The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-14
A DESCENDANT OF SOLOMON.
King MeneIek's Fantastic Claims
and Traditions Relating to Them.

N.
From the London Globe.
The strong probability that Menelek EN-
peror of Abyssina, will visit Jerusalem in
1900 raises anew the fascinating problem
of the real or mythical descent of the Abys-
sinian royal house from Maqueda, Queen
of Sheba, and Solomon, the mighty Jewish
potentate. The Abyssinians firmly believe
and steadfastly adhere to both legends, if
legends they be, which most Churchmen
maintain is the case. With all due respect
to clerical Judgment, however, the matter
seems to be enveoped in much obscurity
for it cannot be said that the arguments
against the Abyssinian theory possess any
thing approaching to the finaity which
their advocates would nave us understand.
Notwithstanding the fact that the visit
of Maqueda Cor Makalle, as she is some
times called Queen of Sheba, to Solomon
took place three thousand years ago, it
was, strange to say, only as recently as
the beginning of the sixteenth century that
a definite statement put in concrete form
of the Abyssinian religious and historical
records reached Western Europe This may
partly be explained by the comparative
obscurity which has ever reigned over the
land of Ethiopia (Abyssinia, as il is now
called, Is a Portuguese corruption of Hab-
essinia, the name given TO Ethiopia by the
Arabs; but more especially by the Ma
hometan conquest of Egypt In the seventh
century, which forced the Abyssnians TO
take refuge among their sombre, inaccessi-
BILE and fantastic mountain ranges. and
to disappear within these rugged fastness-
es for nearly a thousand years, as Gibbon
puts it, "forgetful of the world by whom
they were forgotten" 1t was due to The
enterprising and enlightened genius of
T.f,s Y ~ Il
emerged once more from the blaclxness of
night which had encompassed her for SO
many centuries.
At the end of the fifteenth century Por-
tuguese Adventures on the West coast of
Africa heard rumors of powerful Chris
tan ruler in the far interior. The word"
had been brought 10 Candace, Queen of
Ethiopia, through Philips fundamentally
in A. y. a. and Christianity was really in
troduced into Abyssinia about $50 A D.
by FrumenTius consecrated first Bishop of
Abyssinia by St Athanasius of Alexan-
dria. Such was 'Prester' Johns influence
Uhe Abyssinian King at that time) that
the fame OF him had actually penetrated
beyond the torrent of Mahometan invasion
which was stih sweeping over Central At
RIGA; had gained the sluggish and as yet
untouched western bell of Pagansm; had
pierced through The gross fetichism of the
swamp-dWellers, and had finally reached
the Christians on the coast A stupendous
thing when one considers that the news
could only have been conveyed by word of
mouth, and an object-lesson in The migra-
tory propensities of African rac es. To Pc
dro de Covilhana belongs the credit of be-
ing the FIRST Western European 20 have
SEA foot on Abyssinian soil. Unfortunately,
hiss records have been lost, and it is to
Father Alvarez, who followed nearly fifty
years later Q520) that we are indebted for
The earliest authentic information about
Abyssnia and its traditions The informa-
ton he brought back with him is of UNI
surpassed interest That part of his pub
lished records which deals with the sub
ject of this article had best be given in his
own words.
1--WE stayed" says Father Alvarez in
Aquaxumo probably AXum) for eight
months. This town was the city chamber
and abode of the Queen Saba (Sheba is
designated as province i'm Old Ethiopian
maps) who took the camels laden with
gold to Solomon when he was building the
Temple OF Jerusalem. There is in this town
a very noble church, in which we found a
very great chronicle written in the Lam
guage Of the country and 1t stated In its
commencement how it had been written
first in Hebrew and afterward put into
Greek. and from Greek INFO
Chaldee, and from Chaldee into the
Abyssiuian tongue. in which IL now is
aud it begins thus: How the Queen Saba
hearing related the great and rich works
which Solomon had begun in Jerusalem
she determined 10 80 and see them. and |
she loaded certain camels with gold to