Among the Bechuanas, when a chief dies, his burial takes place in his cattle-yard, and all the cattle are driven for an hour over the grave, so that it may be entirely obliterated.[29] In all the Backwain’s pretended dreams and visions of their God, he has always a crooked leg like the Egyptian.[30] Musical and dancing festivities form a great part of the people’s time. With some of the tribes, instrumental music has been carried to a high point of culture. Bruce gives an account of a concert, the music of which he heard at the distance of a mile or more, on a still night in October. He says: “It was the most enchanting strain I ever listened to.” It is not my purpose to attempt a detailed account of the ceremonies of the various tribes that inhabit the continent of Africa; indeed, such a thing would be impossible, even if I were inclined to do so. FOOTNOTES: [28] Prof. Blyden, in “Methodist Quarterly Review,” June, 1871. [29] Dr. Livingstone. [30] Thau. CHAPTER VII. THE ABYSSINIANS. According to Bruce, who travelled extensively in Africa, the Abyssinians have among them a tradition, handed down from time immemorial, that Cush was their father. Theodore, late king of Abyssinia, maintained that he descended in a direct line from Moses. As this monarch has given wider fame to his country than any of his predecessors, it will not be amiss to give a short sketch of him and his government. Theodore was born at Quarel, on the borders of the western Amhara, and was educated in a convent in which he was placed by his mother, his father being dead. He early delighted in military training, and while yet a boy, became proficient as a swordsman and horseman. Like Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, and many other great warriors, Theodore became uneasy under the restraint of the school-room, and escaped from the convent to his uncle, Dejatch Comfu, a noted rebel, from whom he imbibed a taste for warlike pursuits, and eventually became ruler of a large portion of Abyssinia. Naturally ambitious and politic, he succeeded in enlarging his authority steadily at the expense of the other “Ras,” or chiefs, of Abyssinia. His power especially increased when, in 1853, he defeated his father-in-law, Ras Ali, and took him prisoner. At length in 1855, he felt himself strong enough to formally claim the throne of all Abyssinia, and he was crowned as such by the Abuna Salama, the head of the Abyssinian church.