DRESS OF THE NEGOOS. 305 



part of the royal household, as a residence. In the 

 back porch, if I may so term it, therefore, I found 

 the Negoos reclining upon a conch covered with a 

 white cloth, and the usual yellow satin cushions at 

 each end. He was in his customary dress, a large 

 legumbigalla, like the one I had on, only ornamented 

 with numerous bars of the red and blue shumlah, 

 which adds considerably to the value of the cloth. 

 He had also on his feet a pair of red Turkish 

 slippers and white socks, the only European articles 

 of dress he had adopted, and these he only wore in the 

 palace ; for whenever I have seen him in the fields 

 around his palaces, he was always barefooted like 

 his courtiers. I have often regretted that I, at 

 that time, did not know how to knit, nothing 

 would have pleased the monarch so much as to 

 have learned the process, and seen growing be- 

 neath his fingers a well-formed stocking. In a 

 cold country, situated like Abyssinia, knitting 

 would be a most useful art to introduce among the 

 natives, and I hope, therefore, if any traveller 

 intending to visit that country reads this book, he 

 will make himself acquainted with that mysterious 

 accomplishment, which I can assure him is much 

 easier than he may suppose. 



Upon the ground before his Majesty lay some 

 twenty or thirty fowling pieces and rifles, and 

 several pages and attendants were bringing in 

 others from the private armoury, where he keeps 

 the more valuable of his fire-arms. An ox skin 



