438 A SPOA'77NG TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



already mentioned, had been pitched just below the 

 fort named after General Baldissera, situated on a hill 

 to the south-west of the town ; it is well planned and 

 covers a large area. Close to me were great stacks of 

 government fodder and ranges of stabling now empty. 

 A short walk brought us to the governor's house, built 

 in the style of an Italian chalet, a small ornamental 

 garden separating it from the club premises vis-a-vis. 

 These two buildings lay at a little distance from the 

 business quarter of the town, where numerous fine 

 blocks of stone houses were quickly replacing less 

 pretentious structures. There seemed to be a fair 

 number of shops, besides several cafes and restaurants, 

 also workshops occupied by skilled mechanics. On the 

 further side were the Roman Catholic Mission build- 

 ings, and close to the native bazaar the shops of a 

 number of East Indian merchants. Beyond this stood 

 what was left of the original village, and the better-class 

 houses, which were nearly all flat-roofed, surrounded by 

 their little yards. Close by stood the old church, built 

 like a log-hut, with massive timbers in its walls, the 

 interstices filled with stones. In the churchyard still 

 hung the three old flat stones used as "bells," so often 

 described by former travellers ; they seemed like the 

 landmarks of a bygone age, beside the modern metal 

 bell that has usurped their place. The low, flat-roofed 

 building with its tiny door reminded me strangely of 

 some of the village mosques in Kashmir. Behind us, on 

 a steep hill, stood the old residence of Ras Alula, the 

 ablest general Abyssinia has seen in modern times, and the 

 man who so long withstood the advance of the Italians. 



