A CIVILISED DINNER 



433 



mess, which consisted of a large dining-room, supple- 

 mented by a card-room and reading-room built along- 

 side. Here I was met by Major Baldini, who formally 

 introduced me to each officer present. We sat down 

 fifteen to dinner, the conversation turning principally 

 on my journey and the reception I had met with in 

 Abyssinia. Most of the officers spoke French, and were 



Native Gunners. 



most patient in listening to my attempts at explanation 

 in that lano^uaore. I had often been astonished at the 

 accurate knowledge the different native chiefs had of my 

 movements, but it was evident that here also my every 

 action before and since I left Adis Ababa was known, 

 the only blank being the period occupied by the march 

 from Gondar towards Metemmeh, when it was reported 

 that I and all my caravan had been cut up. I gained 

 much information about the people I had met, and the 

 curiosity my journey had excited, for none could believe 

 I made it for sporting purposes only. They asked me 

 many questions about Simien, and whether the patches 

 of white were caused by ice or crystals, and seemed 



2 F 



