WEIGH IVOR V 89 



ingratiating herself with the natives, and showing how dear 

 is their welfare to the white Czar. They live together 

 in some wretched-looking tuculs and tents, in a very 

 untidy compound, some little distance beyond the Russian 

 Embassy. Among the Europeans they have not a very 

 high reputation for medical skill, but they have done 

 much useful surgical work for the natives, especially 

 those wounded in the late war with Italy. After them 

 M. Lagarde and his Consul came into the Residency. 

 Each party was accompanied by a crowd of armed 

 followers, as is usual in Abyssinia with all persons of 

 any consequence, whether European or native. Among 

 the c^/i/e of Ad is Ababa, a person is esteemed according 

 to the number of his retainers, quality being quite a 

 secondary consideration. When Captain Harrington 

 first came up to the capital he decided to reverse this 

 order of things, so, whenever he rides out, he is only 

 accompanied by a couple of Indian sowars ; but their 

 dress and accoutrements are the perfection of smartness. 



In the course of the day we weighed the ivory 

 of eight of the elephants v/e had killed on the journey 

 up, but the total amounted to only 134 lbs. This 

 we sent up to the Emperor, for he is entitled to the 

 first tusk that touches the ground of every elephant 

 shot; but it has become the recognised thing for English 

 sportsmen to send in all their ivory, unless the Emperor 

 gives them permission to keep one or two pairs of tusks. 



In speaking of Selassee Church, I might have 

 mentioned that, a few days later, I witnessed there a 

 religious marriage ceremony, which, however, consisted 

 merely in the parties concerned taking the sacrament 



