Scarcely more than a bare outline of Abyssinian history has been preserved; yet we find that, since the days of the Queen of Sheba, women have more than once taken an active part in the politics of this kingdom. Bruce has given us the story of a beautiful Jewish women named Judith, who, with the aid of her co-religionists, usurped the throne in the 10th or 11th century. She was the wife of Gideon, the governor, or, as he might be called, the feudal sovereign, of a small district called Bugna. He was also a Jew, as were all his subjects. Judith at last grew so powerful that she resolved to overthrow the Christians. She accordingly surprised the almost impregnable rock Damo, where the royal princes were kept for safety, and slew them to the number of four hundred. Del Naad, the King, at this time a mere child, was saved by some of the nobles, who carried him into the loyal province of Shoa. Judith then mounted the throne, and not only reigned over Abyssinia for upwards of forty years, but transmitted the throne to five successive descendants. After that, the line of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, as represented by the descendants of Del Naad, was restored. Even in these degenerate days, women sometimes come forward as leaders in Abyssinia. After the fall of Magdala, Lord Napier was visited by the two Gallas queens, Workite (gold), and Mastrat (looking-glass), who had a race as to which should first congratulate the British general on his victory. These rival queens, who have been fighting one another for years past, professed great delight at the reception which they met with, and both gave and received presents in token of friendship. The _Times_ Correspondent in Abyssinia gave a lively and amusing description of them:-- "I am told on good authority," he wrote, "that they go into battle, and handle spear, sword, and gun right manfully; there is even a story, probably mythical, that Mastrat with her own hand wounded the mighty Theodore. But usually they go about so muffled up, and looking so like a bundle of shawls moved by mechanism, that, except in their method of riding, their appearance is anything but amazonic. Workite kept herself closely wrapped up, and hidden during her stay in camp, but Mastrat boldly threw aside her rich royal robe of crimson, speckled with gold, and came out of her tent, and before the soldiers--if her majesty will pardon the expression--like a man, to have her photograph taken. Her complexion was a very pale olive--fairer than that of many Europeans--and her expression, though the features were large, and scarcely, like those of Theodore's widow-in-chief, of the thoroughbred type, were essentially queen-like and commanding. She looked quite capable of leading an army anywhere."