54 THEODORE II. AND THE 



royalist, ceremonial, and christian Abyssinia. She willingly Bur- 

 rounded herself with priests and scholar?, and ras All founded and 

 endowed many churches ; bi:t their orthodoxy was hardly credited — 

 a fact which contributed greatly to their downfall. Being notified of 

 the designs of the son of Hailo, Menene sent against Kassa, at first, 

 but a small army which gave way at the first shock. Menene, then 

 taken at unawares, found she could not do better than offer the 

 conqueror the province of Dembea under her sovereignty, and the 

 hand of her grand-daughter, Tzootsedje. Kassa made no hesitation 

 about accepting both offers. 



He was then young, adventurous, and fanatical. Thus he only 

 followed his natural inclination in undertaking a campaign against 

 the Egyptians, who, favoured by the troubles of Kuara, had re- con- 

 quered Gallabut. He made his first raid against the capital of the 

 latter province, the town of Metamma, where was^ held a weekly 

 market very generally resorted to : he attacked the place on the 

 market day, and departed laden with booty. This successful achieve- 

 ment brouglit about him every young vagabond in Gondar that could 

 hold a lacce and shield, and, followed by this motley crowd, more 

 embarrassing than useful, he fell in, on the banks of the river Rahad, 

 with two companies of good Egyptian infantry, strongly intrenched 

 in a zerilsa or enclosure of thorns, and commanded by a certain 

 Saleh Bey, a fat, inefficient officer, who had the good sense to con- 

 ceal himself behind a simple captain named Elias-Effendi, an experi- 

 enced and modest man who saved everything. The Abyssinians 

 came on like a whirlwind ; but, stopped short by the hedge, they had 

 to make a halt and attempt to remove the thorns while the fire of 

 the Egyptians swept them away at close quarters. To these volleys 

 was added the discharge of two field pieces, so much the more 

 dreaded by the Abyssinians on account of their want of acquaintance 

 with cannon. Their firmness, however, under this regular and mur- 

 derous discharge, and their battle-cries, made the Turkish soldiers 

 waver ; and they would most certainly have given way without the 

 example of their officers. Kassa, from his open tent, was a spectator 

 of this butchery, when a Turkish bullet broke the shoulder of one of 

 his relatives, and cut the stake of his tent which fell upon him. He 

 immediately put a stop to the useless massacre, and retired, leaving 

 hundreds of dead upon the spot, and the enemy astounded at the 

 savage valour of his soldier s. " They came to the cannon's mouth," 



