1843.] and the Abyssinian Church. 725 



bethought himself of restoring the church to its original footing ; but 

 the rebellion must in the first instance be quelled, and having with 

 this view concluded an alliance with the Galla, he marched towards 

 Lasta. 



Twenty thousand peasants, confident of victory, descending from their 

 mountains, rushed upon the plain to meet the royal force. The two 

 armies for a time remained in sight in that still calmness which 

 precedes an earthquake. At length the Galla cavalry dashing at full 

 speed on the crowded masses of the enemy, threw them into complete 

 confusion, a fierce combat lasted until the going down of the sun, and 

 the field of battle was left covered with eight thousand bodies of the 

 insurgents. 



Throwing themselves prostrate before the triumphant monarch on this 

 scene of carnage, the vanquished peasants expressed their grief in the 

 following lively terms : " Who are these men," they asked with groans, 

 " whom you now behold bathed in blood. Are they Moslem, or Pagan, 

 or even the enemies of the kingdom? No, they are Christians — they 

 are all thy subjects, knit together by the most tender bands of blood, 

 friendship and affection. Those warriors who now lie lifeless at thy feet, 

 would under a better government have proved the bulwarks of the throne, 

 and the terror of those very men by whose hands they have fallen. The 

 Pagans even blush at thy cruelty, and call thee renegade for having 

 abandoned the religion of thy fathers. Cease, O emperor, in mercy 

 cease, to prolong a struggle, which must end in the downfall of the throne, 

 and the ruin of all religion in the land." The empress also mingled her 

 tears with the groans of the wounded petitioners, and adjured the king 

 for the love of God, and in the name of future generations, to take pity 

 upon his subjects, and desist from performing a sepulchre for himself 

 and for his family. " What have you gained by this battle ?" she exclaim- 

 ed, " you have introduced into the kingdom hordes of Pagan Gallas, who 

 detest yourself equally as your religion ; but futile will be your attempt 

 to establish in Ethiopia a form of worship which is unknown to the 

 greater part of your people, and to the remainder is known only to be 

 resisted to the last drop of their blood." 



These representations sunk deep into the heart of the emperor, and 

 instead of proceeding in triumph to the capital, he retired to a secluded 

 spot to give vent to his feelings, and bewail the loss he had created. 



