‘532 
may be formed by a reference to 
the map, where the extent of the 
country under what may be called 
“ his personal jurisdiction,” is 
marked out. Throughout this 
extensive district, all crimes, dif- 
ferences and disputes, of however 
important or trifling a nature, are 
ultimately referred to his determi- 
nation, all rights of inheritage 
are decided according to his will, 
and most wars are carried on by 
himself in person. To rule a 
savage people of so many different 
dispositions, manners, and usages 
as the Abyssinians, requires a 
firmness of mind, and a vigour of 
constitution, rarely united in the 
same individual at his advanced 
age; yet, whenever I have seen 
him io the exercise of his power, 
he has shewn a vivacity of ex- 
pression, a quickness of compre- 
hension, and a sort of command- 
ing energy, that over-awed all 
who approached him. During his 
continuance in power, he has 
made it his uniform practice to 
treat the different attempts at re- 
bellion with perfect indifference ; 
so that when those concerned in 
such conspiracies have, in their 
own imagination, brought affairs 
to a crisis, he has constantly ex- 
pressed contempt, rather than 
alarm at their machinations. 
After a second attempt against 
his life by the same persons, he 
has been repeatedly known to 
pardon, and even to permit the 
parties convicted to attend about 
his court, priding himself par- 
ticularly on having never been 
guilty of the cruelties of Ras 
Michael, and being led with re- 
Juctance to the condemnation of a 
common culprit ; while no pos- 
sible provocation can induce him 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1816. 
«to cut off a limb, put out the 
eyes,” or commit any other of 
the atrocious acts which stained 
the character of that extraordi- 
nary leader. His common mode 
of punishing those who conspire 
against him, is, by taking away 
their districts ; for, as I have 
heard him often declare, ‘‘ men 
are only saucy when their sto- 
machs are full ;” a saying pecu- 
liarly applicable to the Abyssi- 
nians, who, when ruled with a 
hand of power, make admirable 
subjects ; but when left to their 
own wills, become intolerably 
presumptuous and overbearing. 
During the three weeks that we 
stayed at Chelicut, I generally 
spent a great part of each day 
with the Ras, being allowed free 
access to his presence, through a 
private door communicating be- 
tween the gardens of our respec- 
tive habitations. On these occa- 
sions, F generally found him en- 
gaged in the administration. of 
justice, or in receiving chieftains 
and ladies of consequence, who 
came from distant parts of the 
country to pay their duty; and 
when otherwise unemployed, in- 
variably occupied in playing at 
chess, a game to which he ap- 
peared greatly devoted, I under- 
stood, indeed, that nosurer method 
could be practised for attaining 
his favour, than that of acquiring 
a knowledge of this game, and 
when playing with him, ingeni- 
ously to contrive that he should 
never be the loser. Ayto Debib, 
who stood high in his favour, was 
particularly well skilled in: this 
game. In addition, he had ac- 
quired, by playing with Mr. 
Pearce, a perfect knowledge of 
the game of drafts. 
