SERVANTS OF EMBASSY. 405 



the Embassy with their servants* and their own 

 people, he then turned the conversation upon a 



* Major Harris, in his " Highlands of Ethiopia," has made the 

 following assertions : — " In utter abhorrence of the country and 

 its inhabitants, the Moslem servants who accompanied the Embassy 

 from India all took their departure, willing to brave, the dangers 

 and difficulties of a long journey through the inhospitable deserts 

 of Adaiel, rather than prolong a hateful sojourn in Abyssinia. One 

 half of the number were murdered on their way down, and the 

 places of all long remained empty. " This is most unjust both to the 

 Dankalli and the Abyssinian, for of the twenty native and Arab ser- 

 vants, independent of the two tent Lascars mentioned as having 

 accompanied the Mission, eight only were dismissed in Shoa — Sultaun, 

 Hadjji Abdullah, Allee Chous, Berberah Allee, Abbas, Mahudee, 

 Hadjji Ohmed, and an Indian boy, whose name I have forgotten. 

 These servants had been led to expect, on their arrival in Abyssinia, 

 the payment of the high wages which, in some of their cases, had 

 alone induced them to accompany the Mission through Adal. Their 

 disappointment may be conceived when they were then informed that 

 a moiety only of their wages would be paid to them in Shoa, and that 

 the remainder would run on in arrears until their return to Aden. 

 This injustice, as it was conceived to be, was resented, and the 

 discharge of these eight, in this remote country, was the con- 

 sequence. The unfortunate servants appealed to the Negoos for 

 redress, who condescended (but without avail) to intercede for their 

 return to the Mission. This affront to the royal dignity was 

 never forgotten, whilst a very injurious prejudice was raised by the 

 conduct that was pursued by our representative with reference to 

 the non-performance of the engagements entered into with these 

 men. This being followed shortly afterwards by the infliction of 

 corporeal punishment upon a soldier for a breach of martial law, 

 when no other kind of discipline was even pretended to be kept up, 

 astonished the x\byssinians not a little, and gave the finishing 

 blow to all popular respect for English civilization, or wishes for 

 any connexion whatever with our country. 



But this is not all. Of the eight discharged servants, instead 

 of the whole of these men showing any abhorrence of the country, 



