ABYSSINIA. 



B 



illy, and with mi intimation that ho 



:i visit, Aiu!.:i, in order to consult 



mi, respecting t!i>- reply which 



uld di-;>'it'-h to the Queen's letter. Tho 



WHS rvi'l with great emotion by the cap- 

 It lu'ir deepest gratitude. The 



<!'th.- royal epiMle, was most conciliatory, 

 hut fcl time so distinct in the terms of- 



t hat it was deemed almost impossible that 

 the Kin:; could evade them. A few days after- 

 ward, however on the 7th of January, 1867 

 a letter, intended for the British Government, 



nt to Mr. Rassam from the royal camp, 



wherein, after acknowledging the receipt of the 



a's letter, the King proceeded in an apolo- 



manner to complain that the English 



uinent had betrayed him to the Turks 



[so of conduct utterly at variance with his 



own honest and straightforward character and 



dings. He then adverted to the removal 

 of the captives to Amba ['hill-foot'] Magdala, 

 where he stated they were lodged in his own 

 house and treated with every consideration, say- 

 ing nothing of their being prisoners and in chains. 

 The letter concluded with the request that the 

 presents and artisans should be forwarded to him 

 forthwith. Tho day following Mr. Rassam re- 

 ceived another letter from the royal camp, in 

 which the King expressed the highest respect for 

 England and the English Queen, comparing the 

 latter to 1 1 Irani of Tyre, and himself to Solomon. 

 Next, after an effusion of complimentary ex- 

 ions, he recapitulated his grievances against 



n, Cameron, and the whole party; and 

 last, hut not legist, against the British Govern- 

 ment and the Turks, whom he held responsible 

 for all the trouble which had occurred. This 

 letter closed with a renewed request that the 

 ntfl and artisans should be sent up to him 

 from Massowah, without giving any intimation 

 that he intended to liberate the captives. 



In March an effort was made by Lord Stanley 

 to obtain the release of the captives, through the 

 intercession of the Armenian Patriarch, Paul of 

 Constantinople. The English ambassador in Con- 

 stantinople, Lord Lyons, requested the Patriarch 

 to address a written appeal to King Theodore 

 on behalf of Consul Cameron and his fellow- 

 jirisonersin Abyssinia. The Patriarch promptly 

 complied with the request, and gave the am- 

 bassador one letter for Theodore himself, and, 

 another for the Armenian Patriarch, Isaiah 

 of Jerusalem, whoso relations with the Abys- 

 sinian Church are intimate, requesting the 

 latter also to exert his influence on behalf of 

 the captives. The Patriarch of Jerusalem at 

 once consente'd to .join in the intercession, and 

 to render it as effectual as possible, sent a 

 special deputation consisting of Archbishop 

 Dorotheos and a famous preacher to the 

 Negos, bearing one letter containing the apos- 

 tolic benediction on Theodore, and a second, 

 pleading directly for his royal grace to the 

 English prisoners. The latter of these docu- 

 ments, according to the Jerusalem Armenian 

 review, Sion, which published both, was as fol- 



lows : " I, Isaiah, servant of Jesus Christ, and 

 by the grace of God Archbishop MM <i 

 of Jerusalem, arid guardian of the Holy Places, 

 offer, with th.> Divine benedictions and t 

 of the Holy City, my apostolic salutations to 

 your very Christian majesty, sovereign of 

 Ethiopia. M:iy the heavenly protection and 

 the care of Divine Providence always watch 

 over the person of your majesty, your august 

 family, and the whole State governed by your 

 puissant sovereignty. We know, sire, the ex- 

 alted prudence and love of justice which char- 

 acterize your majesty. We are, moreover, en- 

 chanted to see in your august person the true 

 typo of the queen, eulogized in Holy Scripture, 

 who was enamoured of the wisdom of Solomon. 

 It is the same blood undoubtedly as that of 

 Solomon which flows in your majesty's veins, 

 and animates you with the same equity. These 

 precious qualities, then, which adorn your 

 august person, have encouraged us to bring 

 our prayers to the foot of your sublime throne. 

 Wo feel assured that they will be heard by 

 your most merciful majesty in the love of 

 Jesus Christ, who has given us in his person 

 an example of humility and gentleness, and 

 who has also prescribed to us to visit all who 

 are oppressed and deprived of their liberty, 

 which is beyond all the possessions of this 

 world. Animated by the same evangelical 

 sentiments, we pray your most merciful ma- 

 jesty to look graciously upon the English con- 

 sul and his companions, and to pardon them 

 for all the faults they may have committed. If 

 our prayers are heard by your clemency, as we 

 feel a pleasure in believing, we shall be in- 

 finitely obliged, and every one shall be as de- 

 lighted as ourselves at your indulgence toward 

 the unfortunates. By so philanthropic a deed, 

 your majesty will increase the number of those 

 who pray for the prosperity of your empire, 

 and for the preservation of the precious life of 

 your august person. May the peace and grace 

 of God bo always with you. So be it ! Given 

 at our Apostolic See of St. James, the 30th of 

 March, of the year of our Saviour 1867." 



As Theodore gave no indication whatever of 

 his readiness to accede to the demands of the 

 English Government, early in March the arti- 

 sans who had been sent out for the royal ser- 

 vice were brought away from Massowah and 

 left Aden for England. Mr. Flad left Massowah 

 for the interior, to meet the King at his resi- 

 dence at Debra Tabor, taking with him the ar- 

 ticles purchased with the King's money. 



On April 16th, Lord Stanley, the Secretary 

 for Foreign Affairs, addressed to the King the 

 following letter : 



"I am commanded by the Queen, my sovereign, 

 to state to your majesty that she had expected to 

 learn by this time that the prisoners, respecting 

 whom her majesty wrote to you on the 4th of Octo- 

 ber last, had bee'n all released and had arrived at 

 Massowah, and that the presents which wore await- 

 ing their arrival at Massowah were already on their 

 way to Abyssinia. The Queen regrets to find that, 

 although you had become acquainted with the con- 



