The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1868-06-20
sketch, of King Theodore.

The Emperor Theodore, Mr. Dufton
tells US, was born about 1920, In the Prov
ince of Kwara, which is situated 10 the
west of Lake Tzana, and Of which his
uncle was Governor. His mother was,
according TO some, Of low extraction /; but,
according to others she was of good birth,
and could even trace her descent to the
Queen Of Sheba, the orthodox ancestress
OF Abyssinian royalty. Kassa, for such
is the Emperor's real name, soon distin-
guished himself for his bravery and tai
ent for war, and on the death Of his nm
Gle he acquired the Government Of Kwa-
ra. He soon enlarged his dominions by
the conquest Of adjacent Provinces, and
at length after having experienced vary
ing fortunes, he defeated Ali Ras, of
Amhara, whose daughter he had previ-
ously married, aud effected the conquest
OF that Province. The element of relig-
ion, which is so singularIy blended in
Theodorus' character, is shown by The
prayer which he publicly offered up after
his victory, and which il as follows "I
praise Thee, o God, that Thou hast man.
ifested Thy goodness to poor sinner like
me. Whom Thou humblest is humbled, !,
and whom Thou exaltest IL exalted -
Thine is the power and glory, for ever
and ever"
Being now installed at Condor as Ras
of Amhara, rank which carried with it
the nominal allegiance Of the whole Of
Abyssinia, Kassa sent to claim tribute
fiom Onbie, Prince of Tigre. This be.
ing refused, he marched with an army
against him, and, having defeated him in
the battle Of Deraskie, he had himself
crowned as Negus Theodorus, or King Of
Kings Of Ethiopia. His assumption of
the name Of Theodorus appears 10 have
been made in consequence Of an ancient
prophecy that an Emperor of that name
would raise the Kingdom of Abyssinia to
an unprecedented pitch Of greatness. He
then attacked the WalIo GalIas, No.
homeden tribe between Amhara and
Shoa, and defeated them in battle, in
in which their King, Adara Billie, was
slain.
Theodorus had thus made himself mas
ter of the whole of Abyssinia, with
the exception of Shoa, which had long
been virtually an independent state.
Against this Kingdom he now directed
his arms, and soon succeeded in complete
y subjugating it, thus uniting under his
sway the whole of the SO long disunited
provinces Of Abyssinia. His next pro-
ject was to drive the Turks from their
possessions on the coast, and thus TO ac-
quire for Abyssinia an outlet on the Red
Sea--an advantage which that country
had not possessed since Massowah was
taken By the Turks, in the sixteenth cen.
tury. This, however, he was never in q
position to attempt. His conquered prov.
inccs revolted, and the cruel element in
his character, which soon developed it.
self, so alienated his subjects that they
gradually fell away from him, until now
he seems to hold little territory beyond
that in the immediate neighborhood oi
Debra Tabor, which he has made his cap.
Iital.
Thcodorus appears TO be man oi
great talent, courage aud energy, with 1
singular power over others. Mr. Dufton
who saw him in 1863, TINS describe.
him: " His appearance was that of a
man about forty-five, and possessed of {
wcllknit but not overpowerful frame
conveying the idea of being tough and
wiry rather than Of strong physical de
vclopement. His features are dark, ap
preaching to black, but he has nothing
of the negro about him. His feature.
are altogether those of the European
His head is we'll formed, and his hair il
arranged in large plaits extending back
|, from the forehead. His forehead is higl
and tends to be prominent. His eye il
black. full of fire, quick, and piercing
His nose has little of the Roman abou
. it, be ng slightly arched and pointed. Hi
mouth is perfect, and the smile which
during tho conversation, continually
played upon twas exceedingly agreeable
may say, fascinating. He has very lit
tie moustache or beard. His manner i
pleasant, gracious and even polite, ant
his general expression, even when hi
features were at rest, was one of intellli
gence and benevolence. On the whole
the physiognomist could find no trace o
fierce passion savein the lightning glanc,
of his eyes. l watched for the keer
! shot of light coming from them at times
and reflected on what he could be capa
BILE; but they did not strike me as treach
erous eyes, / felt that he could act saw
lagely under irritation" He adds in
note, Ct here take occasion to remark
that, though Theodorus consumes vas
quantity of arracky, he is no drunkard
that is, have never heard of him beins
overcome with drink. He always stops
at certain point.
i ONE HoRsE.-A member of one 0
our best business firms, who does not in
vest much in advertising, lately sent |
copy of the Democrat to his sister, resid
ing east. She wrote back that she hal
read the paper carefully and was mucl
pleased with the same, but had searched
In vain for their advertisement, and haS