The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-25 00:00:00

KING IHEODORE.

The Standard continues its interesting account
of the visit to King Theodore :
Early the next morning the Abuna Salama made
his appearance, asking whether I knew or was con-
nected with Henry Stern. I answered in the nega-
tive, endeavouring to impress upon his mind that I
had nothing whatever to do with any mission—
Catholic, Protestant, Greek, or Presbyterian. For-
tunately this specimen of the Abyssinian clergy
spoke tolerable Italian, so that I was able to tickle
his vanity without having to fear the whims of an
interpreter. During the course of the conversation
he alluded to the various reasons Theodoros had
for imprisoning the missionaries and Consul Came-
ron ; but as these, in their principal truth, are
already well known, I will not touch upon them,
except to call attention to the circumstance that the
fact of Cameron's having had to hand a despatch to
the King, in answer to his offer of an alliance,
scarcely tallies with the assertion Lord Russell made
in Parliament, accusing him of disobedience by not
remaining at Massowah.
On Cameron making him acquainted with the
result of his proposal, and handing him the despatch
signed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Theodoros
became mightily enraged, and Lejean, the French
Consul, escaping his ire by his having explained that
M. Thouvenel was the Asz-Negus, or mouth of the
Emperor, filling an office similar to one existing in
Abyssinia. The same evening Theodoros warned
both the consuls to leave, saying he could no longer
guarantee their safety ; Lejean accepted the warning
and escaped. Cameron, trusting too much to his own
influence, and thinking his importance would increase
after the departure of the French representative,
procrastinated, and was CY eutudlly arrested and cast
into prison. The reasons why Theodoros acted
thus I will endeavour to explain from the facts I
gathered from the Abuna, and from his own
words, for after having been kept in durance some
three weeks the Abuna one day summoned me to
the Imperial presence. He seemed much better
tempered than on the occasion of my first visit, and
began by asking whether I would ever have been
treated in a more clement manner in any other
country. " Certainly not, your Majesty ; especially
not in England, where the innocent are incarcer-
ated and criminals left at freedom and rewarded !"
I replied, as coolly as he had questioned me. He
seemed amused, and after a while said, " That I
can easily believe, if the British Goverment treats
its subjects in the same manner they have acted
towards me !"

In answer to this attack, I endeavoured to look
upon all the disagreements that had occurred between
him and Great Britain, as caused by the lament-
able ignorance prevailing in England respecting the
manners and customs of Abyssinia, and begged him
to remember that Queen Victoria, against whom
he seemed to have the greatest grudge, was but an
instrument in the hands of the Parliament, and not
possessing the power and strength his Majesty did,
who had but to command and he was obeyed.
" Avoonat, very true," answered Theodore ;
"but that does not alter the facts, except in so far
that I must hold the British Parliament responsible
for the insults heaped upon me, looking to it for
an apology and reparation, and not to the British
Queen."

Thereupon I modestly asked what he required
for the release of the prisoners. Ile answered with
a great show of dignity and wounded pride :

" Stern and the other missionaries have been
guilty of many breaches of faith and of great dis-
respect and treachery towards me, for which they
have been justly condemned to death by the
likaouent ; but I, in the fulness of my clemency,
have diminished and softened the severity of their
sentence, and commuted it to imprisonment for life.
What the law has pronounced justice must carry
out. lam no robber, who makes prisoners merely
in order to extort a ransom. I act in accordance
with justice."
" Then, your Majesty, I would beg of you to
treat me with the same severity as Consul Cameron;
cast me in chains and lacerate my body with the
scourge. He is not more guilty than I am." Theo-
doros seemed rather astonished, but I continued,
saying that not being a spy nor a missionary, never
having given him cause for anger, I never for a
moment entertained any fear for my safety whilst
in his dominions. Ile bad the reputation of a great
man ; no truly great. man would ever act so tyran-
nically, and ended by advising him to cut off my
hands and feet, and see if he could then say to his
conscience, " I have acted rightly."
" Will you engage in single combat with one of
my knights, and stake your life for your liberty ?"
asked Theodore, when I had concluded.
" No, I do not dream of it, being quite inexpe-
rienced in the use of the sword and lance. Besides,
I should have fancied enough English blood had
been shed for your Majesty." " How so ?" he in-
quired. " Consul Plowden was murdered because
he was your friend. That fact might possibly escape
your memory, but that you should have forgotten
Mr. Bell, who sacrificed his own life to save yours,
is not what I should have expected."
On hearing this Theodore became furious, for any
allusion to Bell's death was extremely dangerous,
and for a moment I fancied it was all over with any
chance of escaping. However, thrusting his sword
back into its scabbard, from which he had half
drawn it, he remarked, " I do remember him, else
your head would now have left its shoulders."
Therewith his Majesty ordered me back to my
residence, and I saw no more of him for six weeks,
during which time I plied the Abuna with every
reason I could think of to prove how advantageous
my release would be to himself. I succeeded in
gaining him over to my opinion, and in consequence
of the representations he made to the King, coupled
with my ont respectful behaviour, I was again

~.

summoned to his Majesty, who informed me that
I was at liberty to leave the country whenever I
chose, advising me to get out of it as quickly as
possible. I thanked him with all due fervour and
the necessary laudations of his clemency and over'
powering kindness, begging him to fill the measure
of his bounty byordering,•the release of Cameron and
his fellow-prisoners. But in vain. lle replied
"As you already know, the missionaries have
been justly condemned, and until I have received
the reparation I consider myself entitled to froth
the British Government for the insolent manner ,
have been treated, as well by these men as by Your
own country, I shall detain them here."

_ .
"But," I remarked, "I cannot comprehend 1104
your Majesty can look upon these men as hostage''
or men for whose acts the British Government Can
account itself responsible, as they are men of 3
totally different speech and nation, and no wore
British subjects than your Majesty yourself."
This seemed to stagger him somewhat, but he
soon recovered his presence of mind, and coolly
formed me that I lied. That if these men were 10
Englishmen, Consul Cameron would not hale
exerted himself as he had done in their behalf.

" I consider myself at war with England," be
continued; " and as I cannot chastise the British
myself, and they did not come here, I shall continue
to detain the Consul until I have succeeded jo
obtaining the fulfilment of all my conditions !"
I then inquired what those conditions were.
" You are no ambassador sent to me to demand;
the nature and extent of my conditions, but. I 4'
tell you in order that your country may not try to
excuse itself by pleading ignorance. My empire
reaches to the sea, but my harbour, Massowah, is
In
the hands of the infidels. As soon as the British
Government arranges a cession of this harbour to me)
by war or by peace, or provides me with the arm!
and ammunition requisite for taking it by force,
will set Ras Cameron free and at liberty. Nov'
my son, depart in peace. " Holy Father," he
continued, turning to the Abuna, " give me your
blessing."
The traveller concludes by congratulating himself
on safely getting out of King Theodore's don*
nions.