Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia | Page 6

our messengers had been betrayed by the
inhabitants of that city. He destroyed Zagé, a large and populous city,
because he pretended that a priest had been rude to him. He cast into
chains his adopted father, Cantiba Hailo, because he had taken into his
service a female servant he had dismissed. Tesemma Engeddah, the
hereditary chief of Gahinte, fell under his displeasure because after a
battle against the rebels he had shown himself "too severe," and our
first head-jailor was taken to the camp and put in chains because he had
"formerly been a friend" of the King of Shoa. I could adduce hundreds
of instances to illustrate his habitual hypocrisy. In our case, he arrested
us because we had not brought the former captives with us; Mr. Stern
he nearly killed, merely for putting his hand to his face, and he
imprisoned Consul Cameron for going to the Turks instead of bringing
him back an answer to his letter.
Theodore had all the dislike of the roving Bedouin for towns and cities.
He loved camp life, the free breeze of the plains, the sight of his army
gracefully encamped around the hillock he had selected for himself;
and he preferred to the palace the Portuguese had erected at Gondar for
a more sedentary king, the delights of roaming about incognito during
the beautiful cool nights of Abyssinia. His household was
well-regulated; the same spirit of order which had introduced
something like discipline into his army, showed itself also in the
arrangements of his domestic affairs. Every department was under the
control of a chief, who was directly responsible to the Emperor, and
answerable for everything connected with the department entrusted to
him. These officers, all men of position, were the superintendents of the
tej makers, of the women who prepared the large flat Abyssinian bread,
of the wood-carriers, of the water girls, &c.; others, like the "Balderas,"
had charge of the Royal stud, the "Azage" of the domestic servants, the
"Bedjerand" of the treasury, stores, &c.; there were also the Agafaris or
introducers, the Likamaquas or chamberlain, the Afa Negus or mouth
of the King.
Strange to say, Theodore preferred as his personal attendants those who

had served Europeans. His valet, the only one who stood by him to the
last, had been a servant of Barroni, the vice-consul at Massowah.
Another, a young man named Paul, was a former servant of Mr. Walker;
others had at one time been in the service of Plowden, Bell, and
Cameron. Excepting his valet, who was almost constantly near his
person, the others, although they resided in the same inclosure, had
more especially to take care of his guns, swords, spears, shields, &c. He
had also around him a great number of pages; not that I believe he
required their presence, but it was an "honour" he bestowed on chiefs
entrusted with distant commands or with the government of remote
provinces. Almost all the duties of the household were performed by
women; they baked, they carried water and wood, and swept his tent or
hut, as the case might be. The majority of them were slaves whom he
had seized from slave-dealers at the time he made "manly" efforts to
put a stop to the trade. Once a week, or more often as the case required,
a colonel and his regiment had the honour of proceeding to the nearest
stream, to wash the Emperor's linen and that of the Imperial household.
No one, not even the smallest page, could, under the penalty of death,
enter his harem. He had a large number of eunuchs, most of them
Gallas, or soldiers and chiefs who had recovered from the mutilation
the Gallas inflict on their wounded foe. The queen or the favourite of
the day had a tent or house to herself, and several eunuchs to attend
upon her; at night these attendants slept at the door of her tent, and
were made responsible for the virtue of the lady entrusted to their care.
As for the ordinary women, the objects of passing affections or of
stronger passions that time had quenched, a tent or hut in common for
ten or twenty, one or two eunuchs and a few female slaves for the
whole, was all the state he allowed these neglected ladies.
Theodore was more bigoted than religious. Above all things he was
superstitious; and that to a degree incredible in a man in other respects
so superior to his countrymen. He had always with him several
astrologers, whom he consulted on all important occasions --especially
before undertaking any expedition,--and whose influence over him was
unbounded. He hated the priests, despised them for their ignorance,
spurned their doctrines, and laughed at the marvellous stories some of
their books contain; but still he never