XI 
WITH BRITISH MISSION TO KING MENELIK 277 
the pleasure of dining as his guests. A well-appointed table was 
laid for us eight Europeans, the Swiss councillor, M. Ilg, making 
one of our party ; and the dinner was excellent, and did credit 
to the thoughtful kindness and resources of our host. Little 
had we looked to sit at a spotless cloth, set with china bearing 
the Lion of Judah crest engraved upon it. But a wonderful 
sight was in store for us. It seems that every Thursday Menelik 
invites his high officers and officials to the mid-day meal at the 
audience -hall. And here I may say that the scenes were so 
varied, and so quickly shifted, that I do not attempt to be accu- 
rate in detail or sequence of events. When we had finished, the 
curtain which screened our part of the hall was drawn aside, and 
stewards entered with large round baskets of piled “breads,” 
to lay them on the ground in rows a few feet apart. The doors 
were then thrown open, and the trumpeters standing with their 
backs to the gray wall raised their long gilt trumpets and blew 
a blast, strongly reminding one of old Bible pictures. Then 
fifty senior officials came into the hall, and in an orderly way 
seated themselves in groups of ten round the baskets, the piled 
breads, cooked meats, and red-pepper sauce which seemed to be 
the foundation of the meal. Horn tumblers of tej were filled 
from large horn flagons by the troops of youthful cup-bearers. 
After a quarter of an hour a change became noticeable : the 
serving youths carried out the empty horn cups telescoped into 
each other in columns reaching high above the head, to be refilled 
from the great tej horns. As each group of officers finished 
and had leisure to talk, they turned towards the European table 
and took a look at us, discussing, but not rudely, our appear- 
ance. Indeed their curiosity did not give anything like the 
impression of bad manners that would be noticeable in a fashion- 
able European crowd at a society function. There was a trumpet 
blast, and the officers rose and filed out, each one on leaving, 
just as he had done on entering, looking to the right as he 
passed the King, and throwing the corner of his tobe from his 
right shoulder in salute. Many officers had wound brilliant- 
coloured silk handkerchiefs tightly round their heads ; and the 
dress struck me as aristocratic and as civilised, if we omit the 
diamonds, as the native dress of an Indian prince. At frequent 
intervals, confidential stewards would draw near and whisper to 
the King, covering their mouths with the corner of the shamma 
and bowing nearly to the ground. When the King sneezed, 
or blew his nose, his attendants, standing round, hurriedly 
