The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-09 00:00:00

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE ABY SSIN lAN C API I VES.

Mrs. Stern has received the following letter from
her husband, one of the captives in Abyssinia :
" Magdala, May 1, 1867.
" My dear Charlotte,—Another month has passed
since I last wrote to you, a month like all the rest
in this miserable prison life, full of anxious care
and wearisome inactivity. Sometimes I squat
down and try to beguile the tedious hours by
writing sketches of sermons, and when my thoughts
become confused I divert my mind—and a sad di-
version it is—by diffusing on closely-written pages
tl.e varied incidents of our painful captivity. I
would occasionally furnish you with toy pen's me-
lancholy effusions were it not imprudent to keep
anything of so compromising a character around
me. It is astonishing to think that in the wilds of
Africa the greatest caution should be requisite in
the expression of one's ideas. The very noticn of
such a thing makes one smile, and yet it is no less
strange than true that a single sentence, and that,
too, couched in a foreign language, may by the evil
disposed be perverted into the most wilful, selfish,
and mischievous purpose. I once thought that
human nature, notwithstanding its fall, still retained
something of its original noble stamp ; but bitter
experience has dispelled the pleasing illusion, and
convinced me that the heart of man is the most de-
ceptive, mobilious, and dangerous thing in creation.
In our immediate neighbourhood matters have not
much mended since my last. The King is still pur-
suing his work of devastation in the provinces that
are subject to his doubtful sway. The rebels, too,
with the disaffected peasantry for their allies, are
doing their utmost to resent the cruelties of their
lately owned ruler and acknowledged chief. It
is, however, evident that affairs must come to a
crisis and an early solution. The ruthless ferocity
of the King has exhausted the patience of the most
timid and servile, and all appear now to be animated
by on© deep and ardent passion—viz., the overthrow
of the tyrant. The army he once had at his behest
is scattered in bands of rebels over the country ; and
as he can never recruit again his incredibly diminished
hordes, he will either be forced to make this Amba
his last asylum and tomb, or, followed by a few
faithful adherents, and the most valuable captives,
seek a home in the marshy jungles and entangled
feverish villages of the lowlands. Whatever the

issue of the contest may be, our prospects, humanly
speaking, are anything but bright. God, certainly,
can deliver us, and if we continue to trust in Him
everything may be overruled in mercy and compas-
sionate wisdom for our good. We have friends near
and around us, but in this land cupidity and avarice
dissolve every bond, even the most tender and sacred
—and, after all that has transpired, the pettiest and
most contemptible chieftain, if he gets us into his
power, may thick that by retaining in his clutches
a few defenceless Europeans he will make his for-
tune. Should the Metropolitan survive the ever-
growing confusion, we shall have an honest and dis-
interested friend ; but this, like everything else, is
still problematical. About a fortnight ago all the
European employes, with the exception of two old
men, were, together with their wives and children
and their property, with Mrs. Rosenthal and Mrs.
Flad, seized. The motives which prompted his

Majesty to adopt such measures of severity towards
individuals who have always been most subservient
and obsequious to his whims is still a mystery. The
King brought various trumpery charges against
them, which they repelled with energy. Their pro-
perty has been partially restored to them, but they
are confined in Debra Tabor, where they are
guarded, but not chained. It is said that the report
of Mr. Flad's returning without the artisans, &c.,
furnished the ostensible cause for their imprison-
ment. This outburst of unprovoked resentment
augurs nothing auspicious for us, and probably
our position, as the majority of us ex-
pected, will not be enhanced by Mr. Flad's return.
Negotiations and delays might have averted the
storm, but now, as it seems looming nearer and
nearer, we will say Thy will be done.' You and
all interested in our liberation, notwithstanding all
that has been written from hence, must have been
grievously deceived about the character of the King.
Presents with another man might have effected our
deliverance, but King Theodorus, though not loth
to accept the oue, wants the hostages as well—a
security, as he imagines, for ever increasing conces-
sions. .1 am quite prepared for every emergency,
and therefore do not trouble myself about the fu-
ture. We have a God who is not confined to space
or locality, and if we faithfully confide iu Ilim, He
may in the hour of the greatest extremity discomfit
the wicked and preserve his own.

" May 2.
"I will just add a line to my letter of yesterday,
as it is doubtful whether the opportunity for writing
will not before many days become exceedingly diffi-
cult, if not absolutely impossible. The return of
Mr. Flad, the disappointment of the King in not
obtaining the requested accession to his white vic-
tims, and the consciousness that neither intrigue
nor cunning will avail him to extort fresh conces-
sions from the British Government, or the genero-
sity of British Christians, all combine to bring be-
fore long our melancholy and doleful history to a
crisis. Every day, nay, every hour, we expect to
be transferred to the common prison, and to get
hand chains again. Only a week ago upwards of
200 prisoners, among whom are many persons of
high rank, were ordered to be executed. This in-
discriminate massacre, which has probably been
prompted by the want of guards to protect them,
indicates no improvement in the tyrant's temper.
We fear that wilful, wicked misrepresentations, and
cruel, unpardonable selfishness, united in conceal-
ing the true state of our position and the well known
designs of the King. God, in His infinite mercy,
may interpose and deliver us ; and if not, our sepa-
-1 ration will only be for a short period, and our re-
union in glory for ever and ever.

,‘ God bless you and the darling children, and
that we may both receive strength according to our
need is the fervent prayer of your ever affectionate
husband, 41 HENRY A. STERN."

Tart c. E
el Mt r
„zl:t.-.•!:

HER MAJESTY, &c.
—4-

WINDSOR CASTLE, July 8.

The Queen, accompanied by her Royal Highness
Princess Louis of Hesse, and attended by the
Duchess of Roxburghe, Lord Alfred Paget, and
Colonel the Hon. A. Hardinge, went to London
this morning and visited the Prince and Princess
of Wales at Marlborough House. Her Majesty
returned to Windsor Casty; at 2 o'clock.