In the year 1818 was born in Kaura, a child to whom the name Lij Kassi was given--a lad whose uncle was then governor of that part of Abyssinia. The boy grew to be wilful, self-reliant, and very ambitious; it is even said that he set himself out to be the elect of God, who should raise his country to a glory equal to that of Ethiopia of old. There was a prophecy indeed, "And it shall come to pass that a king shall arise in Ethiopia, of Solomon's lineage, who shall be the greatest on earth, and his powers shall extend over all Ethiopia and Egypt. He shall scourge the infidels out of Palestine, and shall purge Jerusalem clean from the dealers. He shall destroy all the inhabitants thereof, and his name shall be Theodoras." Whether Lij Kassi really pretended to be the elect of Heaven, the Messiah, or not, certain it is that when he had fought very bravely to found a state of his own, and had defeated the prince of Tigre in pitched battle, he gave himself out to his followers and to all Abyssinia as Theodore, king of Ethiopia, and was crowned under that name in his thirty-eighth year. The ambition of Theodore was still boundless. He gathered an increased following, conquered tribe after tribe in Abyssinia proper, and prosecuted a most successful crusade in the country of the Gallas, subduing descendants of those who had wrought havoc in his native land from time to time, and established himself at a place nearly a mile square, and 9000 feet above the level of the sea. The town is known to us as Magdala. Gondar was still the capital of Abyssinia, and to it and the country generally Theodore invited Europeans. Ambitious as he was, and warlike, the king--for Theodore had become the acknowledged ruler of the nation-- was anxious to develop the resources of his kingdom, and that his people should be taught trades and industries. He was intelligent enough to see that Abyssinia could not be a great country if its natives were not imbued with ideas of civilisation, and if its products were not purchased by foreigners and their wares imported to the interior. Many merchants and artisans in search of employment under another flag went out to Abyssinia, therefore, and found employment; while consuls, or representatives, of European powers were appointed, and welcomed by Theodore to his court.