The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-07 00:00:00

THE ENGLISH PRISONERS IN ABYSSINIA.

Although the intelligence from lfassows is
vague—the telegram merely stating, " captives cut off
from the Emperor, both parties being surrounded by the
rebels ; no danger of their falling into his hands again"—
our contemporaries treat it as satisfactory. The captives
are not yet free. They are, probably, in the custody of
some of Theodore's lieutenants. lint, at all events, the
position of affairs in Abyssinia is changed. The prisoners
are relieved from imminent danger, and, being
placed beyond the control of the only man
whose covetousness or vindictiveness they bad reason
to dread, we have better hopes of their deliverance.
Many months past the general tenor of the ocaruniudas-
lions from Abyssinia has been to this effect, that the Em-
peror has been rapidly losing all hold over the allegiance
of his subjects ; that many powerful chiefs have fallen
away from him ; th►t his army, from • disciplined and
enthusiastic force of 80,000 men, had dwindled into a band
of 1!5,000 men, ill-disciplined, badly armed, and disaf-
fected ; and that nothing bat a sort of superstitious belief
in his power prevented a general rising against him.
Mr. Itaisam, on a slip of paper, which he had been
enabled to forward to Colonel Merewether, says :
" It is generally supposed that the refusal of the Em-
peror to liberate us will be followed by • declaration of
war ;if so, the following hints may prove useful. Have
nothing to do with the Turks, because alliance with the
unbelievers will bring on a religious war. Try and obtain
the friendship of Wakahim Golusye, the chief rebel of
Last• and Tigre, and Tilllloo Golarye, the chief rebel on
the road between Admit" and Gondar. They can be very
useful in stopping communication between the coast and
his Majesty, and in transporting baggage, Ile. If the
bishop's assistance be required I can get him to write to
all the rebels to render assistance. There is no respect-
able man in Abyssinia who approves of his Majesty's con-
duct, but no one has the pluck to speak plainly to him.
He has now scarcely any country left, and yet he brays as
if he were Alexander the Great. His power is only now
acknowledged wherever he is, and ho is so afraid of his
troops deserting that he dare not attack any of the great
rebels."

Colonel Merewether adds :—" The intelligence now for.
waded allows that the King's position is getting daily
worse and more desperate. The patience of the country,
well nigh exhausted before, was further heavily tried on
the occasion of the desecration of the churches at Gondar.
It is wonderful the King is still borne with. His health
is very bad, his sufferings great from a hopeless disease,
and that made worse byexcessive intemperance. Provisions
in Begmedar are nearly exhausted, and there is nowhere
else to look for more. The army is fast leaving him, and
though be is said to have given out that he is going against
Tadeba Guialoo, the rebel chief in Godiam, everyone
knows he cannot ►ttempt it. First, he has not sufficient
troops left with him to ensure success, and next, if he
went oat of Begmedar, it would be occupied by the rebels
of Lasts and Walkeit, and he would loom his stronghold
Magilala. It would be most fortunate for us if he could
be induced to make the attempt ; but he is too cunning to
risk it. It would seem strange to those unacquainted
with the people how these rebels, who have such strong
forces at their disposal and who defy his authority, should
not close with him and attack him now he is so weakened.
But the best informed assure me that as long as there is
any chance of Theodora. rising again, such is the dread of
him personally, none of the rebels will advance on him or
attempt to find him. Were they positively assured his
course had come to an end they might then be induced to
act, and be found most useful."
It seems from the intelligence now received, either that
Theodonts has taken the initiative against some of the
more powerful of the rebel chiefs, or that the latter,
wearied of his cruelty and rapacity, have closed upon him.
Mr. Bassani reports that both at the Abyssinian court and
at Magdala " there is no lack of friends" to the British,
and altogether it appears tolerably certain that a bold
move on the part of any one of the Abyssinian chieftains
must have raised the country.

A petition is nnw being signed by the French
exhibitors and the population of Paris to beg that the
Palace of the Champs de Mars, as well as the gardens
around it, should not be done away with, but preserved as
they are. On the other side, the military authorities are
most anxious that the Champ de Mars should, at the end
of the Exhibition, be restored to its former use—viz., the
drilling, reviews, and manoeuvres of the troops garrisoned
around Paris.

The Italian Opera at Paris is again closed, after
a series of repreeentstions of the American Conan. Mr.
Sothern has made the character of Lord Dundrearyfamiliar
to such foreigners as curiosity invited to witness his per-
formance. The Emperor appeared to enjoy and under-
stand the character of Dnedreary thoroughly.
More than a hundred thousand people were
listening on Monday, in the gardens of Versailles, to the
Russian band playing on the tapis-eert. These musicians
were repeatedly cheered and applauded by the immense
crowd, who **erne I to delight is the Russian airs. A
grand dinner wu offered to the.. musicians by the town
of Versailles, after which the Build= band returned to
Paris.