THE CAPTIVES IN ABYSSINIA.

Southland Times, Issue 863, 11 December 1867, Page 2

THE CAPTIVES IN ABYSSINIA.

The following letters from one of the captives in Abysßinia, whos9 liberation, the Grovernment of England is ,about"to undertake, will be read with interest : — , Magdala, May 1, 1867. My deab Charlotte. — AnotKer month has passed since I last wrote to you, a month like all the rest in this miserable prison life, full of anxious care and wearisome inactivity. Sometimes I squat down and try to beguile the tedious hours by writing sketches of sermons, and when my thoughts become confused I divert my mind— and a sad diversion it is — by diffusing on closely- written pages the varied incidents of our painful cap-

tivity. I would occrsionally furnish you with my pen's melancholy effusions were it not imprudent to keep anything of so compromising a character around me. It ia astonishing to think that in the wilds of Africa the greatest caution' should be requisite in the expression of one's ideas. The very notion of such a thing makes one smile, and yet it is no less strange than true that, a . single sentence, and that, too, couched in a foreign language, may, by the evil disposed, be perverted into the most wilful, selfish, and mischievous purposes. I once thought that human nature, notwithstanding its fall, still retained something of its original noble stamp; but bitter experience has dispelled the pleasing illusion, and convinced me that the heart of man is the most deceptive, mobile, and dangerous thing in creation. In our immediate neighborhood matters have not much mended since my last. The King is still pursuing his work of devastation in the provinces that are subject to his doubtful sway. The rebels, too, with the disaffected peasantry for their allies, are doing their utmost to resent the cruelties of their lately owned ruler and acknowledged chief. It is, however, evident that affairs must come to a crisis and an early solution. The ruthless ferocity of the King has exhausted the patience of the most timid and servile, and all appear now to be animated by one deep and ardent passion — viz., the overthrow of the tyrant. The army he once had at his behest is scattered in bands of rebels all over the country; and as he can never recruit again his incredibly diminished hordes, he will either be forced to make this Amba his last asylum and tomb, or, followed by a few faithful adherents, and the most valuable captives, seek a home in the marshy jungles and entangled feverish villages of the lowlands. Whatever the issue of the contest may be, our prospects, humanly speaking, are anything butbright. . God, "certainly, can deliver us, and if we continue to trust in him everything may be over-ruled in mercy and compassionate wisdom for our good. We have friends near and around us, but in this land cupidity and avarice dissolve every bond, even the most tender and sacred ; and, after and that has transpired, the pettiest and most contemptible chieftain, if he gets us into his power, may think that by retaining in his clutches a few defenceless Europeans he will make his fortune. Should the Metropolitan survive the overgrowing i confusion, we shall haye * an honest and disinterested friend ; but this, like everything else, is still problematical. About a fortnight ago all the European employes, with the exception of two old men, were, together with their wives and children and their property, with Mrs Rosenthal and Mrs Flad, seized. The motives which prompted his Majesty to " adopt such measures of severity towards individuals who have always been sub-, servient and obsequious to his whims, is still a mystery. The King brought various trumpery charges against them, which they repelled with energy. Their property has been partially restored to them, but they are confined in Debra Tabor where they are guarded, but not chained. It is said that' the report ot Mr fflad's returning without the artizans, &c, furnished the ostensible cause for their imprisonment. This outburst of unprovoked resentment augurs nothing auspicious for us, and probably our position, ias the majority of us expected, will not be enhanced by Mr Plad's return. Negotiations and delays might have averted the storm, but now, as it seems looming nearer and nearer, we will say, " Thy will be done." You, and all interested in our liberation, notwithstanding all that has been written, from hence, | must have been greviously deceived about the character of the King. Presents with another man might have effected our deliverance, but King Theodorus, though not loth to accept the one, wants the hostages as well — a security, as he imagines, for ever increasing concessions. I am quite prepared for every emergency, and, therefore, do not trouble myself about the future. We have a God who is not confined to space or locality, and if we faithfully confide in Him, He may, in the hour of the greatest extremity, discomfit the wicked and preserve His own. May 2. I just add a line to my letter of yesterday, as it is doubtful whether the opportunity for writing will not before many days have elapsed become exceedingly difficult, if not utterly impossible. The return of Mr Plad, the disappointment of the King in not obtaining the requested accession to his white victims, and the consciousness that neither intrigue nor cunning will avail him to extort fresh concessions from the British Government, or the generosity of British Christians, all, I believe, combine to bring before long our melancholy history to a crisis. Everyday, nay every hour, we expect to be transferred to the common prison, and to get hand chains again. Only a week ago upwards of 200 prisoners, among whom are many persons of high rank, were ordered to be executed. -This indiscriminate massacre, which had probably been prompted by the want of guards to protect them, indicates no improvement in the tyrant's temper. We fear that wilful wicked misrepresentations, and cruel, unpardonable selfishness, united in concealing the true state of our position and the well known desiga of the King. God, in his infinite mercy, may interpose and deliver us ; and if not, our separation will only be for a short period, and our re-union in glory for ever and ever. God bless you and the darling children, and that we may both receive strength to our need, is the fervent prayer of your ever affectionate husband, Henbt A. Stebn. A recent issue of the Times saya : — j It ia certainly a strange thing to be recorded that the envoy, the consul, and several of the subjects of this great Country, .which counts its soldiers here and in India by hundreds of'

thousands, and whose navy wandera over the world, should he kept year after year in durance by a more than semi-barbaroufl African prince, one whose authority, moreover, appears to De defied even in his own country, and whose sway is said to be reduced to its narrowest limits. We do not wonder that people both at borne and in the East should be calling out for an expedition to Abyssinia, on the ground that not only is it base and cruel to leave our unfortunate countrymen in the hands of tbe so-called Emperor or King Theodorus, but that our national reputation suffers by thus seeming to shrink from a contest. Though we trust we have a due sence of what befits the dignity of England, we cannot help indulging in this matter on utilitarian principles. ¥c look upon King Theodoras as a sort of brigand with whom it will be fair to deal smoothly — at any rate, as long as he holds his prisoners. We should be surprised if it were found impossible to release these people at very much less than the cost of an expedition ; and when one considers, moreover, how many lives will be certainly sacrificed in such an enterprise, and how very doubtful is its success in the present case, it is reasonable to recomend caution to the Government, Mr Charles Beke, in a letter to the Times, says : — The opinion has been expressed that in the war with the Emperor Theodorus,now imminent, a large army would be necessary, Ten thousand soldiers of all arms are commonly spoken of, and even as many as 15,000 men have been suggested. These, with the concomitants, would amount to a very considerable force, and would cost the nation an enormous sum of money. The idea of the necessity for such a large force can only arise from an insufficient acquaintance with the power and resources of the rulers of Abyssinia. Whatever these may have been in past ages, they have become so weakened and exhausted by internecine war that the present Emperor and the entire country under his nominal sway (even were it united and in subjection, instead of being split up into parties all in open rebellion) could not offer any serious resistance to a well-armed and disciplined European force quite insignificant in numbers according to our European notions. . As a proof of this he give 3 particulars of a successful expedition made by the Portuguese, who, in July, 1841, under Don Christopher da Grama, youngest brother of the celebrated Vasco da Grama entered Abyssinia with 450 musketeers and six small pieces of artillery, and though they met with one reverse, in a second battle they defeated the Abyssinians, and left their King dead on the field. Mr Beke says : — Left to his own native resources, the Emperor Theodore would be less able to . cope with an European force than was Ahmed the Left-Handed himself. Captain Cameron, writing from Magdala as lately as the 17th of last April states that the Emperor had then but 5,000 followers, and that in his opinion 2,000 filibusters could conquer the country, and 3,000 regular troops hold and settle it. Eor my own part, were the invading European force not much larger than that of Don Christopher da Grama, I should not despair of their penetrating to Magdala and taking it single-handed. With the aid of Waaggshum Gobayze, the actual ruler of Tigre and Lasta through which prcnnces they would have. to march on that fortress, their task would become quite an easy one.