Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and People — John Shaqi
Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and PeopleBlanc, Henry
History
Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and People
Blanc, Henry
Abyssinian Expedition (1867-1868); Ethiopia -- History -- 1490-1889; Theodore II, Negus of Ethiopia, -1868
"His children," as Theodore called them, so far had nothing to
complain of; but the Emperor soon got tired of carriages, pickaxes,
doors, and such like; he was bent on having cannons and mortars
cast in his country. He gently insinuated his desire; but they
firmly refused, on the ground that they had no knowledge of such
work. Theodore knew how to make them consent; he had only to appear
displeased, to frown a little, and they awaited in trembling to
have his good pleasure made known to them. Theodore asked for
cannons; they would try. His Majesty smiled; he knew the men he had
to deal with. After the guns, they made mortars; then gunpowder;
then brandy; again more cannons, shells, shots, &c. Some were sent
to make roads, others erected foundries; a large number of intelligent
natives were apprenticed to them, and with their assistance executed
some really remarkable works. I, who happened to witness one day
the harsh, imperative tone he took with them because he felt annoyed
at a mere trifle, can well understand their complete submission to
his iron will, and cannot blame them. They had given in at first,
and accepted his bounty; they had wives and children, and desired
to be left in quiet possession of their homes, and were only anxious
to please their hard taskmaster.
Another missionary station had been established at Djenda. These
gentlemen, most of them scripture-readers, not conversant with any
trade, and striving but for one object,--the conversion of the
Falashas, or native Jews,--declined to work for Theodore. The
Emperor could not understand their refusal. According to his notions
every European could work in some way or the other. He attributed
their refusal to ill-will towards him, and only awaited a suitable
opportunity to visit them with his displeasure. They and the Gaffat
people were not in accord; though, for appearance' sake, a kind of
brotherhood was kept up between the rival stations.
The Djenda Mission consisted of two missionaries, of the Scottish
Society: a man named Cornelius, [Footnote: He died at Gaffat in the
beginning of 1865.] brought to Abyssinia by Mr. Stern, on his first
trip; of Mr. and Mrs. Flad, and of Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, who had
accompanied Mr. Stern on his second journey to Abyssinia. The Rev.
Henry Stern is really a martyr to his faith. A fine type of the
brave self-denying missionary, he had already exposed his life in
Arabia, where he had, with the recklessness of conviction, undertaken
a dangerous, almost impossible, journey, in order to bring the "good
tidings" to his oppressed brethren the Jews of Yemen and Sanaa. He
had just escaped almost by a miracle from the hands of the bigoted
Arabs, when he undertook a first voyage to Abyssinia, in order to
establish a mission in that country, where thousands of Jews were
living.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account