Arrived at the King’s tent, which is of considerable size, Sir Robert Napier entered with the King, princes, and as many of his staff as the tent would accommodate, and took seats upon the carpeted ground. Here refreshments, small flat bread, and native liquors of fermented honey and herbs, and native spirits, were served round. Sir Robert Napier was declared by the King to be a good warrior, and the King presented him with his own lion-mane tippet, his own sword, shield, and spear, the mule he had himself ridden at the interview, with its saddle and trappings, and a silver gauntlet. After about half an hour the Commander-in-chief took his leave. As I rode up towards the tent I was smoking a cigar, and this attracted the greatest attention and astonishment from the natives who were crowding round. It was evident they had never seen a cigar before. I gave away several to the chiefs, who, however, were quite in the dark as to what to do with them when they had got them. I offered them my cigar to light those I had given them from; but they had no idea what to do with it, and were on the point of putting it into one of their mouths, when I rescued it, and struck a light with a vesuvian. This astonished them even more than the cigar. However, they lit their cigars, and smoked them with manifest content, occasionally lending them to their friends for a whiff. Numbers of applications then poured in upon me, which, however, I was obliged to refuse, for cigars are very precious articles here. I left when Sir Robert Napier did, as it was nearly six o’clock, and I wished to get back to Ad Abaga, where I had left my tent and baggage, before it became too dark to follow the track. The opinion of the King and his principal warriors respecting our troops is similar to that expressed by the natives at the review at Attegrat, namely, that our troops would be invincible upon a plain, but that they would have no fear of us upon a mountain side. Our cannon are not so large as they had expected to see; but they said that they had heard great things of our rockets, which rush through the air with a tremendous noise, and destroy those who are not killed by their explosion by a noxious vapour which is fatal to man and beast. They are thoroughly convinced that we have great power of enchantment; and this will probably do more to retain their neutrality than any fear of our arms would do. They say that by enchantment we have tamed the elephants; by enchantment we have kept the rain from falling near the sea-coast, and interrupting our work in the pass; by enchantment we have made the locusts disappear the moment we came up on to the high country; and therefore that were we offended, we should by enchantment also prevent rain from falling over the whole country, and thus create a dreadful famine in the land.