> It would have been not less interesting to, visit to Shoa, enjoyed the personal favour of the British public had it been informed what subjects of her Britannic Majesty were in like manner present at this solemn ceremony. In connection with this "imperial signet" we have to publish a curious fact. In looking to Mr. Salt's work for the imperial arms already described by us as "a lion and a Roman cross," we found in the same plate a figure, which, in the List of Plates' at the commencement of his work, Mr. Salt describes as "the cross and characters usually prefixed to Ethiopic letters;" and although, in consequence of mistakes made in transcribing the name encircling the cross, the characters do not exactly express the word "Jesus," it is evident they are intended for it. The correct Ethiopic letters, of course, appear in his Shoan Majesty's seal brought to England affixed to the treaty. Mr. Salt describes this sign of "a cross encircled with the name Jesus" as being "usually prefixed to Ethiopic letters; consequently as being made use of by any and everybody thinking fit to employ them, in the same way as it was by Mr. Sult himself at the head of a letter written by him, as mentioned in page 145 of his work. That this common sign should now be exalted to the dignity of the "imperial signet," is a curious fact, highly worthy of consideration. Can the Abyssinians generally-or at least such of them as are subject to the King of Shoa-have been interdicted the use of this sign since the time of Mr. Salt? We should suppose it must be so; for, in despotic SO a country, the people generally are surely not allowed to place the " imperial signet" on their letters ad libitum. This is, if we mistake not, the first seal that Abyssinia has produced, which renders it extremely interesting; and we apprehend the Earl of Aberdeen would not object to allow a fac-simile of it to be taken by one of our learned societies-the Numismatic, for instance for the inspection of those who delight in such curiosities. the King in a far greater degree than any Less than two months after M. Rochet arrived in Shoa, the British Embassy, which had some time previously been recalled by Government, took leave of the King, and on the 8th of January, 1843, quitted the capital eastward for the frontier, there to make preparations for its departure, whilst the monarch himself proceeded westward on one of his usual forays. The precise terms on which they parted cannot be said; but they were, most indubitably, not the best in the In the beginning of November, 1842, M. Rochet d'Hericourt returned to Shoa, bringing with him one hundred and fifty firelocks, two howitzers, a number of swords, and va-world-certainly anything but corresponding rious other articles, as presents to Sahela with the extreme influence claimed as exSelassie from the French Government, hav-isting on the part of "the Embassy" over ing, when he left Shoa for Europe in 1840, the monarch-or else, how happened it taken with him a letter from that monarch to King Louis Philippe, together with the following presents: two Ethiopic manuscripts, a beautiful horse richly caparisoned, a silver shield and sword, two royal lances, two silver armlets, two fur cloaks, and an Abyssinian dress, as also one for her Majesty the Queen of the French. This French traveller, who, on his former that, on the latter's return to his capital before the much-loved strangers, so often described by the fond title of "his children," had quitted the country, a hasty summons was not sent by him to recall them to his presence, or that they, even before such summons could arrive, did not themselves hasten another interview (he was only a day's journey off), to say once more, 'fare コ 281 Sy well? But no! the monarch remains in silence at Angollala, and "the Embassy" remains in equal silence at Farri, until the preparations for its journey to the coast being completed, it departs; not with the flourish of drums and trumpets which welcomed its arrival, but unnoticed, uncared for perhaps to the great satisfaction and relief of the Christian King of Shoa and his Christian subjects. In a letter in the 'Standard' of the 29th December last, it is asserted, that whilst still at Farri, Major Harris received despatches annulling his recall and directing him to remain in Shoa. If so, most probably he found it a hopeless task, so far as related to his diplomatic relations with the court of our ally; and as to the author personally, his work was written and completed, Introduction and all-dated Ankober, 1st January, 1843-what more had he to wait for? Whatever may be the facts of the case, the British public will not be satisfied without a full and entire explanation of the circumstances under which the Mission quitted Shoa. British subjects in Shoa, and the security of their property." The result is, that not only Mr. Krapf, but likewise his companions, being thus excluded from Shoa, and Messrs. Isenberg and Mühleisen having been foiled in a subsequent attempt to enter Abyssinia from Massowah, the Abyssinian "Church Mission," which has existed since the year 1829, has been no doubt with extreme reluctance, but from sheer necessity-abandoned! This lamentable event we have but too much reason to apprehend is only one of the mischievous results of the British Embassy's "eighteen months' residence" in Shoa. It was on the 12th February, 1843, that "the Embassy" quitted Dinomali-after having, as has already been stated, received instructions to remain in Shoa. It brought down with it the violated "ratified" treaty, together with sundry presents for her Britannic Majesty, from her firm friend and ally the King of Shoa. There is another delicate point connected with the subject, which requires clearing up by an inquiry, when the Government Report on the Mission to Shoa shall be laid before Parliament. The Church Missionaries, Messrs. Müller and Mühleisen, who arrived at Tajura some time before Major Harris, in May, 1841, were, from some inexplicable cause, unable to get through to join Mr. Krapf, either at the same time as the Embassy, or at any subsequent period; and after waiting a considerable time, they were obliged to abandon the idea of proceeding. Mr. Krapf, who, as we have already shown, eyes of himself and his subjects had he al had quitted Shoa, had in the meanwhile, Respecting these presents a word of explanation is requisite. They are by no means necessarily a mark of friendship. According to the custom of Shoa, all strangers are the guests of the King, who provides them with the necessaries of life as long as they remain in his country, and never sends them away empty-handed. The members of "the Embassy" were not merely strangers, but they were the bearers of valuable presents; during eighteen months they had "eaten the bread" of Sahela Selassie; so that even if they parted on decided terms of enmity, as we suspect to be the case, the King not the guests would have been disgraced in the lowed them to leave Shoa without rich gifts, which, besides magnifying the glory of the donor both at home and abroad, are believed to draw down a blessing on his head as well in this world as in the world to come. How far, under the circumstances of the parting, it was dignified or decorous for "the British Embassy" to accept these presents is a very different question. The Embassy was likewise accompanied by two native "ambassadors," as it has been alleged. These ambassadors, on their arrival at Aden, were dignified in the newspapers with the titles of "Captain of the Body Guard" and "Lieutenant of Police." The letter in the 'Standard,' already alluded to, says, however, that they were two persons of the lowest rank, who came down with the Embassy merely for the purpose of taking care of a mule brought as a present to the Queen, and that they did so attend to the mule the whole way down. Be this as it may, these two "ambassadors" were soon sent back to Shoa from Bombay; whilst Major Harris came (existing deficiencies, and to cover the tic on to England" on sick certificate," bringing wide space of terra incognita in Eastern with him the treaty and presents. We have thus traced, step by step, the work of "the Embassy." Let us now again turn to Major Harris, in his character of a traveller and an author. Let us see what novelties of interest and importance his Highlands of Ethiopia' contain. anc bee a ma Africa, north of the equator"-the discovery from And first as to geography. His journey from the coast to Shoa was over oft-trodden ground. M. Rochet's Voyage sur la côte orientale de la mer Rouge, dans le pays d'Adel et le Royaume de Choa' (Paris, 1841), and Messrs. Isenberg and Krapf's 'Journals, pp. 1-81, give a copious account of the country and its inhabitants. The remarkable depression of the Salt Lake Assal was discovered and first made known by Dr. Beke (see 'Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xii., p. 71) and his levels across the country, in p. 101 of the same volume of that Journal, are much more numerous than those contained in the Appendix to Major Harris's first volume, p. 417. Dr. Beke further mapped all this country, and his map was made use of by "the Embassy " on its way up to Shoa (see Journal of the Royal Geographical Society,' vol. xiii., p. 83). The "Northwestern Frontier of Efat" was, as already mentioned, first visited and described by the same traveller (Journal of the Royal fourteen of longitude-the scale is necessa Geographical Society, vol. xii., pp. 88-99). rily reduced so much that "the Embassy's" The map accompanying Major Harris's work is stated to be "constructed from the e latest and best authorities, by James Mac- and queen, Esq., with additions by Major Harris." Ches The "latest and best authorities" are ge Messrs. Krapf, Beke, Kirk, and Christopher: but where are the "additions?" Why the whole of Abyssinia, as far north as near 16o north latitude, should be brought into this map, we are at a loss to conceive, seeing that the work itself scarcely mentions the name of any place, except Gondar, to the northward of 120 north latitude. Nor do we see any reason for bringing into it Lieutenant Christopher's discoveries in the south, seeing that they have nothing to do with Abyssinia, or with the Mission, and that nothing is said about them in the text. By making the map to comprise such an extent of country-not less than sixteen degrees of latitude and Of دو "the kingdom of Shoa" in all its parts, actual routes are not easily distinguishable; "the Galla borders," "the Galla dependen- and on looking very closely into it, we can cies in the south," the unexplored countries to the south," the Doko, a race of pigmies," "the northern Galla from Argobba to the Tuloma," we believe there is not a tittle of information in the work which has not already appeared in Mr. Krapf's 'Journals,' in his Papers in the 'Monatsberichte' of the Geographical Society of Berlin, vol. iv., pp. 158-188, in Dr. Beke's Route from Ankober to Dima' in 'Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xii., pp. 245-258, and in a Paper read by the latter traveller before the Royal Geographical Society on the 11th of December last, of which an abstract appeared in the 'Literary Gazette' of the 16th, and the Athenæum' of the 23d of the same month. "The principality of Hurrur" is described with fuller particulars in a Report of Lieut. Barker, I. N., published in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.' vol. xii., pp. 238-244. The discovery of the upper course of the river Gojeb, respecting which (as Mr. Krapf's Gochob) the author says (vol. iii., p. 68), "from the highlands of Abyssinia, a clue to its origin and course has now been obtained, which will serve in a great measure to supply the detect that in some portions they are not laid down at all, whilst in other parts close to them there are marked routes of Mr. Krapf, which "the Embassy " never trod. The map, moreover, contains no distinguishing marks (by colour or otherwise) to show us where "the Embassy" did go and where it did not go. Surely this cannot have been done by design. Is there, then, absolutely nothing novel as regards geography to be found in the work before us? will our readers naturally ask. Yes: the "Excursion to Berhut, on the Southeastern Frontier of Shoa," detailed in chapters xxiv, to xxx., of the third volume, which introduces us to a tract of country not described, we believe, by any previous modern traveller. It extends, however, to no very great distance, apparently not more than thirty or forty miles south from Ankober; but we cannot speak very precisely, since-remarkably enough this route is not laid down in the map! In ethnography we have the discovery of the existence of cannibalism among the Mohammedan Danakil; of which discovery we should be doing the author a great injus tice did we not hasten to give him the whole | of Mr. Krapf, in his 'Journals. We will quote and sole credit. This must, however, have been but a chance discovery, after all, for we cannot expect much research into the distinctive differences of various races from a traveller in whose nature the feelings are manifestly innate of contempt, hatred, and disgust for the "savage;" a species of the genus homo comprising every inhabitant of - the countries visited by "the embassy," from our Christian ally Sahela Selassie (see - vol. ii., p. 33) to the Mohammedan man-eater. That he considers the "savage man" and the "civilized man" as two distinct spe-cies, is evident from the following passage: "Betwixt savage and civilized existence there yawns a wide gulf. The savage man and the civilized man, although descended from a coinmon parent, can scarcely be said to belong to the same stock of humanity, and he who has been pronounced the only true man, the lordly lord of the wilderness, might here appropriately be designated a devil incarnate." Vol. i., p. 154. more We have here an excuse for the abuse and really foul language heaped throughout the work on these savages," these "devils incarnate;" and we are glad thereby to be relieved from the idea that an English gentleman would so lavishly employ such epithets as "barbarian," "filthy," "stinking," "worthless," "outcasts," "bullies," vagabonds," "ill-favoured rabble," "monsters- not men," " lank ruffian," "scoundrel," "liar," &c., to anybody "belonging to the same stock of humanity." 66 Of the political history of Abyssinia we have already said there is not a word. But of its religious history we are favoured with a detail extending over forty-four pages, commencing with the "Conversion of Ethiopia," A. D. 330, and finishing with the Expulsion of the Jesuits," A. D. 1633. All these particulars have already been repeatmore edly before the world in almost every lanef guage, Latin, Portuguese, Italian, English, German, French; we believe the last and best summary is that given in the Rev. Professor Lec's 'Introduction' to the Rev. S. Gobat's Three Years' Residence in Abyssinia.' Why the author should have thought proper to fill so many pages of his work 10 with a repetition of this old and well-known story we will not pretend to decide. Of the "Lineage of Shoa," the local hisstory of that country, the manners and cusweb toms of its inhabitants, &c., &c., there are many particulars; but they are mainly, if not rer entirely, amplifications-not always accuberately given of what we meet with in the 2 writings of previous travellers, especially one additional passage from page 147 of the third volume, as a proof of the author's imperfect acquaintance with his subject : ""The children of Israel did not eat of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh. This is in the Amharic language termed Shoolada, and it is prohibited and held unlawful to be eaten in Shoa, more especially to the members of the royal blood." Why, "cutting out the shulada "from the BUTTOCK of the living animal, is the rock on which Bruce's reputation split, and has formed the shibboleth of every subsequent traveller in Abyssinia.. Let us see what the author's predecessor, Mr. Salt, says on the subject. He describes "cutting out the shulada" as consisting in "Cutting out two pieces of flesh from the buttock, near the tail, the pieces so cut out being called 'shulada,' and composing, as far as L could ascertain, part of the two 'glutei maximi,' or larger muscles of the thigh." P. 295. And now comes our author, who tells us it is a mistake to suppose the shulada to be a "rumpsteak," for that is the "pope's eye!" Truly, we live and learn. On the commerce and statistics of Shoa the work contains only a few vague generalities, of no practical utility. Of romantic works of imagination there are several interspersed throughout the work, and these (better, perhaps, adapted for the Keepsake') are certainly the most pleasing portion of the labours of "the British Embassy" during its eighteen months' residence in Shoa. Romances, however, are not merit in a work of which the first three leaves contain a dedication, "by gracious permission," to "the Queen's most Excellent Majesty," an extract from Major Harris's official instructions from the Secretary to the Bombay Government, and a list of "the Embassy," consisting, inclusive of the Ambassador, of thirty-two individuals! We had almost omitted to mention the appendices, which contain some interesting particulars of the natural history of the country. These we look upon as the most valuable part of the work; but they are from the pen, not of Major Harris, but of the naturalist to the Mission, Dr. Roth. They are, however, but scanty on the whole, and we have no doubt might have been very much extended, had that intelligent and indefatigable young German-the companion of Schubert-been allowed to devote more time to the pursuits for which he accompanied the Mission to Shoa. ; On the important subject of "Slavery and the Slave Trade," the information supplied in the work before us may be found in various parts of Mr. Krapf's 'Journals,' already cited, and in the reports of Dr. Beke to the African Civilisation Society, published in the Friend of Africa, vol. i., pp. 168-9; 187-8; 203-5; and vol. ii., p. 40. Of the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in Shoa, the author holds out no hopes (see vol. iii., pp. 326-7), but he informs us that "No such difficulty would attend the formation of a treaty of suppression in the northern provinces of Christian Abyssinia;" and he goes on to hint, as usual, most mysteriously, at the great influence and the extensive use for this purpose and for many others to be made of his Holiness the Aboon," the Coptic Bishop of Abyssinia, resident at Gondar, who is described by him as "Possessed of abilities of a very superior order, with his mind expanded by a liberal education at Cairo, under a pious and learned missionary of the Church of England, the Rev. Dr. Lieder."-Vol. iii., p. 192. From an extract of a letter from Captain Haines, the political agent at Aden, pub lished in the 'Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xiii., p. 195, we perceive that, "if Major Harris can obtain permission from the authorities, it is his a host of enemies in every class of the Abyssinian community; whilst his grossly debauched and immoral habits are the subject of remark even in Abyssinia, where, whatever may be the general laxity of conduct, the vices of more civilized but more immoral Egypt are unknown, except when exhibited in the persons of such thorough reprobates as the present Coptic bishop and his associates. To place hopes of the regeneration of Abyssinia in Aboona Salama, or of any practical benefit to be derived from his influence or assistance, is indeed to lean upon a broken reed! We could wish to have added a few words respecting the commercial relations of Europe with Abyssinia, and the necessity for our Government bestirring itself in connection with the subject, but want of space prevents us. The French Government, in addition to its unrecognized agents in all parts of the country, has now for some years past had a Consul resident at Massowa. Austria has likewise just appointed one there, and a commissioner has been sent by the Chamber of Commerce of Trieste to see what is to be done to extend their trade in the Red Sea. The Belgian Consul-General in Egypt has lately returned from a tour through the greater part of Abyssinia, whither he went to ascertain what opening there is for the manufactures of his country. All nations seem to know how to go to work except England, which sends out an "Embassy," at an immense expense, and gets a Bookand that book the 'Highlands of Æthiopia' -in return. B. intention to return to Ethiopia;" and we presume he wishes it to be understood that he would be very successful in Northern Abyssinia, with the help of the Aboon. Without pretending to any great amount of prescience, we think we may safely predict that this "intention" is doomed never to be realized. And as regards the Aboon, did the reverend missionary mentioned as his teacher express to the author the amount of the "liberal education" by which his former pupil's " mind" has been "expanded," or his satisfaction with and expectations from him? and did no rumours of the extreme ill con- 2. An Encyclopædia of Architecture, His ART. IX.-1. An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture. By J. C. Loudon, F. L. S. A new Edition, with a Supplement containing nearly three hundred Engravings. Longman and Co. duct, utter incapacity, and daily decreasing influence of this potent friend and ally reach the ears of "the Embassy" in Shoa, or in Egypt, or elsewhere? We have no hesita torical, Theoretical, and Practical. By Joseph Gwilt. Illustrated by more than one thousand Engravings on wood. Longman and Co. tion in asserting, and we do so on the best 3. Ancient and Modern Architecture. Con authority, that the residence in Abyssinia of the worthless young Copt who now fills "the episcopal throne of Ethiopia" is a curse, in stead of a blessing, to that already more than sisting of Views, Plans, Elevations, Sections, and Details of the most Remarkable Edifices in the World. By M. Jules Gailhabaud. F. Didot and Co., Amen sufficiently distracted country. His disputes Corner. with almost every independent native prince, 4. Picturesque Decorations of Rural Build his grasping avarice, and his unenlightened and bigoted intolerance, have raised him up ings in the use of Rough Wood, Thatch, &c. Illustrated by forty-two Engravings. |