deified, almost to the exclusion of the Son. Confession is insisted on as indispensable to eternal life, and those who die unshrived are refused burial: the fee for confession is considerable, which may throw some light on this portion of the doctrine. Kissing the hand of a priest purifies from sin, and a pilgrimage to Jerusalem insures paradise to the pilgrim. The king of Thou, Sehela Selassé, regards himself as the lineal descendant of Solomon by the Queen of Sheba; he calls himself "King of Israel," and bears upon his banners the inscription, "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah hath prevailed." The Abyssinians observe the Jewish sabbath, circumcision, and many other rites of that people, whose cause they deem themselves destined to espouse, and believe that they shall one day rise, en masse, to deliver Palestine from the Infidel. The Egyptians, proud of these converts of their faith, (whose patriarch, or rather metropolitan, they appoint), used to exagge rate the power and resources of Abyssinia and its emperor, asserting that he could bring 100,000 men into the field, that he could withhold and give forth the waters of the Nile, and that he possessed unbounded command of gold. Modern discoveries, however, and Major Harris's recent visit, reveal to us a people as savage, in almost every respect, as the nations that surround them. There appears to be a wild caprice among the institutions, if such they may be called, of all these tropical nations. In a neighboring state to that of Abyssinia, the king, when appointed to the regal dignity, retires into an island, and is never again visible to the eyes of men but once- -when his ministers come to strangle him; for it may not be that the proud monarch of Behr should die a natural death. No men, with this fatal exception, are ever allowed even to set foot upon the island, which is guarded by a band of Amazons. In another border country, called Habeesh, the monarch is dignified with the title of Tiger. He was formerly Melek of Shendy, when it was invaded by Ismael Pasha, and was even then designated by this fierce cognomen. Ismael, Mehemet Ali's second son, advanced through Nubia, claiming tribute and submission from all the tribes. Nemmir (which signifies Tiger), the King of Shendy, received him hospitably, as Mahmoud, our dragoman, informed us, and, when he was seated in his tent, waited on him to learn his pleasure. "My pleasure is," replied the invader, “that you forthwith furnish me with slaves, cattle, and money, to the value of 100,000 dollars."-" Pooh!" said Nemmir, "you jest; all my country could not produce what you require in one hundred moons :"—the young Pasha, indignant at the tone or purport of the reply, struck the Tiger across the face with his pipe,—had he done so to his namesake of the jungle, the insult could not have roused fiercer feelings of revenge, but the human animal did not show his wrath at once. “It is well,” he replied, “let the Pasha rest, to-morrow he shall have nothing more to ask." The Egyptian, and the few Mameluke officers of his staff, were tranquilly smoking towards evening, entertained by some dancing-girls whom the Tiger had sent to amuse them; when they observed that a huge pile of dried stalks of Indian corn was rising rapidly round the tent. "What means this?" inquired Ismael angrily; "am not I Pasha ?"—"It is but forage for your highness's horses," replied the Nubian, "for, were your troops once arrived, the people would fear to approach the camp." Suddenly, the space is filled with smoke, the tent-curtains shrivel up in flames, and the Pasha and his comrades find themselves encircled in what they well know is their funeral pyre. Vainly the invader implores mercy, and assures the Tiger of his warm regard for him and all his family; vainly he endeavors to break through the fiery fence that girds him round; a thousand spears bore him back into the flames, and the Tiger's triumphant yell and bitter mockery mingled with his dying screams. The Egyptians perished to a man: Nemmir escaped up the country, crowned with savage glory, and married the daughter of a king, who soon left him his successor, and the Tiger still defies the old Pasha's power. The latter, however, took a terrible revenge upon his people: he burnt all the inhabitants of the village nearest to the scene of his son's slaughter, and cut off the right hands of five hundred men besides. So much for African warfare. I shall only add one more Æthiopian anecdote, of a different species of romance, and then return to my task. About a hundred years ago, there lived a shepherd youth of great beauty and endowments; but, as he seemed condemned to pine in an obscure and lonely life, the courage, wit, and ambition that burnt within him, were wasted on the sheep and goats. A wise old woman, in his childhood, had foretold that he should one day become great, and, supported by that hope, he had lived on until he had almost learnt to do without it. One day he was sitting on the bank of a lonely lake among the mountains, and gazing on the still waters, that reminded him of the Eastern apologue; "It is only the calm waters that reflect heaven in their breast; " when he observed an eddy near him, whereby the lake seemed struggling to escape. He cast in his staff, which instantly disappeared; and then, impelled by some instinct, he heaved a huge mass of rock into the troubled waters, which thereupon grew calm. Shortly afterwards, the lake began to rise, and at length overflowed into a desert ravine. The shepherd returned to his tent, musing on what he felt was an event of important omen; but time wore on, and he was still a shepherd. Then there came among his people ambassadors from a far country down in the plains, saying, "The waters of our valley are dried up, and the king will give his daughter and half his kingdom to him who will restore them; for a staff has been found in the dried water-course, and it is such, they say, as the men of these mountains use." Then went the young shepherd to the king, restored his river, and obtained his daughter and his throne in return. Such is even the legendary value of water in these "lands of the sun." The trade from Abyssinia down the Nile is very trifling; the principal exports are indigo, ivory, hides, and slaves. The Pasha has garrisons at Shenda, Dongola, Sennaar, and Khartoun, in Nubia. The latter owes its creation to his army. It is modern, of course, well built, and beautifully situated at the confluence of the Blue and White Rivers. A Greek mer. chant, who had been physician to the forces there, told me the Blue River was by far the most rapid, and also contained the sweetest water; which renders it probable that it retains purity and momentum from a mountain descent, which the White River is unconscious of. Besides Meröe, there are magnificent ruins, and some pyramids at El Birkel, Solib, and Semneh, within twenty days' journey from Assouan. After these slight prospective and retrospective digressions, I return to my tour. CHAPTER XXIV. THE CATARACT AND PHILCE. Syene's rocks are far behind, And thy green banks, sweet Isle of Flowers; LORD LINDSAY. AT Assouan, we gave a feast and a day of rest to our crew, after their twenty-six days' labor, almost without intermission. Their banquet consisted of a ram, as usual, which appeared to have been domesticated by its late owner; for it rubbed its old horny head affectionately against the knees of its butcher, as he turned its forehead toward Mecca, and pronounced the name of Allah whilst he used his knife. The poor brute was skinned in less time than a lady would take off her glove, cut up like a young chicken, plunged into water that was boiling on acacia branches, and had disappeared utterly in almost as short a time as it takes to tell it. Then its devourers betook themselves to their interminable music, to the tune of which they exhibited dances that were anything but edifying. The villagers sat round them in a ring, a self-constituted audience; while their naked little children ran about playing hide and seek behind them, with as much concealment as was practicable where drapery did not abound. The Isle of Flowers, opposite, is inhabited by Nubians: three hundred yards of water separate two people utterly dissimilar in language, character, and feature. Here, is the thieving, cowardly, cunning Egyptian; there, the honest, bold, simple Nubian; each despising and pitying the other such is patriotism. |