48 THEODORE II. AND THE 



Abyssinnia is divided into thirty provinces, generally having, in 

 official documents, the pompous title of kingdoms, a title that facts 

 ceased to justify fifteen centuries ago. Those most frequently men- 

 tioned in books and the narratives of travellers are, commencing at 

 the Eed Sea, Hamazene, Agame and Chire, fine, fruitful districts, 

 inhabited by an industrious and peaceful population ; Semen, which 

 the Germans call the Alps of Africa, and which merits this name by 

 its snowy summits over 16,000 feet high ; Dembea, a rich and popu- 

 lous plain, washed by a beautiful lake, two hundred miles in circum- 

 ference, and in which geology discovers an immense volcanic crater ; 

 Beghemder, Godjam, Damot and Choa, fertile and smiling regions, 

 where provincial rivalries maintain a perpetual flame of civil war ; ' 

 finally Lasta and Koura, mountainous and picturesque countries, 

 peopled by a poor and proud peasantry whom sceptical good sense 

 has preserved from the fruitless agitations of their neighbours. All 

 these form a whole of about 4,500,000 inhabitants scattered through 

 nearly 6000 villages. 



The normal government is an hereditary monarchy, restricted by 

 a feudal oligarchy which in turn finds itself limited by the strong 

 and liberal organization which the commons enjoy, thanks to their 

 numerous country gentlemen (jbalagoult, feudaries). It is in every 

 respect^^the political mechanisnx of Hungary and Poland down to a 

 very recent period, and of Russia till the time of the Czar Boris the 

 first, who established serfdom. Abyssinia has never had a middle 

 class. The merchants (neggade) form a class knowing no other 

 bond of union than that of commerce, isolating themselves from 

 public affairs, and inhabiting a small number of towns such as Gon- 

 dar, a broken down place of 10,000 souls, at most, and the centre of 

 learning and theology ; Adona, its rival, a modern and commercial 

 city, the capital of Tigre and five leagues from Axum, which is no 

 more than a vast monastery ; Koarata, a charming little tovni stand- 

 ing upon a projecting point of Lake Tana; Ankober, Madhera- 

 Mariam, Derita, and Emfras, each with a population of hardly 4000 

 souls. We may also mention, by way of curiosity, the town of Azazo 

 near Gondar, built round a famous monastery, and inhabited by an 

 aristocracy of literate merchants who divide their attention, equally 

 between business and theology. As to the clergy in Abyssinia, it 

 does not form a distinct political body. The constitution, which 

 grants it great immunities within the church, outside of its pale. 



