven feet in diameter. Each column of the two cen- 
 tral rows, which are somewhat taller than the others, 
 measures sixty-five feet in height and thirty-three feet in cir- 
 cumference. The whole from top to bottom is ornamented 
 with sculpture relating to religious affairs. The procession 
 of the boat, or holy ark, is often repeated on the walls. So 
 great, however, is the number of these carvings that no 
 one has been able to count them, much less to copy them. 
 "No description," says an eyewitness, "can adequately 
 express the sensations inspired by this astonishing sight, 
 in which the magnificence and might of the ancient rulers 
 of Egypt are made perceptible to the eye." Of what deeds, 
 of what events, now lost to the history of the world, — of 
 what scenes have these columns been the witnesses ! Can 
 it be doubted that this was the spot where those rulers of 
 the world, of the nations in the East and in the West, ex- 
 hibited themselves in their glory and power, and in which 
 they concentrated the fruits of their victories, the spoil 
 or tribute of many vanquished kingdoms ? Well might 
 Champollion exclaim that the imagination, which in 
 Europe rises far above our porticoes, sinks abashed at the
 
 192 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF 
 
 foot of the one hundred and forty columns of the hypostyl© 
 hall of Karnac !* 
 
 The great temple of Karnac too, which is one of the best 
 preserved monuments in this part of Egypt, combines mag- 
 nitude with splendour in a very high degree ; being sur- 
 rounded with colonnades, gigantic figures, and stately por- 
 ticoes. It is without doubt one of the most ancient structures 
 in the country, and yet it offers a confirmation of the 
 opinion to which, in the mind of certain travellers, the ex- 
 amination of the palace gave rise ; namely, that both were 
 partly built of the materials of more ancient edifices, orna- 
 mented with the same hieroglyphics^ the same colours, and 
 the same highly-finished sculptures. To what profound 
 contemplations on the antiquity of the arts, and on the pro- 
 gress of civilization so closely connected with their culture, 
 do these observations lead !f 
 
 In describing the ruins which still remain on various 
 points of the Nile, we have had frequent occasion to mention 
 the sacred ship or boat sculptured on the walls. Sesostris 
 is said to have dedicated one of cedar-wood to Ammon, the 
 god of Thebes ; it was 420 feet long, gilded all over on the 
 outside and covered with silver within. The use of this 
 emblem was supposed to denote the foreign extraction of 
 their priesthood and religious rites, and to draw the atten- 
 tion of the worshippers to some distant land whence their 
 ceremonies were originally derived. " Once a year," as we 
 are informed by Diodorus Siculus, " the sanctuary or shrine 
 of Zeus is taken across the river to the Libyan side, and 
 after a few days it is brought back, as if the deity were 
 returning from Ethiopia." This procession, too, is repre- 
 sented in one of the reliefs on the temple of Karnac ; the 
 sacred ship of Ammon being on the Nile with its whole 
 equipment, and towed along by another boat. This must 
 therefore, says Heeren, have been one of the most celebrated 
 
 * Heeren, vol. i. p. 248. M But we shall form a more exact idea of this 
 enormous work by comparing it with some standard of which we can 
 judge. The church of St. Martin's in the Fields, one of the finest and 
 largest of modern religious edifices in London, is 1378 feet long and 81 
 wide, measured along the outside basement, not including the steps and 
 portico. This will give an area of nearly 11,150 square feet; which is 
 not so much as one-fifth part of the great hall of Karnac.'— British 
 Museum, p. 89. 
 
 t Heeren, vol. i. p. 252.
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA. 193 
 
 festivals, since, according to the interpretation of antiquity, 
 Homer alludes to it when he speaks of Jupiter's visit to the 
 Ethiopians and his twelve days' absence. That such 
 attendance, paid by the gods of a colony to those of the pa- 
 rent state, were common, and considered as proofs of national 
 relationship, is well known from numerous instances in the 
 ancient world. The forms only were different ; in one case 
 this affinity might be commemorated by such a procession 
 as we have described, in another by sending a sacred em- 
 bassy. When Alexander took Tyre, he found there a 
 religious mission from Carthage, the most important of its 
 colonies.* 
 
 The same principle applies to all the nations of the 
 Eastern World ; for a common religion was one of the 
 strongest ties among men in ancient times, and tended more, 
 perhaps, than any thing else to perpetuate among them those 
 friendly feelings which had their origin in a kindred blood. 
 The primitive seat of their faith was still held as the me- 
 tropolis of all the tribes and people who sprang from the 
 same root. Thus we find, that at the stated season devout 
 men of Jewish extraction went from every nation under 
 heaven to worship at Jerusalem, the holy city of their 
 fathers ; a practice well illustrated by the journey of the 
 Ethiopian treasurer, who, in order to fulfil a pious duty, 
 passed the frightful deserts which intervened between the 
 country of Candace and the capital of Palestine. 
 
 Aided by this principle we can more easily trace the line- 
 age of the divinities acknowledged by Greece and Rome. 
 The Jupiter of Olympus was only a cadet, so to speak, of 
 that ancient family of gods, who, through the medium of the 
 branches established in Egypt, extended their authority and 
 worship from the shores of the Indian Ocean to those of the 
 Baltic. The homage, therefore, which was paid by the 
 junior deities to the parent gods at the ancient seat of their 
 power, was not only a mark of respect to antiquity but an 
 acknowledgment of inferiority and dependence in the more 
 recent people. It implied, besides, all the duties of a vassal 
 state ; for he who carried a gift to the shrine of a national 
 
 * Diod. Sic. lib. i. c. 97. Kc/t' eviamSv yapirapd tots Aiyv~liois tov 
 v£u)v tov &tbs xspaiovG^-at tov irorauov lis Tr,v Av;3vi)v, Kai utO' fmepag 
 Tivas 7raAii' i-Ki,arprj6£ii\ w? f£ Aidtoxtas tov Stov irapov'Jo;. Heeren, 
 vol. i. p. 301. British Museum, 96. 
 R
 
 194 ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS, ETC. 
 
 divinity confessed thereby that his allegiance was pledged, 
 and his services bound to the land in which he presented his 
 offering. 
 
 We have elsewhere mentioned the alarm which was ex- 
 cited among the Hebrew tribes, who under the command 
 of Joshua had settled on the western side of the Jordan, 
 when it was reported to them that their brethren of Gad and 
 Reuben had erected an altar on the opposite bank in the 
 pastoral district of Gilead. This act was considered as 
 equivalent to a political schism, or a permanent separation 
 of interests. And when they heard of it, " the whole chil- 
 dren of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go 
 up to war against them." An appeal to arms was prevented, 
 by an assurance on the part of the suspected herdsmen, that 
 they had no intention to offer sacrifices, but were ready to 
 repair for all religious usages to the place where the ark of 
 the covenant should be deposited. 
 
 In surveying the wonders which crowd the banks of the 
 Nile from Meroe to Memphis, we are struck with the re- 
 flection that the wealth, power, and genius, whence they 
 derived their origin, have entirely passed away. In some, 
 portions of that extensive tract a race little superior to sav- 
 ages pass a rude and precarious life, ignorant of the arts, 
 and insensible equally to the beauty and the magnificence 
 of the ruins which they tread under foot. They have ceased 
 even to claim connexion with the people who raised the 
 splendid monuments of Ebsarnboul, Karnac, and Dendera ; 
 and, accordingly, they ascribe the anxiety which our coun- 
 trymen display, in regard to those remains of antiquity, to 
 the desire of visiting the tombs of a European nation, who 
 are supposed by them to have built the temples and sculp- 
 tured the obelisks. 
 
 The Nubians, especially, have relapsed into that low 
 condition where even curiosity has become dormant, and in 
 which the eye can be every day fixed on the noblest 
 works of human ingenuity without suggesting any specula- 
 tion as to their authors, their epoch, or their design. 
 Throughout the whole world, in short, there is no greater 
 contrast to be witnessed than between what now is, and 
 what must once have been, in Ethiopia and Egypt. There 
 is even great difficulty in passing, by an effort of thought, 
 from the one condition to the other, through the various
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 195 
 
 scenes of conquest and desolation which seem necessary to 
 have produced the effects we contemplate. We might 
 question history, but we should receive no answer, as to 
 events and characters which the lapse of three thousand 
 years has thrown into an impenetrable obscurity. Sur- 
 rounded with darkness we grope our way amid superb 
 structures, dedicated to gods and heroes whose names make 
 but a faint impression on our ears ; and we satisfy ourselves 
 with the conclusion, that a great people had existed there 
 before the era of recorded time, whose literature and phi- 
 losophy have been outlived by their architectural monuments. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Religion and Literature of Ethiopia. 
 
 Abyssinia received Christianity at an early Period— Influence of Re- 
 ligion on its Political State and Civil History— Story of Frumentius — 
 Jewish Ceremonies mixed with the Gospel— Arian Heresy — Constan- 
 ts — Invasion of Arabia — Heresy of Eutyches — Conversion of Nu- 
 bians—Justinian and Theodore— Zara Jacob— His Letter to the Monks 
 of Jerusalem— Council of Florence — Pagans of Samon — Arrival of 
 Pae^— Dispute with Clergy — The King Za Denghel becomes Roman 
 Catholic — His Letter to the Pope— Accession of Susneus— His Adher- 
 ence to the Roman Form — Rebellion — Formal Declaration in favour 
 of Popery— Death of Paez— Arrival of Mendez— His Proceedings as 
 Patriarch— Encroachments and Tyranny— The King alarmed insists 
 on Moderation— Rebellion — Basilides, or Facilidas. the Prince — Hopes 
 of the People— Letter from the Pope— Additional Concessions— Popery 
 abolish -d — Jesuits banished — Capuchins— Franciscan Friars — At- 
 tempt by Louis XIV. — Poncet and Brevedent— Massacre of Catholic 
 Priests— Arrival of Abuna — His Proceedings — The Psalter— Doctrines 
 of Abyssinians — Zaga Zaba, Ludoif, and Lobo — Mode of Worship — 
 Form of Churches— Circumcision, Baptism, and Communion — Prayers 
 for the Dead — Fixedness of Manners and Habits — Sabbath — Chro- 
 nology — Last Attempt of Catholics — Literature — Resemblance to Jews 
 — Books — Philosophy — Law — Medicine— Modern Translation. 
 
 We have alluded to the singular fact, that Abyssinia, 
 which received the Christian faith at an early period, has 
 retained it, amid a great variety of fortune, down to the 
 present day. The arms and the policy of the Moslem, 
 which prevailed in Egypt, Asia Minor, the northern shores
 
 196 RELIGION AND 
 
 of Africa, and even over a large portion of Greece, could not 
 make any permanent impression among the Ethiopians. 
 A furious war, it is true, raged between the Mohammedan 
 chief, who took possession of the country near Adel, and 
 the king of the Axumites ; but it does not appear that, either 
 by conquest or negotiation, the tenets of the Koran were 
 ever admitted into any of the Abyssinian provinces. 
 
 This distinction will be found the more remarkable, 
 when we consider the imperfect means which were used for 
 establishing the gospel in that remote kingdom, and we 
 may add, the rather defective form in which it was received 
 by the new converts. The principles of Christianity were 
 not expounded there by the apostles nor by their personal 
 missionaries, as at Corinth, Ephesus, Galatia, and Thessa- 
 lonica ; and yet, while the seven churches of Asia have left 
 nothing but a name in the page of ecclesiastical history, 
 the believers in Ethiopia, who fifteen hundred years ago 
 " stretched out their hands unto God," still glory in their 
 ancient creed. 
 
 There is another peculiarity in regard to this people, so 
 far at least as their connexion with this part of the world is 
 considered, which is, that it is chiefly through the medium 
 of their religious attachments their civil affairs have been 
 made known among European nations. So soon as it was 
 rumoured that a Christian state existed on the eastern coast 
 of Africa, surrounded by bigoted Mussulmans and infidel 
 pagans, a deep interest was excited among all classes of 
 men. Kings, warriors, merchants, and navigators, were 
 seized with a pious curiosity to know the actual condition 
 of a people whose history, they concluded, must be strange, 
 and who, if they should require it, were entitled as brethren 
 in the faith to their aid and protection. The legend, too, 
 respecting Prester John, had its full influence in animating 
 their zeal in the search of a monarch whose name was asso- 
 ciated in their minds with every sentiment of veneration and 
 wonder. 
 
 We have already had more than one occasion to allude to 
 the story of Frumentius, \«ho is usually supposed to have 
 conveyed to Abyssinia the knowledge of the Christian faith. 
 In company with a fellow-student he was under the care of 
 Meropius, a philosopher, v/hen the ship in which they sailed 
 happened to be wrecked on the Ethiopian coast. The pre-
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 197 
 
 ceptor was murdered by the barbarians, but the lives of the 
 two pupils were spared ; after which occurrence the young 
 men were conducted to Axum, where their accomplishments 
 soon procured for them an honourable employment at court. 
 It is even said that, through the influence of the queen, 
 Frumentius was appointed tutor to the prince her son, dur- 
 ing whose minority the seeds of the gospel were sown by 
 the zealous stranger. 
 
 On his return to Egypt he communicated to Athanasius, 
 who at that time filled the patriarch's chair, the success 
 which had attended his first endeavours to disseminate the 
 principles of the true religion. To enable him to complete 
 the good work which he had so auspiciously begun, he was 
 forthwith clothed with the episcopal character, and sent back 
 as Bishop of Axum. But his progress was soon afterward 
 interrupted by the prevalence of the Arian heresy, which, 
 being patronised by Constantius, was so extensively propa- 
 gated throughout the empire, that at length it signalized 
 its triumph by the degradation of the distinguished divine, 
 who, as we have just noticed, occupied the patriarchal 
 throne of Alexandria. We have repeatedly mentioned the 
 •letter which the emperor wrote to the brothers Aizana and 
 Saizana, who exercised a joint power at Axum, denouncing 
 their bishop, and requesting that he might be sent to the 
 Egyptian capital, where, " by conversing familiarly with 
 Venerable George and other learned men, he would reap 
 great benefits, and return to his see well instructed in all 
 ecclesiastical discipline." This invitation or command re- 
 ceived no attention either from the prelate or his sovereigns ; 
 and hence the church of Ethiopia continued orthodox, while 
 the majority of the oriental Christians were beguiled into 
 error by the reasoning of Arius, or by the authority of the 
 father of Constantine.* 
 
 It cannot be concealed, that with the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity they either incorporated many ceremonies which they 
 had borrowed from the Jews, or, it may be, they received the 
 gospel mixed with many of their rites, which had not, in 
 the early period of the Egyptian church, been entirely sepa- 
 rated from it. It is equally certain, however, that the faith 
 
 * Ludolfi Hist. Ethiop. lib. iii. c. 2. The names of the royal brothers 
 in the language of the country were Abreha and Atz.beha. 
 R2
 
 198 RELIGION AND 
 
 which they adopted with enthusiasm they maintained with 
 great firmness ; for they not only withstood the importunity 
 employed by the imperial envoys to draw them aside from 
 the truth, but even employed their arms to defend the be- 
 lievers in Arabia against the enemies of the cross. So 
 highly esteemed, indeed, were their zeal and influence, that 
 the head of the Roman empire did not regard it as unsuit- 
 able to his dignity to solicit their co-operation in opposing 
 the Persians, aided by the infidel Hebrews, who threatened 
 the eastern shore of the Red Sea. 
 
 The interval between the reign of Constantius and the 
 government of Justinian presents to the historian little more 
 than an absolute blank. We read, it is true, that from time 
 to time mariy holy men went from Egypt, who were inva- 
 riably received with reverence by the inhabitants ; particu- 
 larly nine of great sanctity, about the year 480, whose mem- 
 ory is still respected in the province of Tigre, where a cor- 
 responding number of churches were built and called after 
 their names.* 
 
 But at length the disputes which tore asunder the great 
 body of the Greek church reached the remote provinces of 
 Abyssinia. The theological error, which is associated with 
 the name of Eutyches, respecting the nature of Christ, 
 found a favourable reception in Egypt, and was communi- 
 cated by the patriarch to the subordinate prelate of Axum. 
 The opinion that the Redeemer consisted of only one na- 
 ture, as the Divine Word, and partook not in any degree of 
 the qualities of flesh and blood, is known among ecclesias- 
 tical writers as the monophysite heresy ; and which, though 
 it was variously modified by subsequent authors, at no time 
 ceased to respect the essential point of faith now described. 
 As it seems to be characteristic of the Abyssinians never to 
 relinquish what they have once been taught on sufficient au 
 thority, they resisted every attempt made by the orthodox 
 party to induce them to an abjuration of their heretical 
 notions. 
 
 Nubia, more recently converted to our holy religion, was 
 infected with the same errors and subjected to the same con- 
 troversies. It unfortunately happened that Justinian and 
 
 * Geddes's Church History of Ethiopia, p. 14.; Ludolphi Hist. Ethiop. 
 lib. iii. c. 3. '
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 199 
 
 his consort had adopted opposite conclusions on the great 
 subject, the discussion of which so greatly divided the Chris- 
 tian world ; and as the zeal of the latter was not less active 
 than that of the emperor himself, she propagated her fa- 
 vourite views from the Danube to the borders of Sennaar. 
 It was recommended to her to bring within the pale of the 
 church all the black nations who dwell beyond the tropic of 
 Cancer ; a pious undertaking, in which she soon found her- 
 self emulated by her husband. Rival missionaries were ac- 
 cordingly despatched at the same time ; but the empress, 
 from a motive of love or of fea*r, was more effectually 
 obeyed ; and the orthodox priest was detained by the gov- 
 ernor of the Thebaid, while, the King of Nubia and his 
 court were hastily baptized into the faith of Eutyches. The 
 tardy envoy of Justinian was received and dismissed with 
 honour ; but when he denounced the heresy and treason 
 which had been perpetrated in defiance of his master, the 
 negro prince was taught to reply, that he would never aban- 
 don his brethren, the true believers, to the persecuting agents 
 of the Synod of Chalcedon. During several ages the 
 bishops were named and consecrated by the Patriarch of 
 Alexandria : as late as the twelfth century the profession 
 of the gospel was preserved ; and at the present day we can 
 still trace, along the banks of the Upper Nile, the ruins of 
 Christian churches, or of temples which had occasionally 
 been employed for that purpose, and even a lingering respect 
 for ceremonies of which the real import has ceased to be 
 understood. The Nubians, assailed by the Moslem and 
 deriving no aid from their parents in the faith, gradually re- 
 lapsed into the state of paganism ; and at length some tribes 
 of them, who maintained an intercourse with Egypt, ex- 
 changed the New Testament, which they had not been able 
 to read, for the Koran, whose success they were taught to 
 identify with the proof of a Divine commission. 
 
 There is reason to believe that the same emulation which 
 distinguished the imperial couple in behalf of the Nubians 
 was not less efficient in regard to Abyssinia. The industry 
 of the lady was again successful ; and the pious Theodora 
 had the satisfaction of establishing in that kingdom the 
 tenets and discipline of the Jacobites, a sect who held the 
 doctrine of the one nature. But we find from the history 
 of John Malala, that the zeal of the emperor, so far from
 
 200 RELIGION AND 
 
 being deemed intrusive, was invited by the ruler of Ethi- 
 opia. This annalist informs us that the king of the Axum- 
 ites, when he had obtained the victory over the Arabians, 
 despatched two of his relations with two hundred followers 
 to Alexandria, for the purpose of soliciting from Justinian 
 that a bishop and some holy men might be sent to instruct 
 his subjects in the mysteries of the Christian faith. The 
 emperor being informed of those things by Licinius, his 
 viceroy at Alexandria, gave an order that the ambassadors 
 should be allowed to make choice of whomsoever they 
 pleased ; and they accordingly chose John, the almsgiver of 
 St. John in Alexandria, a good and pious man about sixty- 
 two years of age, and took him, then a bishop, together with 
 several holy men, to their country to Anda, or Ameda, their 
 king.* 
 
 But the army of Elesbaan, the same who is called Anda 
 by the chronographer just quoted, could not support the 
 cause of the believers on the opposite side of the gulf, and 
 hence a path was left open for the introduction of a new 
 religion. If a Christian power, says a great writer, had 
 been maintained in Arabia, Mohammed must have been 
 crushed in his cradle, and Abyssinia would have prevented 
 a revolution which has changed the civil and religious state 
 of the world, t 
 
 In following the current of events, as they respect the 
 ecclesiastical affairs of Ethiopia, we have to lament the 
 total absence of historical facts from the sixth to the middle 
 of the fifteenth century. Coming down to the reign of 
 Zara Jacob, who ascended the throne about 1434, we find 
 that a convent for Abyssinians had already been founded at 
 Jerusalem, of which this pious monarch greatly increased 
 the endowments. A similar privilege was also obtained at 
 Rome ; a fact which of itself gives some probability to the 
 assertion of certain Dominican authors, who record that an 
 intercourse had been occasionally maintained between the 
 pope and the sovereign of Axum. We present to our 
 readers a single specimen of the correspondence which the 
 negash negashi, or king of kings, thought proper to carry 
 on with the monks in the holy city : — 
 
 * Joan. Malal. Chronographia, p. 168, quoted by Mr. Salt in his Tra- 
 vels in Abyssinia, p. 467. 
 t Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. be. p. 309, &c.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 201 
 
 " I, Zara Jacob, whose name, since God was pleased to 
 place me on the throne of the empire, is Constantine, in the 
 eighth year of my reign, do bequeath unto you the land of 
 Zebla, and half of all tributes arising from it for two years, 
 which amounts to a hundred ounces of gold, towards your 
 food and raiment ; and do give it to the monastery of Jeru- 
 salem, that it may be a memorial of myself and of our 
 Lady Mary, and for the celebration of her feasts ; to wit, 
 that of her nativity on the 1st May, that of her death on 
 the 22d January, and that of her translation on the 15th Au- 
 gust ; as also of the feasts of her Son, our Lord Jesus, on 
 the 29th December, when he was born, to be celebrated by 
 you at Bethlehem, together with the festivities of his passion 
 and lively resurrection from death. You shall likewise cele- 
 brate all the festivities of our Lady Mary, which in the book 
 of her miracles are thirty-two in number. And you shall 
 furthermore keep a lamp burning for me in the sepulchre of 
 our Lord, and another in the entry thereof ; and so on the 
 right side one, and on the left another ; also at the place 
 of his burial three ; three at the monument of our Lady 
 Mary in Gethsemane ; and at the place where Mary Mag- 
 dalene saw him one ; and in our chapel, three ; one also at 
 Bethlehem, where our Lord was born ; and another at the 
 place on the Mount of Olives where our Lord ascended. 
 Let them all be maintained at my charge, and take care not 
 to suffer them to go out at any time, nor to give way to any 
 person contributing towards them. And since I do rely on 
 the bond of your love, so let your prayers and benedictions 
 be with me through all ages. Amen." 
 
 His majesty adds the following postcript, which seems to 
 import more than meets the eye : — 
 
 " My beloved, do not you offer to say, Light descendeth 
 only upon us, that your glorying in yourselves be not in 
 vain ; since you know that evil attends glorying, and bless- 
 ing humility." 
 
 The reign of Zara Jacob is further remarkable for the 
 part which his clerical representatives acted in the Council 
 of Florence. At his desire a number of priests were sent 
 by the Abba Nicodemus, not only to protect the interests of 
 the church of Abyssinia, but also to make known to the 
 sovereign pontiff the sound views on religion which were 
 still entertained in the country celebrated for the pious
 
 202 RELIGION AND 
 
 docility of the Ethiopian treasurer. These missionaries, 
 however, adhered to the opinion of the Greeks on the long- 
 disputed topic of the procession of the Holy Ghost, which, 
 as every one has heard, created a schism between the Chris- 
 tians of the East and of the West. This embassy was 
 thought of sufficient consequence to be made the subject of 
 a painting in the Vatican ; to which work of art we are 
 principally indebted for our knowledge of the fact, that such 
 a deputation had been sent from Eastern Africa to the 
 centre of Italy. We may add, that from this time forward 
 the Roman communion possessed a certain influence in 
 Abyssinia, and disputes on doctrinal points occasionally ex- 
 ercised the ingenuity of the court as well as of the profes- 
 sional orders. 
 
 Although the established religion was that of the church 
 of Alexandria, a variety of superstitions prevailed in different 
 parts of the country. On the coast of the Red Sea, and in 
 the low provinces adjoining to the kingdom of Adel, the 
 greatest part of the inhabitants were Mohammedans ; and 
 the convenience of trade had induced these enemies of the 
 Christian creed to settle in many villages throughout the 
 high country, especially in Wogara and the neighbourhood 
 of Gondar. In Dembea, in the rugged district of Samen, 
 and near the sources of the Nile, a species of sabaism still 
 gave exercise to the devotional feelings of the people ; while 
 some, who had either failed to keep pace with the progress 
 of their countrymen or had anticipated a more advanced 
 stage of improvement, offered up their adoration to the cow 
 and the serpent. The king, offended at a debasement so 
 gross and irrational, ordered these rude worshippers to be 
 seized and brought before him. Sitting in judgment, with 
 the heads of his clergy and the principal officers of state 
 around him, he had the satisfaction to hear all the culprits 
 capitally convicted and ordered for execution. A proclama- 
 tion from his majesty immediately followed, declaring that 
 all persons who did not carry upon their right hands an 
 amulet with these words, " I renounce the devil for Christ 
 our Lord," should forfeit their personal estates and be liable 
 to corporal punishment.* 
 
 This expedient of Zara Jacob — the adoption of a heathen- 
 ish practice to effect a Christian object — might have been 
 
 * Bruce, vol.iii. p. 260.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 203 
 
 justified by the principle stated by St. Paul, that the whole 
 Jewish system of rites and ordinances was added to the 
 patriarchal religion, " because of transgressions ;" that is, 
 it was imposed upon an idolatrous people to prevent them 
 from rushing into the more flagrant usages of gentile wor- 
 ship. But it is probable that the zealous monarch knew 
 not the full bearing of the precedent to which we have now 
 alluded. 
 
 The close of the fifteenth century was disturbed by the 
 revival of opinions similar to those which had been approved 
 by the Council of Chalcedon. An assembly of the clergy 
 was called, and those who denied the true faith were either 
 put to instant death, or exposed without food or clothing to 
 perish on the tops of the highest mountains. 
 
 The intercourse with Europe which marked the beginning 
 of the following age led to a new series of events in the 
 Abyssinian church. The Portuguese, who by their valour 
 and superior arms defeated the designs of the Mohammedan 
 states, claimed the right of giving counsel to their allies in 
 the important article of religion. No progress, however, 
 was made towards this object till the arrival of Paez at the 
 close of the sixteenth century. This able Jesuit, repairing 
 to the monastery at Fremona, made himself master of the 
 Geez language in the first instance, after which he began 
 to teach others ; and so great was his success in this under- 
 taking, that the fame of his acquirements reached the ears 
 of the king, whose name was Za Denghel. 
 
 In the year 1 604, accordingly, Peter, attended by only 
 two of his young disciples, presented himself at court, 
 which was then held at Dancaz. He was received by his 
 majesty with great honours, to the deep mortification of the 
 native monks, who could not fail to anticipate on his side a 
 still more important triumph. In a dispute held next day 
 before the sovereign, Paez thought it enough to produce the 
 two boys as his only advocates for the Catholic faith, and 
 as fully qualified to silence all the theologians in Abyssinia. 
 The result corresponded to his expectation, and did not fail 
 to establish his influence to a greater extent than ever in 
 the eyes of the royal family. Mass was then said agreeably 
 to the usage of the church of Rome, which was followed by 
 a sermon, — among the first preached in that country, — so far 
 surpassing in elegance and purity of diction any thing yet 

 
 204 RELIGION AND 
 
 pronounced in the learned language, that all the hearers 
 began to look upon this as the first miracle on the part of 
 the missionary. Za Denghel was so delighted with it, that 
 he not only determined to embrace the Roman Catholic 
 religion, but instantly made known this resolution to Pacz 
 himself, under an oath of secrecy that he should conceal it 
 for some time. Proceeding to realize his views, he prohibited 
 the observance of Saturday, which, as the Jewish sabbath, 
 had till that period been kept holy, and directed letters to be 
 addressed to the pope and the kings of Spain and Portugal, 
 announcing his conversion and soliciting their friendship.* 
 
 But the Abyssinian monarch soon discovered that his 
 subjects were not yet prepared to accompany him in such 
 sweeping innovations. The abuna, stimulated by Za Se- 
 lasse" a brave commander, absolved the people from their 
 allegiance, and sanctioned an open rebellion. The issue of 
 the w r ar was favourable to the insurgents ; the emperor was 
 slain, his troops were dispersed, and the most devoted of his 
 friends shared his fate on the field of battle. 
 
 As the letter addressed by Za Denghel to Clement VIII. 
 is not unworthy of notice, we lay before the reader the fol- 
 lowing extract : — " After we had ascended the throne, a 
 certain friar whose name is Peter Paez, of the society of 
 Jesus, and who hath the yoke of the law of Christ upon his 
 neck, did visit us ; and has given us a very particular 
 account how your holiness labours even to the shedding of 
 your blood to destroy sin. May the eternal God who hath 
 begun this work bring it to a happy issue ! He hath like- 
 wise told us that you are always ready to assist Christians 
 who are in necessity, and to afford them strength and com- 
 fort ; having learned the lesson of St. Paul, who, in his 
 Epistle to the Galatians, saith, While we have time let us 
 do good to all men, but chiefly to those who r.ve of the house- 
 hold of faith ; for which reason your holiness assists Chris- 
 tian kings chiefly. Wherefore, since God hath been pleased 
 to bestow upon us the empire of our fathers, we are desirous 
 of entering into a strict friendship with you and with our 
 brother Philip king of Spain ; and, in order to make it the 
 closer and more lasting, we do wish that he would send 
 his daughter hither to be married to our son, and with her 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iii. p. 264.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 205 
 
 some soldiers to help us : For we have infidel enemies called 
 Galla, who when we go against them flee before us ; but, so 
 soon as our back is turned are making inroads upon us again. 
 For the destruction of this enemy it is that we desire to have 
 some troops from you, with artificers of all trades, and fathers 
 to instruct us, that we may be of one heart and one body ; 
 and that the faith of Christ which is destroyed by the hands 
 of infidels may be established, and that there may be peace 
 and love among us."* 
 
 After the short reign of Jacob the throne was occupied 
 by Socinios or Susneus, or, as he is more frequently de- 
 nominated, the Sultan Segued. Induced by reasons similar 
 to those which led Za Denghel to relinquish the communion 
 of Alexandria, he also declared his adherence to the Ro- 
 man Catholic form. He determined at all events to attach 
 the Portuguese to his interests, whose leaders, he was 
 aware, could not be influenced by any other consideration 
 so readily as by that of religion. For this reason he made 
 advances to their priests, and sent for Paez to court ; where, 
 after the usual disputes about the pope's supremacy and the 
 two natures in Christ, mass was said and a sermon preached, 
 — the common method of acknowledging submission to 
 Rome. To crown their triumph, the Jesuits procured from 
 the king a grant of land near the lake Dembea, on which 
 they erected a stately convent. 
 
 But this important point was not carried without much 
 opposition. The abuna complained to the king that un- 
 usual and irregular things had been permitted without his 
 knowledge ; and that conferences upon articles of faith had 
 been held without asking him to be present, or even allow- 
 ing him to afford to his clergy the advantage of his assistance 
 in the controversies which ensued. Socinios, who did not 
 believe that the eloquence or learning of the bishop would 
 materially affect the issue of the question, ordered that the 
 disputations should be renewed. The king, after a patient 
 hearing, declared that the Abyssinian orators were van- 
 quished, and signified it as his sovereign pleasure, that for 
 the future no one should deny that there are two natures in 
 Christ, distinct in themselves, but divinely united in one 
 person ; declaring, at the same time, that should any person 
 
 * Geddes, p. 251. 
 S
 
 206 RELIGION AND 
 
 thereafter deny or call in doubt this solemn doctrine, he 
 would chastise him for seven years. On the other hand the 
 abuna, supported by Emana Christos the half-brother of his 
 majesty, published a sentence of excommunication, and 
 affixed it to the door of one of the churches belonging to the 
 palace, in which they denounced all persons as accursed who 
 should maintain two natures in Christ, or vindicate any of 
 the errors of the Roman See. 
 
 A conspiracy was immediately formed under the auspices 
 of the abuna, Emana Christos, Kefia Wahad the master of 
 the household, and Julius the governor of Tigre. Their 
 intention was to murder the king in his own house ; but this 
 plan being defeated they had recourse to arms, and led their 
 troops into the field. Julius and the primate were killed in 
 the first battle, and the insurrection was for the time sup- 
 pressed. Emana, whom the royal party attempted to assail 
 with the weapons of argument, replied, that he stood forward 
 in defence of" the ancient faith of his country, which was 
 now without reason trodden under foot in favour of a creed 
 which he described as a false one, if they understood it, and 
 a useless one if they did not. He admitted that he was 
 aware of his danger ; but neither his connexion with the 
 king, nor his being related to Sela Christos, could weigh 
 with him against his duty to God and his native land. The 
 emperor and his brother, he added, might be right in em- 
 bracing the Romish belief, because they were convinced of 
 its truth ; he had used however the same means, had heard 
 the same arguments urged by the same fathers, which, un- 
 luckily for him, had only more fully satisfied his mind that 
 their tenets were erroneous.* 
 
 Socinios, a conqueror both in the field and in the theo- 
 logical chair, became more decided in his adherence to the 
 new faith. To his proclamation, establishing the creed of 
 Chalcedon as to the two natures of the Redeemer, he added 
 an injunction that " all out-door work, such as ploughing and 
 sowing, should be publicly followed by the husbandman on 
 Saturday, under penalty of paying a web of cotton cloth for 
 the first omission ; and the second offence was to be pun- 
 ished by a confiscation of moveables, and the crime not to be 
 pardoned for seven years," — the greatest punishment for 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iii. p. 346.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 207 
 
 misdemeanors in Abyssinia. In order to show that he was 
 in earnest, he ordered the tongue of a monk to be cut out 
 for supporting the monophysite doctrine ; and Buco Damo, 
 one of his principal generals, was beaten with rods and 
 degraded for observing the rest of the Jewish Sabbath. 
 Nay, it is said he was urged by the Jesuits to pronounce a 
 curse on the soul of Zara Jacob his great-grandfather, for 
 not having, at the early period when he possessed the throne, 
 strictly conformed to the ritual recommended by the Por- 
 tuguese.* 
 
 It was not, however, until he had triumphed over several 
 rebellious chiefs in the different provinces that the sultan, as 
 he was pleased to be addressed, formally avowed himself a 
 member of the Roman church. Having come to this reso- 
 lution he sent for Paez, who had already acted as his con- 
 fessor, and communicated it to him ; stating also as a proof 
 of his sincerity, that he had put away all his wives except 
 the first, the mother of his eldest son, who was destined to 
 succeed him in the empire. The Jesuit having accomplished 
 this great object, the main purpose of his mission, returned 
 to his convent with the words of pious exultation in his 
 mouth, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace !" 
 No sooner did he arrive at the establishment on which he 
 had bestowed so much labour, than he was seized with a 
 putrid fever, the effect of fatigue at an unfavourable season, 
 which put an end to his life on the 3d of May, 1623. He 
 had been seven years a captive in Arabia, and nineteen a 
 missionary in Abyssinia during the worst of times, and had 
 always extricated himself from the most perilous situations 
 with honour to his fraternity and advantage to his religion, t 
 
 The open renunciation of the Alexandrian faith on the 
 part of Socinios, accompanied as it was with a furious 
 attack on the clergy of the whole kingdom, was followed by 
 another war, in which some brave officers and a great num- 
 ber of soldiers were sacrificed to the demon of bigotry. 
 The royal arms were once more victorious ; and the joy 
 which arose from such continued success was soon after- 
 ward greatly increased by the arrival of Alphonso Mendez, 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iii. p. 350 ; Geddes, p. 24. 
 
 t Bruce, iii p. 355. "In person he was very tall and strong, but lean 
 from continual labour and abstinence. He was red-faced, which Tellez 
 says proceeded from the religious warmth of his heart."
 
 208 RELIGION AND 
 
 who had been consecrated at Lisbon as head of the Ethiopian 
 church. On his appearance at Gongora, the monastery 
 founded by Paez, he was graciously received by the king, 
 who placed him on his right-hand on a throne equal in 
 height to his own, and fixed the day for taking the oath of 
 submission to the See of Rome. 
 
 On the 11th of February, 1626, this ceremony was com- 
 pleted with great ostentation and parade. The new patri- 
 arch, as a mark of his superiority to the abuna, preached a 
 sermon in the Portuguese language on the supremacy of the 
 chair of St. Peter over all Christian communities. He took 
 pains, at the same time, to adorn his harangue with many 
 Latin quotations ; a display of scholarship which is said to 
 have had a wonderful effect on the minds of the king and 
 his courtiers, not one of whom understood a word either of 
 Latin or Portuguese. After a suitable declaration of his 
 faith and adherence to the religion of the West, Socinios, 
 with the New Testament spread open before him, proceeded 
 to take the following oath : — " We, Sultan Segued, emperor 
 of Ethiopia, do believe and confess that St. Peter, prince of 
 the Apostles, was constituted by Christ our Lord head of the 
 whole Christian church ; and that he gave him the princi- 
 pality and dominion over the whole world by saying to him, 
 Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church , 
 and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : 
 and again, when he said, Keep my sheep. Also we believe 
 and confess that the pope of Rome, lawfully elected, is the 
 true successor of St. .Peter, the apostle, in government ; 
 that he holdeth the same power, dignity, and primacy, in the 
 whole Christian church : And to the holy father Urban, the 
 eighth of that name, by the mercy of God, pope, and our 
 lord, and to his successors in the government of the church, 
 we do promise, offer, and swear true obedience, and with 
 humility subject at his feet our person and empire. So help 
 us God, and these holy gospels before us !"* 
 
 * Geddes's Church History of Ethiopia, p. 342; Ludolfi Hist. Ethiop. 
 lib. iii. c. 12. The patriarch in his sermon introduced the following 
 statement : — " There are four principal chairs iu the world, which are as 
 the four rivers that flow out of Paradise, or as the four universal 
 winds, or as the four elements ; but above all the chair of St, Peter has 
 the dignity and primacy; and in the second place that of St. Mark at 
 Alexandria ; in the third place that of St. John ; in the fourth that of 
 Antioch, which was also St. Peter's, from which four all the other
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 209 
 
 This act of submission on the part of the king was fol- 
 lowed by a similar ceremony, as applied to the princes, 
 governors, officers, ministers, and monks, who did " promise, 
 offer, and swear the same obedience." The duties of the 
 day were concluded with an excommunication pronounced 
 by Mendez against those who should at any time violate 
 their oaths. He likewise issued two proclamations, the one 
 prohibiting all Abyssinian priests from performing any 
 ecclesiastical office before they had presented themselves 
 officially to him ; and the other commanding all the subjects 
 of the empire, upon pain of death, to embrace popery, and 
 to discover all such as adhered to their ancient religion ; 
 enjoining also the observance of Lent and Easter according 
 to the Roman manner and time. 
 
 Having the royal power transferred to his hands for all 
 ecclesiastical purposes, the patriarch did not fail to employ 
 it for the accomplishment of his own views. He directed 
 that all the clergy should be reordained, and their churches 
 consecrated anew ; that all persons, children and adults, 
 should be rebaptized ; that the moveable feasts and fasts 
 should be reduced to the calendar of Rome ; and finally, that 
 circumcision, polygamy, and divorce, should be abrogated 
 for ever. It was moreover announced that all questions 
 arising from the discussion of such matters, and which were 
 formerly understood to belong to the jurisdiction of civil 
 courts, should thereafter be decided at his tribunal ex- 
 clusively. 
 
 Imboldened by success, the patriarch attempted to secure 
 a permanent revenue for the Catholic priesthood, arising 
 from a territorial domain. It is however a fundamental law 
 of the Abyssinian monarchy that all the land belongs to the 
 king, and that no property of this nature shall be permanently 
 vested in the church ; such portions as are set apart for the 
 maintenance of the national religion being resumable at 
 pleasure, and always under the management of lay com- 
 missioners appointed by the crown. It happened that a 
 nobleman at court, much respected for his rank and services, 
 had been put in possession of some fields which were 
 formerly occupied by a Romish monk, who, instead of ap- 
 pealing to the civil authority, carried his cause before the 
 
 bishops are derived." This he described as a canon of the Council of 
 Nice. 
 
 S2
 
 210 RELIGION AND 
 
 ecclesiastical tribunal of Mendez. This prelate summoned 
 the grandee to appear at his judgment-seat, and to answer 
 to the charge brought against him by the complainer ; and 
 upon the other refusing to comply, he condemned him in his 
 absence, and gave sentence that he should forthwith restore 
 the disputed grounds. 
 
 Failing in obedience to this unwonted decision, the chief 
 heard himself excommunicated in church one day while 
 attending the king, and without ceremony or reserve given 
 over, soul and body, to" the devil. The nobleman, though 
 otherwise brave, was so much affected with the terms in 
 which his doom was pronounced, that he instantly fell into 
 a swoon ; and it was not until tbe patriarch, at the inter- 
 cession of his majesty, consented to withdraw or modify 
 the curse, that he completely recovered. The fierce zeal of 
 the bishop, and his systematic encroachment on the royal 
 prerogative and common rights of the subject, contributed 
 not a little to alienate the affections of the people, the great 
 mass of whom were still attached to the ancient form of 
 worship. But their indignation was still more excited by 
 another instance of intemperate bigotry, as applied to the 
 body of a deceased monk, the superior of the convent at 
 Devra Libanos. One of the priests of the new order, finding 
 that the corpse of the abbot now mentioned was interred 
 under the altar at which he officiated, represented the 
 case to Mendez ; who distantly declared that the church 
 was defiled by the burial of that heretical schismatic, 
 and suspended the celebration of divine worship till the 
 remains were actually dug up and thrown out of the sacred 
 edifice in a most indecent manner. A profound discontent 
 spread throughout the whole country ; and from that moment 
 the friends of the old religion began to recover strength, 
 while the Catholics were very generally regarded with hatred 
 as well as with terror. 
 
 The king, though a sincere convert, could no longer refuse 
 to sympathize with the just fears and resentment of his 
 people. He desired the patriarch to permit the use of the 
 ancient liturgies of Ethiopia, which had been altered by 
 Mendez himself in every thing where they did not agree 
 with the Roman ritual. With this requisition he was 
 obliged to comply, because it seemed reasonable that men 
 should pray to God in a language which they understood,
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 211 
 
 rather than in a foreign tongue, the precise import of which 
 they could not comprehend. But this concession to the 
 wishes of the natives weakened the power of the European 
 priests ; for no sooner were the former allowed to use their 
 own books of devotion than they rejected the emendations 
 of the stranger, and adhered exclusively to their wonted 
 method. 
 
 This cause, however, which at first engaged the attention 
 only of churchmen, and a few of the more zealous members 
 of the court, was finally decided in the field of battle. The 
 governors of provinces, whose allegiance was bound to the 
 throne by very weak ties, seized the occasion for breaking 
 out into rebellion against Socinios ; regarding, perhaps, the 
 breach that had been made on their ancient faith and con- 
 stitution by a privileged body of foreigners as an attack on 
 their national independence. Tecla Georgis, a son-in-law 
 of the king, raised tbe standard of rebellion in Tigre, de- 
 claring his determination no longer to endure the Roman 
 religion, but to defend the church of Alexandria to the utmost 
 of his power. With the view at once of convincing his 
 countrymen of his sincerity, and of precluding all possi- 
 bility of reconciliation with his sovereign, he tore down the 
 crucifixes from the walls of churches, defaced all the orna- 
 ments which had a reference to the late innovations, and 
 removed the figures of popish saints. He then called before 
 him Abba Jacob, his Catholic chaplain, and having stripped 
 him of his sacerdotal vestments slew him with his own hand. 
 
 This act of violence was soon afterward severely pun- 
 ished by the death of Tecla Georgis, who was taken 
 prisoner in battle, and who with his sister fell under the 
 hand of the executioner. But the suppression of one re- 
 bellion only led to another more determined, until the finest 
 parts of the empire were soaked with blood. At length the 
 hopes of the people were directed to Basilides or Facilidas, 
 the king's eldest son, who to great military talent added 
 much prudence and moderation. He was thought unfriendly 
 to the Catholic party, because he did not espouse their 
 cause ; yet he lived with the Jesuits on such a footing that 
 they themselves knew not whether to calculate on his sup- 
 port or his enmity. He kept one of them, Father Angelis, 
 constantly in his household, and treated him not only with 
 respect, but also with confidence. He was besides sub- 
 missive to his parent in all things, and never opposed any
 
 212 RELIGION AND 
 
 of his measures for the ecclesiastical government of the 
 state. But it was observed, that, when he received a flat- 
 tering message from Urban VIII., he did not think proper 
 to return any answer ; while those who attempted to pene- 
 trate his motives saw reason to conclude that he would not 
 submit to the restraint imposed on the sovereign by the 
 Portuguese missionaries, under the semblance of iilial rev- 
 erence for the head of the universal church. 
 ' The expectation that Facilidas would put an end to the 
 foreign influence which enthralled his father, induced some 
 of the subordinate officers to practise an undue severity 
 towards the Romanists. When, for example, Serca Christos 
 was appointed to the government of Gojam, a priest whose 
 name was Za Selasse was heard to say, " There is an end 
 of the Catholic faith in this province." Being called before 
 the military ruler, he was forbidden to perform mass ac- 
 cording to the form employed in Europe. To this order he 
 dutifully submitted ; but when he was desired to renounce 
 the doctrine of the two natures in our Saviour, he declared 
 that this was a point of faith which he could not surrender, 
 being convinced that Chrisf was perfect God and perfect 
 man. Upon this the governor commanded that he should 
 be put to death, and he was accordingly thrust through the 
 body with numerous lances ; exclaiming, as long as he had 
 strength to utter a word, " God and man ! God and man !" 
 As we have mentioned the letter addressed by the pope 
 to the Prince Facilidas, we shall, as it is not very long, 
 submit it to the consideration of the reader, who will observe 
 that it recommends the use of strong measures for the 
 support of orthodoxy. 
 
 "Our most beloved son in Christ, health and 
 apostolical benediction. 
 
 " The wealth of Nile floweth to the glory of your name ; 
 and you, the son of the Ethiopic empire, do grow up in the 
 hopes of a most powerful principality. You do nevertheless 
 understand, God having taught you, how miserable you had 
 been had you not drunk of the streams of the gospel out of 
 the fountain of the Catholic church, and if you had not, by 
 adoring St. Peter in the Roman pontificate, been made the 
 son of God, whose possession and workmanship, the whole 
 frame of heaven and earth, is in the Roman church. The 
 whole choir of reigning priests and of obedient natives do
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 213 
 
 applaud the heir that is to rule in Ethiopia with Christian 
 virtue ; rejoicing that a kingdom is prepared for you, out of 
 which your triumphant father, the sceptre of whose empire 
 is the rod of direction, does through the divine assistance 
 extirpate the synagogue of Satan. You having been edu- 
 cated in the domestic imitation of such splendid virtues, and 
 being in a part that draws the eyes of heaven and earth upon 
 you, such counsels are expected from )our wisdom as are to 
 be like the lights of the holy spirit and the thunderbolts of 
 the divine vengeance. And since it is thus, beloved son, you 
 must not think of living at ease in 3 T our father's palace, 
 before you have made all Ethiopia throw itself at the feet 
 of St. Peter, that so they may find heaven in the Vatican : 
 For the doctrines of the pope will not be only the hope of 
 salvation to you, but they will be also the author of quietness 
 and the safety of your dominions. We do embrace you, 
 most dear son, with the arms of apostolical charity, and do 
 wish you an obedient people, and favourable angels amid 
 the trophies of your arms .and the joys of your prosperity ; 
 and we do from the bottom of our heart impart our fatherly 
 benediction to you. 
 
 " Dated at Rome at St. Peter's, under the ri.*.g of the 
 Fisherman, the twenty-eighth of December, 1630, in the 
 seventh year of our pontificate."* 
 
 Socinios, alarmed by the growing disaffection in his army, 
 issued a proclamation, the object of which was to relax some 
 part of the severity imposed by the patriarch, and granting 
 among other indulgences permission to fast on Wednesday 
 instead of Saturday, the latter being one of the ancient fes- 
 tivals of the native church. Mendez, in a letter, the tone 
 of which was neither mild nor prudent, remonstrated with 
 his majesty on this exercise of power, — warned him that 
 God would call him to the strictest account for this pre- 
 sumption, — and reminded him of the words of Azarias, the 
 chief priest, to King Uzziah, and of the punishment of lep- 
 rosy which followed the ro} r al encroachment on the eccle- 
 siastical function. The emperor found it necessary to 
 modify the terms of his edict, and to limit it to three articles : 
 first, that no liturgy unless amended or revised by the patri- 
 
 ♦Geddes's Church History of Ethiopia, p. 367; Ludolfi Hist. Ethiop. 
 lib. iii. c. 10, 11, 12 ; Bruce, vol.iii. p. 400.
 
 214 RELIGION AND 
 
 arch should be used in divine service ; secondly, that all 
 feasts, excepting Easter and those which depend upon it, 
 should be kept according to the ancient computation ; and 
 thirdly, that whosoever chose might fast on Wednesday in- 
 stead of the last day of the week. But while making this 
 concession he did not conceal from the prelate his displeasure 
 at the application to him of the historical fact respecting 
 Azarias and Uzziah ; and suggested to his reverence, that 
 as the Roman religion was introduced into Abyssinia by the 
 king, it might be altered from time to time by the same 
 authority which at first established it. 
 
 After this compromise Socinios engaged in war with the 
 Agows of Lasta, a fierce people who occupied the strongest 
 country in Abyssinia; and who, from the steep mountains 
 on which they encamped, were wont to hurl stones on 
 their invaders when attempting to make their way through 
 the passes. 
 
 At first the emperor sustained severe losses, and his men, 
 finding their arms constantly employed against their fellow- 
 citizens, became disheartened, and did not conceal their 
 aversion to such hostilities. Victory, indeed, at length de- 
 clared in their favour, and thousands of the warlike Agows 
 were left dead on the field ; the sight of which suggested 
 to the prince the following remarks, addressed by him to his 
 father. " These men whom you see slaughtered on the 
 ground were neither pagans nor Mohammedans, at whose 
 death we should rejoice : they were Christians, lately your 
 subjects and your countrymen, some of them your relations. 
 This is not victory which is gained over ourselves. In killing 
 these you drive the sword into your own entrails. How many 
 have you put to an untimely death, and how many have you 
 yet to destroy ! We are become a proverb even among the 
 infidels and Moors for carrying on this war, and for aposta- 
 tizing, as they assert, from the faith of our ancestors." 
 
 His majesty made no reply, but went back disconsolate 
 to Dancaz, where the victory appeared to be turned into 
 mourning. The patriarch, who was displeased with his 
 late proceedings, upbraided him with his indifference to the 
 true faith, alleging that he had ceased to support it at the 
 very moment Providence had put all his enemies under his 
 feet. In his own defence the king recapitulated the bloody 
 wars in which he had engaged for the Catholics, the myriads
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 215 
 
 who had been slain, and the chiefs who had been sacrificed, 
 and ended by making known his resolution to permit his 
 people to choose their own religion. Mendez now saw it 
 expedient to relinquish his pretensions so far as to concede 
 to the inhabitants of Lasta the privilege which they de- 
 mended, because they had never professed themselves mem- 
 bers of the Roman church ; but in regard to such as had 
 acknowledged the supremacy of the pope, and received 
 the communion from the hands of the Jesuits, he would 
 not consent to grant the freedom of renouncing their 
 engagements. 
 
 It was no longer time to deliberate on minute points with 
 a functionary who, it was manifest, would have been con- 
 tent with nothing short of absolute power in all matters 
 spiritual and ecclesiastical. Socinios did not conceal from 
 him, that the authority of government had greatly dimin- 
 ished in his hands, and that he must now act a decided 
 part, or consent to be deprived even of the semblance of 
 royalty. He therefore issued the following proclamation, 
 which at once threw down the fabric of the Roman ritual 
 and hierarchy in Abyssinia, and removed the hope of ever 
 again establishing it in that kingdom. 
 
 " Hear us ! hear us ! hear us ! First of all we gave 
 you the Roman Catholic faith, as thinking it a good one; 
 but many people have died fighting against it, as Julius, 
 Gabriel, Tecla Georgis, Serca Christos, and finally these 
 rude peasants of Lasta. Now therefore we restore to you 
 the faith of your ancestors : let your own priests say their 
 mass in their own churches ; let the people have their own 
 altars for the sacrament and their own liturgy, and let 
 them be happy. As for myself, I am now old and worn 
 out with war and infirmities, and no longer capable of 
 governing : I name my son Facilidas to reign in my 
 place." 
 
 This document was published on the fourteenth of June, 
 1632, and in the month of September the king died. He 
 was buried with great pomp in the church of Ganeta Jesus, 
 which he himself had built ; professing to the last his pre- 
 ference of the Roman creed, and his attachment to the 
 forms of that communion. But the Jesuits, considering 
 only the catastrophe, and unmindful of the strenuous efforts 
 made by him during his whole reign to establish their reli-
 
 216 RELIGION AND 
 
 gion, have denounced him as an apostate, for giving way to 
 the demand of his subjects to have their ancient ritual re- 
 stored. This judgment on their part is equally unjust and 
 ungrateful. It ought to have been remembered that, in the 
 last years of his life, when left without a soldier to fight for 
 their cause, he resigned his crown but retained his belief; 
 and it was not until he had quenched the fire of numerous 
 insurrections in the best blood of his land, that he resolved 
 to sheath his sword and confer liberty of conscience. 
 
 The young monarch, who had acted with so much dis- 
 cretion during his father's reign, lost no time in giving 
 notice to the patriarch that he and his followers must forth- 
 with quit Abyssinia. To accelerate this movement he at 
 the same time informed Men<]ez that an abuna, consecrated 
 at Alexandria, was already on his way to assume the eccle- 
 siastical government of the kingdom ; and commanded that 
 the Jesuits should immediately repair from their convents 
 in Gojam and Dembea to the establishment at Fremona, 
 whence they might more conveniently embark for India or 
 Europe. The Catholics endeavoured to postpone their fate 
 by offering new concessions and indulgences ; but Facilidas 
 informed them that it was now too late for negotiation, and 
 recommended a speedy departure, lest they should be visited 
 with evils which he might not have it in his pow r er to avert. 
 
 Finding all his arts unavailing, the patriarch began his 
 march towards the coast, accompanied by a large body of 
 sacerdotal dependants, and guarded by a detachment of the 
 royal troops. Still, hoping that some accident might turn 
 the tide of affairs to their advantage, or that a reinforcement 
 of Portuguese might arrive from the Eastern colonies to 
 their relief, the monks made various attempts to retain a 
 footing in the country, though in direct opposition to the 
 orders of the king. As a last resource they threw them- 
 selves on the protection of the Baharnagash, who at that 
 period was in a state of rebellion, and therefore not in any 
 degree disinclined to thwart the views of his sovereign. But 
 they did not long enjoy the asylum provided for them by the 
 barbarian governor of the coast. Facilidas opened a cor- 
 respondence with him, giving assurance not only of pardon 
 but of favour, if he would deliver into his hands the refrac- 
 tory priests who had so far abused his indulgence. The 
 latter, however, having pledged his word to his guests,
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 217 
 
 would not consent to give them up to the angry prince ; 
 but, by a special refinement in the politics of humanity, he 
 agreed to sell them all as slaves to the Turks. In return, 
 accordingly, for a certain sum paid by the pasha of the 
 neighbouring ports, Mendez, his priests, and his monks of 
 all degrees, were consigned to captivity as the property of 
 infidels. Two individuals only were left behind, who 
 longed to terminate a weary life by the honours of martyr- 
 dom ; an expectation which was very soon realized. To 
 prevent the recurrence of an evil from which so many suffer- 
 ings and so much disquietude had arisen, the young em- 
 peror concluded a treaty with the Moslem commanders at 
 Suakin and Masuah, the object of which was to prevent any 
 Portuguese from passing into Abyssinia. In short, both 
 parties, the Mohammedans and Christians, for their mutual 
 safety, peace, and advantage, had resolved to exclude the 
 missionaries from both shores of the Red Sea.* 
 
 After a considerable detention at Suakin, and the pay- 
 ment of a heavy ransom, the patriarch found his way to 
 Goa, where he died ; having in vain attempted to rouse the 
 military officers in that settlement, the pope, and the powers 
 of Europe, to make a great effort for the recovery of Ethio- 
 pia. The letters and memorials which passed between him 
 and Facilidas, in relation to the interests of the church, and 
 the reasons for restoring the ancient forms in Abyssinia, are 
 very entertaining, and, at the same time, throw a valuable 
 light on the views of both parties in reference to that most 
 interesting of all subjects, the maintenance of a national 
 faith. In one of his epistles, the emperor, after complaining 
 that the Jesuits denied the cup in the hoty communion, re- 
 baptized the people, treated the priests and deacons as if 
 they were not in sacred orders, and even tore down their 
 altars to be replaced by others of their own consecration, 
 proceeds as follows : — 
 
 " Your lordship, in being acquainted with this, will know 
 the reason why you are turned out of your place which God 
 and the emperor had bestowed on you ; and that the very 
 same emperor who sent for your lordship, and gave you 
 your authority, was the person that deprived you of it. 
 
 * SeeGeddes's Cburch History, p. 380-434 ; Ludolfi Hist. Ethiop. lib. 
 iii. c. 12, etc. ; Bruce, iii. p. 434. 
 
 T
 
 218 RELIGION AND 
 
 Wherefore since an Alexandrian abuna is on his way 
 hither, and has sent us word that he cannot be in the same 
 country with a Roman patriarch and fathers, we have 
 ordered you to repair to Fremona, and there to remain. 
 As to what your lordship now offers, which is, that if the 
 people of Ethiopia will but continue in the obedience of the 
 Roman church, you will dispense with them as to all mat- 
 ters which are not contrary to the faith : that comes too 
 late now ; for how is it possible for them to return to that 
 which they have not only forsaken but do abominate, now 
 that they have a taste of their old religion again ] Your 
 lordship further desires that we would assemble our learned 
 men to dispute with you, before you depart, about matters 
 of faith. This also ought to have been done in the begin- 
 ning. Besides, is that cause likely to be supported by ar- 
 guments which has been maintained hitherto only by force 
 and violence, by taking estates from some, and throwing 
 others into prison, and punishing a third class still more 
 severely, and that for no other reason than because they 
 would not embrace your faith 1 And as if that had not been 
 sufficient, you have dragged great multitudes out of the 
 deserts, who would have been contented to live there upon 
 herbs, and confined them to prisons ; nay, the poor people 
 that would have been glad to bury themselves in caves did 
 not escape your persecution. Now what a barbarity would 
 it be to go and tease poor people with arguments who have 
 suffered so much already ! It would surely be a very un- 
 just thing both in the sight of God and man." 
 
 This revolution in the church of Abyssinia occasioned 
 great regret at Rome, although there were many who con- 
 soled themselves with the reflection that the disappointment 
 had arisen, not from any aversion to the doctrine and rules 
 of the West, but solely from the pride, violence, and obsti- 
 nacy of the Jesuit missionaries. It was therefore imagined, 
 that if men more conciliatory in their manners and less 
 bigoted to external rites were sent out under proper auspices, 
 there would be no doubt of ultimate success. With this 
 view six Capuchins, all natives of France and members of 
 the reformed order of their founder, were despatched from 
 Italy by the college de Propaganda Fide, armed with pro- 
 tections from the grand seignior. Of these, two attempted 
 to enter Ethiopia by landing at Magadoxo, on the shore of
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 219 
 
 the Indian Ocean, who, after advancing a very short way 
 into the country, were slain by the Galla. Two penetrated 
 directly into Abyssinia, and were stoned to death ; but the 
 remaining couple, informed at Masuah of the fate of their 
 companions, instead of exposing themselves to similar de- 
 struction, returned home with an account of their bad suc- 
 cess. Even after this, three other Capuchins were sent 
 from Europe, who, on their arrival at Suakin, forwarded 
 notice to Facilidas of their intention to visit his kingdom as 
 ministers of the Roman church. He recommended to the 
 pasha to treat them according to their deserts ; who instantly 
 ordered their heads to be struck off, and stripped of the 
 skin, which was sent to the capital for inspection, — the 
 colour denoting that they were Franks, and the tonsure 
 affording the certainty of their being priests. No further 
 attempt was made during many years to introduce Euro- 
 pean missionaries into the Abyssinian monarchy.* 
 
 But the seeds of discord, which were sown in that country 
 by the foreigners now expelled, soon grew up and greatly 
 annoyed the government. In the days of Yasous, the 
 
 See Ludolf, Geddes, and Bruce, at the places already indicated ; the 
 narratives of all the three being drawn from the same source, the works 
 of the missionaries. The reader will peruse with pleasure the following 
 abridgment of the occurrences mentioned in the text :— " The Jesuits 
 themselves deplore the fatal indiscretion of their chief, who forgot the 
 mildness of the gospel and the policy of his order, to introduce with 
 hasty violence the liturgy of Rome and the Inquisition of Portugal. A 
 new baptism, a new ordination was inflicted on the natives ; and they 
 trembled with horror when the most holy of the dead were torn from 
 their graves, when the most illustrious of the living were excommuni- 
 cated by a foreign priest. In the defence of their religion and liberty the 
 Abyssinians rose in arms with desperate but unsuccessful zeal. Five 
 rebellions were extinguished in the blood of the insurgents, two ahunas 
 were slain in battle, whole legions were slaughtered in the field or suffo- 
 cated in their caverns ; and neither merit, nor rank, nor sex, could save 
 from an ignominious death the enemies of Rome. But the victorious 
 monarch was finally subdued by the constancy of the nation, of his 
 mother, of his son, and of his most faithful friends. Segued listened 
 to the voice of pity, of reason, perhaps of fear ; and his edict of liberty 
 of conscience instantly revealed the tyranny and weakness of the Jesuits. 
 On the death of his father, Basilides expelled the Latin patriarch, and 
 restored to the wishes of the nation the faith and the discipline of 
 Egypt. The monophysite churches resounded with a song of triumph, 
 that the sheep of Ethiopia were now delivered from the hyenas of the 
 West ; and the gates of that solitary realm were for ever shut against 
 the arts, the science, and the fanaticism of Europe." — Decline and Fall, 
 vol, viii. p. 373,
 
 220 RELIGION AND 
 
 grandson of Facilidas, some turbulent monks, for example, 
 attempted to embroil the kingdom by theological disputes ; 
 but a little wholesome restraint, accompanied with an un- 
 bending firmness on the part of the sovereign, prevented 
 the rise of many evils which there was just ground to appre- 
 hend from that quarter. 
 
 At the time Bruce travelled in Abyssinia there was a 
 convent of Franciscan friars in Upper Egypt, established 
 about the end of the seventeenth century, for the protection 
 of such Catholic Christians as were supposed to have fled 
 into Nubia and Sennaar when the patriarch was driven out 
 by the heir of Socinios. Every one interested himself in 
 behalf of these fugitives, who were imagined to preserve the 
 relics of a pure faith among the savage tribes on the banks 
 of the Nile, far beyond the Cataracts. Pope Innocent XII. 
 was so convinced of the truth of this story as to raise a con- 
 siderable fund to support the expense of an Ethiopic mis- 
 sion ; a convent was erected at Achmin, the ancient Pan- 
 opolis, where the monks were to afford refreshment to those 
 of their brethren who should return weary and exhausted 
 from preaching among the barbarians. They were en- 
 trusted, besides, should an opportunity present itself, with 
 the care of penetrating into Abyssinia, in order to keep alive 
 the embers of orthodox belief and discipline, until a proper 
 season should come for converting the whole realm. But, 
 on inquiry, it was discovered that no Christians had taken 
 refuge in any part of the country between Syene and Don- 
 gola, nor even on the higher parts of the river nearest the 
 scene of persecution ; and it is admitted that all endeavours 
 to convert the natives in the contiguous districts proved 
 fruitless and unavailing. 
 
 In the reign of Louis XIV. an effort was made by the 
 Jesuits to repair the mischief which Alphonso Mendez had 
 done, and to introduce once more into Ethiopia the prin- 
 ciples of their institution. Father Fleurian was authorized 
 by the celebrated De la Chaise, the king's confessor, to 
 instruct the consul-general at Cairo, to send into Abyssinia 
 a proper person to negotiate with the emperor, and to pave 
 the way for an embassy to Paris. The grand monarque at 
 the same time took upon himself the protection of the 
 intended mission, and solicited, through Cardinal Jansen, 
 the concurrence and advice of the pope. Verseau, who was
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 221 
 
 employed as his envoy on this occasion, informed his holi- 
 ness that his majesty, who took a great interest in the suc- 
 cess of this pious undertaking, had fixed his eyes on the 
 Jesuits as the best qualified for discharging a duty at once so 
 delicate and arduous. Innocent dissembled : he extolled in 
 the most magnificent terms the king's great zeal for the ad- 
 vancement of religion, approved the choice he had made, 
 and praised the resolution of the preachers. But it soon 
 appeared that, notwithstanding this flattering language, he 
 had no intention either to gratify the disciples of Loyola, or 
 to comply with the wishes of the French sovereign ; for 
 without communicating his views to the one or the other, 
 he appointed the superior of the Franciscans to be his legate 
 a latere to the emperor of Abyssinia, providing him with 
 presents to that prince and the chief noblemen of his court. 
 
 At this period Maillet was in Egypt, the representative 
 of the French government, and eagerly employed in endeav- 
 ouring to accomplish the purposes of his royal master. 
 Various intrigues ensued which we shall not take time to 
 describe ; it being sufficient to mention that the dark and 
 laboured policy of the two rival orders terminated at length 
 in the selection of Poncet, a medical practitioner, and of 
 Brevedent, a Jesuit friar, who consented to attend him as 
 his servant. Yasous, at the epoch in question, was threat- 
 ened with a mortal disease, and had sent a special messen- 
 ger to Cairo to obtain the aid of a European physician ; and 
 hence an opportunity was created for introducing a disguised 
 priest into the very centre of the Abyssinian provinces. But 
 Brevedent died before the journey was completed ; while 
 Poncet, after having administered successfully to the dis- 
 tempered ruler, returned in due time, without attempting 
 any thing in favour of the Catholic creed or the monachism 
 of Spain. 
 
 It would appear from several instances of persecution, 
 which are recorded in the more recent annals of Ethiopia, 
 that certain individuals, animated with zeal for the interests 
 of religion, had from time to time made their way into the 
 country, and were even favourably received at court. In 
 the reign of Oustas, for instance, who mounted the throne 
 in the year 1709, three priests were concealed in the prov- 
 ince of Walkayt, to whom his majesty frequently repaired 
 to hear mass and receive the communion. Under the gov-
 
 222 RELIGION AND 
 
 ernment, however, of his successor, David IV., who was an 
 ardent supporter of the Alexandrian rites of worship, in- 
 formation was lodged against the heretical friars, and they 
 were immediately brought to trial. The interrogation pro- 
 ceeded as follows : Do you or do you not receive the deci- 
 sions of the Council of Chalcedon as a rule of faith ? And 
 do you believe that Leo the pope lawfully presided at it and 
 regularly conducted if? To this the prisoners answered 
 without reserve, that they looked upon the Council of Chal- 
 cedon as the fourth general council, received it as such, and 
 held its decisions as a rule of faith ; and were moreover 
 satisfied that Leo lawfully and regularly presided at it, as 
 being head of the Catholic church, successor to Saint Peter, 
 and Christ's vicar upon earth. Upon this a general shout 
 was heard from the whole assembly, mixed with cries to 
 stone them, — "Whoever throws not three stones is accursed, 
 and an enemy to Mary 1" Ropes were instantly fastened 
 round the necks of the monks, and they were dragged to a 
 place behind the church of Abbo, where they were, according 
 to their sentence, stoned to death, suffering with meekness 
 and resignation after the example of the first martyrs.* 
 
 When Pearce was in Abyssinia, about twelve years ago, 
 a certain latitudinarianism seems to have prevailed ; for, 
 besides an open schism among the members of the Greek 
 church themselves, there was a Roman party, whose voice 
 commanded some respect in the public deliberations. It is 
 true that the English seaman is not the best authority in 
 matters of religion, so far as we regard nice distinctions in 
 points of faith ; but from his narrative of facts, which ap- 
 pears honest and unbiased, it becomes perfectly manifest 
 that the theological school of Alexandria no longer enjoyed 
 an undisputed pre-eminence. 
 
 Fifteen years had passed amid insurrections and civil 
 broils, during which no abuna or metropolitan was conse- 
 crated for Ethiopia : and at length, when Mohammed Ali 
 did listen to the entreaties of his Christian neighbours to 
 supply them with a spiritual head, he and the patriarch 
 seem to have consulted their own views rather than the 
 cause of the gospel in the selection of a priest to fill that 
 high office. Nor was this favour obtained altogether gratui- 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iv. p. 60.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 223 
 
 tously ; on the contraiy, the Ras proclaimed by beat of 
 drum that every governor of a village throughout his domin- 
 ions should collect from his tenants two dollars each, in 
 hard money, cloth, or salt, and the larger towns from ten to 
 twenty each, as a subscription to pay the expenses of bring- 
 ing his reverence from Egypt. In this manner ten thousand 
 dollars were soon collected, and a party of priests despatched 
 with some Mohammedans, bearing a present of fourteen 
 slaves and several pieces of the finest Abyssinian cloth to 
 Ali Pasha. We give an account of the holy man's recep- 
 tion in the words of Mr. Pearce : 
 
 On the 23d January, 1816, " the Ras with his army and 
 all the priests of the country went to meet the abuna at 
 Dola ; in the afternoon, as they again entered Chelii <ut, 
 every thing appeared in an uproar. I never before beheld 
 such a multitude of people assembled. The mountains 
 around Chelicut were covered with them. Gangs of priests 
 and monks, some in white and some in yellow dresses, were 
 seen in the different quarters, while thousands of other 
 orders, dressed in their sheep-skins, kept moving along the 
 sides of the mountains, apparently like large flocks of sheep. 
 Numerous chiefs with their armies held different situations 
 on the heights, all moving in confusion, their lances glit- 
 tering in the air ; and the manner in which they strove by 
 shoving against each other to advance as near as they could 
 to the patriarch, appeared like a close battle ; numbers were 
 trodden to death. The Ras rode on a mule with his horse- 
 men in the rear of the abuna. The multitude of priests, 
 with all the ornaments of their respective churches, were 
 at some distance in front ; and in their rear before the 
 abuna, a number of people with large ploughmen's whips 
 were continually whipping to keep the road clear."* 
 
 If the character given of this prelate has not been darkly 
 coloured by malice or fear, we must conclude that he 
 was very little qualified either for the arduous duties of his 
 station, or to extend the reign of meekness and charity 
 among the turbulent people whose spiritual interests were 
 committed to his superintendence. His insolence on some 
 occasions proceeded beyond all bounds, not exempting even 
 the head of the government from his wrath and contume- 
 
 * Pearce's Life and Adventures, vol. ii. p. 61.
 
 224 RELIGION AND 
 
 lies. He kept the Ras at his door more than a quarter of 
 an hour waiting for an audience ; and when at length he 
 was admitted, the communication made by him was so disa- 
 greeable that the old priest struck the interpreter on the 
 mouth, and commanded him never to exercise his office 
 again. The warlike chief was grieved and incensed to a 
 high degree. "The tongue of that abuna," said he, "has 
 speared me to the heart ; I cannot resent ; I am bount 1 by 
 my religion to bear it ; still I think we are rather a weak- 
 minded people."* 
 
 As a long interval had elapsed without the ministrations 
 of a metropolitan, a multitude of clergy and of all other 
 classes assembled at the dwelling of the bishop ; but, before 
 he would consecrate new altars, ordain priests and deacons, 
 or admit any one to the privileges of the Christian church, 
 he commanded a proclamation to be issued, declaring that, 
 according to the practice established by former abunas, 
 every man who wished to be retained in his office must pay 
 four pieces of salt. A similar return was expected for ad- 
 mission to the lowest order of clerical functionaries ; and 
 all the people, with their young children who had not been 
 confirmed by the late patriarch, were* required to pay one 
 piece. More than a thousand priests and deacons were or- 
 dained the first day ; many of whom entered upon a profes- 
 sion for which they were very ill prepared, with the sole 
 view of securing an exemption from military service. 
 
 The abuna next proclaimed throughout all Abyssinia, 
 that no man should be considered a priest who did not bind 
 himself by a formal oath to receive all the articles of the 
 Coptic creed, and to submit to the discipline of the Alex- 
 andrian communion ; and, further, that none of the sacra- 
 ments should be administered in any of their churches until 
 the clergy had renounced, in a manner equally solemn, all 
 the errors of the Greek and Roman faith. This measure 
 threw the whole country into commotion. The adherents 
 of the Egyptian ritual had already united to enforce the 
 commands of their superior ; the members of the Greek 
 church likewise arrayed themselves in a formidable body to 
 oppose the injunction ; while those of the Roman Catholic 
 persuasion, whose number was small, were content to act 
 
 * Pearce, vol. ii, p. 64.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 225 
 
 on the defensive. After a vain attempt at an accommoda- 
 tion, rage burst out on all sides ; and every priest held up 
 his cross, about to lead his people to protect their own altars, 
 or to overthrow those of their opponents. Before the actual 
 effusion of blood, however, it was agreed among the leaders, 
 that such as held the established belief should be permitted 
 to follow their own mode of worship ; but that they should 
 not be entitled to share in the blessing or protection of the 
 abuna, and should be considered as an inferior caste. To 
 this humiliating arrangement the multitude, as might have 
 been expected, showed the utmost aversion, and became 
 more furious than ever against their ecclesiastical ruler. In 
 the end he found himself obliged to grant a general tolera- 
 tion, without any infringement of the rank and privileges 
 which were secured to the people by their civil constitution. 
 Pearce. obtained through the exertions of Mr. Salt some 
 Ethiopic psalters, to be distributed among the Abyssinians, 
 and if possible to get in exchange for them some copies of 
 their scriptures. The superstitious people, he tells us, not 
 only found fault with the print being too small, and with the 
 sacred names because they were not done in red ink ; but 
 the perfect similarity of the books made them suppose that 
 they had been completed by some supernatural agent. 
 Those, however, who possessed any decree of knowledge, 
 readily admitted that they far excelled their own manu- 
 scripts. The Englishman does not conceal that, although 
 many were disposed to accept his volumes as a present, he 
 could not obtain any thing in exchange. Having procured 
 a mule, he went, somewhat in the character of a pedler, to 
 the different monasteries, hoping to dispose of his psalters 
 to some advantage ; but the monks, who were not inclined 
 to become merchants, found many faults with the workman- 
 ship, and it was not until they discovered the sheets might 
 be had for nothing, that their eyes opened to their merits and 
 to the expediency of receiving them as a gift. He acknow- 
 ledges that he was occasionally remunerated by the presenta- 
 tion of a sheep, a goat, or a little honey ; but adds that 
 such things are customary even on a common visit.* 
 
 There is no small difficulty in ascertaining the dogmas 
 of the Abyssinian church, in regard to those point3 of the- 
 
 * Pearce, vol. ii, p. 128
 
 226 RELIGION AND 
 
 ology which occupy the first station in the articles of all 
 other Christian communions. In the works on ecclesias- 
 tical history to which we have occasionally made reference, 
 there are several symbols or compends of faith, whence the 
 curious reader may derive the requisite information. The 
 volume of Dr. Geddes, in particular, contains an " Account 
 of the Habassin Religion and Customs, composed by Zaga 
 Zaba the King of Ethiopia's ambassador, and written with 
 his own hand at Lisbon."* Perhaps the envoy's notions 
 were in some degree influenced by the position which he 
 occupied in Europe ; it being manifest that there is a striking 
 coincidence between his tenets and those of the court to 
 which his master had sent him. But the document, not- 
 withstanding, possesses great value as a memorial of the 
 progress made by the Jesuit missionaries in the arduous task 
 of inducing a semi-barbarous people to relinquish, even for 
 a time, the doctrines which they had received from their 
 fathers. 
 
 In LudolPs Commentary there is a confession of faith 
 attributed to the Emperor Claudius, who reigned about the 
 middle of the sixteenth century, and which he describes as the 
 belief of his ancestors, and of the flock within the precincts 
 of his kingdom. "We believe in one God, and in his only 
 Son, Jesus Christ, who is his Word and his Power, his 
 Counsel and his Wisdom ; who was with him before the 
 world was created. But in the last days he came to us, — 
 not, however, that he might leave the throne of his divinity, 
 — and was made man of the Holy Ghost and of the holy 
 Virgin Mary, and was baptized in Jordan in his thirtieth 
 year ; and was perfect man ; and was hanged on the wood 
 of the cross in the days of Pontius Pilate ; suffered, died, 
 and was buried, and rose again the third day ; and after- 
 ward on the fortieth day he ascended with glory into heaven, 
 and sitteth on the right hand of his Father. And he shall 
 come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and 
 of his kingdom there shall be no end. And we believe in 
 the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth 
 from the Father. And we believe in one baptism for the 
 remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the 
 dead, for eternal life to come."t 
 
 * Page 81. 
 
 t Ludolfi Com. d. 237 ; Jowett's Christian Researches, p. 176.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 227 
 
 We must content ourselves with referring to a modern 
 work, for a view of the latest creed or confession issued for 
 the use of the Ethiopian Christians. This document is 
 entitled, " Instructions of Mark, Patriarch of Alexandria, 
 addressed to the Abyssinian churches, on points of religion 
 at present controverted in Abyssinia." It was written in 
 Arabic, but immediately translated into the ecclesiastical 
 language of the country by command of the Ras. The 
 manuscript was obtained by Mr. Salt from Welled Selasse 
 the governor of Tigrd, and was rendered into English by 
 the late Professor Murray, for the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, the committee of which granted to Mr. Jowett per- 
 mission to insert it in his Christian Researches.* 
 
 These " Instructions" of the patriarch are much too 
 replete with controversy, and subtile distinctions in the 
 mere use of words, to prove of any value as a guide to faith. 
 They are occupied almost entirely with those unprofitable 
 discussions respecting the nature of Christ, on which the 
 Abyssinians have long wasted their boundless zeal and their 
 small portion of learning ; and which, when conveyed 
 through the medium of a version, are equally unintelligible 
 and incapable of abridgment. 
 
 In the work of Father Lobo, who made a voyage to 
 Abyssinia in the year 1622, and sSrved in that country 
 under the celebrated Mendez, we have a brief account of 
 the pious usages of the people. Incensed by their bigoted 
 attachment to the customs of their ancestors, he denounces 
 their religion as a mixture of Christianity with Jewish and 
 Mohammedan superstitions. He admits, however, that they 
 retain the belief of the principal mysteries of our faith ; that 
 they celebrate with a great deal of piety the sufferings and 
 death of our Lord ; reverence the cross ; pay a profound 
 devotion to the blessed Virgin, the angels, and the saints ; 
 observe the festivals, and pay a strict regard to Sunday. 
 Every month they commemorate the Assumption of the 
 Virgin Mary ; and are of opinion that no Christians beside 
 themselves have a true sense of the greatness of the mother 
 of God, or render the honours which are due to her name. 
 There are some tribes among them by whom the crime of 
 swearing by her is punished with the forfeiture of goods, 
 
 * Page 180.
 
 228 RELIGION AND 
 
 and even with the loss of life. Every week they keep a 
 feast in honour of the apostles and angels ; they come to 
 mass with great devotion, and love to hear the Word of God ; 
 they receive the sacrament often, but do not always prepare 
 themselves for it by confession. The severity of their fasts 
 is equal to that of the primitive church ; in Lent they never 
 eat till after sunset ; and their abstinence is the more rigid, 
 because milk and butter are forbidden to them. No reason 
 or plea of necessity can procure for them permission to eat 
 flesh ; and, as their country produces hardly any fish, they 
 are compelled to exist on roots and pulse only. 
 
 There is no nation, he adds, where excommunication 
 carries greater terrors than among the Abyssinians ; a cir- 
 cumstance which gives the priests great power over them, 
 as they frequently exert their spiritual authority for personal 
 purposes not quite consistent with the utmost purity of mo- 
 tive. They have certain opinions peculiar to themselves 
 about purgatory, the creation of souls, and some other mys- 
 teries. They repeat baptism, or the semblance of it, every 
 year ; retain the practice of circumcision ; observe the 
 Jewish Sabbath ; abstain from eating ail those animals 
 which are forbidden by the Mosaical law ; and brothers 
 espouse the widows of their brothers, according to the pre- 
 cept of the same ancient institute. 
 
 The churches, at the period under consideration, were 
 extremely numerous in the larger towns and even in vil- 
 lages. So close to each other were the religious houses, 
 that the monks chanting the service in one could hear their 
 brethren similarly employed in some adjoining edifice. They 
 sing the Psalms of David, of which, as well as the other 
 parts of Holy Scripture, they have an exact translation in 
 their own language ; rejecting none which Roman Catholics 
 esteem canonical except the Books of the Maccabees. 
 
 There is something fantastic in their mode of conducting 
 Divine service. Their musical instruments are little drums, 
 which they hang about.their necks and beat with both their 
 hands ; and this exercise is performed even by the chief men 
 as well as by the gravest of their ecclesiastics. They have 
 sticks likewise with which they strike the ground, accompany- 
 ing the blow with a motion of their whole bodies. They 
 begin their devotions by stamping with their feet on the floor, 
 and playing gently on the drums ; but when they become
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 229 
 
 warm and animated they leave off beating, and proceed to 
 leap, dance, and clap their hands, straining their voices at 
 the same time to the highest pitch, till at length they have 
 a greater resemblance to an infuriated crowd than to a reli- 
 gious assembly. For this manner of worshipping they 
 quote the psalm of David, " clap your hands, all ye 
 nations." 
 
 The statement of Lobo, as to the great number of 
 churches in Abyssinia, is fully confirmed by the narrative 
 of Bruce, who remarks that in the most confined landscape 
 the traveller may see at one view five or six of those struc- 
 tures. Every great man who dies thinks that he atones for 
 all his wickedness if he leaves a fund for the erection of a 
 place of worship. The king builds many ; it being customary 
 to commemorate any success in the field of battle by rearing 
 a temple to the service of God. The situation is always 
 chosen near a running water, for the convenience of the 
 priests, who, in respect to the periodical purifications and 
 ablutions, strictly observe the Levitical law. It is usual 
 also to surround these buildings with beautiful trees and 
 flowering shrubs ; so that the country owes much of its 
 picturesque appearance to the taste displayed by the ecclesi- 
 astical architects. 
 
 All the churches, we are told, are of a round form with 
 thatched roofs ; their summits are perfect cones ; the out- 
 side is encircled by a number of wooden pillars, being trunks 
 of the cedar-tree, placed so as to support the edifice ; and as 
 the roof projects about eight feet beyond the walls, an agree- 
 able walk or colonnade is thereby formed, which proves of 
 great use in hot or rainy weather. The inside is divided 
 into several apartments, nearly according to the directions 
 which are given in the Law of Moses. The first is a circle 
 somewhat wider than the inner one : here the congregation 
 say their prayers. Within this is a square which is divided 
 by a vail or curtain, corresponding to the Holy Place and 
 the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Tabernacle. The latter 
 is so narrow that none but the priests are admitted into it. 
 
 It has been already observed that the Abyssinians prac- 
 tise circumcision ; a rite which they maintain was not 
 borrowed from the Jews, but derived from their own neigh- 
 bours the descendants of Ishmael. Much controversy has 
 existed as to the reason and authority of this usage, for the 
 
 l
 
 230 RELIGION AND 
 
 details of which we refer to the volumes of Bruce and the 
 dissertations of Le Grand.* 
 
 In regard to the precise object of the annual ceremony of 
 bathing in remembrance of our Saviour's baptism, much 
 doubt continues to prevail. The Jesuits insist that it is a 
 regular and formal repetition of the sacrament ; and if the 
 description given of it by Alvarez were to be literally re- 
 ceived, we should find it necessary to admit their conclusion. 
 But the Roman missionaries laboured under a deep preju- 
 dice against the native clergy, and are suspected to have 
 failed in their wonted accuracy in their notices of the Abys- 
 sinian ritual. The account supplied by Bruce is not liable 
 to the same objection. It is as follows : " The small river 
 running between the town of Adowa and the church had 
 been dammed up for several days ; the stream was scanty, 
 so that it scarcely overflowed. It was in some places three 
 feet deep, in some perhaps four, or a little more. Three 
 large tents were pitched the morning before the Feast of 
 the Epiphany ; one on the north for the priests to repose 
 in during the intervals of the service, and, besides this, one 
 to communicate in : on the south there was a third tent, for 
 the monks and priests of another church to rest themselves 
 in their turn. About twelve o'clock at night the monks and 
 priests met together, and began their prayers and psalms at 
 the waterside, one party relieving the other. At dawn of 
 day the governor, Welled Michael, came hither with some 
 soldiers to raise men for Ras Michael, then on his march 
 against Waragna Fasil, and sat down on a small hill near 
 the river ; the troops all skirmishing on foot and on horse- 
 back around them. As soon as the sun began to appear, 
 three large crosses of wood were carried by three priests 
 dressed in their sacerdotal vestments, and who coming 
 to the side of the river dipped the cross into the water ; 
 and all this time the firing, skirmishing, and praying went 
 on together. The priests with the crosses returned, one of 
 their number carrying before them something less than an 
 English quart of water in a silver cup or chalice. When 
 they were about fifty yards from Welled Michael, that 
 general stood up, and the priest took as much water as he 
 could hold in his hand and sprinkled it upon his head, hold- 
 
 * Lobo's Voyage to Abyssinia, with Le Grand's Dissertations.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 231 
 
 ing the cup at the same time to his mouth to taste ; after 
 which the priest received it back again, saying, * May God 
 bless you !' Each of the three crosses were then brought 
 forward to Welled Michael, and he kissed them. The cere- 
 mony of sprinkling the water was then renewed to all the 
 great men in the tent, all cleanly dressed. Some of them, 
 not contented with aspersion, received the water in the 
 palms of their joined hands and drank it ; more water was 
 brought for those who had not partaken of the first ; and 
 after the whole of the governor's company was sprinkled, 
 the crosses returned to the river, their bearers singing hal- 
 lelujahs, and the skirmishing and firing continuing."* 
 
 The same ceremony was performed on the traveller him- 
 self, who, however, declined to drink from the sacred cup. 
 The people meanwhile crowded to the bank of the stream, 
 where two or three hundred boys, of the order of deacons, 
 threw water upon them. Afterward horses, mules, asses, 
 armour, pots, and platters, were brought for purification, 
 and the scene ended in a mixture of holy joy and unbridled 
 "riot. Bruce positively denies that the baptismal form of 
 words was used in any instance on the occasion now 
 described. 
 
 The Abyssinians receive the holy sacrament in both kinds. 
 The loaf is unleavened, and instead of wine they use dried 
 grapes bruised, with the husk and stones as they grow, and 
 so thick as to resemble marmalade. It is put into the mouth 
 with a spoon. The pieces of bread given to the communi- 
 cants are large in proportion to their rank, and are literally 
 stuffed into the mouths of the recipients by the priest, some- 
 times at the risk of suffocation. After receiving, a pitcher 
 of water is brought forward, of which the worshippers in 
 their turn take a large draught ; then engage some time in 
 silent prayer with their faces turned to the wall. 
 
 Le Grand labours assiduously to prove that the clergy of 
 Abyssinia believe in transubstantiation, although he con- 
 siders their form of words, and perhaps even their official 
 authority, as radically defective. Ludolf, on the contrary, 
 maintains that in their notions of the Eucharist they coin- 
 cide with the Protestants . admitting, however, that their 
 language is extremely ambiguous. 
 
 * Travels, vol. v. p. 12.
 
 232 RELIGION AND 
 
 There is no unanimity among the Abyssinians on the 
 subject of a middle state, or the condition of the soul between 
 death and the resurrection. Owing to the ignorance in 
 theological matters of those persons to whom we are 
 indebted for the most recent information respecting that 
 country, it is extremely difficult to determine the opinions 
 which are actually held by the clergy. But if we form a 
 judgment on this point from the liturgies used in public 
 worship, we shall find all doubt removed as to their com- 
 plete coincidence with the doctrines of Christian antiquity, 
 relative to paradise or the place of safe-keeping, where the 
 spirits of men await their final doom at the last day. When 
 any person dies, alms are given and prayers are offered for 
 the souls of the departed ; a practice which would have no 
 meaning did they believe that the individuals for whom they 
 make entreaty are already in the presence of God, and in 
 the full possession of eternal happiness. In their daily ser- 
 vice they say, "Remember, O Lord, the souls of thy ser- 
 vants, our father Abba Matthias, and the rest of our saints, 
 Abba Salama, and Abba Jacob." In another place they use 
 these words, " Remember, O Lord, the kings of Ethiopia, 
 Abreha and Atzbcha, Caleb, and Guebra Mascal." And 
 again, " Release, O Lord, our father Antonius and Abba 
 Macarius."* 
 
 The following prayer is more general, and contributes to 
 place the question in a clearer point of view : — " Remember 
 likewise, O Lord, the priests and laymen ; grant, Lord, that 
 their souls may repose in the bosom of the saints Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob ; send them into that happy place where 
 refreshing waters may be found ; into that paradise of de- 
 lights from whence are banished all sighs, sadness, and sor- 
 row of heart, and where they may rejoice in the light of thy 
 saints. Remember, Lord, our fathers and our brethren 
 who have died in the true faith ; give them rest with thy 
 saints, and with those whom we have now commemorated ; 
 give rest to sinners, and remember those who have made these 
 offerings, and those for whom they are made. Remember, 
 O Lord, those who have died in the true faith of our fathers 
 and our brethren ; grant that their souls may rest with the 
 saints and the just ; conduct them and assemble them in a 
 
 * Bruce, vol. v. p. 25.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 233 
 
 pleasant place near cool and living water, in a paradise of 
 delight, and with those whose names we have now re- 
 peated."* 
 
 We shall not enter into the topics controverted by Le 
 Grand, who maintains that the Abyssinians practise auric- 
 ular confession, invocation of saints, and extreme unction. 
 Their usages perhaps justify the inferences of the French- 
 man, while the abstract opinions collected by Ludolf would 
 unquestionably lead to an opposite conclusion. But in our 
 eyes the facts with which we are supplied, through the me- 
 dium of their several works, possess their principal value 
 from the circumstance that they show the state of Chris- 
 tianity at the time it was first introduced into Ethiopia ; 
 such being the unchangeable nature of habits, manners, and 
 customs in the East, that the lapse of a thousand years pro- 
 duces hardly any alteration. For example, the traveller in 
 Arabia at the present day witnesses, in the employments and 
 mode of living which characterize the people, a scene little 
 different from that which mijjht have been seen in the age 
 of the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac. There are the same 
 pastoral pursuits, the same hospitality, the same dwelling in 
 tents, and the same predatory alarms which oftener than 
 once called the father of the faithful into the field of battle, 
 and rendered the quiver and the bow necessary implements 
 in the house of every shepherd. Even the powerful influ- 
 ence of European commerce and enterprise has not reached 
 the bosom of their deserts, nor produced any material inno- 
 vation on their wonted manners. The camel, loaded with 
 the spices and balm of the " far country," still makes his 
 periodical journey over the sandy waste, and thereby con- 
 nects, in the links of a commercial intercourse, the begin- 
 ning of which cannot now be traced, the banks of the Indus 
 with the shores of the Red Sea. 
 
 The same perpetuity exists in their opinions and belief, 
 wherever they have been exempted from the direct operation 
 of conquest. Their tenets and worship are those which 
 they received from their fathers ; and in this respect the 
 Abyssinians appear to manifest the same tenacity of estab- 
 lished usages, whether of thought or of action, and the same 
 reluctance to change, which distinguish their neighbours on 
 
 * Le Grand's Dissertation in Lobo. 
 U2
 
 234 RELIGION AND 
 
 the eastern side of the Gulf. From the date at which Fru- 
 mentius carried to them the seeds of the gospel down to the 
 arrival of the Portuguese, there is an interval of nearly 
 twelve hundred years ; but during that period they were not 
 exposed to any such disturbance from the arrival of strangers 
 as would unsettle their creed, or interfere with the forms of 
 their religious service. Hence, we repeat, there is good 
 ground for believing that the Christianity which the Euro- 
 pean missionaries found in Abyssinia, in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, preserved the general features of the doctrine and prac- 
 tice which they received from the disciple of Athanasius. 
 
 In confirmation of the opinion now stated we shall men- 
 tion a few particulars which, the more minutely they are 
 considered, will contract a greater degree, of interest in the 
 view of a theological antiquary. The first is the use of cir- 
 cumcision, which, it is well known, was continued among 
 Jewish converts long after the complete establishment of the 
 gospel in the various cities of the Roman empire. The ex- 
 ample of the apostles did not discountenance this usage as 
 applied to the descendants of Abraham ; on the contrary, 
 these holy men confined their reprehension to an undue 
 confidence in its efficacy, and to the attempt made by some 
 of their followers to extend its obligation beyond the limits 
 of the ancient covenant. It is extremely probable, therefore, 
 that in the days of Frumentius the ritual of Moses retained 
 its authority so far as to justify certain practices which were 
 afterward laid aside in the churches of the East and West. 
 The case of Timothy, recorded by St. Paul himself, might, 
 in the estimation of a rude people disposed to outward cere- 
 monies, seem to warrant more than a simple connivance. 
 
 The purifications of their priests, as we have already 
 stated, may perhaps be traced to the same source, and be 
 found also to rest on the usage of apostolical times. The 
 laws, too, imposed upon women after childbirth, which bear 
 so close a resemblance to the Mosaical institution, were, it 
 is probable, derived from the habits of the early Christians ; 
 who, we may presume, could not be induced to regard such 
 salutary practices as holding a place among the things which 
 were to be abolished. 
 
 But we discover a still more remarkable circumstance in 
 the observance of the Sabbath as well as of the Lord's Day, 
 which no reader of ecclesiastical history requires to be
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 235 
 
 informed was continued many generations among the fol- 
 lowers of Christ. The intimate mixture of the "primitive 
 disciples with the Jews, who were, generally speaking, of 
 the same extraction, almost necessarily led to this union of 
 sacred rites, in things of which both equally admitted the 
 divine origin. It is not easy to determine when this rever- 
 ential regard for the seventh day of the week was entirely 
 laid aside by the Christians ; but from the conduct of the 
 Abyssinians we may venture to conclude that, at the period 
 they received our holy faith, the Sabbath was still sanctified 
 as the rest of Jehovah, and held as preparatory to the more 
 solemn duties of the succeeding day. The partial remission 
 from toil and study, which is still enjoyed on Saturday in 
 our public offices and schools, is the only relic of the ancient 
 usage which so long combined the institutions of the law 
 and the gospel, and taught the worshipper to venerate the 
 same great Being through the only two channels of revela- 
 tion vouchsafed by Him to the human race. 
 
 It has usually been supposed that, admitting the accuracy 
 of the Abyssinian legend which derives their religion and 
 royal house from the visit paid to Solomon by the Queen of 
 Sheba, the customs now described may be traced to a direct 
 and positive intercourse with the Jewish people. But the 
 story on which so weighty a structure is reared appears 
 too slight to bear it ; and, after a due consideration of the 
 question, we think it more probable that, when the gospel 
 was carried into Ethiopia, it continued to retain some of the 
 external forms and practices with which it is known to have 
 been invested during the first and second centuries. This 
 conclusion derives no small support from the fact, that the 
 principles of chronology which the Abyssinians retain are 
 those which were held, by the whole Christian church in 
 those primitive ages ; reckoning five thousand five hundred 
 years from the creation to the birth of Christ, instead of 
 four thousand and four, according to the calculation of the 
 modern Jews. This peculiarity is mentioned by Bruce, 
 who remarks that, " in the quantity of this period they do 
 not agree with the Greeks, nor with other eastern nations, 
 who reckon 5508. The Abyssinians adopt the even num- 
 ber 5500, casting away the odd eight years ; but whether 
 this was done for ease of calculation or for some better rea- 
 son, there is now neither book nor tradition that can teach 
 U2
 
 236 RELIGION AND 
 
 us."* This system of dates it is manifest could not have 
 been obtained from Menilec, the fabled son of Solomon by 
 the queen of the South ; it could not have been introduced 
 by the Jews during their short ascendency in a part of 
 Ethiopia, because, being disappointed as to the coming of 
 the Messiah, they had already relinquished it and adopted a 
 more limited scheme of chronology ; hence, we are neces- 
 sarily brought to the conclusion, that together with the 
 principles of the gospel they received the calculations as to 
 the age of the world which were then held and taught by all 
 Christian divines. Their remote situation protected them, 
 afterward from the innovations, as well as excluded them 
 from the improvements, which marked the progress of a thou- 
 sand years in Europe and Western Asia, 
 
 Before we conclude this brief sketch of the religious his- 
 tory and opinions of the Abyssinians, we shall mention the 
 last attempt that has come to our knowledge to revive 
 among them the authority of the Roman church. In the 
 year 1751, a mission was sent into their country consisting 
 of three Franciscan friars, named Remedio and Martino of 
 Bohemia, and Antonio of Aleppo, who succeeded in pene- 
 trating as far as Gondar, where they rose into great favour 
 with Yasous the Second, as well as with the queen-mother 
 and many of the principal nobility about court. An account 
 of this enterprise is contained in a manuscript journal 
 written in Italian, and now in the possession of Lord Va- 
 lentia, who permitted Mr. Salt to publish a translation of it 
 at the end of his Travels in Abyssinia. 
 
 On first meeting with this narrative the latter was in- 
 clined to doubt its authenticity, from not having seen any 
 notice of such a mission in Mr. Bruce's volumes ; but he sub- 
 sequently ascertained several circumstances which seemed 
 to place its credit beyond dispute, especially the correct 
 mention of the names which the two emperors, Bacuffa and 
 Yasous, assumed on their accession to the throne. There 
 is besides, in Bruce's original memoranda, an observation 
 which proves that his great friend Ayto Aylo had actually 
 
 * In another work I have attempted to explain the intricacies of orien- 
 tal chronology, with a reference to the opinions of the Jews and early 
 Christians ; both of whom held the epoch mentioned in the text, and 
 counted about 5500 from the Creation to the birth of the Redeemer.— See 
 Connexion of Sacred and Profane History, vol. i. p. 49-168.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 237 
 
 been won over to the Roman faith by one of these very- 
 monks. It is incidentally noticed, "that he had been con- 
 verted by Father Antonio, a Franciscan, in 1755."* 
 
 The memoir of Remedio is extremely interesting. After 
 detailing the perils of their journey from Girgeh in Upper 
 Egypt, and their correspondence with the Abyssinian gov- 
 ernment, he relates, that on the 19th March, 1752, they 
 arrived at Gondar, where they were received with great 
 joy, and pleasantly lodged in the royal palace. On the fol- 
 lowing day the emperor, who at that time resided at Kahha, 
 sent for them to an audience ; and after they had made a 
 profound reverence he addressed them in the following 
 words : — " I embrace you with all my heart, — I welcome you 
 with gladness, and congratulate you on your happy arrival. 
 While yet a child I wished ardently to have men like you in 
 my kingdom ; on this account I exceedingly rejoice at your 
 coming, and I promise you, as long as I live, my favour, pro- 
 tection, and assistance." 
 
 He then began to interrogate them with respect to the 
 following points: 1st, Where are the tables of Moses? 
 2d, Concerning the Queen of Sheba? 3d, In what lan- 
 guage Christ will judge the world? 4th, In what language 
 did he speak when conversing with men ; and what was the 
 first spoken language 1 He asked many other questions 
 respecting Europeans, their customs, and manner of living ; 
 which they answered to the content and satisfaction of the 
 emperor ; " who, gratified by our discourse, rose from his 
 throne, which was fashioned like a bed, and spoke thus, — 
 4 This house shall be your habitation.' " 
 
 The favour shown to the Italian monks produced as 
 usual a furious rebellion, and rendered their departure from 
 the kingdom a matter of necessity. But the friars did not 
 yield a willing submission ; on the contrary, they addressed 
 the sovereign and his mother with evangelical license on the 
 Catholic faith, and threatened them with eternal damnation 
 if they did not show obedience to the truths of the gospel. 
 At length, however, they were driven out of the palace by 
 main force ; " in leaving which we shook the dust oft' from 
 our feet, and publicly upbraided the emperor and his people 
 with their infidelity, exclaiming with a loud voice, ' We are 
 
 * Appendix to vol. vii. p. 05, third edition ; and Salt's Travels, p. 484
 
 238 RELIGION AND 
 
 driven away by false Christians ; let us fly then and seek 
 refuge among the Gentiles.' "* 
 
 The literature of the Ethiopians, like that of the ancient 
 Jews, appears to have been confined to their religious service 
 and the chronicles of their nation. Their history, which 
 Mr. Bruce had the merit of making known to Europe, bears 
 a striking resemblance to the narratives of the Hebrew 
 priests, whose duty it was, under Divine superintendence, 
 to record the acts of their kings as well as to transmit their 
 characters to succeeding generations. The poetry of Abys- 
 sinia, too, like the pious effusions of the Israelites, is con- 
 fined to sacred subjects, — the praises of God, or the celebra- 
 tion of the triumphs and deliverances achieved by the fathers 
 of their people guided by the hand of Providence. For 
 lighter compositions, such as amused the leisure or gratified 
 the taste of the Greeks and Romans, they entertain the most 
 sovereign contempt ; regarding it as rather an unholy ex- 
 ercise to employ the fascinating powers of music and poeti- 
 cal numbers for any purpose less exalted than religion. 
 Their only pastime which partakes at all of a literary nature 
 are riddles and enigmas ; reminding the traveller of the en- 
 tertainments which enlivened the marriage of Samson, and 
 of the simple state of society in which that champion 
 flourished. 
 
 The Abyssinians have the entire Scriptures as we have, 
 and reckon the same number of books ; but these are very 
 seldom found in the habitation of any one individual ; as 
 few of them, from extreme poverty, are able to purchase the 
 whole, either of the historical or prophetical portion of the 
 Old Testament. The same remark applies to the New 
 Testament, complete copies of which are extremely scarce. 
 Nowhere indeed except in churches is there to be seen more 
 than the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles ; and the pos- 
 session of even these implies no ordinary degree of wealth. 
 The Revelation of St. John is a piece of favourite reading 
 among the priests, and so is the Song of Solomon, although 
 the latter is forbidden to deacons, laymen, and women. 
 They make no distinction between canonical and apocryphal 
 books. Bel and the Dragon is perused with equal rever- 
 ence as the Acts, and it is suspected with equal edification ; 
 
 * Salt, Appendix, p. xxxi. &c.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIAN 239 
 
 a spirit of impartiality which extends even to the history of 
 St. George and other legends having no better foundation 
 in ecclesiastical history. 
 
 Next to the New Testament they place the Constitutions 
 of the Apostles, which, as far as a certain class of questions 
 is considered, may be called the written law of the country. 
 They have also a general Liturgy, or Book of Common 
 Prayer, besides a variety of manuals appropriated to par- 
 ticular festivals. Selections from the volumes of the Greek 
 Fathers occasionally occur, as also versions of the more 
 practical and devotional tracts of Athanasius, Basil, Chry- 
 sostom, and Cyril. But the most popular work is the 
 Flower of the Saints, in which are recorded the lives and 
 miracles of their holy men, mixed with fables of the most 
 incredible and even ridiculous nature. The book of Enoch, 
 which, though quoted by St. Jude, has been universally held 
 as apocryphal, likewise finds a place in their sacred library. 
 It deserves the same reception as has been bestowed on the 
 Organon Denghel or Musical Instrument of the Virgin 
 Mary ; a treatise which is said to compensate by the beauty 
 of its style for the manifold absurdities it everywhere 
 contains. 
 
 Among the works mentioned by Ludolf, there is one en- 
 titled the Book of Philosophy, which he acknowledges it 
 was not his good fortune to see. The notions on general 
 physics entertained by the Abyssinians are extremely lim- 
 ited, and carry us back to the first efforts made by the hu- 
 man mind to connect effects with causes. They maintain 
 that man was formed out of the four elements, the moist, 
 the dry, the cold, and the warm ; that the soul proceeds 
 from the inspiration of the Almighty and never dies ; but 
 that the spirit of life, which consists in the blood, is mortal 
 and perishes with the body. They hold that the corpse of 
 a Christian is not unclean ; because, though it has ceased 
 to retain either the intellectual or the sensitive soul, it has 
 not been deprived of the grace conferred on it by baptism. 
 In regard to the system of the world and the structure of 
 our globe, they hold that the latter is a plain, and that the 
 sun and stars find their way, from the west where they set 
 to the east where they rise, by a secret path under the earth. 
 Among such a people we must not expect that law should 
 be found elevated to the rank of a science. Custom and a
 
 240 RELIGION AND 
 
 certain analogy grafted upon it constitute the only guide to 
 the magistrate and judge, who decide most cases on a gene- 
 ral principle of equity applied according to circumstances. 
 
 The art of healing is likewise in a very low state ; for 
 the use of the burning iron continues to supersede all otb?r 
 surgical instruments. A few herbs, recommended by ex- 
 perience, are found beneficial in attacks of the viscera. 
 The tertian fever is cured by means of the torpedo or elec- 
 trical eel, which is said to cause indescribable torture. 
 When the plague or any contagious epidemic appears, the 
 people flee from their villages with their cattle and goods, 
 seeking in the mountains an escape from so formidable 
 an evil. 
 
 The attempts which have been lately made by the Prot- 
 estant societies in this country will, it is hoped, soon render 
 the literature of Abyssinia more familiar to the European 
 scholar. The Scriptures, or at least a portion of them, have 
 been translated into the principal dialects of the Ethiopic 
 tongue, especially those of Amhara and Tigre\ The Jesuits 
 in former days distinguished themselves by their zealous 
 application to the study of the native languages, and even 
 brought home some trophies of their success in conquering 
 difficulties, though placed in circumstances so unfavourable 
 to literary pursuits. To them we are indebted for the New 
 Testament in the Ethiopic, which is inserted in Walton's 
 Polyglott. In the Christian Researches of Mr. Jowett will 
 be found an account of certain efforts, made by him during 
 his residence in the East, to procure for the Bible Society 
 versions of the Sacred Writings in the forms of speech most 
 commonly used in the several provinces of Abyssinia. His 
 labours, though not altogether fruitless, were not attended 
 with such results as might inspire universal confidence ; but 
 the acquisitions already attained will assist materially in 
 facilitating the progress of more accomplished workmen 
 than he had it in his power to employ.* 
 
 It cannot be denied that the condition of Abyssinia at the 
 present moment presents strong claims to the aid and sym- 
 pathy of the Christian world. Nearly thirty years ago, 
 Lord Valentia pointed out the importance of opening a direct 
 communication between that country and Britain ; stating 
 
 * Page 196, &c.
 
 LITERATURE OF ETHIOPIA. 241 
 
 his conviction that our holy religion in its better forms, if 
 offered to their acceptance with caution and moderation, 
 would meet with a favourable reception. At any rate, the 
 improvements in art and science, which always follow com- 
 merce, would meliorate the national character, and assist in 
 bringing back their belief and worship to a purity which 
 they have long lost. The restoration of tranquillity to the 
 provinces, and a legal trade to the empire, would also have 
 the very important effect of putting an end to the exporta- 
 tion of slaves ; which here is not only liable to the same 
 objections as on the western coast of Africa, but to the still 
 greater one that the individuals thus sold and expatriated 
 are Christians, and are moreover carried into Arabia, where 
 they inevitably lose at once their liberty and their religion. 
 Mr. Salt announced that the nation with its religion was 
 fast verging to ruin. The Galla and Mussulman tribes 
 around are daily 1 ecoming more powerful; and " there is 
 reason to fear that the very name of Christ may be lost 
 among them."* 
 
 Lord Valenria's Travels, vol. iii. pp. 247, 256. 
 X
 
 242 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Manners and Customs of Ethiopia. 
 
 Present state of Abyssinia— Weakness of the Monarch— Nature of Suc- 
 cession— Court of Justice— Modes of Punishment— Similarity to the 
 Persians — Humane Maxims — Aversion to eat with Strangers— Com- 
 plexion and Features— Marriage Ceremonies — Manner of Christening 
 — Whimsical Practice to preserve the Life of Children— Superstitions — 
 Buda— Singular Anecdotes — The Zackary — Strange Delusion of Tigre- 
 ter— Mode of Cure— Example witnessed by Mr. Pearee — Case of his 
 own Wife— Trembling Picture— The Crying Cross — Delusion by a 
 Dofter— Opinion of Welled Salasse — Chastisement of the Dofter — 
 Astonishing Mimic — Diseases and Death ascribed to Demons — Fevers 
 — Small-pox— Inoculation— Practice of Galla— Scrofula— Tapeworm — 
 Customs at Funerals— Criers— Lawyers— Practice in regard to Pun- 
 ishment of Murderers— Agriculture— Cookery — Usages at the Table — 
 Cutting of the Shulada — Narrative of Bruce— Disbelieved in Europe- 
 Questioned by Mr. Salt— Description of a Feast — Mode of Feeding at 
 Table— Attempt to reconcile Bruce and Salt — Change of Manners in 
 the Interval— Character of the Nobility and Higher Classes — Rigid 
 Feasts — Disorderly Conduct of the Clergy— Extract from Purchas's Pil- 
 grims—Conclusion. 
 
 Abyssinia in our days presents the singular spectacle of 
 an absolute monarchy divested of all regal power, and 
 stripped of the advantages which arise from hereditary suc- 
 cession. By the principles of the ancient constitution, the 
 sovereign was clothed with a degree of authority and an ex- 
 tent of prerogative, which if exercised, must have soon 
 proved incompatible with all personal rights and individual 
 property. Not only was the whole land in the empire held 
 as fiefs from the crown revocable at pleasure, but the life 
 and liberty of every subject could be taken away at the will 
 of the prince without remonstrance or appeal. 
 
 To guard against these manifest evils, the nobility, and 
 more especially the governors of provinces, have contrived 
 to disarm the prerogative by retaining in their hands the 
 power of the sword. The Ras appointed to each large sec- 
 tion of the kingdom became in fact the ruler of it ; limiting 
 his obedience according to circumstances, and marching his
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 243 
 
 troops against his master more frequently than against the 
 public enemy. Hence the emperor of Abyssinia during the 
 last hundred years has possessed nothing of sovereignty but 
 the name ; and as the succession to the throne is not deter- 
 mined by fixed laws, it is usually filled by the most active par- 
 tisan or the most daring rebel. In short, as the crown is hered- 
 itary in one family but elective in the person, the presump- 
 tive heirs, under a system of polygamy, must have multi- 
 plied so much as to create constant disputes ; so that it was 
 found necessary to provide a remedy for the anarchy as 
 well as the effusion of royal blood which was likely to follow, 
 by confining the junior members of the king's house to a 
 high mountain, where they were maintained with at least 
 some regard to their rank and prospects.* 
 
 When Bruce was in Abyssinia, it was perfectly under- 
 stood that the choice of a sovereign rested with the principal 
 officers in the army and the strongest party at court. There 
 was no preference given to birthright or legitimacy. It was 
 only necessary that the candidate should have sprung from 
 royal lineage and be unmutilated in his person. When a 
 king dies and the succession is not disputed, he is usually 
 put into his coffin before the proclamation of the next. 
 The body is then brought into a large hall of the palace ; 
 the queen and royal family, with the chief courtiers, make 
 the most frantic exclamations and show of grief ; the whole 
 city is in mourning ; the people cut their hair and cover 
 themselves with mean apparel. The young king is then 
 brought into the banqueting room ; the priests, judges, and 
 nobles who happen to be near the capital, attend ; they 
 spread carpets on the floor and place him on the throne ; 
 the Kees Hatze, or royal ahnoner, who represents the priest 
 
 * A similar custom appears to have prevailed among the ancient He- 
 brews, for in the threatening denounced by God against Jeroboam and 
 Ahab, namely, the extinction of their male progeny, it is said, " I will 
 cut off him that is shut up and left in Israel." In Palestine as well as 
 in Abyssinia the practice seems to have undergone a change, for we are 
 told that the seventy sons of Ahab, who were in Samaria, lived with the 
 great men of the city who brought them up. This is now the usage in 
 the latter country also; the establishment at Wechne having been dis- 
 continued, and the inmates intrusted to the charge of the nobility through- 
 out the empire. — Commentators neglecting the habits of oriental nations, 
 have not been successful in explaining the portions of Scripture now 
 alluded to ; 1 Kings xiv. 10, xxi. 21.
 
 244 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 that officiated at the Jewish coronation, pours olive oil from 
 a horn on his head ; and the Search Maseri, or chamberlain, 
 crowns him with these words : " David, king of kings, is 
 dead ; Yasous our king liveth : his we were who is dead ; his 
 we are who is alive. Mourn ye for the dead and rejoice for 
 the living." At this the female mourners, appointed for 
 the special service, raise a shriek of lamentation ; while the 
 nobles shout for joy, exclaiming, Long live King Yasous ! 
 and, prostrating themselves at his feet, kiss his hand.* 
 
 When this burst of joy is ended, the funeral obsequies of 
 the deceased monarch are performed. The body being 
 embalmed in a particular manner, by persons who follow 
 this profession, is conveyed with great ceremony to the 
 vault of some favourite church. When they approach the 
 sacred edifice, the priests read a burial service from the 
 Psalms of David ; after which the coffin is placed in the 
 sepulchre of the kings in presence of the imperial family 
 and nobles. 
 
 It is well known that the royal standard of Abyssinia dis- 
 plays the lion of the tribe of Judah, to indicate the descent of 
 its kings from Solomon ; a fiction, it may be presumed, by 
 which the clergy flattered the vanity of the monarch and 
 preserved the relic of a custom older than Christianity. In 
 the fair season of the year his majesty was always in the 
 field. The form of the camp was so established by ancient 
 usage, that in every place it assumed the same appearance 
 and regular order. It is said that even their palaces and 
 towns were modelled according to the plan which was fol- 
 lowed in the distribution of the tents. The household was 
 very numerous, and the members of it were distinguished by 
 badges which indicated their respective stations. 
 
 A little removed from the royal pavilion or station was a 
 large square tent, with six seats on either side, and one at 
 the end higher than the others, which indicated the presence 
 of the king. This was the hall of justice where causes 
 were heard, and whence the opinion of the judges was con- 
 veyed to his majesty, who from a concealed recess or al- 
 cove expressed his concurrence or dissent. Before pro- 
 ceeding to business in that court, or Saccala as it was 
 
 * We have inserted names at discretion,
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 245 
 
 termed, the official persons pronounced a prayer, and then 
 chanted the following sentences : — 
 
 "From the day of vengeance ; from the day of doom, 
 
 How shall the soul escape 1 
 
 When the mother cannot 3ave her child, and the earth 
 
 shall surrender her prisoners, 
 
 How shall the soul escape 1 
 
 When the assembly shall accuse us with terrors ; when our 
 
 deeds shall be opened and spread out, and all that we have done 
 
 shall be read, 
 
 How shall the soul escape T 
 
 When our Lord shall sit on the Mount of Olives, on the day 
 
 of the Sabbath, and all his disciples beside him, 
 
 How shall the soul escape f 
 
 With such holy exercise the assessors of the Abyssinian 
 monarch were wont to prepare themselves for the solemn 
 duty of awarding justice between man and man ; and in all 
 cases where the immediate interests of the crown were not 
 concerned, the path of equity is said to have been followed 
 with no small degree of self-denial and steadiness. 
 
 The troubles, indeed, which followed the successes of the 
 Galla rendered property extremely insecure, and in fact sus- 
 pended the authority of law. While Pearce was in the 
 country the only protection to which the lower classes had 
 recourse was the appearance of extreme indigence. The 
 people of Tigre, he informs us, were treated by their gov- 
 ernors better than the natives of Amhara ; a poor man 
 among the former could get some justice done to him when 
 wronged, whereas in the latter province he dared not even 
 wear a good cloth on his back, for fear of being stripped by 
 the soldiers of Guxo, the victorious leader of the barbarians. 
 An old man, who had been three years a faithful servant to 
 Mr. Coffin, requested leave to repair to Gondar, where he 
 had two sons and a daughter whom he had not seen for 
 nine years. His master gave him permission to go, but 
 wished him to buy a new dress previously, that he might 
 appear respectable when he should arrive at his native place. 
 The other replied that the rags would suit him best ; for, says 
 he, " If I have a new cloth on, some of Guxo's Galla will 
 strip me, but if I have a ragged one they will leave it to me, 
 and that will be at least more decent than to go naked.". 
 
 When on the subject of justice we may remark, that in 
 X2
 
 246 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 Abyssinia when a prisoner is condemned to death, lie is not 
 remitted to prison, which is thought cruel, but is immedi- 
 ately carried forth to execution. The capital punishments 
 are various, and among others the cross. Socinios, we 
 find in the annals quoted by Bruce, commanded that Arzo, 
 his competitor, who had fled for assistance and refuge to 
 Phineas, king of the Falasha, should be crucified without 
 the camp. Nor is it uncommon for great malefactors to be 
 flayed alive ; an instance of which occurred when Woosheka 
 was made prisoner in the campaign of 1769. He had taken 
 away the life of Ozoro, Esther's husband ; and she, kind 
 and humane in all other respects, declared that she would 
 not be satisfied with a less severe atonement. Lapidation, 
 or stoning to death, is likewise practised in the same country. 
 This is chiefly inflicted upon strangers for religious causes, 
 and more especially on the Catholic priests who have been 
 detected there since the days of Facilidas. In the streets 
 of Gondar are still seen heaps of stones, which cover the 
 bodies of those unfortunate missionaries whose labours in 
 the cause of the gospel w:ere thus requited. The plucking 
 out of the eyes is a torture commonly reserved for such as 
 are taken in actual rebellion. After the battle of Fagitta, 
 according to the narrative of the British traveller, twelve 
 chiefs of the Pagan Galla underwent this fate, and were 
 afterward turned out to starve in the valleys below the town. 
 Several prisoners of another rank were subjected to the 
 same operation ; and, what is wonderful, not one of them 
 died in consequence, though it was performed in the coarsest 
 manner with an iron forceps or pincers. It is added that 
 the dead bodies of criminals executed for high treason, mur- 
 der, or violence on the highway, are seldom buried, but are 
 left to be devoured by the dogs, hyenas, and other wild beasts. 
 In all these respects there is a similarity so striking be- 
 tween the usages of the Abyssinians and those of the Per- 
 sians, that some writers have attempted to establish on this 
 ground alone the proof of one origin for the two nations. 
 Such a resemblance, however, may be easily explained on 
 the basis of the historical fact that the latter people were 
 long in possession of Arabia, between which and the oppo- 
 site coast of the Red Sea there was a very ancient inter- 
 course. In truth, the customs mentioned in several authors 
 as peculiar to Persia were at a certain period common to all
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 247 
 
 the East, and were only lost in other countries when they 
 were overrun and subdued by more barbarous tribes. As 
 the laws, manners, and habits of Susa and Ecbatana were 
 committed to writing, and stamped with the character 
 of perpetuity, they survived for a time the conquests which 
 changed the face of society in a large portion of Western 
 Asia, and thereby acquired for their authors the reputation 
 of universal legislators. The accident of having been many 
 ages excluded from the ingress of foreigners has secured 
 for Abyssinia a corresponding originality ; or, in other 
 words, has enabled her to preserve, in a state more entire 
 than they are now found anywhere else, a set of usages 
 both national and domestic," which we may presume for- 
 merly prevailed from the Nile to the remotest shores of the 
 Asiatic continent. 
 
 The Abyssinian monarchs, like those of Persia, were 
 seldom seen by their subjects, — a seclusion which was in- 
 tended to increase the reverence of the multitude for the 
 person and office of a sovereign. This expedient, however 
 wise in some respects, was found to give rise to serious 
 abuses. In the court of Persepolis it produced two officers, 
 one of whom was called the king's eye, and the other the 
 king's ear, and their employment was to see and hear for 
 his majesty. In Abyssinia it led to a similar appointment, 
 the chief who held it being denominated the king's mouth 
 or voice ; for the latter, being seen by nobody, his deputy 
 spoke of course in the third person. The usual form of 
 royal mandates is, "Hear what the king says to you ;" and 
 what follows has always the validity and obligation of law. 
 The Assyrians, the Medes, the Persians, and even the 
 Hebrews, adopted the same method and style in their com- 
 munications to the people. 
 
 It is not unworthy of notice, that no man is condemned 
 by the emperor in person to die for the first fault, unless 
 the crime be of a very atrocious nature, such as parricide 
 or sacrilege. In general, too, the earlier life and merits 
 of the prisoner are weighed against' his immediate guilt ; 
 and if his former good conduct is thought to have conferred 
 on the state a benefit greater than the injury for which he 
 is now called to account, he is usually absolved by the 
 monarch.
 
 248 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 The Abyssinians retain the ancient aversion to eat and 
 drink with strangers, although they seem not to understand 
 the reason upon which the prohibition was originally 
 founded. They break or purify every vessel that has been 
 used by one who is not of their own blood. The history 
 of religion can alone explain such usages, which, in fact, 
 had a reference to the sacred nature of certain animals, 
 worshipped by one tribe and killed for food by another, and 
 therefore viewed alternately as gods and as abominations. 
 
 In attempting to delineate the physical character of the 
 inhabitants of this part of Ethiopia, Bruce informs us that 
 their complexion resembles the colour of pale ink. He has 
 selected, as specimens of the features which distinguish the 
 higher class, the portraits of two ladies who figured at 
 court, — the wife of Ras Michael, and Tecla Mariam, the 
 daughter of an able statesman. The latter of these females 
 was esteemed very beautiful by the natives, and is pro- 
 nounced by the traveller just named as deserving of all the 
 praise which was bestowed upon her fine appearance. 
 
 Pearce assures us that the Abyssinians vary much in 
 their colour ; some being very black, with hair nearly 
 straight, others copper-coloured, some much fairer, with 
 the hair almost woolly, and a fourth description having the 
 same complexion with long hair. This mixture arises 
 from the unsettled nature of family relations, which partake 
 of the constant changes in local government and property. 
 A woman may be the mother of six or seven children, whose 
 fathers have migrated from as many different provinces : 
 for, as soon as one chief expels another, the followers 
 of the vanquished leader accompany him into some new dis- 
 trict, leaving wives and children to the protection of their 
 more fortunate successors. 
 
 Nothing in truth appears to be more insecure than the 
 marriage tie in Abyssinia. Perhaps it might be asserted, 
 that there are no other obligations than such as are con- 
 tracted by mutual consent, and which subsist only as long 
 as both parties are inclined to respect them. After sep- 
 aration these engagements may be again renewed, again 
 violated, and a third time repeated. Bruce met at Koscam, 
 in the presence of the queen-mother, a lady of great rank 
 with seven men who had all been her husbands, and no one
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 249 
 
 of whom could claim her for wife at that particular juncture. 
 When married individuals agree to part they divide the 
 children according to certain rules. The eldest son falls to 
 the mother, and the eldest daughter to the father. If there 
 is but one girl, and all the rest boys, she is assigned to the 
 male parent ; and if there is but one son, and all the others 
 girls, he is the right of the mother. If -the numbers are 
 unequal after the first selection, the remainder are distributed 
 by lot. From the king to the beggar there is no distinction 
 between legitimate and illegitimate offspring ; there being 
 in fact no principle on which the preference could be made 
 to rest, except in the case of the royal family, where the 
 mother of the heir is previously selected and usually 
 crowned. 
 
 In his ordinary marriages the king uses no other ceremony 
 than the following : He sends an officer to the house where 
 the lady lives, who announces to her that it is the king's 
 pleasure that she should remove instantly to the palace. 
 She then dresses herself in her best manner and immediately 
 obeys. Thenceforward he assigns her an apartment in the 
 royal dwelling, and gives her a house elsewhere in any place 
 she may choose. There is an approach to a regular marriage 
 when he makes one of his wives Iteghe ; for on that occasion 
 he orders a judge to pronounce in his presence that " the 
 king has chosen his handmaid for his queen." The crown 
 is then applied to her brows, but she is not anointed. The 
 beautiful story of Ahasuerus and Esther will occur to the 
 recollection of every reader ; for it was when she " had 
 found grace in his sight more than the other virgins, that he 
 placed a golden crown upon her head." This coronation in 
 Abyssinia conveys a great political privilege, constituting her 
 majesty regent during the nonage of her son ; a point of 
 correspondence which history does not enable us to trace in 
 any of the mighty kingdoms that covered the banks of the 
 Euphrates. 
 
 The ordinary method of contracting trie matrimonial union 
 among people of condition and " such as fear God" is the 
 following : A man, when he resolves to marry a girl, sends 
 some person to her father to ask his consent. When this is 
 granted the future husband is invited to the house, and an 
 oath is mutually taken by the parties that they will maintain 
 due fidelity to each other. Then the parent of the bride
 
 250 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 presents to the young suitor the fortune that he intends to 
 give ; consisting usually of a particular sum of gold, some 
 oxen, sheep, or horses, according to their circumstances in 
 society. The bridegroom, however, is obliged to find surety 
 to the amount of the goods, in case he should dismiss his 
 wife, and prove unable to restore all that he has got. He 
 is also obliged to*secure an additional sum of money, or its 
 equivalent in effects, to the lady, lest he should choose to 
 separate from her without any valid reason. 
 
 A certain period, twenty or thirty days, is also determined 
 by a reciprocal oath, before the expiry of which they vow to 
 go to church together and receive the sacrament. When 
 the time appointed for the marriage arrives, the intended 
 spouse appears again at the bride's residence, examines in 
 her company the moveables and clothes which she is to carry 
 with her, and swears again that he will respect her property, 
 use her well, never leave her without food and raiment, keep 
 her in a good house, and discharge faithfully all the duties 
 incumbent upon him as the head of a domestic establishment. 
 His surety or sponsor likewise binds himself to see all these 
 obligations punctually fulfilled. Matters being suitably ad- 
 justed, the bridegroom takes his wife on his shoulders, and 
 carries her to his own house if in the neighborhood ; but if 
 not, he limits the procession to a complete circuit of her 
 father's dwelling ; after which he sets her down, and con- 
 ducts her into it. No sooner is this ceremony performed 
 than a solemn banquet takes place, consisting of raw beef 
 and bread, honey-wine, and another beverage called bouza, 
 extracted from fermented grain. The feast being ended, 
 the parties mount on mules and ride to the gentleman's 
 abode, where are concluded all the rites necessary to marriage 
 before they live together. When they have completed the 
 specified term, they appear in church, and declare before the 
 priest that they are husband and wife, and that they are 
 come to receive the sacrament. The clergyman, satisfied 
 with these assurances, performs mass ; the young couple 
 communicate and return home. 
 
 This, we are told, is the established form of those 
 marriages which are celebrated canonically, or according to 
 ecclesiastical rules. But it is clear that the peasants and 
 soldiers do not encumber themselves with so much ceremony. 
 No settlement, surety, or oath, being necessary, they kill an
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 251 
 
 ox or some sheep, which they eat raw, drink a great deal 
 of bouza, dance, shout, and practise various kinds of foole- 
 ries ; and if a priest be at hand he sprinkles them with holy 
 water, and repeats a hallelujah. The company join in the 
 benediction ; and, as we might suppose in such circum- 
 stances, this slight formality is distinguished by a greater 
 degree of mirth than delicacy of manners. 
 
 The usage at the marriage of a prince or princess is de- 
 scribed in these terms : The match having been previously 
 settled according to the views of the court, preparations are 
 made for the festival, which is generally held during the 
 rainy season, while the country is secure and abandoned to 
 pleasure. The king being seated on his throne in the large 
 hall of audience, the parties are introduced into his presence 
 with their respective attendants. After kissing his hand 
 they are all magnificently clothed in dresses of brocade or 
 other rich stuffs. The crown is sometimes set on their 
 heads ; they receive the benediction of the Kees Hatze, or 
 royal almoner ; after which they retire clothed with the 
 caftan. Having mounted horses given them by his majesty, 
 they ride in great state, in the midst of loud acclamations, 
 to the house of the husband. A dinner is prepared, in the 
 course of which many oxen are slaughtered at the door in 
 order to furnish band, which is served up reeking and 
 quivering from the body of the animal." Deep drinking then 
 commences, in which the ladies and gentlemen indulge to a 
 degree which to a European appears altogether incredible. 
 These marriages, it is added, are by no means permanent ; 
 many of the Ozoros entering into new engagements as often 
 as they please, and dissolving the preceding contract at the 
 suggestion of convenience or fancy.* 
 
 The manner of christening, too, is somewhat singular. 
 A man does not stand godfather for a girl, nor does a woman 
 stand godmother for a boy ; the parents usually look out for 
 persons who are able to make a present to the child. During 
 the whole ceremony the priest swings to and fro a brass vase 
 suspended by four chains of the same metal, with small 
 bells attached to it, in which there is frankincense burning, 
 the fumes of which fill the chamber with an agreeable odour. 
 Before he places the child in the new cloth held by the god- 
 
 * Balugani, in Bruce, vol. vii. p. 69.
 
 252 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 father, he dips it in a large basin of water, and then takes a 
 small wooden cross, and beginning on the forehead says, 
 " I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost." After repeating this he makes the sign of 
 the cross upon every joint of the body behind and before ; 
 he then takes a feather dipped in a certain oil, which is ob- 
 tained from Egypt, and is called meiron, repeating this 
 formula, " In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, I anoint thee with the holy oil,-as a token that thou 
 hast entered into Christ's flock." All this having been per- 
 formed in the churchyard near the entrance gate, the mother 
 takes the infant into the church, and there waits till the 
 sacrament is administered to the people and also to her child. 
 
 Pearce mentions a singular practice, which he remarks 
 might appear fabulous to any one who had not witnessed it. 
 When a woman has lost two or three children by death, she 
 is induced, in the hope of saving the life of another just 
 born, to cut a piece from the tip of the left ear, roll it up in 
 a piece of bread and swallow it. " For some time," says he, 
 " I was at a loss to conjecture the reason why a number of 
 grown people of my acquaintance had one ear cut ; and 
 when told the truth I could scarcely believe it, -till I went 
 into the house of a neighbour, though contrary to custom, 
 purposely to see the operation. An old woman cut off the 
 tip of the ear, and put it into a bit of cold cooked victuals, 
 called sherro, when the mother of the infant opened her 
 mouth to receive it, and swallowed it, pronouncing the words, 
 4 In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost !' " They 
 have recourse to many other superstitious and whimsical 
 practices to prevent children from dying.* 
 
 The superstitions of such a people indeed occupy a promi- 
 nent place in their statistics ; and of these none is more 
 remarkable than the prejudice which expels from society, 
 and even from the holy sacrament, all men who work in iron 
 or pottery. One reason for this strange aversion is, that 
 such artisans are considered even by their nearest neighbours 
 as possessing the supernatural power of changing themselves 
 into hyenas and other ravenous beasts. -All convulsions or 
 hysterical disorders, which are as common in Abyssinia as 
 in other parts of the world, are attributed to the evil eye of 
 
 * Life and Adventures, vol. i. p. 307.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 253 
 
 these unfortunate workmen. They are known by the name 
 of Buda ; and many marvellous exploits are attributed to 
 them, not only by the vulgar, but even by individuals of su- 
 perior intelligence. Though excluded from the more sacred 
 rites of Christianity, they still profess great respect for 
 religion, and are not surpassed by any of their countrymen 
 in the strictness with which they keep Lent and the other 
 stated fasts. 
 
 Pearce readily acknowledges his inability to trace this 
 whimsical notion to any plausible source. Mr. Coffin, who 
 was in the country at the same time, and who appears to 
 have enjoyed the gift of deeper reflection than his comrade, 
 is equally puzzled, and regards some of the facts which 
 came immediately under his own knowledge as almost in- 
 explicable. The Budas are distinguished, it seems, from 
 other classes, by a peculiarly-formed gold ring, worn by the 
 whole race, and which kind of ring he declares he has fre- 
 quently seen in the ears of hyenas that have been shot, 
 caught in traps, or speared by himself; but in what way 
 these ornaments came to be so strangely applied, he declares 
 that, after taking considerable pains to investigate the 
 subject, he had been utterly unable to discover. Besides 
 the power that these persons are supposed to have of trans- 
 forming themselves into wild animals, they are imagined, as 
 we have already stated, to possess the still more dangerous 
 attribute of inflicting disease by directing a malign look 
 towards their victim. So fully convinced, too, are the 
 Abyssinians that these unhappy blacksmiths are in the habit 
 of rifling the graves in their character of hyenas, that no 
 one will venture to eat what is called quanter, or dried meat, 
 in their houses, though they have not the smallest re- 
 pugnance to sit down with them to a repast of raw flesh, 
 where the killing of the cow or sheep before their eyes dis- 
 sipates at once the horrible illusion. 
 
 Mr. Coffin relates a story respecting one of these Budas, 
 the circumstances of which fell under his own observation. 
 It happened that among his servants he had hired an indi- 
 vidual of this gifted class, who, one evening when it was 
 still perfectly light, came to request leave of absence till the 
 next morning. His petition was immediately granted, and 
 the young man withdrew ; but scarcely had the master 
 turned round to his other servants', when some of them 
 Y
 
 254 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 called out, pointing in the direction the Bucla had taken, 
 " Look ! look ! he is turning himself into a hyena !" Mr. 
 Coffin instantly looked round, and though he certainly did 
 not witness the transformation, the youth had vanished, and 
 he saw a large hyena running off at the distance of about a 
 hundred paces. This happened in an open plain, where 
 there was not a bush or tree to intercept the view. The 
 absentee returned ih the morning, and was attacked by his 
 companions on the subject of his metamorphosis, which, 
 according to the usual practice of his brethren, he rather 
 affected to countenance than to deny.* 
 
 From the latter circumstance it has been inferred that the 
 belief in this most extravagant superstition is, owing to some 
 motive or other, encouraged by the Budas themselves. The 
 trades they follow are the most lucrative in the country ; 
 and as these are exclusively in the hands of particular fami- 
 lies, in whom the right of exercising them descends from 
 father to son, it is not improbable that, in order to prevent 
 all competition, they may choose to envelop their persons 
 and their craft in a certain degree of mystery. With this 
 view, it may be presumed, they place the ornaments de- 
 scribed above in the ears either of such young hyenas as 
 they may happen to catch, or of old ones, which are fre- 
 
 * Perhaps few readers are aware that a very similar superstition ex- 
 isted among the Greeks as well as the Romans, with respect to men 
 turning themselves into wolves. Pliny calls the persons possessing 
 this power of transformation, versipelles ; remarking that " it is a fabu- 
 lous opinion not worthy of credit." He afterward explains more par- 
 ticularly the popular helief on this head, and makes mention, from a 
 Greek author, " of a man who lived nine years in the form of a wolf;" 
 adding, " but it is astonishing how far the Greeks carried their credu- 
 lity, for there is no falsehood, however impudent, that wants its testi- 
 mony among them." — Hist. Nat. lib. viii. c. 2-2. 
 
 The following extracts from Petronius give a complete view of this 
 singular imagination :— " Deinde ut respexi comitem, ille exuit se ; 
 omnia vestimenta secundum viam posuit. Stabam tanquam mortuus — 
 at ille circumminxit vestimenta sua, et subito lupus factus est. Po6t- 
 quam lupus factus est ululare ccepit et in sylvas fugit. Ego primitus 
 nesciebam ubi essem — deinde accessi ut vestimenta ejus tollerem; ilia 
 autem lapidea facta sunt. Lupus villain intravit et omnia pecora tan- 
 quam lanius sanguinem illis misir, nee tamen destitit, etiamsi fugit, 
 servus enim noster lancea collum ejus trajecit — postquam veni in ilium 
 locum in quo lapidea vestimenta erant facta, nihil in veni nisi sanguinem. 
 Utverum domum veni, jacebat comes meus in lecto, et collum illius 
 medicus curabat. Intellexi ilium versipellern esse, nee postea cura ilLa 
 panem gustare potui, non si me occidisses."
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 255 
 
 quently entrapped, and then dismiss them to the wilderness 
 with their newly-acquired embellishments. This idea was 
 stated to Mr. Coffin, who thought the conjecture more than 
 probable, and promised on his return to the country to do all 
 in his power to ascertain the fact. He remarked at the 
 same time, that he had never seen a very young hyena with 
 the gold ring in its ear.* 
 
 The Zackary, we are told, are another extraordinary set 
 of beings ; who, though esteemed good Christians, go 
 roaring about the towns, making a dreadful noise, torturing 
 themselves with whips, and even cutting their flesh with 
 knives. They are most numerous in the province of Tigre, 
 where they have a church, which is frequented by no other 
 class of men. They style themselves the descendants of 
 St. George. In their place of worship there is a light, 
 which they assert burns continually without the aid of any 
 human means. To put their miracle to the test of experi- 
 ment, Pearce confesses that he oftener than once watched 
 for an opportunity to blow it out ; but those who had the 
 charge of it were too attentive to their duty to allow him to 
 succeed. 
 
 One of the most annoying of their superstitions is the 
 belief or affectation of being possessed with a certain kind 
 of evil spirit, which cannot be expelled in any other way 
 than by music and dancing. This complaint is called 
 tigrt-ter, and is more common among women than among 
 men. It seizes the body as if with a violent fever, then 
 turns to a lingering sickness, which, unless the proper rem- 
 edy can be procured, often reduces the, patient to the greatest 
 extremity. During the paroxysm the speech is changed to 
 a kind of stammering, which no one can understand but 
 those who have been afflicted with the same disorder. 
 When the relatives find the malady established, they join 
 together to defray the expenses of curing it ; the first step 
 towards which is to procure the assistance of a learned 
 dofter or priest, who reads the gospel of St. John, and 
 drenches the sufferer with cold water for the space of seven 
 days — an application that very often proves fatal. A more 
 effectual remedy is found to consist in a band of trumpeters, 
 
 * See a note by the Editor of Pearce's Life and Adventures, vol. i. p,
 
 256 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 drummers, and fifers, a full supply of liquor, and an assem- 
 blage of juvenile personages to enjoy these means of 
 hilarity. 
 
 Pearce once saw a young woman who had the misfor- 
 tune to be afflicted with this disorder, and as she was the 
 wife of an intimate friend he visited her very frequently. 
 Her voice was so much affected, that she could not be un- 
 derstood by her nearest relations ; and it was observed that 
 the sight of a book or a priest threw her into great agony, 
 during which a torrent of tears, like blood mingled with 
 water, flowed from her eyes. After allowing her to linger 
 three months in this miserable condition, the husband re- 
 solved to employ the wonted remedy, however expensive 
 and inconvenient to him. For this purpose he collected a 
 band of music, and likewise borrowed from all his neigh- 
 bours their silver ornaments, with which to load her arms, 
 legs, and neck. 
 
 The evening this singular experiment was tried, our 
 countryman attended to give his assistance. About two 
 minutes after the trumpets commenced, he observed her 
 shoulders begin to move, and soon afterward her head and 
 breast, and in less than a quarter of an hour she sat up on 
 the couch. The wild look she had, though she occasion- 
 ally smiled, made him withdraw to a greater distance, being 
 alarmed to see a person reduced almost to a skeleton exert 
 such strength ; her head, neck, shoulders, hands, and feet, 
 all moved to the sound of the instruments, and in this man- 
 ner she proceeded for some time, till at length she started 
 up and stood on the floor. Afterward she began to dance 
 and to jump about, and at last as the music and noise of the 
 singers increased she often sprang three feet from the 
 ground. When the band slackened she appeared quite out 
 of temper, but when it became louder she smiled and was 
 delighted. During this violent exercise she never showed 
 the least symptom of being tired, though the musicians 
 were thoroughly exhausted ; and whenever they stopped to 
 take a little rest she manifested signs of the utmost discon- 
 tent and impatience. 
 
 Next day, according to the prescribed method in the cure 
 of this disorder, she was taken to the market-place, where 
 several jars of maize were provided for the respective per- 
 formers. When the crowd had assembled and the music
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 257 
 
 Was ready, she advanced into the centre, where she began 
 to dance and throw herself into the maddest postures ima- 
 ginable, and continued to exert herself in the same manner 
 throughout the whole day. Towards evening she was seen 
 to drop the silver ornaments from her neck, arms, and legs, 
 one at a time, so that in the course of three hours she had 
 stripped herself of every article. As the sun went down 
 she made a start with such swiftness that the fastest 
 runner could not keep pace with her ; and when at the 
 . distance of about two hundred yards, she fell to the ground 
 on a sudden as if she had been shot. Soon afterward a 
 young man fired a matchlock over her body, struck her on 
 the back with the side of his large knife, and asked her 
 name, to which she answered as when in possession of her 
 senses ; a sure proof that the cure was accomplished, for 
 during this malady those afflicted with it never answer to 
 their Christian name. She was now taken up in a very 
 weak condition and carried home ; and a priest came and 
 baptized her again, as if she had just come into the world 
 or assumed a new nature. 
 
 Mr. Pearce had soon afterward a less agreeable opportu- 
 nity of becoming acquainted with the characteristics of 
 this strange disease. His own wife was seized with some 
 of the most alarming symptoms ; but having a strong sus- 
 picion that this ailment sprang from the weak minds of 
 women, who were gratified with the display, the rich dresses, 
 and music which accompany the cure, he determined not 
 to yield to her fancy. He thought the application of a whip 
 might be attended with a good effect, and actually had re- 
 course to a few strokes when there was no one present to 
 witness the proceeding. But what was his surprise when, 
 instead of profiting by his skill, she appeared like a corpse, 
 her joints stiffened, and life seemed to become extinct. 
 Alarmed and grieved at the want of success, he immedi- 
 ately consented to pay for the band, the drink, and the other 
 apparatus used in similar cases ; and the result proved a 
 complete reward for his connubial affection. " One day," 
 says he, " I went privately with a companion to see my 
 wife dance, and kept at a short distance, as I was ashamed 
 to go near the crowd. On looking steadfastly upon her, 
 while dancing and jumping, more like a deer than a human 
 Y2
 
 258 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 being, I said that it was certainly not ray wife ; at which 
 my companion burst into a fit of laughter, from which he 
 could scarcely refrain all the way home."* 
 
 There is little doubt that on some occasions there was 
 fraud mixed up with Abyssinian superstition. Pearce, 
 whose mind was possessed with all the incredulity of a 
 Protestant, was constantly endeavouring to obtain a peep 
 behind the scenes ; and, in one instance at least, he was 
 completely successful. - At an excavated church near Adowa 
 there is a picture of the Virgin suckling her Child, painted 
 probably in the time of the Portuguese, as the workmanship 
 differs materially from that of the native artists. It is placed 
 in a window, adjoining which is a dark recess ; and the 
 priests told the Ras and the chiefs who were with him, that 
 when any sinful person looked at it the figures trembled 
 violently. As Pearce himself witnessed the agitation of 
 the picture when some individual, not remarkable for purity, 
 happened to fix his eyes on it, he looked about to discover 
 whether there were any secret entrance by which one might 
 get to the back of it, and soon observed a monk crawling 
 out of a very small opening in an obscure place. Accord- 
 ingly, when the attention of the bystanders was otherwise 
 employed, the skeptical sailor crept in, and after turning 
 round a dark corner he saw a priest behind the canvass 
 shaking it every now and then with a piece of string. He 
 did not presume to interrupt him, but being satisfied with 
 his discovery retired from the scene of imposture. He did 
 not forget, however, to tell Welled Selasse at a convenient 
 season, who said he believed it ; but added, " It will not do 
 to quarrel with these rascals, for if I were to set them 
 against me I should not long be Ras."t 
 
 At another place there is an exhibition of a miraculous 
 nature, which bears some resemblance to the annual prodigy 
 achieved at Naples, when the blood of St. Januarius be- 
 comes liquid in the hands of a holy man. It is, we believe, 
 on one of the festivals of the blessed Virgin that the wonder 
 now alluded to is performed, known by the designation of 
 the crying cross of Axum. On a day appointed, the king, 
 the Ras, and a number of chiefs met at the church-gate, 
 where a large body of priests were ready to receive them. 
 
 * Life and Adventures, vol. i. p 291. I Ibid. p. 176.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 259 
 
 The latter were all arrayed in their most splendid vestments, 
 and about ten o'clock, as the sun was coming to his strength, 
 they formed in a line in front of the sacred edifice ; upon 
 which the cross was brroght out and uncovered. The 
 king first ascended the steps and kissed it ; the Ras followed 
 his example, which again was imitated by the noblemen and 
 others who were entitled to take part in the ceremony. It 
 was the ratification of a solemn treaty between persons of 
 great power, and intended to secure the peace of an exten- 
 sive province. The people believe that the cross, when used 
 on such momentous occasions, ne^ier fails to shed tears, or 
 or least to exude a liquid matter, which, at a little distance, 
 appears very similar. Many individuals, we are assured, 
 come from remote districts, and pay large sums to be al- 
 lowed to kiss it ; imagining that their sins are thereby 
 washed away. Indeed there is so much anxiety to behold 
 this sacred relic, that those at a distance call out to the 
 priests, " For God's sake hold it higher, that our eyes may 
 see it !" Pearce had no doubt that the crafty wretches 
 anointed it with some thick oily substance, which, when 
 held in the sun, melted and shone like drops of water ; but 
 no one being allowed to touch it except a priest or a monk, 
 it was impossible that the cheat could be discovered. 
 
 We learn also that there was a great dofter, who used to 
 travel about the country, and had become rich by deluding 
 the poor and ignorant. He was wont to attend the sick, and 
 was also employed to purify places supposed to have been 
 haunted by the devil or evil spirits. It was remarked of 
 him that he always commenced his operations in the heat 
 of the sun, when he ordered all fires to be removed ; and 
 having taken his seat on a sheltered place near the door, he 
 desired the people to withdraw to a little distance while he 
 prayed. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he con- 
 trived, by using the bottom of a broken bottle, to set fire to 
 some dry horse-dung with the rays of the sun ; he then 
 threw on some frankincense, which caused a great smoke ; 
 and rising up with his face towards heaven, he called upon 
 his illiterate audience, telling them in a solemn tone of voice 
 that God had heard him, and sent down fire from above to 
 destroy all their enemies visible and invisible. Pearce re- 
 peated the experiment in the presence of the Ras, who had 
 no difficulty in penetrating the deception ; but, notwith-
 
 280 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 standing, it was deemed imprudent to enlighten the multi- 
 tude and expose the learned dofter. 
 
 The few of the Abyssinians who can write usually devote 
 their acquirement to the manufacture of charms, by means 
 of which they undertake to prevent hail from destroying the 
 corn, and the locusts from approaching the cultivated dis- 
 tricts, as well as to cure all manner of diseases. Welled 
 Selasse, in conversations with his English visiters, had fre- 
 quently alluded to the influence of these persons, and hinted 
 how dangerous they were to those who had given them any 
 offence. Nor did he seem at all displeased when he was 
 assured that it was all owing to the foolish superstitions of 
 the lower classes ; that they had no more power than other 
 men ; and that, instead of being encouraged or protected, 
 they ought to be punished as impostors. A dofter from 
 Gojam came one day to ask the Ras to put him at the head 
 of the clergy in some rural district, assuring him that he 
 could prevent the ravages of the small-pox, of the locusts, 
 and of the hail. Selasse, smiling, recommended him to 
 Pearce and Mr. Coffin, who were sitting with him at dinner ; 
 upon which the applicant with much respect and earnestness 
 addressed himself to them. On their return home he fol- 
 lowed them, and they desired their gatekeeper to allow him 
 to enter the yard, that he might be more within the reach 
 of the discipline with which they meant to try his constancy. 
 The two gentlemen soon issued from their mansion, each 
 with an English cart-whip in his hand, a part of the equip- 
 ment sent by Mr. Salt when he forwarded the artillery, har- 
 ness, and carriages. The dofter asked what might be the 
 use of such long weapons 1 " We are going to show you," 
 said Mr. Coffin ; " and if you can save others from the wrath 
 of God, save yourself from the whipping you are about to 
 receive." Upon this they commenced a furious flagella- 
 tion, which they continued till the pious enchanter fell at 
 their feet, imploring their mercy, and declaring that he pos- 
 sessed no supernatural gifts, nor was in any respect wiser 
 than his brethren. After this acknowledgment they gave 
 him abundance of raw meat and maize, on which he gorged 
 himself without restraint ; but, not satisfied with a good 
 dinner, he demanded money, and at length became very 
 troublesome and abusive. Mr. Coffin was so much pro- 
 voked that he charged his blunderbuss, and putting the
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 261 
 
 blood of a fowl which he had just killed on the top of the 
 powder, went to the gate and discharged it at him. No 
 sooner did the priest see his person covered with gore, than, 
 imagining himself to be seriously wounded, he ran to the 
 top of a neighbouring hill, where he remained till the eve- 
 ning ; and then descending to the gate of the palace, he de- 
 manded justice against the white men, who, he declared, 
 had shot him. Upon learning the particulars the Ras was 
 much amused, while the Gojam graduate was so greatly an- 
 noyed at the jest, that he was never again seen in the same 
 part of the country.* 
 
 The Abyssinians have not yet passed that low stage of 
 mental improvement at which the licenses of a professional 
 buffoon are tolerated or enjoyed. At the court of Welled 
 Selasse there was a remarkable person of this description, 
 who supplied to the chiefs in attendance upon the Ras the 
 want of a circus, an opera, and a theatre. Mr. Salt assures 
 us that he was one of the cleverest mimics he had ever seen, 
 the command which he possessed over his features almost 
 equalling that which was displayed in London by Suet, an 
 actor, to whom in other respects he bore a considerable re- 
 semblance. One of his main 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 features ; a power which Mr. Salt re- 
 peatedly saw him exercise with success, and which, on one 
 occasion, drew himself into the same kind of ridiculous 
 situation without his being conscious of the changes in his 
 countenance, till he was roused by a friendly hint from the 
 Ras. 
 
 At the desire of his master, he afterward performed some 
 finished pieces of acting, which evinced very extraordinary 
 native talent. One of these was the imitation of a chief in 
 the field of 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 mim- 
 icked the sound of horns heard from a distance, and the 
 low beating of a drum. At hearing this he represented his 
 hero as beginning to be a little cautious, and to ask ques- 
 
 * Life and Adventures, vol. i. p. 332.
 
 262 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 tions of those around him whether they thought the enemy 
 strong. This alarm he continued to heighten in proportion 
 as the adverse party advanced, until at length he depicted 
 the unfortunate leader as nearly overcome by his fears ; the 
 musket trembling in his hand, his heart panting, and his 
 eyes completely fixed, while, without being sensible of the 
 movement, his legs began to make a very prudent retreat. 
 This part of his acting excited among the spectators the 
 share of contempt due to the original character ; when, 
 dexterously laying hold of the circumstance, he affected to 
 be ashamed of his cowardice, mustered up his whole stock 
 of courage, and advancing-, 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 countenance was inimitable ; and at the conclusion the 
 whole of the spectators burst into a shout of admiration.* 
 
 Totte Maze, for this was the name of the performer, had 
 one day so much offended the Ras by certain liberties, that 
 he commanded him never again to set foot on his carpet, 
 which it may be remarked extends in Abyssinia only half- 
 way down the room. On the morrow, however, to the great 
 surprise of the company, the jester made his appearance 
 mounted on the shoulders of one of his attendants, in which 
 ludicrous position he advanced close up to his master, and 
 with a very whimsical expression of features cried out, 
 " You cannot say that I am on your carpet now !" Welled 
 Selasse", who like most of his countrymen delighted in 
 humour, could not refrain from smiling, which ensured the 
 forgiveness of the mirth-maker and his return to office. 
 
 The diseases of such a people are so closely connected 
 with their superstitions, that the treatment of the one always 
 indicates the character and extent of the other. The notion 
 that most of the disorders which afflict mankind are produced 
 by the agency of evil spirits, leads to some very absurd prac- 
 tices considered under the head of remedies or palliatives. 
 For instance, when Mr. Pearce on one occasion returned 
 from a journey, he had the misfortune to find that his gate- 
 keeper and gardener had been dead four days ; and the neigh- 
 
 * Salt's Travels in Abyssinia, p, 372.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 263 
 
 bours insisted that they had been killed by devils, as they 
 were both found corpses in the morning, having gone to 
 bed in perfect health, and their bodies being free from ex- 
 ternal wounds. The priests, who interposed their services 
 and advice, obliged him to discharge all his firearms before 
 any one should venture into the house, and then to sprinkle 
 the blood of a newly-killed sheep on the ground-floor. A 
 jar or two of maize were likewise to be expended on the oc- 
 casion, which, with the flesh of the victim, were meant to 
 console the survivors, as well as to render effectual all the 
 other means that were employed against their invisible 
 enemies. 
 
 In all parts of Abyssinia it is customary, when a building 
 has been left uninhabited for some time, to kill a cow or a 
 sheep, and distribute the carcass within the walls ; an 
 offering which it is presumed satisfies the ghost of the 
 place, who immediately leaves it in peace. But when such 
 houses are abandoned or neglected, the offended demon 
 haunts the mouldering remains, and kills those whom it 
 finds taking up even a temporary residence among them, 
 without appeasing its wrath by the customary oblations. 
 
 To the same prejudice in regard to the influence of evil 
 spirits in creating distempers, especially such as affect the 
 nervous system, may be ascribed the practice, already men- 
 tioned, of beating drums, sounding trumpets, and in short 
 of using the most noisy instruments, in order to dislodge 
 the malignant agent whose delight it is to occasion torture 
 and alarm. When a man is seized with the species of fever 
 called tigre-ler, which leads to such fooleries among the 
 women, his relations show him all the gold and silver orna- 
 ments they can collect, making at the same time a deafening 
 noise with drums, to drive the devil out ; " For," says the 
 historian, " they believe that all diseases come from the 
 devil."* 
 
 The common distempers, with the exception of the small- 
 pox and measles, are not usually dangerous. Fevers, too, 
 are very rare, except in the low country at the commence- 
 ment of the rains ; which, occasioning an unhealthy vapour, 
 give rise to the opinion that this class of ailments are pro- 
 duced by the blow of a bad spirit. The only remedy em- 
 
 * Pearce, vol.i. p. 282.
 
 264 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 ployed is the juice of some cooling leaves rubbed over the 
 temples of the patient. They also fasten different- roots and 
 herbs about the head and body, as well as a variety of written 
 charms ; which last, however, are not employed for the cure 
 of this disorder in particular, but worn by every person in 
 sickness and in health. Colds and sore eyes are general, 
 and are usually caught through personal neglect ; for the 
 Abyssinians sleep much in the sun by day, and expose their 
 persons to the heavy dews of night with scarcely a rag to 
 cover them. The leprosy prevails greatly among the lower 
 class, especially in the southern provinces, where thousands 
 may be seen who have lost their fingers and toes, and have 
 their bodies covered all over with large white spots. 
 
 But the small-pox, as has just been intimated, is the most 
 destructive complaint known in Abyssinia. As soon as its 
 approach towards any district is ascertained, the inhabitants 
 collect their children and others who have not had the 
 disease, for the purpose of inoculation. Every one carries 
 a piece of salt or a measure of corn, with which they pro- 
 ceed together to the nearest town in search of an operator. 
 Having selected a person covered with healthy tubercles, 
 they procure a dofter well skilled in his art, who takes a 
 quantity of matter from him into an egg-shell, and then cut- 
 ting a small cross with a razor in the arm of his patients, 
 he introduces a little of the virus, and finishes by binding it 
 with a piece of rag. After this process they all return home, 
 singing and shouting praises to God in a joyful manner, 
 and beseeching him to preserve them from death during the 
 approaching disease. So far all is very well, but the sub- 
 sequent treatment is most injudicious. From the moment 
 the fever begins they are put into a close hut, where not a 
 breath of air, and if possible not a beam of light, can enter. 
 Here they are laid naked upon river-sand or wood-ashes, 
 the latter being generally preferred when the eruption is 
 copious. No male animal, dog, cat, or cock, is allowed to 
 remain near the house ; there being certain superstitions 
 which connect the presence of that sex with the anger of 
 wicked spirits who seek the life of the sufferers. 
 
 In all the Galla districts, except those converted to the 
 Mohammedan or Christian religion, the inhabitants on the 
 appearance of the small-pox burn their villages and retire 
 to a distance. As the diseased are consumed along with
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 265 
 
 the houses in which they dwell, fathers, mothers, and the 
 nearest relations, if unable to remove, fall indiscriminately 
 a sacrifice to this barbarous practice. Horrid as it may 
 appear, the natives esteem it a prudent, as well as a humane 
 method of stopping the progress of a frightful malady, and 
 reproach the Christians for not following their example, 
 and, by devoting a few, preserve the lives of the community. 
 A species of scrofula, which they call mcshero, is of fre- 
 quent occurrence in Ethiopia. The more common remedies 
 are attempted through the medium of purgatives and sudo- 
 rifics, although some practitioners have recourse to the 
 hazardous method of excision. With a razor they make 
 two deep cuts in the shape of a cross on the swelling, and 
 then putting in the little finger, they bring to the surface a 
 kernel about the size of a common nut. Having disengaged 
 this from the flesh with the sharp instrument, they bind up 
 the wound with some pounded herbs prepared for the pur- 
 pose, and boast of a permanent cure. 
 
 No disease is more painful and disgusting, both to natives 
 and foreigners, than the tape-worm, which appears to be 
 universal throughout Abyssinia. It was at one time at- 
 tributed by Europeans to the practice so common Ln that 
 country, of eating raw flesh ; but as Pearce and Coffin, 
 who did not in this respect comply with the custom of the 
 inhabitants, were afflicted with it to a great extent, it is 
 more probable that it arises from the climate and the quali- 
 ties of the water. There is a plant called cusho, which 
 proves a certain cure for this dreadful disorder ; and the 
 application of it every two months is so absolutely necessary 
 to the enjoyment of the most ordinary health, that without 
 this active medicine the principle of population would be 
 materially impaired. 
 
 In regard to the mode of conducting the burial of the dead, 
 some particulars fell under the notice of Pearce on the loss 
 of his son, which are too interesting to be omitted. The 
 funeral follows the demise of the sick person without any 
 delay. The moment the breath departs, the cries and 
 shouts, which have been kept up for hours before, are re- 
 commenced with fury ; the priests read prayers of forgive- 
 ness while the body is washed, the hands fastened across 
 the Lower part of the trunk, and the two great toes tied 
 together. The corpse is then wrapped in a clean cloth and 
 22
 
 266 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 sewed up ; after which the skin called neet, the only bed 
 that an Abyssinian has to lie upon, is bound over all, and 
 the procession forthwith commences towards the church. 
 According to the distance the whole route is divided into 
 seven equal parts, at every one of which the bier is laid 
 down and prayers for the welfare of the deceased are ad- 
 dressed to heaven. Every neighbour assists in digging the 
 grave, and they all carry implements for the purpose, trying 
 to outwork one another. 
 
 It is customary, too, on sUch occasions to bring gifts to 
 the relatives of the departed, or what are called dcvves in 
 the language of the country. Pearce relates that in his 
 case before the cry was over, the people stood in crowds 
 about his house, striving who should get in first, till the 
 door was completely blockaded. Some brought twenty or 
 thirty cakes of bread, some a jar of maize, some cooked 
 victuals, fowls, and even sheep ; and in this manner his 
 dwelling was so fully stuffed that he was obliged to remove 
 into the yard. The head priest came with a jar of maize 
 and a cow. But whatever is collected in this way is under- 
 stood to be common property, and every individual who 
 contributes expects to be invited to the feast. Then " they 
 talk and tell stories to divert your thoughts from the sor- 
 rowful subject ; they force you to drink a great deal : but 
 I have remarked that at these cries, when the relations be- 
 came a little tranquil in their minds, some old woman will 
 make a sudden dismal cry, saying, ' Oh ! what a fine child ; 
 and is he already forgotten V This puts the company into 
 confusion, and all join in the cry, which will perhaps last 
 half an hour ; during which the servants and common people 
 drink out all the maize, and, when well drunk, form them- 
 selves into a gang at the door and begin their cry."* 
 
 There are numbers of men and women who get a living 
 by making rhymes and attending at cries. They are often 
 called to a great distance to grace the funerals of persons 
 of distinction ; and if they are also celebrated as poets they 
 receive a high pay in corn, cattle, or cloth. Mr. Pearce 
 knew a very handsome middle-aged female who, though she 
 
 * Suck practices appear to have introduced themselves among the' 
 Hebrews in their latter days; for the Gospel mentions at the deatti of 
 the ruler's daughter, " the minstrels and the people making a noise."—' 
 Man. ix. 23.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 267 
 
 had a large estate, had studied poetry from her youth, and 
 attended gratuitously at all cries of a public nature, for no 
 other purpose than to display her benevolence and her un- 
 common powers. She was esteemed the best maker of 
 verses either in Amhara or Tigre. Many great men had 
 offered to marry her, but she could never be prevailed on to 
 listen to their proposals ; not that she had any predilection 
 for a single life, — a very rare choice indeed among the sex 
 in Ethiopia. 
 
 In courts of law, whether held by the governor of a 
 province or by a subordinate magistrate, the plaintiff and 
 the defendant stand up with their dress tied round their 
 middle, leaving the upper part of the body naked ; a custom 
 which is observed even in the severest weather. The 
 tuvverkas, or lawyers, stand on either side of them pleading 
 in a loud tone of voice their several causes ; during which 
 process wagers of mules, cows, sheep, and gold, are con- 
 tinually laid by these orators that they will prove such and 
 such charges contained in the libel ; and in all cases the 
 forfeit becomes the perquisite of the presiding judge. They 
 also bind themselves in a similar way not to speak until 
 their antagonist shall have finished his address ; but, as 
 often happens, the falsehoods related by the one incense the 
 other to such a degree that, although he holds his mouth 
 with his hand, he forgets himself, and exclaims, "A lie!" 
 He is instantly addressed by the governor's servant, whose 
 office it is to watch for such slips, and is obliged either to 
 give bond for the payment of his bet or to submit to personal 
 restraint. 
 
 In cases of murder the law in Abyssinia is administered 
 as follows : after the fact has been proved to the satisfaction 
 of the chief, he passes sentence of death, when the nearest 
 relation to the person slain proceeds to put it in execution. 
 Should the deceased party have no other relative but a female, 
 though she may have a husband, friend, or other connexions, 
 yet she being next of kin must, either with a spear or knife, 
 strike the first blow, upon which her acquaintances despatch 
 him immediately. Unless this ceremony were observed, 
 the family of the criminal would have reason to complain 
 that his blood had been shed unjustly. The principal 
 prosecutor is in all cases bound to execute the sentence ; 
 his hand must be the first raised against the offender to put
 
 268 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 him to death, even should he happen to be his own brother, 
 the son of his mother.* 
 
 Though a capital sentence is pronounced against a homi- 
 cide, the family of the defunct may, if they see proper, take 
 cattle in place of the murderer's life ; one hundred of these 
 animals being the customary price of redemption. But when 
 the assassin is put ,to death, the relations are permitted to 
 bury him in the church, a privilege formally granted by the 
 laws ; though in case of self-destruction, no one can be in- 
 terred even within the walls of the churchyard. We may 
 remark, in conclusion, that the Ras, or other provincial 
 chief, has the power of compelling the aggrieved party, even 
 in the case of murder, to accept the wonted equivalent for 
 the life which has been taken away. 
 
 Agriculture, as might be expected in a state of society 
 where there are so few rewards for industry, is still in a very 
 rude condition ; the occupiers of land trusting much more 
 to the natural fertility of the soil than to any system of 
 management. The ploughs are so extremely inartificial 
 that they sometimes consist of nothing more than the crooked 
 branch of a tree, pointed with a small piece of iron. Two 
 varieties of wheat are cultivated, of which bread is made for 
 the tables of the great. Teff, which is the more usual food, 
 graduates in its colour from white to black. The same 
 remark applies to barley, of which also two kinds are raised. 
 They first sow this grain about the end of April or beginning 
 of May ; that is, a little before the commencement of the' 
 rains. It comes to maturity in June, and is immediately 
 carried off the fields, that it may not be destroyed by the 
 excessive moisture. Then they sow vetches, which likewise 
 ripen during the rainy season. In September they sow 
 wheat or teff, either of which is ready to be cut down in 
 December ; and if they have water they repeat barley or 
 tares in January. In Wogara, where there are constant 
 means of irrigation, seedtime and harvest follow each other 
 every month of the year. The rent paid to the king is one- 
 tenth of the crop ; but as the produce is small the peasants 
 never become affluent. Their five harvests combined are 
 not equal to one in Egypt, while the labour is still greater 
 even in proportion. t 
 
 At the beginning of the rains, the fields at a distance from 
 
 * See Deuteronomy, xiii. v. 6-9. | Bruce, vol. vii. p. 63.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 269 
 
 the villages are very much Injured by hogs and monkeys, 
 which last sometimes drive the keepers from the grounds. 
 The soil is much overrun with weeds, which, if not plucked 
 up before the ear is formed, are exceedingly destructive. 
 The Abyssinians usually assist one another in this important 
 labour, which is done with a due regard to ceremony. A 
 chief, for example, musters every soldier in his service, and 
 marches at their head to a corn-field, where they lay down 
 their arms, fall into line, join in a song suitable to the oc- 
 casion, and, placing themselves under the command of a 
 female, advance in regular order along the ridges. When 
 the work is done, the military labourers receive an enter- 
 tainment from their leader, consisting generally of the blood- 
 warm steaks of a cow, and a hornful of maize.* 
 
 In their cooking, with some slight exceptions, the people 
 of Abyssinia are entitled to the praise of cleanliness. Fowls, 
 after being cut into pieces, are washed in a dozen waters at 
 least, and the same is practised in regard to fish. Both dishes 
 are prepared with curry, a mixture of hot pepper, onions, 
 and salt, with the addition of some butter and spices, which 
 altogether form a compound too hot for most European 
 throats to swallow. Partridges, guinea-fowl, and other game 
 are always dressed in the manner now described, while the 
 Sesh of the sheep and goat is only a little broiled. A fa- 
 vourite dish is the paunch and liver of these quadrupeds 
 minced, to which are added a little of the substance from 
 the entrails that has not been digested, and a few drops from 
 the gall, mixed all together with a second compound of red 
 pepper and salt, called horzy. Another sauce consists of the 
 thin substance from a cow's entrails, boiled with mustard, 
 and the mixture termed horzy and butter, which they gen- 
 erally eat with the raw beef. A third dish, which is seldom 
 seen except at the tables of the higher ranks, is made from 
 a part of the cow called chickkiner. This portion of the 
 animal, which is thought very tender, is cut down raw into 
 small mince-meat, then mixed with black pepper, and a great 
 quantity of the oil that runs from the joints of the knees 
 and other limbs during the process of dissection. Pearce 
 observes that the man may consider himself a great favourite 
 who gets his mouth crammed full of this rare dainty ! 
 
 * Pearce, vol. i. p. 345. 
 Z2
 
 270 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 Every one knows, that it is the custom in Abyssinia for 
 those who entertain friends at a meal to feed them by ac- 
 tually stuffing the meat into their mouths. When a man 
 invites a neighbour to dine with him, it is thought ex* 
 tremely uncivil if the lady does not cram the guest with her 
 own hands ; and the more voraciously the visiter eats, the 
 more is his good-breeding esteemed. In fact, the picture 
 exhibited by Bruce, of the grossness and sensuality of even 
 the highest class in this respect, was one of the main causes 
 of the incredulity with which his work was received in 
 Europe ; and as this is a subject which is not yet divested 
 of all importance, we may be excused for entering into a few 
 details, relative to the several statements now before the 
 public. 
 
 The traveller relates, that in the neighbourhood of Axum 
 he overtook three persons, apparently soldiers, who were 
 driving a cow before them. When arrived at a certain point 
 they threw the animal down ; and one of them sat across 
 her neck, holding down her head by the horns, While another 
 who had a knife in his hand made a very deep wound on the 
 upper part of her body. Upon Bruce proposing to his 
 servants to bargain for part of the carcass, he learned that 
 it was not the intention of the men to kill the beast ; that 
 in fact she did not belong wholly to them, and that they 
 could not sell her. "This," says he, "awakened my curi- 
 osity ; I let my people go forward, and staid myself, till I 
 saw with the utmost astonishment two pieces, thicker and 
 longer than our ordinary beef-steaks, cut out of the higher 
 part of the buttock. How it was done I cannot positively 
 say ; because, judging the cow was to be killed, from the 
 moment I saw the knife drawn, I was not anxious to view 
 that catastrophe, which was by no means an object of curi- 
 osity ; but whatever way it was done, it surely was adroitly, 
 and the two pieces were spread on the outside of one of their 
 shields. One of them still continued to hold the head while 
 the two others were busied in curing the wound. This, too, 
 was done not in an ordinary manner : the skin that had 
 covered the flesh was left entire, and flapped over the wound, 
 and was fastened to the corresponding part by two or more 
 small skewers or pins. Whether they had put any thing 
 under the skin between that and the wounded flesh I know 
 not ; but at the river-side where they were, they had pre-
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 271 
 
 pared a cataplasm of clay, with which they covered the 
 wound. They then forced the animal to rise, and drove it 
 on before them, to furnish them with a fuller meal when 
 they should meet their companions in the evening." 
 
 It is observed by the latest biographer of Bruce, that it 
 was upon the recital of this fact that his : ' reputation split, 
 and sunk -like a vessel which had suddenly struck upon a 
 rock." He was attacked on all hands with satire, ridicule, 
 and even with grave argument ; and because he would 
 neither suppress nor modify the description, he was de- 
 nounced to the world as a fabulist, or a dreamer of dreams. 
 Even so late as 1805, when Lord Valentia touched on the 
 coast, Mr. Salt was pleased to state that he repeatedly in- 
 quired as to the truth of cutting flesh out of live animals, 
 and " all to whom we spoke denied its ever being done." 
 But Pearce and Coffin, who remained in Abyssinia, and be- 
 came intimately acquainted with the manners of the people, 
 afterward fully confirmed in the most literal acceptation of 
 his words the whole narrative of Bruce on this disputed 
 point. The former, in the journal published by Salt himself, 
 relates that, when on a march, a soldier attached to the party 
 proposed to cut out the shulada from one of the cows they 
 were driving, to satisfy the cravings of their hunger. This 
 term Mr. Pearce did not at first understand, but he was not 
 long left in doubt upon the subject. ; for the others having 
 assented, they laid hold of the animal by the horns, threw it 
 down, and proceeded without further ceremony to the op- 
 eration. This consisted in cutting out two pieces of flesh 
 from the buttock near the tail, which together he supposed 
 might weigh about a pound. As soon as they had taken 
 these away, they sewed up the wounds, plastered them over 
 with cow-dung, and drove the animal forward, while they 
 divided among their party the still reeking steaks. Mr. 
 Coffin also declared to Major Head, that he had not only 
 seen the excision performed, but that he himself has repeated 
 it, and that he did so at Cairo in presence of an English 
 nobleman of high character, to whose name he publicly 
 referred.* 
 
 A similar degree of skepticism has been entertained in 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iv. p. 332 ; Salt's Travels, p, 295 ; Head's Life of Bruce 
 p. 253.
 
 272 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 regard to the mode of supplying brindc, or raw meat, to the 
 guests in the fashionable parties at Gondar, the capital of 
 Abyssinia. When the company have taken their seats at 
 table, a cow or bull is brought to the door, and its feet 
 strongly tied ; after which the cooks proceed to select the 
 most delicate morsels, nearly in the manner described by the 
 travellers. Before killing the animal, all the flesh on the 
 buttocks is cut off in solid square pieces, without bones or 
 much effusion of blood. Two or three servants are then 
 employed, who, as fast as they can procure the brinde, lay it 
 upon cakes of teff placed like dishes down the table, without 
 cloth or any thing else beneath them. By this time all the 
 guests have knives in their hands, and the men prefer the 
 large crooked ones, which in the time of war they put to all 
 sorts of uses. The company are so ranged that one gen- 
 tleman sits between two ladies ; and the former with his 
 long knife begins by cutting a thin piece, which would be 
 thought a good steak in England, while the motion of the 
 fibres is yet perfectly distinct. 
 
 In Abyssinia no man of any fashion feeds himself or 
 touches his own meat. The women take the flesh and cut 
 it lengthwise like strings, about the thickness of one's little 
 finger, then crosswise into square pieces somewhat smaller 
 than dice. This they lay upon a portion of the teff bread, 
 strongly powdered with black pepper, or cayenne, and fossil 
 salt, and then wrap it up like a cartridge. In the mean time 
 the gentleman, having put up his knife, with each hand 
 resting upon his neighbour's knee, his body stooping, his 
 head low and forward, and mouth open, very like an idiot, 
 turns to the one whose cartridge is first ready, who stuffs the 
 whole of it between his jaws, at the imminent risk of choking 
 him. This is a mark of grandeur. The greater the man 
 would seem to be, the larger is the piece which he takes into 
 his mouth ; and the more noise he makes in chewing it, the 
 more polite does he prove himself. None but beggars and 
 thieves, say they, eat small pieces and in silence. Having 
 despatched this morsel, which he does very expeditiously, 
 his neighbour on the other hand holds forth a second pellet, 
 which he devours in the same way, and so on till he is sat- 
 isfied. He never drinks till he has finished eating ; and 
 before he begins, in gratitude to the fair ones who have fed 
 him, he makes up two small rolls of the same kind and form.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 273 
 
 Each of the ladies opens her mouth at once, while with his 
 own hand he supplies a portion to both at the same moment. 
 Then commence the potations, which, we are assured, are 
 not regulated with much regard to sobriety or decorum. 
 
 All this time the unfortunate victim at the door is bleeding, 
 but bleeding little ; for so skilful are the butchers, that while 
 they strip the bones of the flesh, they avoid the parts which 
 are traversed by the great arteries. At last they fall upon 
 the thighs likewise ; and soon after the animal, perishing 
 from loss of blood, becomes so tough that the unfeeling 
 wretches who feed on the remainder can scarcely separate 
 the muscles with their teeth.* 
 
 In the description now given, we have purposely omitted 
 some features which, it is not improbable, have been a little 
 too highly coloured, if not even somewhat inaccurately 
 drawn. But there is no reason to doubt the general cor- 
 rectness of the delineation, not excepting the grossest and 
 most repulsive particulars. It is true that the statement has 
 been called in question by Abyssinian travellers, especially 
 by Mr. Salt, who seems to have derived peculiar gratification 
 from exposing the slips of his predecessor ; but it is no less 
 true that the cutting of the shulada was denied on a similar 
 authority, and yet no fact has been more fully established 
 by the most unimpeachable evidence. 
 
 Besides, neither Salt nor Pearce ever penetrated to Gon- 
 dar, the metropolis of the empire, and the scene of its 
 greatest luxury, sensuality, and pleasure. The latter of 
 these gentlemen, too, in describing the marriage feast of the 
 more respectable class of people, informs us that cattle are 
 brought to the door to be slaughtered, and that the raw meat 
 is handed about while it still reeks and shivers under the 
 large two-edged knife with which every man is furnished. 
 Nor does he conceal that, at a certain stage of the enter- 
 tainment, it is customary for all the party to become quite 
 intoxicated ; a concession which might perhaps be regarded 
 as implying all that Mr. Bruce has alleged against the 
 morals of the Abyssinians. Mr. Salt himself confirms the 
 account given of the irregular conduct of the ladies, but not 
 those open indecencies described by the older traveller. It 
 deserves notice, however, that Ras Welled Selasse enter- 
 
 * Bruce, iv. 486.
 
 274 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 tained views on this subject quite uncommon in his country, 
 and exacted a degree of outward decorum to which the court 
 had never before been accustomed. Bruce, on the contrary, 
 saw it in a state of peculiar license ; .so that an actual varia- 
 tion in the manners at these different periods is extremely 
 probable.* 
 
 The nobility and all those of a certain rank, it is admitted, 
 live in a state of great licentiousness and debauchery even 
 when married. They are seldom jealous of each other, 
 says Pearce, at least never show their suspicions, knowing 
 well each other's character. Eut notwithstanding the free- 
 dom of their conduct they strictly keep all the fasts, which 
 are very numerous ; and on those occasions they never eat 
 or drink till about three o'clock in the afternoon, contriving 
 to calculate the hour by measuring the shadow of their 
 bodies on the ground. The days of abstinence amount to 
 no fewer than a hundred and sixty-five in the year. It is 
 to be lamented that the clergy fail to check by their example 
 the immoral practices of the people ; being themselves 
 " more like drunken beasts than civilized beings," while the 
 quantity of raw meat they consume, and " the ravenous 
 manner in which they devour it, exceed all belief." Pearce, 
 however, knew one at Chelicut who always conducted him- 
 self like a true -father of the faith, and strove earnestly to 
 bring all classes to a right sense of their duty. He even 
 delivered a discourse in the church against the abomination 
 and disgrace of eating raw meat ; but before he could finish 
 his address he was interrupted by the clerical portion of his 
 hearers, who threatened him with deposition should he per- 
 severe in his heretical notions. The pious reformer forth- 
 with relinquished his situation ; but the Ras, hearing of the 
 occurrence, entreated him to resume his office, and permit 
 the people to do as their fathers had done before them. 
 
 We are unwilling to conclude this chapter without adding 
 an extract from " Purchas his Pilgrimes" on the condition 
 of the Abyssinians nearly three hundred years ago. " An- 
 tonius Fernandez," says he, " thus writeth of their apparel. 
 The richer sort buy garments of the Saracens, and clothe 
 themselves in their fashions. The rest, both men and 
 
 * See Leyden's Discoveries and Travels in Africa, by Hugh Murray, 
 Esq. vol. ii. p. 92.
 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 275 
 
 women, cover their bodies either with a skinne or pelt, or 
 with a coarse hempen cloth without other arte than the 
 weaver's. When they doe reverence to any, they put off 
 this cloth from the shoulders to the middle, remayning half- 
 naked. They let their haire grow, and that serves them for 
 a hat and head-tyre. For finer braverie they curie and 
 anoint their haire with butter, which shewes in the sun 
 like grasse in the morning dew. Lest their locks and 
 curies should be disordered when they goe to bed, each one 
 pitcheth a forke or crutch a foot high in the ground, betwixt 
 the homes whereof hee reposeth his necke, and sleepeth 
 with his head hanging. They use to brande markes on 
 their bodies, especially in the face. And on the little fingers 
 they suffer the nailes to grow as long as they will, like 
 cocke's spurres, which also they sometimes cut from cockes 
 and fit to their fingers. They colour their hands and feet 
 (which are bare) with the juice of a reddish barke. They 
 usually are artlesse and lazie, neglecting hunting and fish- 
 ing ; and whereas wooll, hempe, and cotton, might easily 
 be had, yet the vulgar are clothed with undressed pelts, 
 each wearing a ramme's skinne tyed to his hands and feet. 
 They lie on oxe-hides without quilts or mattresses ; for 
 tables they use great bowles of wood rudely hollowed, with- 
 out any naperie. Vessels they have of blacke chalke. Few 
 but Saracens use merchandise, and in few places ; most ex- 
 ercise husbandrie ; the gentry follow armes and the court. 
 They have no great cities, but villages unwalled and unfor- 
 tified. Their greatest towne hath scarcely one thousand six 
 hundred houses. Their houses are small, without elegance, 
 without storie, almost without arte, rounde, and covered with 
 earth and straw. They write no letters, nor use records in 
 judgments or other writings, but in their holy things and 
 offices of accompts for the king. They use no dirges or 
 devotions for the dead. They use pictures, but not carved 
 nor graven images. They paint Christ, the Blessed Virgin, 
 and other saints in blacke forme, as devils and wicked men 
 in white. So they paint Christ and his apostles at the 
 Maundie blacke, and Judas white; Christ in his Passion 
 blacke, and Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod, and the Jewes 
 white ; Michael blacke, and the devil white."* 
 
 * Vol. ii. p. 1163, 1184.
 
 276 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 We shall not fatigue the attention of the reader with 
 minute details on the music, the dancing, and other pas- 
 times of the Abyssinians, which differ not much from those 
 of mere barbarians. The same reason has induced us to 
 abstain from a recital of the amusements and domestic man- 
 ners of the Nubians, who live in a state still more artless 
 than their eastern neighbours, and retain a larger share of 
 that simplicity which characterizes the pursuits of the 
 savage, or at least of the human being in the very lowest 
 condition of civilized existence.
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Exhibiting the more remarkable Features in Nubia and Abyssinia. 
 
 Want of attention to this subject on the part of Travellers— Primitive 
 Rocks— Granite. Gneiss, Porphyry, Quartz, and Serpentine— Similar 
 Structure towards the Eastern Frontier — Mountains of Cosseir— Mar- 
 ble — Emerald Mountains — Batn-el-Hadjar — Dar Mahass — Primary 
 Rocks— Secondary Formation at Berber — Primitive Strata reappear — 
 El Querebyn— Fazoglo— Singueh— Mountains of Abyssinia— Taranta 
 — Lamalmon— Ganza — Singular Shapes — Occasioned by Periodical 
 Rains— Theory of the Earth— Reflections. 
 
 No one has written on the geological structure of Ethiopia 
 without expressing regret, that the enterprising travellers to 
 whom we are indebted for so much valuable information in other 
 respects, should not have found it convenient to devote more 
 attention to the character and distribution of mineral substances. 
 Above the first cataract the banks of the river, or rather the chan- 
 nel of the stream itself, may be considered as constituting the 
 great highway which connects Egypt with Sennaar and Abys- 
 sinia — a line from which tourists have hitherto deviated so little, 
 that whatever is situated a few hundred yards on either side of it 
 may be pronounced utterly unknown to Europeans. . The rocks 
 that project into the current, or form the partial obstacles over 
 which it precipitates its waters, may have been hastily inspected 
 by the passing stranger, who describes them as sandstone or 
 granite, according to the extent of his knowledge, and gives 
 them a place in a system agreeably to the principles of the 
 school in which he has happened to be initiated. Hence 
 nothing is less satisfactorily determined than the nature and 
 succession of those stony bodies which compose the basin of 
 the Upper Nile, except perhaps the magnificent ranges of moun- 
 tains which stretch from the Nubian frontier to the shores of 
 the Arabian Gulf. 
 
 We have elsewhere observed that the hills of secondary for- 
 mation, which bound Egypt on the east and west, graduate into 
 primitive masses as they approach the neighbourhood of Syene. 
 At this point, where the calcareous strata of the north give place 
 to the granitic ridge which has been traced far into the south, 
 the rocks, from a certain intermixture of hornblende, assume a 
 A a
 
 278 GEOLOGY. 
 
 peculiar aspect, and are described by a specific term. Thd 
 granite itself appears to be occasionally diversified by alterna- 
 tions of gneiss, porphyry, clay-slate, quartz, and serpentine, 
 which contain as imbedded minerals a great variety of carnelians 
 and jaspers. There has also been discovered in the vicinity a 
 true marble, or gfanular foliated limestone, exhibiting the 
 various hues of white, gray, yellow, blue, and red ; and which, 
 when combined with the green tint of the serpentine, forms the 
 well-known verde antico. 
 
 In an eastern direction we can trace indications of a similar 
 structure across the whole extent of the desert ; the specimens 
 presenting in some places a splintery or conchoidal fracture, a 
 gray or. variegated colour, and numerous petrifactions of shells, 
 corals, and fishes. The mountainous country near Cosseir con- 
 tains many calcareous eminences in which gypsum predomi- 
 nates ; while, in the valleys which intersect the elevated ground, 
 the sand is partly calcareous and partly siliceous, denoting the 
 quality of the strata from the waste of which it is formed. It is 
 even said that the ridge in question consists of three kinds of 
 rock ; the first of which is a small-grained granite ; the second 
 is a breccia or puddingstone of a particular sort, known by the 
 name of breccia de verde ; and to this succeeds, for the space of 
 thirty miles, a schistose deposite, which seems to be of a con- 
 temporaneous formation with the breccias, since they are con- 
 nected by gradual transitions, and contain rounded masses of the 
 same substance. 
 
 The mountains observed by Bruce on his way to Cosseir are 
 described by him as being composed of green and red marble ; 
 and after a journey of two hours he found hills of porphyry, out 
 of which the Egyptian monuments appear to have been hewed. 
 The stone in this case was perfectly purple, though rather soft 
 and brittle when newly separated from the quarry. This for- 
 mation was succeeded by a lofty ridge, the greatest part of 
 which was marble, verde antico, and by far the most beautiful that 
 he had ever seen. Proceeding still towards the south, he ex- 
 amined a range of mountains, the prevailing rock in which was 
 a kind of granite, with reddish veins throughout, and black 
 spots of a square or triangular form. Nearer the shore of the 
 gulf the green marble once more appeared, which was succeeded 
 by a very high mountain composed of serpentine ; and " through 
 about one-third of the thickness ran a large vein of jasper, green, 
 spotted with red. Its exceeding hardness was such as not to 
 yield to the blows of a hammer."* 
 
 The descriptions of the traveller, while they leave no doubt 
 that the country through which he made his journey consists 
 of primary rocks, afford but a faint light as to- their order and 
 
 * Travels, vol. ii. p. 89.
 
 GEOLOGY. 279 
 
 distribution ; and our regret on this head is not diminished by 
 the reflection that subsequent writers have not removed the 
 darkness in winch he left one of the most important branches 
 of .natural history. 
 
 Near the coast, on the eastern boundaries of Nubia, there 
 occurs a singular chain of slaty hills, presenting in their compo- 
 sition rock-crystal and steatite ; though, at a little distance, they 
 suddenly change their character, the greater part of them appear- 
 ing in the form of limestone or alabaster, in strata lying nearly 
 north and south. Here are the remains of the astrea diluviana ; 
 and among the rocks considered by geologists as of later forma- 
 tion are observed specimens of a schistose structure, together 
 with porphyries not distinctly characterized. Here also the 
 bottoms of the valleys are covered with immense fragments ; 
 among winch are clay-slate, gneiss, porphyry, granite, and cer- 
 tain other compound rocks, exhibiting in their structure ac- 
 tynolite, steatite, and nodules of a species of lamellated spar. 
 
 In the same neighbourhood are situated the famous Emerald 
 Mountains, of which mention is made by several ancient writers. 
 The highest of the group, which is called Zubara, was visited 
 both by Bruce and Belzoni, whose descriptions of it verify the 
 details of the Greek and Roman authors, although the treasures 
 of which the latter were wont to boast have entirely disappeared. 
 The old excavations were found to consist of low galleries 
 much obstructed with rubbish, and rendered dangerous by the 
 looseness of the roof. The passages went very far into the body 
 of the hill, along beds of mica and marble ; and the emeralds 
 appear to have been procured at a great distance from the sur- 
 face, and chiefly at the place where two calcareous strata, en- 
 closing the mica between them, met one another. 
 
 In tracing the progress of Cailliaud, Waddington, and Han- 
 bury, Richardson, English, and other travellers up the Nile, we 
 are supplied with such incidental notices as remove all doubt 
 in regard to the prevailing character of the rocks which con- 
 stitute its banks. In the neighbourhood of the second cataract, 
 and indeed throughout the Batn-el-Hadjar, the formation is ob- 
 viously primitive ; for we find granite, slate, and a very compact 
 sandstone, about which last, however, there is some variety of 
 opinion. At the beginning of the falls the felspar is of a dark 
 colour, and lends to the cliffs a very sombre appearance ; but 
 at Wad y Ambigo it assumes a red tint, and becomes much more 
 lively and agreeable to the eye. 
 
 A similar formation, it would appear, extends into Dar Ma- 
 hass, where rocks of the oldest class appear on every hand, and 
 which is distinguished by a large mountain called Fogo, con- 
 taining " a great deal of agate and fine quartz, and every variety 
 of granite." Cailliaud discovered, besides those just mentioned, 
 a number of fragments composed almost entirely of a beautiful
 
 280 GEOLOGY. 
 
 green felspar ; but these relics rather served to indicate the 
 nature of the mountains which had once covered the edge of 
 the desert, than to afford any key to the actual condition of the 
 mineral kingdom in circumstances so materially changed. 
 When the Egyptian army under Ishmael approached the island 
 of Kandy, they observed some granitic rocks, composed in gene- 
 ral of white felspar, and a considerable proportion of mica of the 
 same colour, and remarkable for its pearly aspect. The prince 
 sent a portion of it. to the Frenchman to ascertain whether or 
 not it was silver. The miners attached to the suite of the pasha 
 did not hesitate to affirm that the resemblance of this substance 
 to one of the metals which exercise so much power over the 
 minds of men, could not fail to conduct them to the discovery 
 of veins immensely rich. The mica, according to these learned 
 mineralogists, was nothing else than silver which had not yet 
 attained to maturity. 
 
 According to the author just quoted, the primitive rocks cease 
 to appear when the traveller approaches the country of Berber. 
 The granite, gneiss, and slate give way to sandstone, which, 
 says he, forms the basis of the whole plain. But we cannot 
 refrain from remarking, that as his description of the latter 
 strata is veiy brief and imperfect, there is room for doubt whether 
 there is any actual change of formation, and whether the sand- 
 stone may not, in the character of quartz rock, also belong to the 
 same order as the gneiss and granite. Our suspicions on this 
 head are confirmed by the fact, that the primary rocks soon 
 afterward appear on the banks of the river, and continue as far 
 as the tenth degree of latitude, the remotest point to which 
 the researches of the moderns have extended under that me- 
 ridian.* 
 
 The appearance of the mountains nearGerri denotes that they 
 are primitive ; but it must be admitted that they were not ex- 
 amined. There is no doubt, however, in regard to the range in 
 the neighbourhood of El Querebyn, the principal ingredient of 
 which is a foliated syenite, having the felspar of a pale rose-col- 
 our, and being much charged with hornblende. The round 
 blocks into which it is divided exhibit in their superposition 
 the same appearance as the rocks of Es Souan and Philae ; an 
 arrangement so closely resembling a work of art that the natives 
 imagine they must have been piled up by the hands of man. 
 
 The high hill in the vicinity of Fazoglo is composed chiefly 
 of granite. There are found in it, at the same time, rocks of 
 horneblende and felspar, with veins of the latter nearly as white 
 and as much crystallized as loaf-sugar. On the banks of the 
 Toumat, also, the mountains exhibited the same composition, — 
 
 * "Ici finit lesol primitif et commence le gres, qui constitue celui de 
 la plaine."— Vol. ii. p. 92.
 
 -GEOLOGY. 281 
 
 granite and felspar ; a geological aspect, says M. Cailliaud, 
 which satisfied them that they were approaching the district 
 celebrated for its treasures of gold.* 
 
 At Singueh, in like manner, granite rocks with white felspar 
 were observed on all hands, affording a clear proof that the 
 travellers had not yet left a primitive country. • Darfur and Kor- 
 dofan present similar formations ; whence we may conclude 
 that the greater part of Eastern Africa, between the parallels 
 of 10° and 24°, belongs to the oldest class of deposites with 
 which geologists are acquainted. 
 
 In a region where so little examination has taken place on the 
 great scale, we must not expect that mineralogy, or the know- 
 ledge of simple bodies, has been accurately studied. But from 
 the prevailing features of the landscape, viewed in relation to 
 geology, we may infer that the precious stones, which are 
 found elsewhere in similar circumstances, are not denied to the 
 Nubians. 
 
 Abyssinia is remarkable for the lofty ranges of mountains by 
 which it is traversed. One of these, named Taranta, is on the 
 east of the kingdom, and extends in a direction nearly parallel 
 to the. Red Sea. Another occupies the centre; and, besides a 
 third situated towards the southern border, there are numerous 
 detached groups in the intermediate plains. The second of 
 these is known by the name of its highest summit, Lamalmon ; 
 the last is usually denominated the chain of Ganza. The former 
 contains the mountains of Amhara and Samen, which are re- 
 puted to be the most elevated in the kingdom ; the other, from 
 the circumstance of its exhibiting a semicircular form, was 
 imagined by Mr. Bruce to constitute part of the range celebrated 
 as the Mountains of the Moon — an absurd appellation given to 
 an immense chain, supposed, on very inadequate grounds, to 
 stretch across the African continent. The geology of Abyssinia 
 is indeed very imperfectly known ; but from the magnitude of 
 the hills, the mode of arrangement, and the sharp peaks which 
 rise into the sky, there is every reason to conclude that they 
 belong to the primitive formation. 
 
 The province of Tigre is all mountainous, and some of the 
 groups are of great height. Indeed, the older travellers main- 
 tained that the Alps and Pyrenees were not to be compared to 
 them in respect to elevation — an assertion which has been found 
 inconsistent with a more exact measurement. It is not, how- 
 ever, the extreme altitude of the Abyssinian mountains that 
 occasions surprise, but their number, and the uncommon forms 
 which they present to the eye. " Some of them are flat, thin, 
 and square, in shape of a hearth-stone or slab, that scarce would 
 seem to have base sufficient to resist the winds. Some are like 
 
 * Vol. ii. p. 415. 
 Aa3
 
 282 - GEOLOGY. 
 
 pyramids, others like obelisks or prisms, and some, the most ex- 
 traordinary of all, pyramids pitched upon their points with their 
 base uppermost, which, if it was possible, as it is not, they 
 could have been so formed in the beginning, would be strong 
 objections to our received ideas of gravity."* 
 
 In this delineation there are no doubt some traces of that, vivid 
 fancy which was so apt to carry the .author beyond the precise 
 boundaries of fact, and occasionally disposed him to touch his 
 canvass with the most striking colours. But making the proper 
 allowance for this constitutional exaggeration, it must still be 
 granted that the mountains of Tigre and Adowa are distinguished 
 by features of a very peculiar character, and at the same time most 
 interesting as connected with the principles of geology. Even 
 Mr. Salt, whose more sober judgment and chastened eye were 
 constantly employed in noting any little deviations from the 
 exact line of reality, acknowledges that " a thousand different- 
 shaped hills were presented to the view, which bore the appear- 
 ance of having been dropped on an irregular plain." 
 
 The singular forms now mentioned are the result of those peri- 
 odical rains which carry the soil of Ethiopia to the shores of the 
 Mediterranean, and which, after fertilizing Egypt, are continually 
 adding to its extent at the various mouths of the Nile. The 
 mountains, composed of various strata and rocky deposites, yield 
 unequally to the torrents which rush upon them from the clouds ; 
 the softer parts melting down and disappearing, while the gran- 
 ite with its kindred masses resists, during a longer period at least, 
 the operation of a cause which in the end will certainly prove 
 irresistible. The seacoast occasionally presents similar phe- 
 nomena on a small scale. The waves, acting on the barrier of 
 rocks, perforate some, undermine others, and give rise to those an- 
 gular forms and projections which at a distance assume the most 
 grotesque appearances. It is not easy to calculate the power 
 of a principle which, though constantly in action, proceeds with 
 great irregularity within any given space of time; but the effects 
 of the rain on the hilly surface is known to be very great, while 
 the skeleton aspect of the highest mountains confirms in this 
 point of view the evidence of experience. When, for example, 
 Bruce was ascending Taranta, a sudden noise was heard on the 
 heights louder than the loudest thunder ; and almost imme- 
 diately a river, the channel of which had been dry, came down 
 in a stream about the height of a man, and the breadth of the 
 whole bed it used to occupy. " The water was thick, tinged 
 with red earth. Hence, it is not surprising that the sides of the 
 hills should in many parts be washed away, and that the rocks 
 should project on high like steeples and obelisks, and be broken 
 into a thousand different forms."! 
 
 * Bruce, vol. iv. p. 317. t Ibid. p. 261, 307.
 
 GEOLOGY. 283 
 
 There is a celebrated theory of the earth, which rests on the 
 assumption that all the land now above water will in the course 
 of ges be swept into the sea, to be re-formed into new con- 
 tinents, and in due time raised above the surface, as the abode 
 of future generations, both of men and of the inferior species. 
 Whatever degree of truth there may be in the geological specu- 
 lations connected with this hypothesis, it will be admitted that 
 no part of the world supplies a better illustration of its leading 
 principles than Abyssinia, or diminishes to a greater extent the 
 feeling of improbability which appears inseparable from its 
 first announcement. The actual condition of the mountains, 
 resembling in some places an animal body stripped of the flesh, 
 affords an ample proof that no element but time is wanting to 
 complete the disintegration of the whole surface of Eastern 
 Africa, and thereby to reduce it to the level of the ocean. 
 
 These facts would lead to reflections quite unsuitable to the 
 limits of this chapter. Following such a train of thought, the 
 geologist would see himself in the midst of a vast ruin, where the 
 precipices which rise on all sides, the sharp peaks of the granite 
 mountains, and the huge fragments that surround their bases 
 seem to mark so many epochs in the progress of decay, and to 
 point out the energy of those destructive causes which even the 
 magnitude and solidity of such great bodies have been unable to 
 resist. Perhaps he would see reason to infer that the northern 
 deserts of Africa occupy the place of extensive hills which have 
 been crumbled down by the hand of time ; while the dry chan- 
 nels of ancient rivers might be held as indications of the line in 
 which the waters rushing from them were conveyed to the 
 Mediterranean.* 
 
 * Flayfair, vol. i. p. 122.
 
 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Notices regarding some of the principal Features m the Zoology of 
 the Countries described, in the preceding Chapters. 
 
 Peculiarity in the Physical Structure of the Inhabitants of Upper Egypt — 
 Animals numerous in Abyssinia — Monkeys — Bats— Canine Animals — 
 Fennec — Hyenas— Lynxes— Feline Animals — Supposed Origin of our 
 Domestic Cat— Jerboa — Different Kinds of Wild Hog— Hippopotamus 
 — Rhinoceros — Equine Animals — Giraffe — Antelopes — Birds of Prey — 
 Lamrrrergeyer— Vulture — Owls — Pigeons — Hornbills — Parrots — Bus- 
 tard — Storks — Water Fowl — Reptiles— Crocodile —Cerastes — Fishes 
 —Shells— Pearl Muscles— Insects— Tsaltsalya Fly— Locusts. 
 
 It has been the practice of several natural historians to com- 
 mence their systematic expositions with a " Nosce teipsum," 
 followed by a brief description of the human race ; thus, with 
 more modesty than truth, affecting to classify themselves with 
 the beasts that perish. That many of us are very " brutish per- 
 sons" is a fact which cannot be gainsaid ; but still there is some- 
 thing sufficiently preposterous in the grave and formal enuncia- 
 tion of those characters by which mankind in general are allied 
 to, or distinguished from, the brute creation. The human race 
 possesses indeed the attributes of animal life in common with 
 the inferior orders ; but we should never cease to retain a firm 
 conviction that these are " the accidents, not the essentials, of 
 our nature ;"* and that however proper it may be to mention 
 them as the technical statements of physiology, they are yet totally 
 inadequate to the description of a being who bears within him 
 the germ of an immortal life, and knows that he was created 
 if but a little lower than the angels." — " Those persons," says 
 Buffon, " who see, hear, or smell imperfectly are of no less in- 
 tellectual capacity than others ; an evident proof that in man 
 there is something more than an internal sense. This is the 
 soul of man, which is an independent and superior sense — a lofty 
 and spiritual existence — entirely different in its essence and 
 action from the nature of the external senses."! 
 
 In conformity with these impressions we have hitherto, in 
 the zoological disquisitions which occur in this Library, as» 
 
 * Grinfield's Letters to Laurence. 
 
 t Encyclopaedia Britannica, 7th edition, vol. iii, p. 159.
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 285 
 
 signed the most prominent place to the quadrumanous order 
 which we regard as the most highly organized of the brute crea- 
 tion, and have altogether avoided what we consider as the 
 degradation of the human race. We shall not here depart from 
 the observance of an accustomed rule, further than to notice 
 very briefly a peculiarity in the physical structure of some of 
 those tribes, with the general history of which the reader has 
 already been made acquainted. 
 
 It is long since Winkelman observed that the ear was invaria- 
 bly placed much higher in the Egyptian statues than in the 
 Greek ; but he attributed this peculiarity to a systematic prac- 
 tice in Egyptian art, of elevating the ears of their kings in like 
 manner as the Greek artists are known to have exaggerated the 
 perpendicularity of the facial angle in the heads of their gods and 
 heroes. M. Dureau de la Malle, in his recent visit to the museum 
 at Turin, so rich in Egyptian monuments, was particularly 
 struck with this feature in all the statues of Phta, Mceris, Osy- 
 mandias, Ramesses, and Sesostris. Six mummies recently 
 arrived from Upper Egypt were at that time under examinatien, 
 and afforded him the means of ascertaining whether this special 
 character of the higher situation of the orifice of the ear really 
 existed in the sculls of the natives of the country. He was 
 surprised to find in them, as well as in many other sculls from 
 the same place, of which the facial angle did not differ from that 
 of the European race, that the orifice of the ear, instead of being, 
 as with us, on a fine with the lower part of the nose, was placed 
 on a line with the centre part of the eye. The head in the region 
 of the temple was also much depressed, and the top of the scull 
 elevated, as compared with those of Europe, from one and a half 
 to two inches. It is somewhat singular that this character should 
 have hitherto eluded the observation of so many professional 
 anatomists, and of all the travellers who have traversed Egypt. 
 As a striking corroboration of so singular a structure, which 
 may not inaptly be regarded as the Egyptian type, and a newly- 
 observed variety of the Caucasian race, M\ Dureau cites as an 
 example M. Elias Boctor, a Copt, native of Upper Egypt, who 
 has been twenty years in Paris as a professor of Arabic. He 
 was well known to M. Dureau, who had constantly remarked 
 the great elevation of his ears, which indeed had rather the ap- 
 pearance of two httle horns than of the ordinary human append- 
 ages. The Hebrew race are moreover said to resemble the 
 Egyptians in several particulars. The same author examined 
 and found that the ears of M. Carmeli, a Jew, professor of He- 
 brew, although not placed so high as in the mummies or Copts 
 of Upper Egypt, were still very remarkable as compared with 
 those of the natives of Europe.* 
 
 * Bevue Encyclop&iique, and Literary Gazette, June 23, 1832.
 
 286 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 Before proceeding to notice a few of the more remarkable 
 of the wild species, we may observe that the domesticated ani- 
 mals of Abyssinia consist, as is usual in most countries, of oxen, 
 sheep (chiefly a small black variety), goats, horses, mules, asses, 
 and a few camels. Two kinds of dogs are frequent, one of 
 which, like the Pariah dog of India, owns no master, but lives 
 in packs attached to the different villages ; while the other is a 
 fleet and powerful animal, of general use for the purposes of the 
 chase. From its earliest days the latter is taught to run down 
 game, especially Guinea fowls, and Mr. Salt informs us that 
 its expertness in catching them is astonishing. It never loses 
 sight of the birds for an instant after it has once started them 
 from their haunts. Tame cats are to be seen in every house in 
 Abyssinia.* 
 
 According to Brace, no country in the world produces a 
 greater number and variety of animals, whether wild or tame. 
 The mountains, where free from wood, are covered to their 
 summits with a rich and luxuriant verdure. The long and 
 refreshing rains of summer are not too suddenly absorbed by the 
 solar rays, and the warmth is sufficient to promote vegetation 
 without producing those withering effects which usually result 
 from heat without moisture. The horned cattle, some of which 
 are furnished with humps, are of various kinds and colours. 
 Certain breeds are without horns, while others are remarkable 
 for the gigantic size of these organs. " But the reader may 
 with confidence assure himself that there are no such animals 
 as carnivorous bulls in Africa, and that this story has been in- 
 vented for no other purpose but a desire to exhibit an animal 
 worthy of wearing these prodigious horns. I have always 
 wished that this article and some others of early date were 
 blotted out of our Philosophical Transactions ; they are absurdi- 
 ties to be forgiven to infant physic and to early travels, but they 
 are unworthy of standing among the cautious well-supported 
 narrations of our present philosophers. Though we may say 
 of the buffalo that it is of this kind, yet we cannot call it a tame 
 animal here ; so far from that, it is the most ferocious in the 
 country where it resides ; this, however, is not in the high tem- 
 perate part of Abyssinia, but in the sultry kolla, or valleys below, 
 where, without hiding himself, as wild beasts generally do, as 
 if conscious of superiority of strength, he lies at his ease among 
 large spreading shady trees near the clearest and deepest rivers, 
 or the largest stagnant pools of the purest water. Notwith- 
 standing this, he is in his person as dirty and slovenly as he is 
 fierce, brutal, and indocile ; he seems to maintain among his 
 own kind the same character for manners that the wolf does 
 among the carnivorous tribe."f 
 
 * Salt's Voyage, Appendix, p. 38. t Bruce's Travels, vol. v. p. 63,
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 287 
 
 We possess a very imperfect knowledge of the quadrumanous 
 tribes of this portion of Africa, although we know that several 
 species of monkeys abound throughout the wilder districts, the 
 largest of which Mr. Salt says is called Gingero, and is nearly 
 allied to those found in Arabia. Another smaller species, with 
 a black face, is named Alestoo in the Tigre, and Tota in the 
 Amharic, language. The fields of millet in Abyssinia are fre- 
 quently destroyed by flocks of them, aided by baboons. 
 
 The family called Cheiroptera includes those remarkable flying 
 quadrupeds generally known by the name of bats. The genus 
 Molossus of Geoffroy is distinguished by the fierceness of its 
 aspect, and by a large head and blunted muzzle, from which 
 have no doubt been derived the generic name, which signifies 
 mastiff. Their limbs are strong and muscular, their bodies 
 heavy, and their organs of flight rather disproportioned to their 
 general size. They dwell in caverns and other subterranean 
 excavations, and it is probable that they live chiefly by escalad- 
 ing precipices and trunks of trees, as in some species, such, for 
 example, as M. alecto and abrasus, the wings are narrow, and so 
 cut up by the arching of the posterior margin of the flying mem- 
 brane as to serve rather the purpose of a parachute than for 
 regular or sustained flight. It was long thought that all the 
 species of the genus were peculiar to the New World ; but this 
 idea is now discovered to be erroneous. The travels of M. 
 Riippel in Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia have made us acquainted 
 with many new species which are truly referable to the genus 
 in question; It will also no doubt prove interesting to the 
 student of the- classics, as well as to the natural historian, to learn 
 that many of the animals indicated by Aristotle and Pliny have 
 been discovered by that enterprising traveller. His investiga- 
 tions prove that these classical species differ in many important 
 points from those with which they have hitherto been vaguely 
 regarded as identical, and that modern naturalists have erred 
 in asserting their existence in the countries of Southern 
 Africa. 
 
 The species described by M. Temminck, and named Dysopes 
 Riippelii, in honour of the traveller, is nearly related to that men- 
 tioned by Geoffroy under the name of Nyctinomus Egyptiacus. 
 Its size is the same as that of the Vespertilio murinus of Europe. 
 The ears are excessively large, shell-shaped, overshadowing the 
 face ; their internal margin is not reunited, but projects in front 
 from a common base ; a large internal fold covers the eyes. 
 The tail is thick and depressed, and does not exceed the length 
 of the body, while rather less than the half is enveloped in the 
 interfemoral membrane. The great toe of the posterior limbs 
 is somewhat more free than the others. The fur is fine, close 
 set, and abundant, and there is a border of it on both sides of the
 
 288 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 membranous wings, along the flanks, close to the body. The 
 muzzle is thinly covered with black divergent hairs. The lips 
 are large, plaited, and somewhat pendulous. The upper sur- 
 face is throughout of a uniform mouse-colour ; the inferior parts 
 are very similar in colour, but of a paler hue. The hair upon 
 the toes is long, rather arched, and whitish. The wings are 
 very narrow, but of considerable extent. The male measures 
 from tip to tip about 15 inches, the female not much above 13. 
 The total length of the body and tail is about six inches. This 
 species inhabits the vaults of the ancient Egyptian buildings, and 
 other subterranean places in the north of Africa. Specimens 
 exist in the museums of Leyden and Frankfort. 
 
 Among the canine animals we shall specify the Abottkossein 
 of Nubia, described by Riippel (pi. xi.) under the name of Canis 
 pallidas. This species is suspected by Baron Cavier (Regne 
 Animal, vol. i. p. 152) to be identical with the Adive or Canis 
 corsac of Gmelin, so common over the vast deserts of Central 
 Asia, from the Volga to India. It is said never to drink, and its 
 general habits are those of a fox. 
 
 The jackal {Canis anthiis) is well known in these parts of 
 Africa. It stands higher on its legs, has a sharper muzzle, and 
 shorter tail than those of India, being identical with such as 
 occur in Senegal. 
 
 As a sub-genus of the dogs we may rank the painted hyena 
 of Temminck, described by Mr. Burchel under the name of 
 Hyaena venatica. Mr. B. kept a living specimen of this animal 
 chained up in a stable-yard' for thirteen months, during which 
 time it retained its natural ferocity of disposition. It hunts in 
 packs both during the night and day. The fur is irregularly 
 blotched or mottled with white and fawn colour, gray and black. 
 Its ears are large, with black tips. Its size is that of a wolf. 
 This species, though classed with the hyenas, which in some 
 respects it greatly resembles, possesses, however, the dental 
 system of a dog. We notice it in ihis place in consequence of 
 its having been recently ascertained by M. Riippel to inhabit 
 Kordofan. * 
 
 Great contrariety of opinion has existed among naturalists as 
 to the nature and relationship of the animal described by Bruce 
 under the name of fennec, and in addition to merely scientific 
 discussion, some not very amiable inferences have been deduced 
 by that spirit of rivalry which, though useful in as far as emula- 
 tion is inconsistent with lethargy, is sometimes apt, especially 
 in acrimonious minds, to overflow its bounds. The discovery 
 of the animal in question, though usually assigned to our Abys- 
 sinian traveller, is likewise claimed by a Swedish gentleman, 
 
 * Atlas zu der Reise im Nordlichen Airika, Taf. xii.
 
 QUAL'RIT^US. 289 
 
 Mr. Shioldebrand, who is asserted by the former to have got 
 the start of him in this matter by some petty artifice. Neither 
 the one nor the other, however, has described the species with 
 such a degree of scientific accuracy as to be of any avaii in de- 
 termining its place in the system ; and the consequence of this 
 has been that each compiler has referred it to a different genus. 
 Some have classed it with the most carnivorous species, others 
 have looked upon it as a canine animal. linger made it the 
 type of a new genus, under the name of Megalotis, while it has 
 also been placed with the squirrels in the order Glires, and has 
 even been regarded as a quad ruinatious species belonging to the 
 genus Galago. Although known by various appellations, such 
 as zerdo, zerda, fennec, &c, it is, nevertheless, more commonly 
 called the "anonymous animal," as. if it had no name at all. 
 One writer describes -it as inhabiting the desert wastes of the 
 Sahara, where it digs itself a subterranean dwelling, and he 
 adds that there is no auditory passage in its ears, lest it should 
 be incommoded by the loose and -arid sand; while another 
 assures us that it dwells habitually amid the summits of the 
 loftiest palm-trees, and, in fact, owes its name" to that circum- 
 stance, the term fennec being- asserted to signify a palm. In 
 consequence of these contradictory accounts, some recent 
 authors deny its existence as a species altogether, while others 
 allege that the so called anonymous animal constitutes in fact a 
 distinct genus, consisting of two easily distinguished species, 
 
 Buffon published a figure of the fennec from a drawing trans- 
 mitted to him by Bruce. As his views of systematic arrange- 
 ment were extremely fanciful, we need not be surprised that he 
 should have placed it between the squirrel and the hare. Blu- 
 menbach, from Bruce^s description, refers- it to the civets, and 
 Sparrman "maintains its identity with a South African species 
 called Zerda, — in consequence of which it continues to bear 
 that name in many systematic works. Ilfiger, as we have 
 already mentioned, makes it the type of a genus, under the title 
 of Megalotis ; and M. Desmarest also elevates it to the rank of a 
 genus, under the appellation of Fcnnecus. A feeble fight was 
 thrown upon its. actual station by these transpositions. 
 
 At a more recent period, however, the museum of Frankfort 
 was visited by two intelligent: zoologists, almost at the same 
 time, — we mean M. Temminck and Dr. Sigismond Leuckart, 
 of Heidelberg, both of whom recognised the fennee in an ani- 
 mal sent from Dongola by the traveller Riippel. It appears, in 
 fact, to be a canine animal, nearly allied to the subdivision 
 which contains the foxes, and approaching particularly to the 
 Canis<orsac. The teeth, the feet; the number of toes, and the 
 form of the tail are precisely those of a fox ; but the limbs are 
 higher, and more slender in proportion. The head is rendered 
 of a pecuhar "aspect by the prodigious size of the ears, The 
 Bb
 
 290 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 upper parts of the body are of a straw-yellow, the under of a 
 veUowish-white. The latter colour also characterizes the fore- 
 legs, and the greater portion of the hinder ones. The woolly 
 portions of the coat are long, soft, and white ; the silky are also 
 very soft, and are annulated with white and straw-colour, with 
 here and there a few black points. The general colour of the 
 tail, especially of its superior portion, is brownish-yellow, but 
 blackish towards the point and root. Our information is still 
 defective regarding the manners of this species ; but it appears 
 to be the opinion of those who have studied its characters and 
 history that the fact reported by Bruce of its living on trees is 
 erroneous, and that it is more probably a ground, or even sub- 
 terranean animal, supporting itself, in the state of nature, on 
 small quadrupeds, birds, and insects. 
 
 " Though his favourite food," says Mr. Bruce, speaking of this 
 annual, " seemed to be dates, or any sweet fruit, yet I observed 
 he was very fond of eggs, and small birds' eggs were first 
 brought him, which he devoured with great avidity ; but he did 
 not seem to know how to manage that of a hen, but when broke 
 for him he ate it with the same avidity as the others. When 
 he was hungry he would eat bread, especially with honey or 
 sugar. It was very observable that a bird, whether confined in 
 a cage near him, or ftying across the room, engrossed his whole 
 attention. He followed it with his eyes wherever it went, nor 
 was he, at this time, to be diverted by placing biscuit before 
 him ; and it was obvious, by the great interest he seemed to 
 take in its motions, that he was accustomed to watch for vic- 
 tories over it, either for his pleasure or hisfood. Pie seemed 
 very much alarmed at the approach of a cat, and endeavoured 
 to hide himself, but showed no symptom of preparing for any 
 defence. I never heard he had any voice : he suffered himself, 
 not without some difficulty, to be handled in the day, when he 
 seemed rather inclined to sleep, but was exceedingly unquiet 
 and restless so soon as night came, and always endeavouring his 
 escape, and though he did not attempt the wire, yet with his 
 sharp teeth he very soon mastered the wood of any common 
 bird-cage. From the snout to the tail he was about ten inches 
 long, his tail five and a quarter ; near an inch on the tip of it 
 was black." The ears are described as being above three 
 inches long, covered on the borders with soft white hair, but 
 bare in the middle, and of a rose-colour. They were about an 
 inch and a half broad, and the cavities within were very large. 
 It was very difficult however to measure them, for he was ex- 
 tremely impatient of having his ears touched, and always kept 
 them erect except when terrified by a cat. The pupil of the eye 
 was large and black, and surrounded by a deep blue iris. He 
 had a sly and wily appearance ; but as his habits are not gre- 
 garious, and for other reasons, Bruce doubts the propriety
 
 Q-PADRUPEDS. 293 
 
 0! this animal being regarded as the Sapkan of the Scriptures— 
 an opinion advocated both by Jewish and Arabian writers. The 
 right-hand figure of the annexed wood-cut represents the fennec. 
 In Brace's figure the ears are too large. 
 
 The hyena tribe in general are characterized by possessing 
 three false molars above and four below, all conical, blunt, and 
 singularly large ; their superior carnivorous tooth has a small 
 tubercle witlun and in front, but the inferior has none, and pre- 
 sents only a couple of strong cutting points : with these power- 
 ful weapons they can crush the bones of the largest and most 
 obdurate prey. The tongue is rough, each foot has four toes, 
 and there is a glandular pouch beneath the tail. The muscles 
 of the neck and jaws are so powerful that it is impossible to 
 wrest any thing from between their teeth when once they have 
 firmly seized it ; on which account, among the Arabians, the 
 name is the symbol of obstinacy. 
 
 The common hyena, that is to say, the striped species ( H. 
 vulgaris), is an animal fully better known and more abundant in 
 Abyssinia than elsewhere. "I do not think," says Mr. Bruce, 
 ** there is any one that hath hitherto written of this animal who 
 ever saw the thousandth part of them, that I have. They were 
 a plague in Abyssinia in every situation, both in the city and in 
 the field, and I think surpassed the sheep in number. Gondar 
 was full of them from the time it turned dark till the dawn of 
 day, seeking the different pieces of slaughtered carcasses which 
 this cruel and unclean people expose in the streets without 
 burial, and who firmly believe that these animals are Falasha 
 from the neighbouring mountains, transformed by magic, and 
 come down to eat human flesh in the dark in safety. Many a 
 time in the night, when the king had kept me late in the palace, 
 and it was not my duty to lie there, in going across the square 
 from the king's house, not many hundred yards distant, I have 
 been apprehensive they would bite me in the leg. They grunted 
 in great numbers around me, though I was surrounded with 
 several armed men, who seldom passed a night without wound- 
 ing or slaughtering some of them. One night in Maitsha, being 
 very intent on observation, I heard something pass behind me 
 towards the bed, but upon looking round could perceive nothing. 
 Having finished what I was then about, I went out of my tent, 
 resolving directly to return, which I immediately did, when I 
 perceived large blue eyes glaring at me in the dark. I called 
 upon my servant with a light, and there was the hyena stand- 
 ing nigh the head of the bed, with two or three large bunches 
 of candles in his mouth. To have fired at him I was in danger 
 of breaking my quadrant or other furniture, and he seemed, by 
 keeping the candles steadily in his mouth, to wish for no other 
 prov at that time. As his mouth was full, and he had no claws 
 Bb2
 
 294 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 to tear with, I was not afraid of him, bat with a pike struck him 
 as near the heart as I could judge. It was not till then he 
 showed any sign of fierceness ; but, upon feeling his wound,"he 
 let drop the candles, and endeavoured to run up the shaft of the 
 spear to arrive at me ; so that, in self-defence, I was obliged to 
 draw a pistol from my girdle and shoot him ; and nearly at the 
 same time my servant cleft his scull with a battle-axe. In a 
 word, the hyena was the plague of our lives, the terror of our 
 night-walks, the destruction of our mules and asses, which 
 above all others are his favourite food." 
 
 Hyenas generally inhabit caverns and other rocky places, from 
 whence they issue under cover of the night to prowl for food. 
 They are gregarious, not so much from any social principle as 
 from a greediness of disposition and a gluttonous instinct, which 
 induce many to assemble even over a scanty and insufficient 
 prey. They are said to devour the bodies which they find m 
 cemeteries, and to disinter such as are hastily or imperfectly in- 
 humed. There seems, indeed, to be a peculiar gloominess and 
 malignity of disposition in the aspect of the hyena, and its man- 
 ners in a state of captivity are savage and untractable. Like 
 every other animal, however, it is perfectly capable of being 
 tamed. A contradictory feature has been observed in its natu< 
 ral instincts. About Mount Libanus, Syria, the north of Asia, 
 and the vicinity of Algiers, the hyenas, according to Bruce, live 
 mostly upon large succulent bulbous roots, especially those of 
 the fntillaria, &c. ; and he informs us that he has known large 
 patches of the fields^ turned up by them in their search for' 
 onions and other plants. He adds that these were chosen with 
 such care, that after having been peeled, if any small decayed 
 spot became perceptible, they w T ere left upon the ground. In 
 Abyssinia, however, and 'many other countries, their habits are 
 certainly decidedly carnivorous ;• yet the same courage, or at 
 "least fierceness, which an animal diet usually produces does not 
 so obviously manifest itself in this species. In Barbary, accord- 
 ing to Bruce, the Moors in the 'daytime seize the hyena by the 
 ears and drag him along, without his resenting that igno- 
 minious treatment otherwise than by attempting to draw him- 
 self back ; and the hunters, when his cave is, large enough to 
 give them entrance, take a torch in their hands, and advance 
 straight towards him, pretending at the same time to fascinate 
 him by a senseless jargon. The creature is astounded by the 
 noise and glare, and allowing a blanket to be thrown over him, 
 is thus dragged out. Bruce locked up a goat, a kid, and a lamb 
 all day with a Barbary hyena which had -fasted, and he found the 
 intended victims in the evening alive and uninjured. He repeated 
 the experiment, however, on another occasion, during the night, 
 with a young ass, a goat, and a fox, and next morning he 
 was astonished to find the whole of them, not only killed, 

 
 QUADRUPEDS. 295 
 
 but actually devoured, with the exception of some of the ass's 
 bones ! 
 
 The general size of the striped hyetla is that of a large dog. 
 Bruce regarded the Abyssinian species as distinct from those 
 described as natives of other parts of AJrica ; but recent observa- 
 tion has failed to confirm that impression of the Scottish travel- 
 ler. This species was known to the ancients - , and-^vvas exhib- 
 ited at Rome for the first time in the reign of Gordian. One 
 which died a few years ago in Paris was of an irritable and dis- 
 satisfied disposition, and' had eaten away in its impatience all 
 the toes of its hind-legs. 
 
 Of species more nearly allied to the feline tribes our present 
 portion of Africa presents us with several beautiful examples. 
 We shall speak, in the first place, of the lynx tribe. These 
 animals are chiefly distinguished from the cats by the length 
 of their fur, the comparative shortness of their tads, and by 
 the possession of a pencil or tuft of hair at the tips of their 
 ears. 
 
 The caracal (Felis egracal), commonlyealled the Barbary lynx, 
 is about the height of a fox, but much stronger and more fero- 
 cious. It has been known to attack a hound, and instantly tear 
 it to pieces. Though naturally a wild and savage animal, it has 
 been trained when young to the chase of various small quadru- 
 peds, and the larger kinds of birds. The colour of its body is 
 of a uniform wine-red, without spots; the ears are black ex- 
 ternally,* and white within ; a spot above and below the eye, 
 the circumference of the mouth, a stripe all along the lower 
 part of the body, and the inside of the thighs, are white ; a black 
 line passes from the eye to the nostril, and there is a black spot 
 at the origin of the whiskers. This species occupies a con- 
 siderable extent of country throughout the warmer latitudes of 
 the Old World. It is found in almost all the regions inhabited 
 by the lion, and has been said to follow that noble creature for 
 the purpose of feeding on the remains of its prey. It varies con- 
 siderably in its appearance, like most animals which range over 
 a wide territory. It is to the caracal that the ancients proba- 
 bly .applied the name of lynx, as the species now r distinguished 
 by that name has never been found in those countries of which 
 the lynx of the ancients was said to be a native. Pliny assigns 
 Ethiopia as the native country of the lynx, and according to Ovid 
 (Metam. lib. xv.), 
 
 " Victa racemifero lyncas dedit India Baccho." 
 
 * The name of caracal is said to be derived from the Turkish kara, 
 black, and kalach, ear. The Tersian name of sriagoiish is believed to 
 have the same signification,
 
 296 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 The caracal is evidently the animal described by Dr. Parsons 
 from a live specimen in the Tower in 1762 (Phd. Trans.). It 
 was sent from India by General Clive to the Duke of Cumber- 
 land. 
 
 The species described by Bruce under the name of booted 
 lynx, and which was for some time regarded as a mere variety 
 of the preceding, is now considered as a distinct species, 
 under the name of Felis caligata (Temminck).* It is inter- 
 mediate in size between the lynx and the wild cat, and is 
 said to prey much on guinea-fowl. Its tail is long and slender ; 
 its ears long, pointed, and externally of a lively red colour, with 
 short brown tufts. It is to this species that M. Geoffroy has 
 erroneously applied the title of Felis chaus, as if it were identical 
 with the species so named by Guldenstaedt. f It inhabits both 
 the north and south of Africa, and occurs likewise in the south- 
 ern parts of India. It is abundant both in Barbary and at the Cape 
 of Good Hope. The specimen killed by Bruce in Abyssinia ap- 
 pears to have been a young one. M. Geoffroy procured it in the 
 adult state from an island in the Nile. In its general manners 
 it rather resembles the wild cat of Europe than a lynx. It 
 climbs trees, and conceals itself among crags and thickets. 
 
 Another species of lynx, which inhabits the banks of the Nile 
 as far- as Nubia, is the chaus ( Felis chaus of Guldenstaedt and 
 Temminck), called Kir-myschak by the Tartar nations. It is 
 about the size of the European lynx. The legs are long, the 
 muzzle veiy blunt, the tail one-third of the length of the head 
 and body, the ears terminated by very short pencils, and a black 
 band runs from the anterior margin of the eye towards the 
 muzzle. The prevailing colour is a yellowish gray. The name 
 of chaus was originally applied by Pliny to the common lynx, 
 and was used by Guldenstaedt in reference to the species just 
 noted. M. Geoffroy, however, transposed the title by mistake 
 to the booted lynx (F. caligata, Temm.), which has occasioned 
 some confusion in the synonymy of the species. The true 
 chaus, in addition to the localities above named, inhabits 
 swampy and wooded districts along the shores of the Caspian 
 Sea, and the banks of the streams which flow into that great 
 receptacle. It does not, however, occur on the Volga, although 
 common in many parts of the Persian dominions. It hunts 
 during the night, preys on birds and small quadrupeds, some- 
 times also on fish, and is extremely impatient of captivity, and 
 consequently difficult to tame. This species rarely climbs trees. 
 Its skin, even in a mutilated condition, is extremely rare in 
 collections of peltry ; and the only perfect specimen which has 
 come to our knowledge is that in the museum of Frankfort. 
 
 * Monographies de Mammalogie; p. 123. 
 t Nov. Comm. Petrop. vol. xx.
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 297 
 
 Oi' the larger feline animals, the hunting-leopard, or chittah 
 {Felis- jubata), a species of great beauty- of aspect, and well 
 known in many eastern countries as a useful accessary in the 
 chase, has been recently ascertained to inhabit Nubia. Its head 
 is smaller, and its general proportions more slender and length- 
 ened, than those of most feline species ; and its claws, though 
 strong, are less powerful, h\ consequence of their not being re- 
 tractile, as in the rest of the cat tribe. But the most remarkable 
 fact in the history of this animal is the vast extent of its geo- 
 graphical ^distribution. According to Thunberg, it is common 
 in the south of Africa — a fact confirmed by Lichtenstein, who 
 saw the chief- of a Horde of Caffres clothed in its beautiful and 
 sumptuous skins ; and Temminckhas ascertained its existence 
 along the western shores of that division of the world. It is 
 widely spread over India and other continental countries of the 
 Eafit, and the forests of Sumatra abound with hunting-tigers. 
 Lastly — which is our reason for its introduction here — several 
 specimens have been lately transmitted from Nubia by Riippel 
 to the Frankfort museum. The species, is remarkable for its 
 mildness and docility in the domestic state. 
 
 Another feline animal lately ascertained to "inhabit Nubia is 
 the Felis maniculata of Temminck, which that naturalist regards 
 as the originbf our domestic species. Its proportions agree with 
 those of the wild cat of Britain and the continent of Europe, 
 but it is smaller by about one-third. Its tail, also, is in com- 
 parison rather longer and more slender. The soles of the feet 
 and the posterior portion of the metatarsus and metacarpus are 
 quite black. . The nature of its coat and the distribution of its 
 colours resemble those of the female wild cat ; but the general 
 hue is still that yellowish ash-colour which prevails in the natu- 
 ral tinting of so many of the quadrupeds of Northern Africa. 
 We may here record a curious observation, that almost all the 
 animals of Egypt, without excepting even the birds> and rep- 
 tiles, are characterized by what may be called a local tint. ,The 
 dogs, so abundant in that country, the antelopes, the jerboas, the 
 meriones, and many more of the glires or gnawers are remark- 
 able for their -general uniformity of colourmg. If this does not 
 arise from (which it can scarcely do), it is at least in keeping 
 with, the vast deserts so characteristic of African countries.* 
 
 The opinion generally received, and" adopted even by the 
 greater number of naturalists, in regard to tire origin of the do- 
 mestic species, which we find a half-reclaimed captive wherever 
 man is in any measure civilized and gregarious, is that it is de- 
 rived from the wild cat (Felis cattis). Yet we know by the 
 experience of many other cases that the" effect of domestication, 
 and of the superabundant nourishment which usually accom- 
 
 * See Temmir.c-k's <; tonographies." p 199, noter
 
 298 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 panies that state of bondage, is to increase the dimensions of 
 whatever animals have been for an almost immemorial period 
 subjected to such influences. All our other domestic creatures 
 are larger than their original races ; but the domestic cat, sup- 
 posing it to have sprufng from the indigenous woodland species, 
 appears to have reversed the rule ; for never, even in its most 
 pampered and overgrown condition, does it in any way equal 
 the powerful dimensions of its supposed original. The tail of 
 the domestic variety (or species) is also longer, and terminates 
 in a sharpened point ; while that of the wild eat, besides being 
 comparatively shorter, is nearly of equal thickness through- 
 out its entire length, and appears as if truncated at the ex- 
 tremity. 
 
 When we seek to ascertain the origin of any anciently domesti- 
 cated species, the mind naturally reverts to periods of antiquity, 
 and to the history of such nations as are characterized by. remote 
 records. It was from within the sacred precincts of the tem- 
 ples of Isis, and under the reign of the Pharaohs or Egyptian 
 kings, that the earliest rays of science dawned upon the nations ; 
 and there the heroic Greeks " drew golden light," and from 
 thence were distributed, by more or less direct gradations, the 
 knowledge and civilization which, long waning with a feeble 
 and uncertain gleam from their parent source, have burned with 
 a steady and unconsuming fire in those " barbarian lands" to 
 which they were conveyed. Egypt, so remarkable in the early 
 civilization of the human race, might be reasonably supposed, 
 even a priori, to have furnished the primitive families of mankind 
 with one or more of its domesticated animals ; and, in relation 
 more particularly to the present subject, we know that of all 
 the ancient nations of whom we possess records, the Egyptians 
 were the most noted for their appreciation of the useful quali- 
 ties of the cat. We also know that it was even embalmed in 
 their temples, in common with the mystical body of the ibis, 
 and we doubt not it must have become familiar to them from its 
 beneficial qualities as a domestic species. That they derived it 
 from an indigenous source is more than probable, especially as 
 a wild Egyptian species, of all others, bears the closest resem- 
 blance to the domestic breeds. At all events, it could scarcely 
 be drawn from the European wild cat ; for although that species 
 is most extensively disseminated over all the wooded countries 
 of Europe, and spreads through Russia into Siberia, and over a 
 great range of Asiatic territory, it is unknown on the banks of 
 the Nile, and seems to hold its centre of dominion rather in the 
 temperate than the warmer regions of the earth. Another argu- 
 ment against the derivation of our domestic cats from the indi- 
 genous woodland species may be drawn from the extreme 
 scarcity of the former in the early ages of our history. It is 
 known that in the time of Hoel the Good, King of Wales, who
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 2\)9 
 
 died in the year 948, laws were enacted to preserve and estab- 
 lish the price of cats and other animals remarkable for being 
 alike rare and useful. The price of a kitten before it could see 
 was fixed at one penny ; till proof could be given of its having 
 caught a mouse, twopence ; after which it was rated at four- 
 pence — a great sum in those days, when the value of specie was 
 extremely high. It was further declared, that if any one stole 
 or slew the cat that guarded the prince's granary, he was either 
 to forfeit a milk ewe, her fleece and lamb, or as much wheat as 
 when poured on the cat suspended by the -tail (its head touch- 
 ing the floor) would form a heap high enough to cover it to the 
 tip. Now all these precautionary regulations would seem to 
 indicate that our domestic cat severe not originally natives of 
 our island, but were introducecfllom some of the warmer coun- 
 tries of the East, and required for a time considerable care and 
 attention to preserve the breed. This would scarcely have been 
 necessary had the original stock been found prowling in every 
 thicket and corrie of the country, which the wild cat undoubtedly 
 was in those distant days. 
 
 M. Temminckis decidedly in favour of the claims of a species 
 already mentioned, called the gloved cat (Felis maniculata), which 
 iuhabits Northern Africa, and was first found in Nubia by the 
 traveller Riippel, in the neighbourhood of Ambakol. Skins of a 
 species which seems identical are sometimes observed in sup- 
 plies of these articles from the Levant, and the same animal 
 occurs in Egypt. It would be highly interesting to compare 
 the osteology of a recent example with the structure of- the 
 skeleton of an embalmed specimen from the catacombs of 
 Memphis. 
 
 Several other feline animals inhabit Abyssinia, of. which we 
 shall merely mention the lion, as an occasional dweller in the 
 sandy districts bordering on the Tacazze. The killing of one 
 of these animals, according to Mr.' Salt, confers high honour 
 upon a chief, and gives him the privilege of wearing its paw 
 upon his shield. Some analogous custom no doubt gave rise 
 among the European nations to the idea of quartering heraldic 
 arms. Its skin is afterward formed into a dress resembling that 
 worn by the Caffre chiefs in the vicinity of the Cape, but more 
 richly ornamented. ^ 
 
 The ancients represented in their sculptures a lion without a 
 mane, which some modern writers regard as an extinct, while 
 others view it as a fictitious, species. We have mentioned on 
 a former occasion its occurrence on the hieroglyphical monu- 
 ments of Upper Egypt ; and a singular confirmation of its exist- 
 ence has been received of late years from Nubia, where it is 
 alleged a very large and maneless lion has been recently dis- 
 covered.
 
 3(J0 ZOOLOGY'. 
 
 Among the- Rodentia, the foremost place in our systematic 
 arrangements is usually assigned to the squirrels, of which 
 genus we may notice, as an Abyssinian representative, the 
 Sciurus rut il us of RiippeL( Atlas, Taf. 24). Including the tail, it 
 measures above a ootin length. The colour of the upper parts 
 is of a shining red, of the under, white. The tail is distichous-, 
 the ears are short and rounded. 
 
 Several murine species occur both in Nubia and Abyssinia, 
 We shall pass over these diminutive creatures, for the sake of 
 the beautiful jerboa, which occurs in a considerable portion of 
 the African continent. The genus Jerboa (Dipus, or two-legged, 
 so-called from the erroneous notion that these animals, in Walk- 
 ing, make use of their iiinder^axtremities only) is composed of 
 several species, one of winch jjjjpbundant in Barbary, in Upper 
 
 and Lower Egypt, and Syria, and likewise makes its appearance 
 again in more northern countries .situated between the Tanais 
 and the Volga.- The tail of the jerboa "usually exceeds inlength 
 that of the body. It is covered' with smooth short. hair, except 
 at the extremity, where there is a long silky tuft. Though this 
 organ appeal's-, from the experiments of M? Lepechin, to be of 
 great use in locomotion, it is not by any means thick and mus- 
 cular, as among the kangaroos. The jerboa usually walks on 
 all fours ; but when alarmed, it seeks its safety by prodigious 
 bounds, which it executes with great force and rapidity. When 
 about to leap, it raises its body by means of the hinder extremi- 
 ties, .and supports itself at the same time upon its taiL Mean- 
 while the fore feet are so closely pressed to the breast, as to be 
 scarcely visible. Hence probably 4ts ancient name of two- 
 footed mouse.- It then springs- into the air, and alights upon its 
 four feet ; but erecting itseif again almost . instantaneously, it 
 makes another spring, and so on in succession, and with such 
 rapidity as to appear constantly either in an erect or a flying 
 position. - Thexruel experiments above alluded to consisted in 
 maiming or cutting off the tails of these poor creatures. In pro- 
 portion as that organ yvas reduced in length, their power of leap- 
 ing diminished ; and when it was entirely lopped off, they not 
 only could not run at ad, but fell backwards whenever they 
 attempted to raise themselves with a view to their accustomed 
 spring. 
 
 "The jerboa," says Bruce, " is a small lrarmless animal of the 
 desert, nearly the size of a common rat — the. skin very smooth, 
 and the ends of the hairs tipped with black. It lives in the 
 smoothest plains or- places of the desert, especially where the 
 soil is fixed gravel, for in that chiefly it burrows, dividing its 
 hole below into many mansions. It seems to be apprehensive 
 of the falling in of the ground ; it therefore generally digs its 
 hole under the root of some spurge, thyme, or absinthium, upon
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 301 
 
 whose root it seems to depend for its roof not falling in and bury- 
 ing it in the ruins of its subterraneous habitation. It seems to 
 delight most in those places that are haunted by the cerastes, or 
 horned viper. Nature has certainly imposed this dangerous 
 neighbourhood upon the one, for the good and advantage of the 
 other, and that of mankind in general. Of the many trials I 
 made, I never found a jerboa in the body of a viper, excepting 
 once, in that of a female big with young, and the jerboa itself 
 was then nearly consumed."* This animal may be used as 
 food. In taste it is scarcely distinguishable from a young 
 rabbit. The ancients described it at an early period, and it is 
 represented in some of the first medals of the Cyrenaicum, 
 Bitting under an umbellated plant, supposed to be the silphium, 
 the figure of which is likewise preserved oTUhe silver medals 
 of Cyrene. Bruce informs us that he never saw a rabbit in Abys- 
 sinia, but that there is an abundance of hares. 
 
 Abyssinia produces several remarkable animals of the pachy* 
 dennHtous. order, among which we rank the Ethiopian hog 
 {Phascocharus of F. Cuvier). This extraordinary genus con- 
 tains at least two species, frequently confounded together, under 
 the names of Stis Af'ricanus and Sus JEthiopicus, specific titles 
 by no means happily chosen, in as far as both are natives of the 
 African continent, 'and that called Ethiopian, par excellence, in- 
 habits more particularly the Cape of Good Hope. The imper- 
 fection of this nomenclature, it has been remarked, is certainly 
 the chief cause of the confusion which has long reigned in the 
 history of these animals. The most remarkable distinction 
 between the two species just named consists in the former being 
 provided with incisive teeth, which are wanting in the latter.- 
 For this reason the one is named Ph. incgsitms, the other Ph. 
 ah:, i tat us, by M. F. Cuvier. f These animals, though gentle, 
 livery, and easily tamed when taken young, are of a peculiarly 
 ferocious disposition after attaining to the adult condition in the 
 ?>tate of nature. Yet their mode of dentition shows that they 
 are naturally much less omnivorous than the wild boar, and we 
 know, in fact, that their food consists entirely of roots and other 
 vegetable produce. Their sight is said to be defective, owing 
 to the peculiar position of their eyes,.but their hearing is good, 
 and their sense t)f smell exquisitely delicate. 
 
 The wild boar in these parts of Africa is smaller and smoother 
 than that of Europe or of Barbary. It inhabits swamps and the 
 wooded banks of rivers. This animal is accounted unclean in 
 
 * Travels, vol. v. p. 101. 
 
 t The hindmost or lett-hand* figure of the wood-cut at p. 391 of this 
 volume represents the head and fore-quarters of the species figured by 
 Ruppel, under the name o(Ph. JBiamL— Atlas, Taf. 06. It was observed 
 in Kordofdn. 
 
 Cc
 
 302 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 Abyssinia, both by Mohammedans and Christians ; and that it 
 ha/* not multiplied greatly, in consequence of being neglected by 
 the hunters, is probably owing to its young being devoured by 
 hyenas. 
 
 That huge animal the hippopotamus is well known in Abys- 
 sinia. Mr. Salt had no sooner reached the banks of the Ta- 
 cazze, a tributary to the Nile, than his attention was excited by 
 the cry of his attendants, of" Gomari ! gomari !" the Abyssinian 
 title for the hippopotamus. At that time, however, he only 
 obtained a momentary glance, during which he could merely 
 observe that its action resembled the rolling of a grampus in 
 the sea. Between the different fords of the river, which, at the 
 place alluded to, might be about fifty yards across, there are 
 pools of almost immeasurable depth, resembling the mountain 
 tarns of the north of England ; and it is in these pools that the 
 amphibious giant loves to dwell. Being desirous to attack it, 
 Mr. Salt and his party stationed themselves on a high overhang- 
 ing rock which commanded one of the favourite pools, and they 
 had not remained long before a hippopotamus rose to the sur- 
 face, at a distance of not more than twenty yards. He came up 
 at first very confidently, raising his enormous head out of the 
 water, and snorting violently. At the same instant their guns 
 were discharged, the contents of which appeared to strike 
 directly on its forehead ; on which it turned round its head with 
 an angry scowl, and making a sudden plunge, sank to the 
 bottom, with a peculiar noise, between a grunt and a roar. 
 They for some minutes entertained a sanguine hope that he 
 was killed, and momentarily expected to see his body ascend 
 to the surface. But it soon appeared that a hippopotamus is not 
 so easily slain ; for he rose again, ere long, close to the same 
 spot, and apparently not much concerned at what had happened, 
 though somewhat more cautious than before. They again dis- 
 charged their pieces, but with as little effect as formerly ; and 
 although some of the party continued firing at every one that 
 made his appearance, they were by no means certain that they 
 produced the slightest impression upon any of them. This they 
 attributed to their having used leaden balls, which are too soft 
 to enter his almost impenetrable scull. 
 
 It appears from what they witnessed that the hippopotamus 
 cannot remain more than five or six minutes at a time under 
 water. One of the most interesting parts of the amusement 
 was to witness the perfect ease with which these animals quietly 
 dropped down to the bottom ; for the water, being exceedingly 
 clear, they could distinctly see them so low as twenty feet be- 
 neath the surface.* 
 
 The elephant, rhinoceros, and giraffe, or camelopard, all dis- 
 
 * Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia, p. 354.
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 303 
 
 tinguished for their great dimensions and imposing aspect, like- 
 wise inhabit the low hot countries of'Abyssinia. It has fceen 
 noted as remarkable, that such common animals as the former 
 two should have escaped the description of the sacred writers. 
 Moses and the children of Israel, when sojourning either in 
 Egypt or Arabia, were long in the vicinity of countries which 
 produced them ; and when we take into consideration the close 
 connexion maintained by Solomon with the south-east coast 
 of the Red Sea, it seems almost impossible that he should not 
 have been acquainted with them, especially as both his father 
 David and himself used abundance of ivory. Some, however, 
 take the behemoth of the Scriptures to be the elephant, while the 
 reem is regarded as identical with the species now designated 
 under the name of rhinoceros. 
 
 The Abyssinian hunters of the last-named animal are called 
 agageer, from agaro, to kill, by cutting the hams, or the tendon 
 of Achilles, with a sword. The eyes of the rhinoceros are ex- 
 tremely small ; and as his neck is stiff, and his head cumbrous, 
 he seldom turns round so as to see any thing that is not directly 
 before him. To this, according to Bruce, he owes his death, as 
 he never escapes if there is as much plain ground as to enable 
 a horse to get in advance. His pride and fury then induce him 
 to lay aside all thoughts of escaping but by victory. He stands 
 for a moment at bay, then starting forward, he suddenly charges 
 the horse, after the manner of the wild boar, which animal he 
 greatly resembles in his mode of action. But the horse easily 
 avoids his ponderous onset, by turning short aside, and this is 
 the fatal instant ; for a naked man armed with a sharp sword 
 drops from behind the principal hunter, and, unperceived by the 
 rhinoceros, who is seeking to wreak his vengeance on his 
 enemy, he inflicts a tremendous blow across the tendon of the 
 heel, which renders him incapable of either flight or resistance. 
 In speaking of the large allowance of vegetable matter neces- 
 sary to support this enormous living mass, we should likewise 
 take into consideration the vast quantity of water which it con- 
 sumes. No country, according to Bruce, but such as that of 
 the Shangalla, deluged with six months' rain, full of large and 
 deep basins hewn by nature in the living rock, which are shaded 
 by dark woods from evaporation, or one watered by extensive 
 rivers which never fall low or to a state of dryness, can supply 
 the vast draughts of its enormous maw. As an article of food, 
 he is himself much esteemed by the Shangalla ; and the soles 
 of his feet, which are soft like those of a camel, and of a gristly 
 substance, are peculiarly delicate. The rest of the body resem- 
 bles that of the hog, but is coarser, and is pervaded by a smell of 
 musk.* 
 
 * Mr, Salt is of opinion that the figure of the African rhinoeeros given
 
 304 ZOOLOGY, 
 
 Of equine animals, the zebra rx zecora occurs chiefly in the 
 southern provinces of Abyssinia. Its mane is much used for 
 making a particular kind of collar, which on state-days is fixed 
 as an ornament round the necks of the war-horses belonging to 
 the chiefs. This privilege, however, seems to be confined to 
 a few of the principal men. The wild ass (probably the quaggy) 
 is said to occur in the same districts as the zebra. In regard to 
 the giraffe of Nubia and Abyssinia, we shall mention, in the first 
 place, that from some difference in the spots and in the curva- 
 ture of the cranium of the few individuals hitherto brought, to 
 Europe, M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire is of opinion that jt is not of 
 the same species as that from the southern portions of the 
 African continent. It is an- animal of a shy nature, and rarely 
 to be met with, in consequence of its frequenting chiefly the in- 
 terior districts uninhabited by the human race. Its skin forms 
 an article of barter in some of the provinces ; and an ornament 
 made of the hair plucked from the tail is commonly fastened 
 to the butt-end of the whips used by the inhabitants for the pur 
 pose of brushing away flies, which are exceedingly troublesome 
 during the hot season. These whips, Mr. Salt informs us, are 
 themselves formed from the skin of the hippopotamus, and are 
 called "hallinga." 
 
 Of the antelope tribe, which is numerously represented m 
 these parts of Africa, the only example we shall here name is 
 the Nubian species called Addax byM. Lichtenstein (.4c/. Acad, 
 Berlin, 1824, pi. xi.) Its horns are' long and slender, and form 
 three curves. It is represented on several of the ancient monu- 
 ments of Egypt.* 
 
 We shall terminate these brief notices of mammalia by giv- 
 ing in a note below a list of the species described and figured 
 by M. Riippel in the atlas to his Reise im Nordlicheh Afrika.-\ 
 
 by Bruce must have been copied from the one-horned species of BufTbn, 
 with the addition of the second horn, as the two-horned rhinoceros 
 wants the folds in the skin, which are nevertheless given by the Abys- 
 sinian traveller. 
 
 See the central figure of the wood-cut at page 291. 
 
 t Felis maniculata 
 Canis zerda 
 Antilope montana 
 Felis chaus 
 Canis famelicus 
 Vespertilio Ternminclsii 
 Antilope Addax 
 Camelopardalis girafia 
 Canis variegai us 
 C. pallidus 
 O. pictus 
 Mas dimidiatus 
 M. Cahirinus 
 
 Antilope dama 
 Canis Niloticus 
 C. anthus 
 
 Rhinolophus divosus 
 Antilope Ssmtuerliinjri 
 Lepus Isabellinus 
 Antilope Saltiana 
 Psammomys obesns 
 Sciurus rutilans 
 P.hascochaerus iEliani 
 Dysopes pumilns 
 Taphozous nudiventris 
 Nyctecejus ltHcngaster
 
 BIRDS. 305 
 
 The feathered race, especially birds of prey, are very numer- 
 ous in Abyssinia. In the gigantic carcasses of slaughtered ele- 
 phants and other large quadrupeds, of which only small portions 
 are consumed by the hunters, they find a frequent supply of food. 
 Vast quantities of field-r? is and mice make their appearance 
 after harvest, and swarm in every crack and fissure, and are 
 greedily devoured by hawks and kites. These and other causes, 
 combined with " the number of men that perish by disease and 
 by the sword, whose carcasses are never buried by this bar- 
 barous and unclean people, compose such a quantity and variety 
 of carrion that it brings together at one time a multitude of birds 
 of prey ; it would seem there was not such a number in the 
 whole earth."* 
 
 The Abyssinians entertain a singular superstition regarding 
 a species of hawk, designated by Mr. Salt under the name of 
 white-breasted lanner. When they set out on a journey and 
 meet with one of these birds, they watch it very carefully, for 
 the purpose of drawing good or bad omens from its motions. 
 If it sit still with its breast towards them until they have passed, 
 this is regarde'd as a peculiarly good sign, and every thing is 
 expected to go on well during the course of the journey. If its 
 back be turned towards them, it is considered an unpropitious 
 sign, but not sufficiently so to create any very great or imme- 
 diate alarm ; but if it should fly hastily away on their approach, 
 some of the most superstitious among them immediately return 
 back to their homes, and wait till a more favourable opportunity 
 for commencing their expedition occurs. From this circum- 
 stance, as well as from the resemblance of its form to the sculp- 
 tured hieroglyphics of Egypt, Mr. Salt was led to the belief that 
 this species was probably the sacred hawk once held in such 
 veneration by the ancient inhabitants of that country. 
 
 The bird described by Bruce under the name of Abou Duck'n, 
 or Father Long Beard, appears to be identical with the Vultur bar- 
 batus, or lammergeyer of the Swiss Alps. On the highest sum- 
 mit of the mountain Lamalmon, while the traveller's servants 
 
 Vespertilio leucomelas Mus Orientals 
 
 V. marginatus Meriones Gerbillus, 
 
 Meriones robustus 
 It is briefly reported in the foreign journals that M. Riippel has dis- 
 covered, during the second journey in which he is still engaged, a speciea 
 of Dugong, which is found in the Red Sea, and differs in a remarkable 
 degree from the only species hitherto known, which is an inhabitant 
 of the Indian Ocean. It was with the skin of this species that the Jews 
 of old were by the Mosaic law compelled to veil the tabernacle. On this 
 account M. Riippel has bestowed upon it the name of Halicoret abernacu- 
 lus.—Athenaum, No. 261, p. TOO. 
 
 • Bruce, vol. v. p. 150. 
 
 Cc2
 
 306 ZOOLOGY, 
 
 were refreshing themselves after the fatigue of a toilsome ascent, 
 and enjoying the pleasures of a delightful climate and a good 
 dinner of boiled goat's flesh, a lammergeyer suddenly made his 
 appearance among them. A great shout, or rather cry of dis- 
 tress, attracted Bruce's attention, who, while walking towards 
 the bird, saw it deliberately put its foot into the pan, which 
 contained a huge piece of meat prepared for boiling. Finding 
 the temperature somewhat higher than it was accustomed to 
 among the pure gushing springs of that romantic region, it sud- 
 denly withdrew its foot, but immediately afterward settled upon 
 two large pieces which lay upon a wooden platter, into which 
 it trussed its claws and carried them oft'. It disappeared over 
 the edge of a " steep Tarpeian rock," down which criminals 
 were thrown, and whose mangled remains had probably first 
 induced the bird to select that spot as a place of soiourn. The 
 traveller, in expectation of another visit, immediately loaded his 
 rifle, and it was not long before the gigantic bird reappeared. 
 
 As when a vulture on Imaus bred, 
 
 Whose snowy ridge the roving Tartar bounds, 
 
 Dislodging from a region scarce of pre}-, 
 
 To gorge the flesh of lambs or yeanling kids 
 
 On hills where flocks are fed, flies towards the springe 
 
 Of Ganges or Ilydaspes, Indian streams-; 
 
 But in his way lights on the barren plains 
 
 Of Sericana, where Chineses drive 
 
 With sails and wind their cany wagons light ; 
 
 so landed the lammergeyer within ten yards' of the savoury 
 mess, but also within an equal distance of Bruce's practised 
 rifle. He instantly sent his ball through its body, and the pon- 
 derous bird sank down upon the grass with scarcely a flutter 
 of its outspread wings. We have elsewhere noticed the great 
 geographical range of this species.* 
 
 The species described by Bruce under the name of rachamak 
 is the Vultur percnoplerus of I Jnnaeus, known in Egypt by the 
 title of Pharaoh's bird. It is well known as a scavenger in most 
 Eastern countries, and is found sculptured on the monuments 
 of Egyptian art. Even at the present day it is exempted from 
 injury, and pious Mussulmans sometimes bequeath sums of 
 money for its maintenance in a state of comfortable captivity. 
 It is believed that the Vultur Kolbii of Riippel is the yearling 
 male of this species. 
 
 There are few owls in Abyssinia ; but one or two of the spe- 
 cies are of large size and great beauty. Bruce never saw either 
 sparrow or magpie in the country, although we know that the 
 natural distribution of both these species is elsewhere widely 
 
 * Family Library, No XLIX . (India, vol. ih.)
 
 BIRDS. 307 
 
 extended. Pigeons are numerous and of various kinds, all ex- 
 cellent as articles of food. They are chiefly birds of passage, 
 except one which dwells in the eaves of houses and in the holes 
 of walls. This species is not eaten, from an absurd notion that 
 because its claws are large, it partakes of the nature of a hawk, 
 and is therefore unclean. This is a parallel to the Turkish 
 idea, that because a turkey has a bunch of bristles on its breast 
 it is allied to the hog. 
 
 The African hornbill (Buceros Africamis) is entirely black ; 
 and nearly as large as a turkey. The Abyssinian species (B, 
 Abyssinicus) appears to have been first distinctly described by 
 Bruce, who informs us that in the eastern parts of the country it 
 is known under the name of abba gumba. In Sennaar it is called 
 Teir el JVaciba, or the bird of destiny. Its prevailing colour is a 
 sooty black, but the ten larger feathers of the wings are of a 
 milk-white colour, both without and within. The tip of the 
 wings reach nearly to the tail.. The beak and head meas- 
 ure together eleven inches and a half. <The male has pro- 
 tuberances on his neck like those of a turkey ; they are gene- 
 rally of a light -blue colour, but turn red when' the bird is chafed, 
 or when his hen is laying. He has very large eyelashes, espe- 
 cially the upper. From the point of the bill to the extremity 
 of the tail this species measures three feet ten inches ; and the 
 wings, when stretched, extend six~feet. Bruce observed it, fol- 
 lowed by eighteen young ones. It runs along the ground more 
 willingly than it flies ; but. when once raised, it flies both strong 
 and far. It has a rank smell, and is asserted in Abyssinia to 
 live on dead carcasses. -This, however,, has been doubted. " I 
 never," says Mr. Bruce, "saw it approach any of these; and 
 what convinces me this is untrue is, that I never saw one of 
 them follow the army, where there was always a general assem- 
 bly of all the birds of prey in Abyssinia. It was very easy to 
 see what was it's food by its place of rendezvous, which was in 
 the fields of teff, upon the tops of which are always a number 
 of green beetles : these he strips off by drawing the stalk through 
 his beak, so that it appears to be serrated; and often as I had 
 occasion to open this bird, I never found any thing in him but 
 the green scarabaeus or beetle. He has a putrid or stinking 
 smell, which, I suppose, is the reason he has been imagined to 
 feed on carrion: He builds in large thick trees, always, if he 
 can, near churches— has a covered nest, like that of a magpie, 
 but four times as large as an eagle's : it places its nest firm 
 upon the trunk, without endeavouring to make it high from the 
 ground ; the entry is always from the east side." 
 
 Although parrots are by no means numerous, they are not 
 altogether uuknown in Abyssinia. A small species is described
 
 308 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 in the Appendix to Lord Valentia's Travels, under the name 
 of Psittacus Taranta. It was found to be not uncommon near 
 the pass from which it derives its specific name. Another 
 species is figured in Ruppel's Atlas, with the title-of Psittacus 
 Meyeri. It is found in Kordofan. 
 
 The ostrich is known in the low districts north of Abyssinia, 
 but we believe its occurrence is very rare within the actual 
 limits of the country. 
 
 Of gallinaceous birds we shall name only the Guinea-fowl, 
 now well known in Britain as a domesticated species. It 
 occurs in the wild state in these parts of Africa, and so expert 
 are the natives in the use of the matchlock that they constantly 
 kill it with a single ball. Quails and red-legged partridges also 
 occur in Abyssinia. 
 
 Many fine species of the order Grallatores inhabit these coun- 
 tries. The Arabian bustard (Otis Arabs) is nearly as large as 
 the common bustard of Europe. It is found both in Asia and 
 Africa. Its flesh is excellent ; its manners are but slightly 
 known. Rtippel found it in Kordofan. 
 
 The tribe of storks were regarded by Linnaeus as congeners 
 with the herons and cranes. They are birds of lofty stature and 
 great power of wing, and are met with in most countries where 
 reptile food abounds. As the creatures on which they prey are 
 impatient of cold, and disappear beneath the- waters or in the 
 holes of the earth on the approach of winter, so the storks 
 themselves migrate from one country to another to avoid a low 
 temperature and the consequent deficiency .of their favourite 
 food. In addition to their frequent destruction of noxious or 
 unseemly creatures, the habits of certain -species "are familiar 
 and domestic, and they have for many ages been regarded with 
 respect, or even veneration; by nations in no way habitually in- 
 fluenced by enthusiastic or romantic feeling.' Though the 
 affection of these birds for their parents may be regarded as a 
 doubtful characteristic, their extreme attachment to their young 
 must be considered as certain, since, at the burning of Delft, a 
 stork was observed to perish in the flames rather than desert its 
 newly -hatched offspring. A notable species, which the accuracy 
 of our wood-cut saves us the trouble of describing in detail, is 
 the saddle-billed stork ( Cicnnia ephippiorhyncha). We shall only 
 mention that it measures between four and five feet in height. 
 
 Water birds are by no means numerous. There are few 
 geese, either wild or tame, except the species called the golden 
 goose, or goose of the Nile, and a duck allied to the Anas Lybica. 
 A species of gull with a black head, white eyelids, and cinereous 
 back, takes its flight occasionally into Abyssinia from the shores 
 of the Red Sea. The same bird occurs in the Caspian and
 
 Saddle-billed Stork.
 
 BIRDS, 
 
 311 
 
 the rivers of the East Indies. 
 Pallas.* 
 
 It is the' Larus ichthymtus of 
 
 * As the limits to which we are necessarily restricted in this article 
 prevent our entering into-a detailed history of the species, we shall here 
 present two lists which will put the reader in possession of at least the 
 names of the principal birds of Abyssinia, and those other portions of the 
 north of Africa to which the present volume is devoted. ' 
 
 Our first list is extracted from that furnished by Dr. Latham, and 
 originally published in the Appendix to Salt's Travels. 
 
 Lanius poliocephalus 
 
 L. Cubla 
 
 L. ferrugineus 
 
 L. humeralis 
 
 Psittacus Taranta 
 
 ( 'oracias afra ? 
 
 Bucco Saltii 
 
 Cueulus, var. of Edolius, Le Vail 
 
 C. Senegalensis , 
 
 Picus Abyssinicus 
 
 Alcedo Chelicuti 
 
 Merops erytbropterus 
 
 M. furcatus 
 
 Upupa erythrorhynchos 
 
 Certhia Tacazze 
 
 Tanagra erythrorhyncha 
 
 Fringilla Senegala 
 
 F. Benghalus 
 
 Muscicapa Paradisi 
 
 M . mutata 
 
 Alauda African a 
 Sylvia pammelaina 
 Hirundo Capensis 
 Turd us phcenicurus 
 T/ musicus 
 
 T. Capensis 
 
 T. nitens 
 
 Colius strialus 
 Loxia lencotis 
 Emberiza Capeusis 
 Columba Guinea 
 C. Abyssinica 
 
 Numida mitrata 
 Scolopax calidris 
 Tringa Senegalla 
 Erodia amphilensis 
 Alauda desertorum 
 Cursorius Europaeus 
 Ralius Capensis 
 Parra African a. 
 
 Our second list is from the Atlas , to Ruppel's Reise im Nordhchen 
 Afrika, and contains the names of the species (many of which are new) 
 figured in that work, in the order of publication. 
 
 Otis nuba 
 Malurus damans . 
 M. gracilis 
 
 Ciconia ephippiorhyncha 
 Turdoides leucocephala 
 Alauda bifasciata 
 Caprimulgus infureatus 
 Nectarinia metallica 
 Ciconia abdimii 
 Perdix Clapertonii 
 Emberiza striolata 
 E. coesia 
 
 Psittacus Meyeri 
 Malurus squamiceps 
 Sterna velox 
 S. affinis 
 Ploceus supersiliosus 
 Otis Arabs 
 Larus ichthycetus 
 Malurus acaciae 
 Sylvia Riippelii 
 Bucco margaritatus. 
 
 Pelecanus rufescens 
 Vultur occipitalis 
 Trox plebejus' 
 Rhynchops Orientalis 
 Emberiza flavigaster 
 Ardea Goliath 
 Falco rufinus 
 Pogonias melanocephala 
 Dacelo pygmaea 
 Lanius erythrogaster 
 Perdix rubricollis 
 Charadrius melanopterus 
 Vultur Kolbli 
 Sylvia crassirostris 
 Motacilla melanocephala 
 Saxkola pallida ' 
 S. lsabellina 
 
 Malurus pulchellus 
 Sylvia brevicaudata 
 Malurus ruficeps 
 M. iiKiuietus.
 
 312 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 The reptile tribe are the next in succession in our systematic 
 arrangements. We shall mention in the lirst place the lizard, 
 called El addh, one of .the few which the Arabians in all ages 
 have admitted to be free from poisonous qualities ; for however 
 singular it may now appear to those better informed upon the 
 subject, the writers of that nation have described almost the 
 whole of the lizard tribe as venomous. The species just named 
 measures six and a half inches in length. Though its legs are 
 long it does not make use of them in standing up, but creeps 
 with its belly almost close to the. ground, and is capable of 
 running with great'agility. It burrows in the sand, and per- 
 forms the operation so rapidly as to get out of sight in a few 
 seconds, appealing not so much to be making a hole as to have 
 found one. It is a native of Atbara, beyond the rujns where 
 Bruce supposes' the island and city of Meroe to have anciently 
 stood. 
 
 There are not maliy serpents in Upper Abyssinia, and few 
 remarkable animal sbf that class even in the lower countries, 
 •if we except a species of boa, commonly so-called, which' at- 
 tains to the length of twenty feet. It feeds upon antelopes 
 and the dee;: kind, which it swallows entire. Its favourite places 
 of resort are by the sides, of grassy -pools of stagnant rivers, 
 where it lies .in ambuscade, ready to encircle in its horrid folds 
 whatever quadruped approaches. 
 
 A remarkable and noted serpent of these parts is the cerastes 
 or horned viper. It lades itself all day in holes in the sand, 
 where it lives in little chambers similar and contiguous to those 
 of the jerboa. Bruce kept a pair of them in a glass jar for two 
 years Without any food ; they did not appear to sleep even m 
 winter, and cast their skins'during the last days of April. The 
 cerastes moves with great rapidity. This poisonous reptile is 
 very fond of heat ; for, however warm the weather might be dur- 
 ing the day, whenever Bruce made a fire. at night rt seldom hap- 
 pened that fewer than half a dozen .were found burnt to death 
 by .approaching too closely to the embers. 
 
 While Mr. Salt's party were engaged in shooting at hippo- 
 potami, as already noticed, they occasionally observed several 
 crocodiles, called by thje natives agoos, rising at a distance to 
 the surface of the river : they appeared to be of an enormous 
 size and of a greenish colpur. The Abyssinians entertain a 
 great dread of these animals ; and when any one goes to the 
 Tacazze, even to wash "his hands, he takes a companion with 
 him to throw stones into the water for the purpose of keeping 
 off the crocodiles ; and in crossing a ford it is usual with the 
 natives to carry their spears, and to make as much noise as. pos- 
 sible, though these animals are seldom known to Trequent the
 
 REPTILES. 
 
 313 
 
 shallower parts of the stream ; while the very thought of bathing 
 in the river seemed to strike them with horror. Yet the ther- 
 mometer at this time in the neighbourhood of the Tacazze stood 
 at 95° in the shade, so that a bath could not have been other- 
 wise than refreshing. Mr. Legh, while ascending the Nile, first 
 observed crocodiles between Cafre Saide and Diospolis Parva, 
 the modern How. He thinks Girgeh the limit below which 
 they do not ascend. They were numerous between that place 
 and the Cataracts.* 
 
 Although, as Bruce has well observed, the fish of Eastern 
 countries are generally more distinguished for their beauty and 
 variety of colour, and the singularity of their forms, than for 
 their excellence as articles of diet, yet a species of binny found 
 in Nubia is noted for the goodness of its taste. It is a large spe- 
 cies, varying in weight from thirty to seventy pounds. The 
 largest are caught about Rosetta and the mouth of the river, but 
 they are also very numerous higher up as far as Syene and the 
 first cataract. Many rare and remarkable fishes will be found 
 represented and described in the Atlas to the Reise im Nordlichen 
 Afrika, already so frequently referred to. We give their names 
 in the subjoined note. f 
 
 * Some singular and beautiful reptiles from Nubia and Abyssinia have 
 been of late years figured and described by Ruppel. The following is 
 the catalogue of those engraved in the Atlas of that author : — 
 
 Uromastyx ornatus 
 Stellio vulgaris 
 Agama sinaita 
 Ptyodactylus scaber 
 
 t Ostracion argus 
 O. cyanurus 
 
 Scolopsis lineatus 
 S. bimaculatus 
 
 S. kurite 
 
 Sillago sihama 
 Smaris oyena 
 Tirrhites maculosus 
 Pharopterix nigricans 
 ),utodeira chanos 
 Percis cylindrica 
 Cbeilinus iunulatus 
 Julis purpureus 
 J. aggula 
 Balystis aculeatus 
 
 B. coerulescens 
 <Jlyphisodon sordidus 
 Pomacentrus trirnaculatus 
 P. marginatus 
 Chatodon flavus 
 
 C. dorsal is 
 
 C. triangularis 
 
 Dd 
 
 Stenodactylus scaber 
 Hemidaet-yJus granosus 
 Bufo Arabicus 
 Varanus oceilatus. 
 
 Anampses cceruleopunctatus 
 Xyrichthys_bmaculatus 
 Amphacanthus siganu.s 
 A. punctatus 
 
 Apogon lineolatus 
 Haliophis guttatus 
 (antharus filamentosus 
 Trvgon Lvrnna 
 T." Forskali 
 
 Rhin'abatus Djiddensis 
 R. halavi 
 
 Acanthurus rokal 
 Aspisurus elegans 
 Acanthurus rubopunctatus 
 A. velifer 
 
 Tetraodon calamara 
 T. honkenji 
 
 T. diadematus 
 
 Lebias dispar 
 Platax orbicularis 
 P. albipunctatus 
 
 Diacope argentimaculata
 
 314 
 
 ZOOLOGY. 
 
 In regard to testaceous productions, there are three kinds of 
 shell-fish in the Red Sea, which are zealously sought for on 
 account of the pearls which they contain. The first is a muscle 
 of unfrequent occurrence, found chiefly towards the north end 
 of the gulf, and on the Egyptian side. Bruce saw them at 
 Cosseir, where there was an ancient port called Myos Hormos, 
 erroneously called the Port of the Mouse; whereas it signifies 
 Muscle Harbour. The pearls found in this shell are of great 
 beauty as to form and lustre, but they are seldom of a clear 
 colour. The second sort of pearl-shell is called pinna. It is 
 rough, and figured on the outside, of a beautiful red colour, ex- 
 tremely fragile, and sometimes measures three feet long. It is 
 clothed in the inside with a beautiful and sumptuous lining of 
 nacre or mother-of-pearl, of a white colour tinged with a delicate 
 blush of red. The third kind of pearl-bearing shell is not unlike 
 our oyster. Its produce is characterized by its extreme white- 
 ness. The most excellent are those which resemble a solution 
 of alum, — limpid, milky-like, yet with a certain almost imper- 
 ceptible cast of a fiery colour, but not transparent, as supposed 
 by Theophrastus. In the Red Sea, where it holds the highest 
 rank among pearls, it is called lulu single, or lulu el Berber, that 
 is, the pearl of Berber, Barabra, or Beja, the country of the 
 Shepherds.* 
 
 Ancient writers appear to have endowed testaceous animals 
 with a higher capacity than corresponds to the station assigned 
 them in these degenerate days. Pliny and Solinus inform 
 us, that the pearl-muscles have leaders, and go in flocks, and 
 that the captain of the band is gifted with peculiar cunning to 
 
 Diacope fulviriamma 
 I), lineolata 
 
 Scarus psittacus 
 S. gibbus 
 
 Scaris hand 
 S. niastax 
 
 S. bicolor 
 
 Holocentrus ruber 
 H. diadema 
 
 H. samara 
 
 If. spinifer 
 
 Mirypristis murdjan 
 CaesLomnrus quadripimctatus - 
 Noineus riigrofaseiatus 
 Cybium Commersonii 
 Caranxpetaurista 
 C. djeddaba 
 
 C. macrophthalma 
 
 C. bajad 
 
 * Bruce, vol. v. p. 22L 
 
 Caranx ferdau 
 
 C. fulvoguttatus 
 
 Citula ciliaria 
 
 Serranus rogaa 
 
 S. louti 
 
 S. miniatus 
 
 S. miryaster 
 
 S. fuscoguttatus 
 
 S. hemistiktos 
 
 Petroscirtes niitratus 
 
 Salaris quadripennis 
 
 S. cyclops 
 
 OpistognaUius nigromarginatus 
 
 Conger cinereus 
 
 Muraena ophis 
 
 M. geometrica 
 
 M. (jgriua 
 
 M. flavamarginata.
 
 INSECTS. 315 
 
 protect himself and his flock from the rapacious fishermen. It 
 is added, that when the leader is taken, the others, hesitating 
 and inexperienced, fall an easy prey. It has been observed that 
 pearls are always the most beautiful in those places where a 
 quantity of fresh water falls into the sea. Bruce, however, ob- 
 served none of .the pearl-shells on either side southward of the 
 parallel of Mocha, in Arabia Felbc. In that part of the travel- 
 ler's narrative where he relates his return through the Desert of 
 Nubia, he alludes to the muscles which occur in the salt-springs 
 of these arid regions. They are said to travel far from home, 
 and are sometimes surprised by the ceasing of the rains at a 
 greater distance from their beds than they have strength or 
 moisture to travel over. In many of these shells coarse excres- 
 cences occur which may be called pearls, but they are ill-formed 
 and of a bad colour. The value of these articles, it may be ob- 
 served, depends upon their size, colour, smoothness, lustre, and 
 regularity of form. In proportion to their size, they may be 
 considered as the most valuable of all animal product?, or next 
 to the diamond of all the productions of nature. It is known 
 that Csesar gave to Serviha, the mother of Marcus Brutus, a 
 pearl which was worth 50,000/. of our money ; and the famous 
 vaunt of Cleopatra to her lover, that she would provide him 
 with a supper which should cost two hundred and fifty thousand 
 pounds, was accomplished by dissolving in a draught one of the 
 precious pearls from her earrings. Its counterpart was after- 
 ward carried to Rome by Augustus Csesar, and, being cut in 
 two, was affixed to the ears of the statue of Venus Genetrix. 
 
 We shall conclude our notice of this subject by observing, 
 that an elegant and ingenious method of veneering or inlaying 
 with nacre or mother-of-pearl is brought to great perfection, 
 especially at Jerusalem. The substance used is chiefly taken 
 from the lulu el Berber, commonly called the Abyssinian oyster. 
 Great quantities are brought from the Red Sea to Jerusalem, 
 and are formed into boxes, beads, and crucifixes, much sought 
 after by Spaniards both in the Old World and the New.* 
 
 A sketch of the history of two of the most remarkable insects 
 of these countries must bring our zoological chapter to a close. 
 The fly called Tsaltsalya presents a singular example of the 
 pervading influence of a creature which, were we to judge from 
 its apparent or external characteristics, w-e should deem alike 
 insignificant and powerless. In size it is little larger than a bee, and 
 has pure gauzy wings without spot or colour. The head is large, 
 and the mouth is furnished with three strong projecting hairs or 
 bristles. Providence appears to have fixed the habitation of this 
 insect to a soil composed of a black fattish earth of extraordi- 
 
 * Bruce, vol. v. p. 230.
 
 31G ZOOLOGY. 
 
 nary fruitfulness ; and there it reigns for a season as lord and 
 master. According to Brace, it absolutely prohibited the former 
 inhabitants of the land, called Mazaga, and who were domiciled 
 in caves and mountains, from deriving any advantage from 
 beasts of burden. It deprived them of flesh and milk, and gave 
 origin to another nation, whose manners were exactly the re- 
 verse of the first. These were shepherds, who lead a wander- 
 ing life, and preserve immense herds of cattle by conducting 
 them into sandy regions beyond the limits of the black earth, 
 and bring them back again when all danger from the fly has 
 ceased. " We cannot read the history of the plagues which 
 God brought upon Pharaoh by the hands of Mcses without 
 stopping a moment to consider a singularity, a very principal 
 one, which attended this plague of the fly. It was not till this 
 time, and by means of this insect, that God saii he would sepa- 
 rate his people from the Egyptians. And it would seem that 
 then a law was given to them that fixed the limits of their hab- 
 itation. It is well known, as I have repeatedly said, that the 
 land of Goshen or Geshen, the possession of the Israelites, was 
 a land of pasture, which was not overflowed by the Nile. But 
 the land overflowed by the Nile was the black earth of the val- 
 ley of Egypt, and it was here that God confined the flies ; for 
 he says, it shall be a sign of this separation of the people, which 
 he had then made, that not one fly should be seen in the sand or 
 pasture-ground, the land of Goshen ; and this kind of soil has 
 ever since been the refuge of all cattle ^emigrating from the 
 black earth to the'lower part of Atbara. Isaiah, indeed, says 
 that the fly shall be in all the desert places, and consequently 
 the sands ; yet this was a particular dispensation of Providence 
 to answer a special end, the desolation of Egypt, and was not a 
 repeal of the general law, but a confirmation of it ; it was an ex- 
 ception for a particular purpose and a limited time."* 
 
 In the Chaldee version this insect is called simply zebub, 
 which signifies the fly in general, as it is expressed in English. 
 By the Arabs it is translated zimb, which has the same signifi- 
 cation. Tsaltsalya is the word used in the Ethiopic translation, 
 and that, term is the true name of the fly in Geez. As soon as 
 this plague appears, and- its dreaded buzzing is heard, the cattle 
 forsake their food, and run wildly about the plain till they die, 
 worn out. with fear, fatigue, and famine ; and no remedy remains 
 for the inhabitants but to leave the region of the black earth and 
 hasten down to the sands of Atbara. Even the sunburnt 
 camel, emphatically called the ship of the desert, is soon de- 
 stroyed by this destructive creature. The gigantic elephant 
 and case-hardened rhinoceros, both of which are prevented by 
 their enormous bulk, and the vast quantity of food and water 
 
 * Bruce, vol. v. p. 190.
 
 INSECTS. 317 
 
 which they consume daily, from removing to dry and desert 
 places, are obliged to roll themselves in the mud, which soon 
 dries and hardens on their obdurate coats, and enables them in 
 some measure to withstand the attack of their winged and 
 almost viewless assassin. The whole inhabitants of the seacoast 
 of Melinda, down to Cape Guardafui, to Saba, and the south of 
 the Red Sea, are obliged to remove to the next sands on the 
 commencement of the rainy season, for the salvation of their 
 flocks. " This," says Bruce, " is not a partial emigration ; the 
 inhabitants of all the countries from the mountains of Abyssinia, 
 northward to the confluence of the Nile and Astaboras, are once 
 a year obliged to change their abode, and seek protection in the 
 sands of Beja; nor is there any alternative, or means of avoid- 
 ing this, though a hostile band was in their way, capable of spoil- 
 ing them of half their substance." Hear the words of the in- 
 spired prophet : — " And it shall come to pass in that day, that 
 the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part 
 of the rivers of Egypt." — " And they shall come, and shall rest 
 all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, 
 and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes."* 
 
 The only other insect which we shall notice is the Abyssinian 
 locust, which Mr. Salt informs us commits dreadful ravages in 
 that country. During his stay in the Bay of Amphila a large 
 flight of these insects came over to one of the islands, and in a 
 few days destroyed nearly half the vegetation upon it, not sparing 
 even the bitter leaves of the rack-tree. These locusts are 
 named Terid in Yemen, and Anne in Dancali, and are frequently 
 used as food by the wandering tribes of both these nations, who, 
 after broiling them, separate the heads from the bodies, and de- 
 -vour the latter in the same manner as Europeans eat shrimps 
 and prawns. f 
 
 * Isaiah, chap. vii. 18, 19. t Vovage to Abyssinia, p. 172. 
 
 Dd2
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 General Description of the Vegetation as far as it is knoum — Brief 
 Account of the most Remarkable and Useful Plants. 
 
 Vegetation of the Country— The Baobab— Acacia vera— Tamarind- 
 Kan tuffa— Kuara— True Sycamore— Kolquail— Cusso— Balsam of 
 Mecca— Wooginoos — Coffee-tree — Wansey — Ensete — Doum-tree — 
 Dhourra— Teff— Papyrus. 
 
 Few materials have been contributed by travellers towards a 
 flora of Nubia and Abyssinia. Since the time of Bruce we 
 know of two individuals only, Mr. Salt and M. CailHaud, who 
 have made any considerable additions to our knowledge of the 
 plants of those countries. Mr. Salt has published a catalogue 
 of the species collected by him ; but it is, after all, merely a list 
 of names.* M. Cailliaud preserved a smaller number ; but the 
 hundred species he obtained have been carefully described by 
 M. Raffeneau Delile,t and thirty-five of them are new. With- 
 out entering into minute observations on the respective collec- 
 tions of these travellers, we may remark, that on comparing them, 
 together, twenty species, or one-fifth of the whole of M. Cail- 
 liaud's collection, are Ugieminosa ; while of Mr. Salt's collection, 
 which amounts to one hundred and forty species, only eleven 
 are leg-uminosoe. And that it is equally remarkable that there 
 should be eleven labiates in Mr. Salt's list, and only a solitary 
 representative of the order in that of M. Cailliaud. 
 
 A .great sameness prevails in the vegetation of the deserts; 
 the trees are mostly acacias, tamarix, date, and doum palms. 
 Plants, however, abound in the more cultivated regions, the 
 banks of rivers, and the elevated mountain-ranges ; but of the 
 peculiar features presented by the vegetation in different parts 
 of the country we have few and very meager descriptions. The 
 most instructive one is contained in the notes of Bruce's Jour- 
 
 * Sail's Voyage to Abyssinia, A pp. p. 62. 
 
 t Voyage a Meroe, <fcc, par M. Frederic Cailliaud, 1S27, vol. iv. p.
 
 ASCENT OF TARANTA, 319 
 
 ney from Arkeeko to Dixan, over the mountain Taranta. The 
 high range of which this mountain forms a part is described by 
 him as constituting the boundary between the opposite seasons; 
 the rains on the eastern side, or that looking towards the Red 
 Sea, prevailing from October to April, and on the western side 
 from May to October. At the same time a sensible difference 
 is perceived in the character of the vegetation. Soon after 
 leaving Laberhey the grass which covered the plain disappeared, 
 and as. the traveller and his party imperceptibly ascended, gave 
 place to woods of acacias. The bed of a torrent soon became 
 their only road, the banks of which were adorned with rack- 
 trees (Racka ovata), capers, and tamarinds ( Tamarindiis Indica). 
 The second grow to the size of an " English elm." These trees 
 then became intermixed with abundance of the sycamore 
 (Fictis Sycomorus), often measuiing twenty feet or more in the 
 circumference of their trunks. The forest, which here became 
 so dense and luxuriant as to form natural arbours, and cast a 
 gloomy shade, grew more open as the party ascended the emi- 
 nences, which constituted the actual base of the mountain, 
 through the midst of sycamore and jujeb trees of great beauty. 
 This side of the mountain was thickly set with kolquall (Eu- 
 phorbia antiquorum), a plant that Bruce afterward saw in differ- 
 ent parts of Abyssinia, but never in the same degree of perfec- 
 tion. The middle region of the ascent produced fewer plants, 
 and was characterized by the prevalence of wild olives desti- 
 tute of fruit. Towards the upper part, and on the summit 
 itself, thick groves occurred .of the arze, or berry -bearing cedar 
 (Junipems Oxycednis ?), the trees of which were, according to 
 Bruce, tall and beautiful ; while on the western side they be- 
 came small shrubs and scraggy bushes. Mr. Salt ascended the 
 same mountain, and speaks of the kolquall being nearly forty feet 
 in height. He observed the sweet-brier (probably the Rosa 
 Abyssinica), as well as several highly aromatic shrubs, and a 
 number of flowers, some of which had bulbous roots. In the 
 above description we have distinct traces of several zones of 
 vegetation ; but the absence of barometrical measurements, or 
 even any estimate of elevation, deprives the account of much 
 interest and usefulness. . 
 
 Of the vegetation of the interior we canxollect only scattered 
 notices. The bases of the mountains are described as some- 
 times covered with brushwood, " aloes," thorny acacias, inter- 
 mixed with canes and bamboos (probably Bambusa arundinacea). 
 Some portions of the province of Sirt are very beautiful. 
 " Poncet," observes Bruce, "was right when he compared it to 
 the most beauteous part of Provence. We crossea the plain 
 (Selechlecka) through hedge-rows of flowering shrubs, among 
 which the honeysuckle now made a principal figure, which 
 is of one species only, the same known in England; but
 
 320 BOTANY. 
 
 the flower is larger and perfectly white. * Fine trees of all 
 sizes were everywhere interspersed ; and the vine, with small 
 black grapes of very good flavour, hung in many places in fes- 
 toons, joining tree to tree as if they had been artificially twined 
 and intended for arbours." Coffee-trees are scattered in many 
 places; but in Narea, the southernmost province of the Abyssin- 
 ian empire, they grow in great profusion. Acacias of several 
 species are common, especially in some districts. For example, 
 the whole territory of Aroose is shaded with the Acacia vera, 
 the tree which in" the sultry parts of Africa produces the gum- 
 arabic. " These trees," says Bruce, " grow seldom above fifteen 
 or sixteen feet high, then flatten and spread wide at the top, and 
 touch each other, while the trunks are far asunder, and under 
 a vertical sun leave you many miles together a free space to 
 walk in a cool delicious shade. There is scarcely any tree but 
 this in Maitsha ; all Guanguera and Wainadega are full of 
 them." Bruce adds, that throughout Aroose the ground beneath 
 these trees is covered with lupines, almost to the exclusion of 
 every other flower. 
 
 Near Addergey, the same traveller encamped by the side of a 
 rivulet called Mai-Lumi, — the river of limes or lemons, — the 
 woods on its banks being full of " lemons and wild citrons." 
 He also describes a species of Pplymnia, which he calls frondosa, 
 but which is P. Abyssinica of botanists, that yields an oil em- 
 ployed for domestic purposes throughout the country. The 
 castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis) is frequent in Nubia, ac- 
 cording to Burckhardt, the product of which is called oil of 
 Kheroa by the natives. 
 
 We shall now proceed to notice in a more particular manner 
 some of the vegetable productions of these countries. 
 
 The baobab, or monkey-bread (Adansonia digitata),f is the 
 most gigantic tree hitherto discovered. The trunk, though fre- 
 quently eighty feet in circumference, rarely exceeds twelve or 
 fifteen feet in height ; but on the summit of this huge pillar is 
 placed a majestic head of .innumerable branches fifty or sixty 
 feet long, each resembling an enormous tree, densely clothed 
 with beautifully green leaves. While the central branches are 
 erect the lowest series extend in a horizontal direction, often 
 touching the ground at their extremity ; so that the whole forms 
 a splendid arch of foliage, more like the fragment of a forest 
 than a single tree. The grateful shade of this superb canopy 
 is a favourite retreat of birds and monkeys ; the natives resort 
 to it for repose, and the weary traveller in a burning climate gladly 
 flies to it for shelter. The roots of the baobab are admirably 
 
 * This honeysuckle is probably quite distinct from the two common 
 British species, 
 t Bet. Mag. vol. lv. pi. 2791 and 2792.
 
 MONKEY-BREAD TREE. 321 
 
 adapted for affording stability to the truck, and for enabling the 
 prodigious head to resist the force of t:;e tempest, being of sin- 
 gular strength, and upwards of a hundred feet in length. The 
 bark of the trunk is thick, and very smooth. The leaves are 
 quinate, smooth, resembling in general form those of the horse- 
 chestnut. The flowers are white and very beautiful, eighteen 
 inches in circumference. The fruit, which hangs in a pendant 
 manner, is a woody gourd-like capsule with s downy surface, 
 about nine inches in length and liurin thickness, containing 
 numerous cells in which brown kiliey-shaped seeds are im- 
 bedded in a pulpy acid substance. The timber is soft and spongy, 
 and we are not aware that it is used for any economical pur- 
 pose. Jt is very easily perforated, so that, according to Bruce, 
 the bees in Abyssinia construct their, nests within it, and the 
 honey thus obtained, being supposed to have acruired a supe- 
 rior flavour, is esteemed in preference to any other. A more 
 remarkable excavation is however made by the natives ; dis- 
 eased portions of the trunk are hollowed out and converted into 
 tombs for the reception of the bodies of such individuals as, bv 
 the laws or customs of the country, are denied the usual rites of 
 interment. The bodies thus suspended within the cavity, and 
 without any preparation or embalmment, dry into well-pre- 
 served mummies. The juicy acid pulp of the fruit is eaten by 
 the natives, and is considered beneficial in fevers and other dis- 
 eases on account of its cooling properties. It was analyzed by 
 Vauquelin, and found to consist chiefly of a gum, a saccharine 
 matter, an amylaceous fecula, and malic acid. A kind of con- 
 diment is prepared from the bark and leaves, which being dried 
 and reduced to a fine powder, is used in cookery as we do pepper 
 and salt. The negroes call this powder Ullo or krfo, and believe 
 that it tends to restrain inordinate perspiration. An excellent 
 soap is obtained by boiling the leys of the ashes of the bark and 
 injured fruit with rancid palm-oil. The duration of the baobab 
 is not the least extraordinary part of its history, and has given 
 rise to much speculation. In it we unquestionably see the most 
 ancient living specimens of vegetation. " It is, v says the illus- 
 trious Humboldt, " the oldest organic monument of our planet ;" 
 and Adanson calculates that trees now alive have weathered 
 the storms of five thousand years. If this be true, the surface 
 of the African continent can have undergone but trifling geo- 
 logical changes during that space of time. The leaves of this 
 great tree are deciduous, a fact mentioned by Bruce, who ob- 
 serves that the dry fruit hangs long after the leaves have disap- 
 peared, and confirmed by Bowdich, who says they fail before 
 the rainy season.* 
 In the family of Leguminosa, several plants occur of coiisider- 
 
 * Bowdich's Account of Banjole.
 
 322 BOTANY. 
 
 able interest. We have alluded to the abundance of acacia- 
 trees : of these there are various species besides the Acacia 
 vera. One is mentioned by Burckhardt under the name of 
 Sellam-trees, the wood of which is valued for its great hard- 
 ness. The Arabs " use it for the shafts of their lances, and cut 
 the thin branches into sticks of about the thickness of the thumb, 
 and three feet in length, the top of which they bend in the fire 
 while the wood is yet green, and, rubbing it frequently with 
 grease, it acquires greater weight and strength. Every man 
 carries in his hand such a stick, which is called Sellame. From 
 the Acacia vera (A. Nilotica of Delile) is obtained the well known 
 gum-arabic of commerce, and ite pods, as well as those of Casr 
 sia Sabak, are employed in Nubia in the process of tanning. It 
 is related by Burckhardt, that he found stunted trees of a kind 
 of acacia growing on a saline plain, in his route from Taka to 
 Suakin, all of which bore a* parasitic species of cactus, that 
 completely covered some of them like a net. Here we also 
 find the tamarind ( Tamarindus Indica), the name of which is 
 derived from the Arab Tamar-hendi, signifying fruit of India. 
 The tamarind is a large tree, with an erect cylindrical trunk, 
 widely-spreading branches, and pinnated, bright, nearly ever- 
 green foliage. The fruit is a pendulous pod like a bean, three 
 to five inches in length, the coat of which is double ; the outer 
 one dry and brittle, the inner one membranous. Between these 
 coats is the thick acid pulp which, after being boiled with 
 sugar, is imported from the East and West Indies. The very 
 leaves and flowers are reported by Delile to be acid. Mr. Salt 
 and his party found this fruit a great refreshment while in Abys- 
 sinia. M. Delile informs us, that large quantities of tamarind- 
 fruit are brought by caravans of negroes from Darfiir to Cairo, 
 in the form of small round cakes, pierced with a hole through 
 their centre, and weighing from one to four pounds. This 
 preparation is hard, black, and very acid ; it is composed of the 
 pulp of the fruit, with portions of the pod itself, and occasion- 
 ally some of the seeds. A finer kind is also brought to Cairo 
 from the East Indies, more esteemed as a preserve, but sup- 
 posed to possess inferior medicinal properties.* About forty 
 tons of tamarind fruit are said to be annually imported into 
 Great Britain. Another beautiful leguminose plant is thus in- 
 troduced to our notice by Bruce : — " This thorn, like many 
 men we meet daily in society, has got itself into a degree of 
 reputation and respect from the noxious qualities and power of 
 doing ill which it possesses, and the constant exertion of these 
 powers." Such is the character of the kantuffa (Pterolobium 
 lacerans, Br.). It is a bushy shrub, six or eight feet high, well 
 furnished with thorns, and clothed with elegantly twice-pin- 
 
 * Delile, in Cailliaud, Voy. k Meroe, <Src. vol. iv.p. 323.
 
 SYCAMORE-TREK. 323 
 
 nated leaves. In some parts of Abyssinia it is very abundant, 
 and where it grows thickly is a sufficient impediment to the 
 march of a royal army. The common soldier, who is protected 
 by the skins of animals, is alone indifferent to the thorns of this 
 plant. The ordinary cotton cloths of the country, though some 
 of them are as thick as a blanket, are no defence ; for the thorns 
 bury themselves in its substance, and are with the greatest diffi- 
 culty disengaged. When the king, therefore, commences any 
 warlike expedition, the clearing of the ground from this shrub 
 becomes of primary importance ; and one of the first procla- 
 mations runs according to the traveller above mentioned, in 
 the following pithy style : — " Cut down the kantuffa in the four 
 quarters of The world, for I do not know where I am going." 
 A very handsome tree in the southern and south-western parts 
 of Abyssinia, called Kuara (Erythrina Indica), is highly inter- 
 esting from a circumstance connected with it, recorded by 
 Bruce. He observes, that it is abundant in the province of 
 Kuara, of which it bears the name, in all Fazoglo, Nuba, and 
 Guba, and the countries where there is gold. The flower is of 
 the colour of fine red coral. The fruit is a pod, and the seeds 
 small red beans, marked with a black spot. These beans are 
 affirmed by Bruce ro have been used in the earliest ages by the 
 Shangalla as a weight for gold ; and as the native name for the 
 bean is Carat, he concludes that the modern expression in 
 regard to gold and precious stones, of so many carats fine, or 
 weight, originated in the gold-country of Africa.* A remark- 
 able coincidence occurs in another derivation of the word carat. 
 Some have supposed it to come from keootiov, in Latin siliqua, 
 the carob-bean, because the carat used in weighing diamonds 
 and other gems is four grains, and the carob-bean, or seed of the 
 carob-tree (Ceratonia siliqua), is about the weight of four grains 
 of wheat. 
 
 In the family Artocarpea we observe the sycamore-tree (Ficvs 
 Sycomorus). This is the true sycamore, a large evergreen tree, 
 with a trunk several feet in diameter, producing a fruit which 
 resembles the common fig. It grows, according to Norden, to 
 the size of the beech. In some parts of the mountains, espe- 
 cially on Taranta, the Hazorta feed their flocks on the foliage, 
 the succulent nature of the wood enabling them to cut down 
 the branches with great ease. By this custom both Mr. Bruce 
 and Mr. Salt found the forest deprived of much of their shade 
 and beauty. The figs are produced in clusters on the main 
 stem and branches ; they are smaller than the common kind, 
 sweet and delicate according to some authors, but too insipidly 
 luscious in the opinion of others. In Egypt, " the people for 
 the greater part live upon its fruit ; and think themselves well 
 
 * Bniee's Travels, A pp. p. 80, 8vo. ed.
 
 324 BOTANY. 
 
 regaled whenjhey have a piece of bread, a couple of sycamore- 
 figs, and a pitcher filled with water from the Nile."* Bruce 
 mentions the singular fact, that, according to tradition, all the 
 mummy-chests which have been found from former ages were 
 made of sycamore, and that all those now found are constructed 
 of the same material. The name of this tree has been applied 
 very erroneously to the greater British maple (Acer pseudo-Pla- 
 tanus). 
 
 The kolquall belongs to the family of the Euphorbiacea ; it is 
 also manifestly a species of Euphorbia, and is referred by bot- 
 anists to E. antiquorwn. When young the whole plant con- 
 sists of a succulent green column resembling a cactus, five or six 
 inches in diameter, and of the same thickness from the bottom to 
 the top, fluted and angled, the angles beautifully scalloped. 
 From the summit of this column, which is at first like an aloe 
 in substance, but afterward hard and woody, the branches arise, 
 succulent and angular like the young plant, and, like it, never 
 producing leaves. In tnis manner an extraordinary tree is 
 formed, which attains the height of nearly forty feet. Flowers 
 of a golden colour are put forth at the ends of the branches, 
 and are succeeded by a deep crimson triangular fruit. In such 
 prodigious abundance was this tree observed on Taranta, when 
 that mountain was visited by Bruce, and so thickly did the 
 individuals stand together, that the coloured fruit made them 
 appear to be covered with a veil of the most vivid crimson. Like 
 other Euphorbias, the kolquall, possesses very acrid properties, 
 and exudes a copious milky fluid when wounded. Two of the 
 finest branches of a flourishing tree, divided by Bruce, poured 
 out a quantity that he estimated at the least to be four English 
 gallons, and which was so caustic as to excoriate the fingers as 
 if scalded with boiling water, and to leave an indelible sr.ain on 
 the sabre with which they were cut. In decay, the branches 
 wither and become filled with a pungent powder. Bruce again 
 met with this plant at the source of the Nile, but much degen- 
 erated in size and appearance. The Abyssinians prepare hides 
 for tanning by means of its acrid juice, winch is effectual in 
 removing the hair.f 
 
 A -very beautiful tree of Abyssinia, called cusso (Hagenia 
 Abyssinica), and belonging to the family Meliaceae ? is consid- 
 ered a specific in cases of worms, — a malady to which, it seems, 
 the natives of that country are peculiarly subject. The tree 
 is about twenty feet high, with a crooked trunk, and clothed 
 with pinnated leaves of a pleasant opaque green colour. "It 
 is planted always near churches, among the cedars which sur- 
 round them, for the use of the town or village.''^ It is indi- 
 
 * Norden's Travels, vol. i. p. 50, pi. 3S. 
 
 t Bruce's Travels, App. 8vo ed. p. 51. } Ibid. App. p. 90.
 
 BALSAM OF MECCA. 325 
 
 genous to the high country ; and Bruce, in remarking- that he 
 never saw it in the Kolla, nor in Arabia, nor in any other part 
 of Asia or Africa, considers it "an instance of the wisdom of 
 Providence, that it does not extend beyond the limits of the 
 disease of which it was intended to be the medicine or cure !"* 
 The same author, in the fourth page from the quotation we 
 have given, has favoured us with a most, amusing specimen of 
 logical deduction ; he-is speaking of the representation of the 
 cusso in his work, — "As the figure of this plant is true and 
 exact beyond all manner of exception, I cannot but think it may 
 be found in latitudes 11° or 12° north, in the West Indies or 
 America;" thus not only making the .existence of the plant 
 in those countries depend upon the fidelity of his drawing, but 
 demolishing in anticipation his example of the wisdom of Prov- 
 idence as exhibited in confining the plant to Abyssinia. 
 
 The next vegetable production which falls under particular 
 notice is the balessa'm, balm, or balsam of Mecca {Balsamoden- 
 dron Opobalsamum), belonging to-the family BurseracecB. It is a 
 native of the eastern coast of Abyssinia; especially at Azab, and 
 as far as the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. Bruce says, it is a small 
 tree "above fourteen feet high, with, scraggy branches and flat- 
 tened top, like those which are exposed to the seaside blasts ; 
 the appearance is consequently stunted, and the leaves are 
 besides small and few. He supposes that it was transplanted to 
 Arabia, and there cultivated at~a very early period. This was 
 the Balsamum Judaicum, or Balm of Gilead of antiquity and of 
 the sacred writings, it being supposed at one time to be pro- 
 duced only in Judea. It seems, however, to have disappeared 
 from that country, and -the supply to have proceeded from Ara- 
 bia. Many fables are connected with it. Tacitus says that 
 the tree was so averse from iron that it trembled when a knife 
 was laid near it, and it was thought the incision should be made 
 with an instrument of ivory, glass, or stone. f Bruce was told 
 by Sidi Ali Taraboloussi that " the plant was no part of the 
 creation of God in the six days, but that in the last of three very 
 bloody battles Which Mahomet fought with the noble Arabs of 
 Harb, and his kinsmen the Beni Koreish, then pagans, at Beder 
 Hunein, Mahomet prayed to God, and a grove of balsam-trees 
 grew up from the blood of the slain upon the field of battle ; 
 and that with the balsam which flowed from them he touched 
 the wounds even of those that were dead, and all those predesti- 
 nated to be good Mussulmans afterward immediately came to 
 life." An equally marvellous legend is the Arabic fable respect- 
 ing El Wah, a shrub or tree nol^ unlike our hawthorn in form 
 and flower. From the- wood of this tree they believe that 
 Moses's rod was made when he sweetened the waters of Marah; 
 
 * Bruce's Travels, App. p. 89. t Ibid. App. p. 26. 
 
 E e
 
 326 BOTANY. 
 
 and they say also, that by means of a rod of the same wood, 
 Kaleb Ibn el Waalid, the great destroyer of Christians, sweet- 
 ened the waters at El Wah, — the Oasis Parva of the ancients, 
 which were once bitter, and that he bestowed upon the place 
 the name borne by the wonder-working plant. To return to the 
 balsam-tree : the mode of obtaining it remains to be described. 
 This, according to Bruce, is done by making incisions in the 
 trunk at a particular season of the year, and receiving the fluid 
 that issues from the wounds into small earthen bottles, the pro- 
 duce of every day being collected and poured into a larger bottle, 
 which is kept closely corked. When first obtained, it is, gays 
 Bruce, " of a light yellow colour, apparently turbid, in which 
 there is a whitish cast, which I apprehend arises from the 
 globules of air that pervade the whole of it in its first state of 
 fermentation ; it then appears very light upon shaking. As it 
 settles and cools it turns clear, and loses that milkiness which 
 it first had. It has then the colour of honey, and appears more 
 fixed and heavy. The smell at first is violent and strongly pun- 
 gent, giving a sensation to the brain like to that of volatile salts 
 when rashly drawn up by an incautious person. . This lasts in 
 proportion to its freshness ; for being neglected, and the bottle 
 uncorked, it quickly loses this quality, as it probably will at 
 last by age, whatever care is taken of it."* The natives.of the 
 East use it medicinally in complaints of - the- stomach and 
 bowels, as well as a preservative .against the plague ; but its 
 chief value in the eyes of oriental ladies lies in its virtue as a 
 cosmetic, — although, as in the case of most other cosmetics, its 
 effects are purely imaginary. Lady Mary Wortley Montague 
 ascertained that it was in request by the ladies of the seraglio 
 at Constantinorrle ; but having tried it on her own person found 
 it exceedingly irritating to the skin. Much of the virtue attrib- 
 uted to it depends on. the costliness of the material. 
 
 Among the Xanthoxylea we observe ■ an Abyssinian shrub 
 dedicated to the traveller we have so often referred to. It is the 
 Brucea cmtidysmterica of botanists, the Wooginoos of the abo- 
 rigines. Bruce describes^ ifc as growing in the greater part of 
 Abyssinia, especially in the valleys of the low country. In Ras 
 el Feel it is found abundantly, and is regarded as a specific in 
 cases of dysentery, a disease which prevails there continually. 
 The root is the part employed, and Bruce himself was restored 
 to health by its use. The plant has recently been found to con- 
 tain a poisonous principle, less powerful, but similar in its effects 
 to strychnia, which has received the name of Brucia.f 
 
 The coffee-tree ( Coffea Arabim), belonging to the family called 
 Cmchonacea, is one of the indigenous plants of Abyssinia, as 
 Avell as of Arabia. It is an evergreen tree, or rather shrub, 
 
 * Brucea Travels, App. p. 29. t Turner's Chymistry, ed. 4, p. 776.
 
 INTRODUCTION OF COFFEE. 327 
 
 fifteen or twenty feet in height, with an erect slender trunk and 
 long flexible branches. The white flower resembles that of the 
 common jasmine, and the fruit is like a small red cherry, en- 
 closing within a soft pulp the two oval seeds familiar to every 
 one as the coffee of commerce. At what period the use of cof- 
 fee was adopted as an article of diet we have no informa- 
 tion. On the authority of an Arabian manuscript, formerly 
 in the library of the King of France, and now deposited in the 
 Bibliotheque Nationale, Megaleddin, mufti of Aden in Arabia, 
 had met with it in Persia, and on his return having continued 
 to use the infusion, induced many others to fallow his example. 
 The beverage soon became popular in Aden, and rapidly ex- 
 tended to Mecca, Medina, and the other cities of Arabia Felix.* 
 Coffee was introduced at Grand Cairo by dervises from Yemen 
 resident in that city ;f when it was however opposed on reli- 
 gious grounds, -from the persuasion that it had an inebriating 
 quality ; and in 1523, Abdallah Ibrahim having denounced it in 
 a sermon, a violent commotion was produced, and the parties 
 came to blows. Upon this, says a writer in Rees's Cyclopaedia, 
 the Sheik Elbelet, commander of the city, assembled the doc- 
 tors, and after giving a patient hearing to their tedious ha- 
 rangues, treated them all with coffee, first setting the example by 
 drinking it himself, and then dismissed the assembly without 
 uttering another word\ By this prudent conduct the public 
 peace was restored ; and coffee continued to be drunk at Grand 
 Cairo without further molestation. At Constantinople it had 
 also to encounter religious opposition. The dervises had the 
 sagacity to discover that coffee, w T hen roasted, becomes a kind 
 of coal ; they therefore declaimed against it with fury, coal 
 being one of the substances which' their prophet declared not 
 intended by God for human food. The mufti was of their party, 
 and the coffee-houses were soon shut up. A more sensible 
 mufti succeeded, who assured the faithful that roasted coffee 
 is not coal, and they were again opened.^ Coffee experienced 
 political persecution likewise in Constantinople, from the jeal- 
 ousy of the government, which looked upon the coffee-houses 
 as little better than nurseries of sedition. It soon however tri- 
 umphed over every obstacle, and being taxed, produced a con- 
 siderable revenue. Public officers are appointed to inspect it 
 and prepare it ; and it is said that a refusal to supply a wife 
 with coffee is one of the legal grounds of divorce in Turkey. 
 Coffee was brought into notice in the west of Europe in the 
 seventeenth century. The first coffee-house in London was 
 opened m George Yard, Lombard-street, in 1652, by Pasqua, a 
 Greek servant ot Daniel Edwards, a Turkish merchant, and the 
 
 * Rees's Cyclopaedia, article Coffee. t D'Herbelot, p. 234. 
 
 J Rees's Cyclopaedia, article Coffee.
 
 328 BOTANY. 
 
 number soon increased. In 1675 Charles II. attempted to sup- 
 press them, as places of resort dangerous to government, but 
 without effect ; and in 1G88 it was supposed that there wero as 
 many of these houses of entertainment in London as in Grand 
 Cairo, besides those to be met with in the principal towns 
 throughout the country. The coffee-tree begins to produce 
 fruit in its second year, and yields according to its age and size, 
 from one to four or five pounds. It is cultivated in the East and 
 West Indies, and has become of vast importance in the com- 
 mercial world. The quantity annually . consumed in Europe 
 alone is now probably not far short of two hundred millions of 
 pounds. In Abyssinia its value is said to have been known 
 from time immemorial. The Galla, who have frequently td cross 
 uncultivated deserts, carry with them small balls, made up of 
 pounded coffee and butter, and upon this food, in preference to 
 bread or flesh, they perform long journeys. 
 
 The next plant we have selected for a brief notice in this 
 place is the wansey {Cordia Abyssinica), belonging to the Cor- 
 diacecB. The wansey is an ornamental tree about twenty feet in 
 height, and for some unknown reason has divine honours paid 
 to it by the seven nations of the Galla. It is common in Abys- 
 sinia, and planted in all the towns. The flowering season -is 
 immediately after the periodical rains, when the pretty white 
 blossoms expand so .suddenly as to change the aspect of the 
 country. Bruce indeed says that it blossoms the first, day the 
 rains cease ; and that exactly on the 1st of September, for | 
 three years together, in a night's time it was covered with 
 such a multitude of flowers that Gondar and the neighbouring 
 towns appeared as if overspread with new-fallen snow. "When 
 called upon to choose a king, the representatives of the Galla 
 nations meet under the shade of this tree, and the individual on 
 whom the choice falls is crowned with a chaplet of wansey, 
 and has a sceptre of the wood put into his hand, which is called 
 Buco ; this sceptre is carried before him like a mace wherever 
 he goes l and is inseparable from royalty in the general meet- 
 ings of the nations. 
 
 A very remarkable plant is both described and figured by 
 Bruce under the name of ensete, but in such a vague and un- 
 satisfactory manner that it is impossible to make out its 
 botanical relations. It has been conjectured to be a kind of 
 banana (Musa) ; but this* is exceedingly doubtful, and we are 
 rather inclined to think that it will prove to be a new genus, 
 and the type of a new natural family of plants. The ensete is 
 of frequent occurrence in Abyssinia, especially in the moist and 
 warm parts of the country, but abounds " in that part of Mait- 
 sha and Goutto west of the Nile, where there are large planta- 
 tions of it, and it there, almost exclusive of any thing else, 
 forms the food of the Galla inhabiting that province," Bruce
 
 ENSETE DOTJM-TREE. 329 
 
 in his description gives us no data for judging of the 6ize of 
 the ensete ; but he speaks of the stem being esculent for sev- 
 eral feet in height. The whole plant is herbaceous ; the leaves 
 are sessile, numerous, somewhat resembling those of the banana, 
 or some large species of Arum, and commencing at the very base, 
 where they are the largest, become smaller by degrees till they 
 reach the inflorescence. The fruit is bome on the upper part 
 of the stem, of a conical form, an inch and a half in length, 
 and about an inch in diameter, " in colour and consistence re- 
 sembling a rotten apricot," containing a " stone half an inch 
 long, of the shape of a bean." Above the part that produces 
 the fructification, the stalk begins to be curved downwards, and 
 is thickly set with small leaves (bracteee ?) " in the midst of 
 which it terminates the flower in the form of the artichoke." No 
 one can have a correct idea of the plant from such a description. 
 The fruit is not eatable, but the body of the plant, according to 
 Bruce, is to be preferred to all vegetables, and when boiled has 
 the taste of the best new wheat-bread not perfectly baked. 
 The individual plant represented in the Appendix to his Travels 
 was ten years old. " When you make use of the ensete for 
 eating, you cut it," says Bruce, " immediately above the small 
 detached roots, and perhaps a foot or two higher, as the plant is 
 of age. You strip the green from the upper part till it becomes 
 white ; when soft, like a turnip well boiled, if eaten with milk 
 or butter, it is the best of all food, wholesome, nourishing, and 
 easily digested."* 
 
 The doum-tree (Cucifera Thebaica), one of the Palmce,is a re- 
 markable tree, between thirty and forty feet in height, the trunk 
 of which exhibits a deviation rarely met with among palms, in 
 being repeatedly branched in a dichotomous manner. A tuft of 
 numerous leaves crowns the summit of each division of the 
 trunk, six feet long and three feet broad, supported on footstalks, 
 plaited, spreading like a fan, and split into radiating segments. 
 The flowers are produced on a branched receptacle, called in 
 botanical language a spadix, the whole being enclosed in a 
 sheath or spatha, through the side of which it bursts when the 
 flowers are about to expand. The fruit is oval, and suspended 
 in grape-like clusters. The doum-tree is of great value to the- 
 inhabitants of the countries where it grows, as it often takes 
 the place of the date-palm, and supplies them with food and 
 various useful articles ; besides, wherever it establishes itself 
 in the desert, various shrubs, and plants gradually rear their 
 heads under its shade, and in process of time render the burn- 
 ing sand fit for cultivation. The fruit is about the size of a 
 large walnut, and contains a pulp, the flavour of which is com- 
 pared both by Poiret and Captain Lyon to gingerbread. A sherbet 
 
 * Bruce, App. p. 49. 
 £e2
 
 330 BOTANY. 
 
 is prepared from it resembling that made with the pods of the 
 carob-tree. Of the hard kernels beads are turned susceptible 
 of a beautiful polish. The natives manufacture baskets from 
 the leaves, of surprising neatness and beauty, as well as vessels 
 for containing water. Burckhardt also mentions that he saw 
 an encampment at Atbara, consisting of tents formed of mats 
 made of the leaves of the doum-tree. 
 
 Several Graminea, natives of Nubia and -Abyssinia, are culti- 
 vated for food. One of these is the dhourra (Sorghum vulgare), 
 the stalks of which, according to Burckhardt. often rise to the 
 height of sixteen or even twenty feet. In Upper Egypt .it is 
 much inferior in size. The grain is much esteemed. That 
 grown in Taka is of so fine a quality as to be nearly equal to 
 wheat. It is difficult to say whether dhourra is a name con- 
 fined to a particular kind of grain in Africa. It is certainly ap- 
 plied to the Sorghum vulgare, which is the Holcus Durra of For- 
 skahl, the H. Sorghum, L. and H. rhbens, Willd. The maize is 
 calied dhourra-kyzan. Another grain in common use through- 
 out Abyssinia is the teff (Poa Abyssinica), a kind of gr^s pos- 
 sessing little beauty, the seeds of which produce excellent flour. 
 "Wheaten-fiour is used by individuals of rank, but the common 
 bread of the country is made from the teff. From this bread, 
 when fermented with water till the mixture acquires an acid 
 taste, is prepared a kind of beer in general request by the Abys- 
 sinians. In addition to the above, Bruce mentions a gigantic 
 wild oat, of frequent occurrence, having stalks at least eight 
 feet long. It is sometimes so tall as to conceal both a horse 
 and his rider. In cases of emergency, the people make huts of 
 them like bee-hives. . The soldiers, who carry no tents, make 
 them very speedily for themselves of these Oats, the straw of 
 which is as thick as the little finger. The grain is not valued, 
 but the taste is good, and Bruce often made the meal into cakes 
 in remembrance of Scotland. He is of opinion that this is the 
 common oat in its original state, and that it has degenerated in 
 a European climate. 
 ' The plant to which we mean to devote the remainder of our 
 limited space is not the least interesting one in the Egyptian and 
 Abyssinian floras, — the papyrus of the ancients. This cele- 
 brated vegetable, the Cyperus Papyrus of botanists, is a graceful 
 marsh plant twelve or fifteen feet in height. The roots creep 
 extensively, and throw up numerous stems, sheathed at the base 
 by a few sword-shaped leaves, and terminated with large and 
 elegant umbels of flowers. Bruce obtained specimens from the 
 lakes Tzana and Gooderoo in Abyssinia. The paper of anti- 
 quity was prepared from the inner portion of the stem ; and, on' 
 the authority of Pliny, the best and. most beautiful paper was 
 made out of the very heart of the substance of the stem, and was 
 composed of three layers, arranged in parallel and transverse
 
 PAPYRUS. 331 
 
 rows, and submitted to heavy pressure. A kind of size seems 
 also to have been used, which glued the parts together and ren- 
 dered the spongy texture fitter for the reception of writing. To 
 be of g©od quality this paper was required to be fine, compact, 
 white, and smooth. Several coarser kinds were made. It 
 would appear from the same author that the Egyptians formerly 
 applied the plant to many purposes. " The inhabitants of Egypt 
 do use the root instead of wood, not for fuel only, but also to 
 make thereof sundry vessels and utensils in an house. The 
 very bodie and pole of the papyr itselfe servethvery well to twist 
 and weave therewith little boats, and the rinds thereof be good 
 to make saile-clothes, curtains, mats, and coverlets, clothes also 
 for hangings, and ropes. Nay, they used to chew and eat it 
 both raw and sodden ; but they swallow the juice only down 
 the throat, and spit out the grosse substance."* As for the flower, 
 it served no other purpose than for " chaplets to adorn the im- 
 ages of the gods." At one time the papyrus was in general re- 
 quest, not only in Egypt, but in other countries. Under the 
 Ptolemies the books of the great Alexandrian library were 
 copied on this paper ; but when Eumenes, king of Pergamus, 
 began to establish a rival library, a mean jealousy controlled the 
 dissemination of knowledge, and forbade the exportation of pa- 
 pyrus. Parchment came into more general use soon afterward, 
 and is said to have derived its Latin name pergamcnea from the 
 city of Pergamus, where it was substituted for the papyrus, 
 which was no longer to be obtained.! 
 
 * Pliny, book xiii., ch. 11. Holland's Translation. 
 t Vid. Vossii Etymologicon in voce Pergamenea. 
 
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 that under the able superintendence of Mr. Valpy, the value of the present 
 work will not exceed its success as a mere literary speculation. It ought 
 to find a place in every school and private family in the kingdom." — Bris- 
 tol Journal. 
 
 " The design of this publication is highly laudable : if it be patronised 
 according to its deserts, we have no hesitation in saying that its success 
 will be very considerable." — Edinburgh Advertiser. 
 
 " If we had been called on to state what in our opinion was wanted to 
 complete the several periodicals now in course of publication, we should 
 have recommended a translation of the most approved ancient writers, in 
 a corresponding style. This undertaking, therefore, of Mr. Valpy's, most 
 completely meets the view we had entertained on the subject We 
 strongly recommend the production to the notice of schools, as its perusal 
 must tend to implant on the minds of the pupils a love for ancient lore. 
 In Ladies' Seminaries the series will, indeed, be invaluable — the stores of 
 antiquity being thus thrown open to them." — Plymouth and Devonport 
 Herald. 
 
 " Economy is the order of the day in books. The Family Classical Li- 
 brary will greatly assist the classical labours of -tutors as well as pupils. 
 We suspect that a period is arriving when the Greek and Latin authors 
 will be more generally read through the medium of translations." — Chel- 
 tenham Journal. 
 
 "We avail ourselves of the earliest opportunity of introducing to the 
 notice of our readers a work which appears to promise the utmost advan- 
 tage to the rising generation in particular. There is no class of people to 
 whom it is not calculated to be useful— to the scholar, it will be an agree- 
 able guide and companion; while those to whom a classical education 
 has been denied will find in it a pleasant and a valuable avenue towards 
 those ancient models of literary greatness, which, even in this age of 
 boasted refinement, we are proud to imitate." — Aberdeen Chronicle. 
 
 "The Family Classical Library will contain the most correct and ele- 
 gant translations of the immortal works of all'the great authors of Greece 
 and Rome ; an acquaintance with whose writings is indispensable to every 
 man who is desirous of acquiring even modern classical attainments." — 
 Liverpool Albion, 
 
 " This volume promises to be an invaluable acquisition to those but 
 partially acquainted with the Greek and Latin languages: such of the 
 fair sex more especially as direct their laudable curiosity in the channel 
 of classic literature must find in translation the very key to the knowledge 
 they seek. The mere trifle for which the lover of literature may now 
 furnish his library with an elegant and uniform edition of the best trans- 
 lations from the classics, will, it cannot be doubted, ensure the Family 
 Classical Library a welcome reception."— Woolmer's Exeter Gazette. 
 
 "This work will supply a desideratum in literature; and we hope it 
 will meet -with encouragement. The translations of many of the ancient 
 authors, who may be looked on as the great storehouse of modern litera- 
 ture, are out of the reach of the English reader ; and this publication will 
 reader them accessible loaU'*— Yorkshire Gazette.
 
 LIBRARY OF SELECT NOVELS. 
 
 Fictitious composition Is now admitted to form an extensive and ita 
 port ant portion of literature. Well-wrought novels take their rank by tile 
 side of real narratives, and are appealed to as evidence in all question* 
 concerning man. In them the customs of countries, the transitions and 
 shades of character, and even the very peculiarities of costume and dia- 
 lect, are curiously preserved ; and the imperishable spirit that surrounds 
 and keeps them for the use of successive generations renders the rarities 
 fbr ever fresh and green. In them human life is laid down as on a map. 
 The strong and virid exhibitions of passion and of character which they 
 furnish, acquire and maintain the strongest hold upon the curiosity, and, 
 it may be added, the affections of every class of readers ; for not-only ta 
 entertainment in all the various moods of tragedy and comedy provided in 
 their pages, but he who reads them attentively may often obtain, without 
 the bitterness and danger of experience, that knowledge of his fellow- 
 creatures which but for such aid could, in the majority of cases, ba only 
 acquired at a period of life too late to turn It to account. 
 
 This " Library of Select Novels" will embrace none but such as have 
 received the impress of general approbation, or have been written by 
 authors of established character; and the publishers hope to receive sucn 
 encouragement from the public patronage as will enable them in the 
 oourse of time to produce a series of works of uniform appearance, and 
 including most of the really valuable novels and romances that have been 
 *r shall be issued from the modern English and American press. 
 
 There is scarcely any question connected with the interests of literature 
 which has been more thoroughly discussed and investigated than that of 
 the utility or evil of novel reading. In its favour much may be and has 
 been said, and it must be admitted that the reasonings o> hose who be- 
 lieve novels to be injurious, or at least useless, are not witu. "t force and 
 plausibility. Yet, if the arguments against novels are clossv examined, 
 it will be found that they are more applicable in general to ex.. ssive in- 
 dulgence in the pleasures afforded by the perusal of fictitious adventure* 
 than to the works themselves ; and that the evils which can be justly 
 ascribed to them arise almostuxclusively, not from any peculiar noxious 
 qualities that can be fairly attributed to novels as a species, but from thoa* 
 Individual works which in their class must bo pronounced to be indif- 
 ferent. 
 
 But even were It otherwise — were novels of every kind, the good as 
 well as the bad, the striking and animated not less than the puerile, in- 
 deed liable to the charge of enfeebling or perverting the mind ; and were 
 there no qualities in any which might render them instructive as well as 
 amusing — the universal acceptation which they have ever received, and 
 still continue to receive, from all ages and classes of men, would prove 
 an irresistible incentive to their production. The remonstrances of moral- 
 ists and the reasonings of philosophy have ever beea, and will still be 
 found, unavailing against the desire to partake of an ioyment ao attrac- 
 tive. Men will read novels ; and therefore the utmost that wisdom and 
 Ebilanthropy can do is to cater prudently for the public appetite, and, as it 
 i hopeless to attempt the exclusion of fictitious writings from the shelves 
 of the library, to see that they are encumbered with the least possible 
 number of such as have no othar merit than that of novelty. 
 
 JEJ* Sixteen works, by eminent aiUhors, have already been pi&> 
 Uehed m the" Library of Select Novels" which are sold separately 
 •r m complete set*.— For thttitles sir the Publishers' catalogue.
 
 BOY'S AND GIRL'S LIBRARY. 
 
 PROSPECTUS. 
 
 The publishers of the " Boy's and Girl's Li- 
 brary" propose, under this title, to issue a series 
 of cheap but attractive volumes, designed espe- 
 cially for the young. The undertaking originates 
 not in the impression that there does not already 
 exist in the treasures of the reading world a large 
 provision for this class of the community. They are 
 fully aware of the deep interest excited at the present 
 day on the subject of the mental and moral training 
 of the young, and of the amount of talent and labour 
 bestowed upon the production of works aiming 
 both at the solid culture and the innocent entertain- 
 ment of the inquisitive minds of children. They 
 would not therefore have their projected enterprise 
 construed into an implication of the slightest dis- 
 paragement of the merits of their predecessors in th* 
 same department. Indeed it is to the fact of the 
 growing abundance rather than to the scarcity oi 
 useful productions of this description that the de~ 
 sign of the present work is to be traced ; as they 
 are desirous of creating a channel through which 
 the products of the many able pens enlisted in tha
 
 
 yt 
 
 service of the young may be advantageously con- 
 veyed to the public. 
 
 The contemplated course of publications will 
 more especially embrace such works as are adapt* 
 ed, not to the extremes of early childhood or of 
 advanced youth, but to that intermediate spp"- 
 wliich lies between childhood and the opening 
 maturity, when the trifles of the nursery and me 
 simple lessons of the school-room have ceased to 
 exercise their beneficial influence, but before the 
 taste for a higher order of mental pleasure has es- 
 tablished a fixed ascendency in their stead. In the 
 selection of works intended for the rising gccera- 
 tion in this plastic period of their existence, when 
 the elements of future, character are receiving their 
 moulding impress, the publishers pledge themselves 
 that the utmost care and scrupulosity shall be exer- 
 cised. They are fixed in their determination that 
 nothing of a questionable tendency on the score of 
 sentiment shall find admission into pages conse- 
 crated to the holy purpose of instructing the thoughts, 
 regulating the passions, and settling the principles 
 of the young. * 
 
 In fine, the publishers of the " Boy's and Girl's 
 Library" would assure the public that an adequate 
 patronage alone is wanting to induce and enable 
 them to secure the services of the most gifted pens 
 in our country in the proposed publication, and thus 
 to render it altogether worthy of the age and the 
 object which call it forth, and of the countenance 
 which they solicit for it
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed.
 
 
 HARPER'S FAMILY LIBRARY. 
 
 os. 1, 2, 3. Miiman's History 
 
 of the Jew With plates 3 v. 
 1,5. Lockhar? v LifeofNapo- 
 
 maparte. Plate.*.. 2v. 
 • *s Life of Nelson 1 v. 
 . \Y 'liams's Life of Alexan- 
 der the Great, Plates — lv. 
 History of Insects 1 v. 
 . Gait's Life of Lord Byron 1 t. 
 . Btish's Life of Mohammed 1 v< 
 . Scott on Demonology and 
 
 -aft:. Plate 1 v. 
 
 13 Gleig's Bible History. . 2 v. 
 Discovery and Adventure 
 
 in t be Polar Seas, &c I v. 
 
 ifi. of Ge >rge IV. 1 v. 
 Discovery and Adventure 
 in Africa*. Engravings .. lv. 
 13.19. Cunningham's Lives 
 of Painters. Sculptors, &c. 3 v. 
 James's Ki -;tory of Chiv- 
 alry and tae C : • usaces .... 1 v. 
 22. Bell's Lite of Mary 
 Queen of Scots. Portrait 2 v. 
 Euseelri Mod- 
 
 ern Eg}"' es.. lv. 
 
 Fletcher and lv. 
 
 Smith's Festivals, Games, 
 
 and Amusements lv. 
 
 Brewster's Life of Sir Isaac 
 Newton, With plates... lv. 
 
 . Palestine, or toe 
 Holy Lan • With Plates I v. 
 Memes's Memciri of Em- 
 press Josephine Plates., lv. 
 The Court and Camp of 
 Bonapwe, With platen lv, 
 L.ves of Early Navigators lv. 
 -.on of Pitcairti'a. 
 &.e. Engravings.. 1 v. 
 Turner's Sacred History., lv. 
 
 33,34. Memoirs of celebrated 
 Female Sovereign 
 
 35,36. Landers' Africa 
 
 37. . Abercronnie on the Intel- 
 lectual Powers, &c- . ... 
 
 38, 39, 40. Lives of Celebrated 
 Travellers ... 
 
 41, 42. Life of Frederic IL King 
 of Prussia Portrait.. . . . 
 
 43, 44. Sketches fora Venetian 
 History. With plates... 
 
 45, 46. Thatcher's Indian Lives 
 
 47,48.49. History of India... 
 
 50: Brewster's Lts'.<c?s on Nat- 
 ural Magic 
 
 51,52. History 
 
 53, Discoveries on the North- 
 ern C 
 
 54. Hut 
 
 ural philoeo] 
 
 FT, Mud,. 
 serv; 
 
 53. After 
 
 59. Dick 
 ofSo' 
 
 60. Jame 
 
 61. Nubia and _* 
 
 62. 63. Li 
 Several 
 
 CLASSICAL SERIES. 
 1,2. Xenophor. 
 
 Cyropaedia.) Port- 
 3,4. Leland's Demos i 
 5. Rose's Sallti- 
 6,7. Casals C 
 
 DRAM AT! 
 1,2,3. Massrngei 
 4 5; Ford's Pla> • 
 
 : lip 
 
 Revel & 
 
 3So»'8 ana €cirl»»5. 
 
 
 c... i 
 
 it 
 
 ?male Bi 
 
 16. <„iiroUne W 
 
 StanUattt histories 
 Rome Maps 
 sovfa Works = Platen. 
 
 i History of Modem 
 RusHeU and J* 
 
 Unive