XV AN IRISH ABYSSINIAN 153 



could hardly recall his mother tongue. He still wears 

 the Abyssinian dress and prefers to travel barefoot, but 

 when I left was trying to take to boots again. Among 

 the natives of the country he is looked upon quite as one 

 of themselves, and is very popular and much esteemed. 

 On the funeral of his late wife, an Abyssinian, many 

 hundreds of natives showed their sympathy by attending. 



One morning he awakened me early to say Ras 

 Walda Giorgis had called, and that Captain Harrington, 

 who was still confined to his bed, wished me to receive him. 

 I hurried into my clothes, went over to the reception- 

 tent, and found awaiting me a very intelligent-looking, 

 middle-aged man. He inquired about Captain Har- 

 rington's health, and, after a little general conversation, 

 expressed a strong desire to see him, if possible, to 

 deliver some messages from the Negus. So I took him 

 over to Captain Harrington's tucul, where he had a talk 

 on affairs of state. This chief, who is Menelik's nephew, 

 being the son of his sister, rules the country below the 

 Sobat. 



Captain Harrington, who had devoted much considera- 

 tion to the form in which the new Residency should be 

 built, was anxious to get it covered in before the heavy 

 rains in June. It was settled that the long, elliptical- 

 shaped Abyssinian hut would be the most convenient 

 form, but it required a number of stout timbers for the 

 roof and supporting pillars, which are difficult to obtain, 

 as they have to be carried in by men from the forest of 

 Managasha, over 20 miles distant. Many more than 

 the thirty beams already given by the Emperor would 

 be required for the purpose, and this would cause such 



