lity whose
rulers for centuries had been but ordinary men, holding office at the
will of the people for a few brief years.

As I witnessed it, I could not but speculate upon the moral effect upon
his troops of a sovereign's presence in the midst of battle. All else
being equal in war between the troops of a republic and an empire,
could not this exhilarated mental state, amounting almost to hysteria
on the part of the imperial troops, weigh heavily against the soldiers
of a president? I wonder.

But if the emperor chanced to be absent? What then? Again I wonder.

On the eleventh day we reached our destination--a walled frontier city
of about twenty thousand. We passed some lakes, and crossed some old
canals before entering the gates. Within, beside the frame buildings,
were many built of ancient brick and well-cut stone. These, I was
told, were of material taken from the ruins of the ancient city which,
once, had stood upon the site of the present town.

The name of the town, translated from the Abyssinian, is New Gondar.
It stands, I am convinced, upon the ruins of ancient Berlin, the one
time capital of the old German empire, but except for the old building
material used in the new town there is no sign of the former city.

The day after we arrived, the town was gaily decorated with flags,
streamers, gorgeous rugs, and banners, for the rumor had proved
true--the emperor was coming.

Colonel Belik had accorded me the greatest liberty, permitting me to go
where I pleased, after my few duties had been performed. As a result
of his kindness, I spent much time wandering about New Gondar, talking
with the inhabitants, and exploring the city of black men.

As I had been given a semi-military uniform which bore insignia
indicating that I was an officer's body servant, even the blacks
treated me with a species of respect, though I could see by their
manner that I was really as the dirt beneath their feet. They answered
my questions civilly enough, but they would not enter into conversation
with me. It was from other slaves that I learned the gossip of the
city.

Troops were pouring in from the west and south, and pouring out toward
the east. I asked an old slave who was sweeping the dirt into little
piles in the gutters of the street where the soldiers were going. He
looked at me in surprise.

"Why, to fight the yellow men, of course," he said. "They have crossed
the border, and are marching toward New G