reign hoped to entrap him by
guile, and offered him her granddaughter in marriage, having instructed
the young lady how to betray him. The princess, however, admiring his
character, became a most faithful wife, warning him of all the plots
contrived for his destruction. At length the treacherous queen and her
son, Kasa's father-in-law, were defeated in a pitched battle, and fled
from the country. Kasa had still several chiefs and provinces to
conquer. The most important province was that of Tigre, governed by a
warrior, Dejatch Oulie, whose army awaited him drawn up on the heights
of Gemien. On the 3rd of February 1856 was fought one of the most
desperate battles in the annals of Abyssinian warfare. It resulted in
favour of Kasa, who was crowned under the name of King Theodorus. Many
a battle had still to be fought; and King Theodore, as we will call him,
lost not a moment in endeavouring to quell rebellion. He now became
sovereign of Tigre and Amhara, the principal provinces of Abyssinia.
Not content, however, with the power he had gained, his great ambition
was to conquer the Galla tribes, whom he treated with the greatest
cruelty. Having reduced many of them to a temporary submission, he
marched towards Tigre, where a rebellion had broken out. Here also he
was victorious, but he treated those he had conquered in so barbarous a
way, that he made enemies of the chiefs in all directions. It was about
this time that a number of missionaries were sent into the country, for
the purpose of preaching the gospel to the Jewish Falashas, at the
instigation of Bishop Gobat, of Jerusalem. The principal one was the
Reverend Mr Stern, an English clergyman, who was accompanied by several
German missionaries and their wives. In the camp of the king there were
also a number of artisans of various nations, some of whom were engaged
by the king to manufacture cannon and muskets. Mr Stern, on returning
to England, wrote an interesting volume, in which he made some
disparaging remarks on King Theodore. The book unfortunately found its
way into the country, and these remarks were translated to the king. He
had previously written a letter to the Queen of England, which for a
long time remained unanswered. This and other circumstances greatly
excited his anger; at the same time, he suspected that the English were
disposed to assist the Egyptians, who he thought purposed invading his
country. The English Government, desirous o