TRAVELS IN ABYSSINIA. 
9? 
invited by the chief to a splendid entertainment. 
Here, for the first time, he saw the brinde feast in 
all its glory. The hall contained ninety-five per- 
sons, who, with their long knives, contending for 
pieces of raw flesh, from which the blood was drip- 
ping, presented a truly savage spectacle. The la- 
dies sat behind a half-drawn curtain, and seeing 
probably that their visitor did not much relish his 
actual situation, invited him to seat himself along 
with them. Mr Salt found this change very agree- 
able, as the lady of the house was young, pretty, 
and even gentle in her manners. 
Leaving Genater, our traveller came to Abuha- 
subba, a large church entirely cut out of the solid 
rock : One of the rooms was fifty feet by thirty ; 
another had a dome forty feet high. The walls 
were carved, adorned with crosses, Ethiopic inscrip- 
tions, and paintings which represented Christ, the 
Apostles, and St George. They then arrived at 
Antalo, which is now the residence of Ras Welleta 
Selasse, the viceroy of Tigre. Antalo is a town of 
about a thousand houses, all, except the king's resi- 
dence, mere hovels of mud and straw. Its situa- 
tion is not agreeable \ but its vicinity to the fron- 
tier, in the present disturbed state of the kingdom, 
has made it be chosen as the most convenient seat 
of government. Mr Salt was soon introduced to 
the Ras, whom he found a fine old man, with an 
vol. it. o 
