The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-15 00:00:00

HE SUN, LON ON, THU-HS) IY EV EN LNG, AUGUST 15 1867.

teems to rest in the chance of the tyrant dying
suddenly. It is indeed disheartening to dwell upon
these strange details, and to ponder upon what
horrors will have taken place before any further ac-
counts can reach us, or indeed what may now be
occurring. The whole history of these Abyssinian
captives has been most distressing from the
outset until now, and we can only hope and trust
that it may not wind up with a dreadful catas-
trophe. It seems really time that some decisive
steps were taken by the Government to avert the
sad fate that impends over these captives.

We are very glad to find that the Commander-in-
Chief has had the good sense to adopt a suggestion
which has very often been made iu vain at the Rom
Guards. Ile has given permission to the command-
ing officers at the home stations to permit a certain
number of their men to assist in getting in the har-
vest, provided that the employment of the popula-
tion is not thereby interfered with. This is a step
in the right direction, breaking through the hopeless
red-tapeism which keeps hundreds of men idle, long-
ing for something to pass away the time, while the
national property is wasting for want of a few days
vigorous work. Very often has it been proposed
that the services of the military should be turned to
account, and the men themselves would have gladly
helped in the harvesting, with the prospect, of
course, of being paid for their labour ; but year
after year has gore by, and valuable property lost
for want of promptitude in harvesting. In our climate
we cannot afford to play tricks with the weather.
Indeed, the last twenty-four hours have taught us
that the old saying, Bis dat ciao dat, applies
with full force to him who would help the farmer to
get in his corn. A thunaerstOrM, a tempest of
wind, a wet day like the memorable 26th of July,
may come upon the country unexpectedly, and
destroy the promise of the finest fields. There
are so many trades and town employments
calling men away from the agricultural
districts that there is a constant complaint of
scarcity of hands at the harvest, and the Com-
mander-in-Chief has done a wise and public-spi-
rited act in giving his permission for the employ-
ment of the forces under his control in so useful
and ready a manner. The troops are on the spot,
and are trained to disciplined action. Their help
is well worth having, and it has by this time been
no doubt productive of important results.

wise

other persons supposed to be connected with rob-
beries at the Exhibition. About a month ago a
chronometer, worth 2,500 fr., was stolen from the
Swiss department. It has been traced, and
the thief has been arrested. Ile is a
Persian. It seems hard that a Persian
should rob a Swiss, but this Exhibition
seems to be international in various senses of the
word. According to report, English pickpockets
have displayed their industry to a remarkable extent.
The Persian was arrested in his native costume,
which is more picturesque than his antecedents are
honest. Ile tried to sell the chronometer to a watch-
maker, and the owner was traced by the number it
bore. The attempt to sell the watch, therefore,
proved to be very ill-timed.
The heat continues intense, and very oppressive.
The thermometer to-day was higher than yesterday.
All promises favourably for the Emperor's fete to-
morrow, which will be the most splendid on record.
In Paris to-day nothing else is talked of or thought
of. Everything possible has been done by the au-
thorities to add to its splendour and attraction.

711 E ABYSSINIAN CAPTIVES.

TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—The following heartrending account of the
present position of these long-suffering people,whose
cry has been ringing in the ears of the British Go-
vernment and nation for the last two years and a
half, appears to be more hopeless than ever. Can-
not you, sir, rouse the sympathies of the English
nation to at least make an attempt to rescue them ?
I am thankful to say that I have not failed to make
known their case to my utmost, officially and other-

Let anybody read the Blue-book just issued on
the subject, and they will see that for the last 12
months it has been strongly urged upon her Ma-
jesty's Government by every one of the captives
that " nothing but force" could obtain their release,
and that they were all willing to submit to the risk
of losing their lives by the cruel monster's knife
rather than that no effort should be used to release
them.

But, sir, the letter will speak more eloquent than
any words of mine, and your kind insertion of it
will show with what resignation they are prepared
to meet their now probable fate, should it please
God that they should be sacrificed, which I do not
believe.—l am, sir, yours obediently.
CHARLES H. PURDAY.
24, Great Marlborough-street, Aug. 14.

" Magdala Prison, June 19, 1867.
"My dear Charlotte,--The strange and unparal-
leled events with which my own and my fellow-
captives' mournful history is bound up, like the

thrilling scenes of a drama, now become more com•
plicated and terrific as we approach the close o
the last act. Cheering hopes and depressing
fears, glowing anticipations and withering dis-
appointments, have hitherto alternated during.
the monotony of our prison existence, and en-
shrined the elasticity of our now and then drooping
spirits. IVithin the last few days the shadows which
forewarned us of the coming crisis have assumed a
more tangible and palpable form, and the long-
expected crash, which will probably bury the
abominable tyrant beneath the ruins of his totter-
ing empire and exhausted power, cannot be far
distant. For some time the elements of disaffection
and rebellion had infected the peasantry of Bege-
meder and the troops belonging to the revolted
provinces; the dread and terror inspired by the
tyrant's unsparing severity, however, prevented the
smouldering elements of discontent from bursting
into a flame. Occasional defeats inflicted by the
enraged villagers on the pillage-loving soldiers gave
them confidence in their own strength, and prompted
them to offer a bold and undaunted opposition in
the only province, which, until now, had apparently
been loyal. One might have imagined this would
have induced the tyrant to adopt a wiser and more
conciliatory policy than that of the fire, the spear,
and the mutilating knife ; but no, impelled by an
insatiable thirst for blood, be withdrew from the
burning homesteads of the. vengeance-breathing pea-
santry, and in a fit of frenzy commenced the work
of destruction and death among his own pusillani-
mous adherents. On the 7th inst. it is said that
upwards of 670 of these cowardly crime-stained
ragamuffins were butchered in cold blood. A panic
immediately spread through the rabble ranks, and
on the evening of the same day on which this revolt-
ing tragedy was enacted Ras Addalon, the Chief of
Gedshon, with all his followers, and a considerable
number from all the other districts bordering on
the Wollo Galla country (which is in close proxi-
mity to the mountain on which the Magdala stands)
deserted their Royal master's service. The well-
known defections in his camp, the constant deser-
tions from the impotent bands, and the woful fate
accorded to every one who strays beyond his hut'
or tent, and falls into the hands of the rebels,
has at last dismayed the vaunting tyrant. He
is at present in Debra Tabor, where, it is re-
ported, he is erecting a strong fence around his
insignificant camp. Provisions he has in abund-
ance, as a mountain of corn is heaped upon the
top of the hill ; but even such attempts have
ceased to keep his lawless companions together.
ge in flight. His own son, Ras Meshis-
All the great men have been either killed or have
Ras Engeda, one of his most obsequious
sought rt
he f
creatures, are in chains. Atrocious deeds arc con-
stantly The savage tyrant is quite furious; and to allay the
perpetrated, and blood is shed in profusion.
storm that is raging in his breast he flogs and tor-
tures, and burns in wax-dipped dresses, the women
and children of absconded soldiers and chiefs. About
the European artisans, with Flad, Mrs. Flad, and
Mrs. Rosenthal, and children, who are in his camp,
we have no reliable information. That they are in
prison is certain, but whether in chains or not we
are still in doubt. Their position must he dreadful
indeed. If the mere report of the. Debra Tabor
horrors creates in us a loathing sensation, what must
be the reality of living in the midst of the yells,
shrieks, and moans of that indescribable Pande-
monium? Our safety, humanly speaking, lies in
the possibility that the tyrant will not be able to
reach this Amba. Some weeks ago he sent orders
here to the effect that in case this place was attacked
all the prisoners in irons were to be indiscriminately
executed. A few weeks later it is rumoured that
another royal messenger was despatched from Debra
Tabor to Magdala with a mandate that the garrison
were to kill the prisoners, bury the treasures, fire
the houses, and then
quit the Amba, and seek to
join their ruler at Debra Tabor. This monstrous
decree fell into the hands of the rebels, who, we are
told, burnt the
paper, and beheaded the bearer. I
might, did I feel disposed, fill page after page with
these sickening horrors and tales of cruelty did a
loathing not warn me to pause. To be arrested in
the midst of health, dulness, and inactivity, to be
banished from the soothing circle of friends and
relations, from the homes of our loved ones, and
from all the objects around which the affections of
our hearts are entwined ; and to be incarcerated in
an African prison, under the continual dread of a
remorseless savage, guarded by a set of base and
abject s'aves, is a trial that metaphor cannot paint
or words depict. We are at present watching
with intense anxiety the tyrant's movements.
Should he come here, and I believe his enemies
dare not dispute his progress through their ter-
ritory, we shall have a hot and dangerous position.
If, on the contrary, he waits until be is too weak
to start from Debra Tabor to our prison, our friends
in his camp will have to encounter many a serious
and severe conflict, even if they
escape alive out of
the hedge in which they arc enclosed. Do not ima-
gine that my courage is sinking or my energy fail-
ing. Removed from all human help, excluded from
all human dependencies, and exposed daily to almost
every imaginable peril, we have a shield in Him
who is a shelter to the needy,a help to the troubled,
and a succour to the oppressed. I am quite re-
signed to my painful situation, and if you and
others do not weary in your
prayers, I am sure our
covenant-keeping God will yet deliver us, and unite
us again. Farewell. With kindest love to yourself
and the dear children, believe
me to be ever yours,
most affectipnately, A. STERN."

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ITALY.

FLORENCE, Aug. 14 (Evening.)

Signor Rattazzi leaves this evening for Valdiou,
to obtain the Royal signature to the Church Pro-
perty Bill.