78 THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
a deep mahogany brown to the light yellow color of the 
Mongolian. Most of them have moustaches, and occa- 
sionally they have beards. They have a distinctly Jewish 
cast of features, long and narrow, with rather a hooked 
nose, and bright, keen, dark-brown eyes, and thin lips. 
Some of the women are exceedingly handsome, usually 
small, but with beautiful well-rounded figures, and oval 
faces. The most attractive part about them is their large, 
expressive brown eyes—which they use to great advan- 
tage—and their clean white teeth. 
Being descendants chiefly of the Copts, they profess 
to be Christians; but I found that all they knew of the 
Bible were a few threatening tales from the Old Testa- 
ment. The Coptic religion has been taught in Abyssinia 
for centuries, and of recent years Shoa has been flooded 
by French Roman Catholic missionaries, who have been 
very successful in introducing their reforms throughout 
the country. The shrewd Emperor Menelek has found it 
a great advantage to introduce a few religious ceremonies 
among his people, so that they might regard him and his 
associates as gifted with divine powers. The Abyssinians 
marry but one wife, but they think nothing of having 
many concubines. Formerly there were two rulers in 
Abyssinia, one residing to the north, who was by far the 
more powerful of the two, and demanded a yearly tribute 
from his neighbor in the south. The chiefs in the various 
countries under these rulers would frequently be stirring 
up rebellions; but Menelek, by his wonderful ability, has 
fused all the countries, north and south, into one strong, 
formidable empire. The regents whom he appoints over 
different countries are given complete power of life and 
death over their subjects, but they are not allowed to gain 
too much strength, as he continually shifts them from one 
position to another. The men are armed principally with 
