The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1868-03-20

a bottle hllcd with some tlacK, eVll.smell-
ing mixture, which might be poison, and
certainly was not rakee When Kassa
had amused himself sufficiently at their
expense, he quietly said, "My friends,
you have very justly remarked that my
mother was hut "a kousso woman and
that reminds me that she has not yet sold
anything to-day. 1t is but reasonable,
therefore, that you should buy some of
her ware. Drink, therefore my friends,
aud if you do not like the flavor, rcmcm.
Der that it is at least wholesome y and
Herewith he forced each one to empty II
bottle eff the horrible purgative.
Once, having been defeated by Gocho,
a powerful prin e, he had re,collectel his
scattered forces, aud led them against his
enemy in the vicinity of Lake Dembca. -
In five minutes he had again lost the
game ; it was case of sauce 9ui peUf,
and with the greatest difficulty did kassa
manage to escape with some thirty or
forty of his companions, and seek refuge
among the reeds aud juuglcs bordering
the shores OF the lake. Scarcely had
they found hiding place, however, when
Gocho hinsolf came upon them, and
shouted from the back of his horse, "Who
will take me this 'Kollouya, this vaga-
bond prisoner ?"
But scarcely had the words slipped out
of bis mouth when a bullet pierced his
brain, and he sank dead to the ground -
The 'KoIlenya' bad aimed we'll With
out hesitation, kassa spraug forward, tore
the ensanguined covering from the head of
his fallen ehemy, and cried to the men Of
Gocho-
"Bahold your leader is dead, end yo
arc but dead Iogo before me what will
&c do Z
Discouraged by the death of their
prime, aud filled with certain admira-
ton for the daring and courage of the
young warrior, most Of the men submit
ted and joined him, whilst tho rest were
maSsacred by the returning fugidves.
The most powerful enemy Kossa had to
contend against was the vicokiug o.
Tigre, Cubic, wh) had the advantage Of
great popularity, arising from the fact of
his having been able to have kept his
province 10 state of peace for term of
twenty-three years, whilst, on the other
hand, kassa had 4ained the Sympathies Of
all the young chivalrous Abyssinians by
his daring wlrike character, and the sue
cess that attended all his undertakings.
When Cubic received the summons to
submit to Kassa and acknowledge him as
his lIege lord, holding his province of
Tigre in fef, he entered upon Fabian
policy, sending Kassa money and pres
euts by the hand of his "belatta," or gen
eral, Kokobie, to whom he had intrusted
the delic,te mission of arranging the
question in allegiance. Kassa very soon
discovered the true character of this man {;
and after having signed soma temporary
agreement, entered into a plot by which
Cubic was to be botray ed and dethroned,
and he himself raised to the summit Of
his ambition to the Abyssiniau throne.
When he had once arranged his plans,
Kassa soon gave OubIe to understand that
he must stake his fortune on the sword. -
The two forces met in the plains of Der
cskie, and sangunary struggle took
place, during which, Kokobie, faithful to
Kassa, detached bis troops and turned
against his old master. Cubic was taken
prisoner, his son Chetan killed, and the
Amharas remained masters of the field,
thus leaving Kassa chief of the whole
country. When Kokobie presented him
self to kassa, expecting to reap the re-
ward eff his treachery, Kassa very cooly
said, 81 will have nothing whatever to do
with a traitor p the unfortunate man
was cast into the dungeons of Tschelga,
where he remains to this day. This bat.
tie of Dercskie was fought in February,
1855, and the next day Kassa entered the
church with great pomp and display,
which had been erected by "a German bot
anist, Dr. Schlmper, for the coronation Of
Cubic. The ceremony was performed
with great pomp and splendor, Kassa, re-
caivipg the crown from the hands of the
Abuna, under the title of Theodore II.
A crowned head is, however, by no means
bedded on roses in Abyssinia, and Thee.
dore's progress was considerably retarded
by different rebellions headed by various
chiefs, of whom the most powerful was a
certain Negcusie, and man named Gar
ct, who mado himself notorious in our
own country by the murder of the British
consul, Mr.. Plowden, a particular friend
and supporter Of Theodore.
At the time of his murder Theodore
was warning against Negouse, but on the
news reach Nc him he Immediately pro-
ceeded to ayenge the murder of his friend,
and in the neighbor5ood of Woggasra
forced the rebel to accept battle. Garet,
man of great agility and courage, dashed
at the king, and threw his lance at him,
which would have pierced bis breast
had not Mr.. Bell interposed his own
body, thus sacrificing his life for the man
to whose services he had devoted himself
This Mr.. Bell, after leading hunters
life on the banks, aud in the vicinity Of
the blue Nj e, had strayed, during the
course Of his adventurous life, to the
wilds Of Abyssinia, where he became ac-
quaiuted with Theodore in the year 1854
One of those extraordinary attachments,
which baffir all theories, seems to have
sprung up between the two men, and it is
owing to this fact that Theodore knows