MISCELLANIES. 
The following anecdotes re- 
specting this extraordinary man 
may prcve acceptable to every 
reader, who admires the very ably 
drawn character given of him by 
Mr. Bruce,—** On one occasion, 
when playing at chess, he hastily 
made out an order for 5000 dol- 
Jars to be given to a chief, for 
some service that he had perform- 
ed, instead of 500, which was the 
usual allowance, and, on the cir- 
cumstance being mentioned to 
him by his steward, he turned 
round quickly and answered, ‘ I 
have said it,—let it be so,—the 
angel Michael hath sent it to 
him.” ‘A chief of some note 
having confessed to a priest that 
he had committed a murder, the 
latter, in hopes of receiving a re- 
ward, disclosed it to the relations, 
and, in consequence, the former 
was seized and taken before Ras 
Michael. What is the evidence? 
said the Ras. The priest stepped 
forward, and declared that he had 
repeatedly declared the fact to 
him. Ras Michael, without hesi- 
tation, gave the order, ‘ take him 
to his death.’ The relations im- 
mediately laid hold of the chief, 
and were in the act of forcing him 
away, when the old man, with one 
of his terrible looks, cried out, 
« not that man, but the priest, who 
has dared to reveal the secrets 
disclosed to him in confession,’ 
and he was instantly led out to 
execution.” Ras Michael had so 
poor an opinion of what the priests 
could do for a man in his last mo- 
‘ments, that he said, when on his 
death-bed, ‘‘ Let not a_ priest 
come near me: if a man cannot 
mdke up his own account, how 
shall weak men like these do it for 
him 2” 
‘from a distance, and the 
533 
ABYSSINIAN ACTING. 
(From the Same.) 
As I am now upon the holiday 
sports of the Abyssinians, it may 
not be amiss to give some account 
ef this man. Totte Maze, for 
such was his name, was one of 
the cleverest mimicks I have ever 
seen, the command which he pos- 
sessed over his features almost 
equalling that which was display- 
ed on the boards of our own 
theatres by Suet, an actor to 
whom he bore considerable re- 
semblance. One of his chief ac- 
quirements consisted in the singu- 
lar art of making other people 
(particularly strangers, who had 
not been apprized of his inten- 
tion) imitate the contortions of 
his own features, a power which 
I repeatedly saw him exercise with 
success, and which, on one oc- 
casion, drew me into the same 
kind of ridiculous situation, with- 
out my being conscious of the 
changes in my countenance, until 
I was roused by a friendly hint 
from the Ras, who let me inte 
the secret of what he was about. 
He afterwards performed, at the 
Ras’srequest,some finished pieces 
of acting that evinced very extra- 
ordinary native talent. 
One of these consisted in the 
imitation of the behaviour of a 
chief in battle, who bad not been 
remarkable for his courage. At 
first lhe came in very pompously ; 
calling out in an overbearing 
manner to his soldiers, and vaunt- 
ing what he would do when the 
enemy approached. He then mi- 
micked the sound of horns heard 
Ow 
