If

thinks proper, may take her in again; or, if he doth
not, they may both marry where they will or can.
the husband be the offender, he is likewife liable to be
punished, as well as the woman with whom he hath of
fended; but that punishment feldom mounts higher than
a fine upon them both, which is appropriated to the
plaintive wife. Thus likewife the paramour of the adul-
trefs, if convicted, is condemned to what they style cir-
co-arbah, that is, to a fine of forty cows, horfes, and
fuits of cloaths; and, if unable to pay it, he remains a
prifoner with the husband, at his difcretion, till he doth;
or if he lets him go before, he obliges him to fwear that
he is going to fetch what will fatisfy him; upon which
the guilty perfon fends him fome wine, and a piece of
cow's flesh, and they eat and drink together; and upon
his asking pardon of the offended, he firft remits him one
part of the fine, and then another, and a third, and at
laft forgives him the whole.

In a word, marriage among them is no better than Marriages a firm bargain or contract, by which both parties engage mere barto cohabit and join their ftocks together, as long as they gains. like each other, after which they fhall be at liberty to part. So that little courtship is required before-hand, or any other ceremony, except the confent of the parents, and the interchange of a few prefents; excepting what is performed by the priest at church, or at the churchdoor.

In this part of the matrimonial celebration, the officiating prelates or priefts are very liberal of their ceremonies, prayers, incenfing, and finging 1.

We have already hinted, in part, how fober and mode- Their mean rate the Abyffinians are in their eating; and we might food. have added, that no food can be well coarfer, meaner, or more disgustful than theirs, even among the better fort. A piece of beef half boiled, or broiled, is ferved up on an apas, or cake of bread, ground and made by the women, of wheat, peafe, millet, teff, or other forts of grain, according to their circumftances: fo that this apas ferves them not only instead of a dish or plate, but likewife for a napkin or table-cloth. For whenever they have any chicken or mutton-broth, or any other fpoon-meat, the apas ferves them instead of spoons to eat it with, and of a cloth to wipe their mouths and hands. These last dishes are commonly presented in black earthen porringers, or difhes, Le Grand, Differt. iii. p. 340. I

MOD. VOL. XII.

covered

Slovenly tables.

covered with what they call efcambias, which are like caps made of fine ftraw. Thofe of the greatest quality, and even the emperor himself, have no better at their tables; and that which is oldeft is the most efteemed among them. As their meats have nothing that is inviting, fo neither have the fauces which they eat with Difafieful them; they commonly swim with butter turned into oil, Jauces. and taste and smell of fome very strong ingredients, which fo add to their difrelish, that an European, even a Spaniard or Portuguese, can hardly tell how to behave, when invited to their tables (D), and are ufually obliged to rife with an empty stomach. They have one cleanly custom at their meals, viz. to wash their hands before they fit down, because they touch every thing they eat with them The richare and those of high rank are ftill more nice in that particufed by hand. lar: they have their victuals cut into bits, and conveyed to their mouths by fome young pages k.

Their tables low and round.

Their tables are commonly round, large enough among the rich for twelve or fourteen perfons to fit about them; but fo very low, that the guests only fit upon carpets, and the meaner fort upon mats, or on the ground. They obferve the old cuftom of not drinking any thing till they have finished their meals; their common rule is, plant firft, and then water." But after the table is cleared, the cups and flaggons are brought in, and plied fo merrily about, that the quantity makes ample amends for the

k Vide Tellez, &c. ubi fupra. Jefuits Travels, lib. ii. cap. 12. & al.

(D) It is reckoned amongst them a piece of high breeding to gobble large mouthfuls, and to make as much noise as they can in chewing their meat: it being a common faying amongst them, "that none but beggarly wretches chew their meat only on one fide, and none but thieves and robbers eat without making a noife." Their greateft regale is a piece of raw beef, brought in reeking warm from the beast; if they invite company to eat with them, the whole quarter is ferved up at

once, with plenty of falt and pepper. The gall ferves inftead of oil and vinegar. Some add a kind of mustard, peculiar to them, which they call manta.

This is made of what they draw out of the paunch of the ox or cow. They stew it fome time on the fire with pepper, falt, and a fliced onion, before they bring it to ta ble (1). But this dish can only be purchafed by the rich, on account of the pepper, which is very scarce and dear in this country.

(1) See Lobo ubi fup. p. 72. Tellez, Ludolph, et al. supra, citat.

fmallness

fmallnefs of the liquor, and feldom fails of producing in- Carousing toxication. Their common liquor is made of five or fix at their parts of water to one of honey, mixed in a jar, with a feasts. handful or two of parched barley meal, which fets it a fermenting; after which they put into it fome chips of a fort of wood called fardo, which, in five or fix days, takes off the fulfome tafte of the honey, and makes the whole very palatable and wholesome. They might, indeed, make excellent wine from their grapes; but, whether through indolence or ignorance, they content themselves with the hydromel above mentioned, or with a fort of Make no beer made of barley meal, mixed with fome intoxicating wine. drugs for their common drink: though they make a kind of extempore wine for the holy communion, which is extracted from dried grapes, foaked fome days in fair water: this is done to avoid its contracting any acidity, which, according to their canons, renders it unfit for that use 1.

The furniture of their houses, even among those of higher Mean furrank, is much of a piece with that of their tables. No niture. fine paintings, tapestry, or other ornaments, are to be seen in them; and indeed their way of living is in fome meafure incompatible with any fuch finery. Even their beds Beds. are no better than couches, on which they lay their upper garment to wrap themselves in; whilft underneath they have nothing but hides. Some of their princes, and great men, have, indeed, fince the Portuguese opened a kind of import of Indian commodities, purchased Indian quilts, Indiaquilts. with filk borders, which now come to them from the ports on the Red Sea; and these they spread upon their couches, chiefly in their outward chambers, that they may be in full view of those that come to vifit them, and serve them inftead of chairs. As to the meaner fort, they mostly lie on mats on the ground, or perhaps with a hide or two under their upper day-garment, in which they wrap themfelves at night. But the oddeft furniture of their beds is their Other bedbolfter, if we may give that name to a forked piece, which cloaths. ferves not to lay their heads upon; but to fupport their necks in fuch a manner, that the leaft curl of their hair, about which they are extremely curious, may not be ruf- Nicety in fled by the pillow underneath. By which means alfo the adorning butter, which they lavishly bestow upon it, in order to give it a fhining fmoothnefs, is preferved from being licked up by whatever they lay under their heads.

I Tellez, Lobo, Ludolph, lib. i. cap. 9. feq. 19. et al. ubi fupra.

their hair.

Go bare. headed.

But out readers will perhaps lefs wonder at this piece of vanity, when they are told that the hair is the only ornament of their heads, none but the emperors being allowed to wear either cap or any other covering: which is a great inducement to them, as they have a great deal of idle time upon their hands, to bestow fome part of it in this pleafing amusement. Whilft the men take much pains in braiding it up in various forms, the women strive to have it hang loofe in the like variety of curls and ringlets, excepting the fore-top, which they are ftill more curious and nice to adorn with jewels or trinkets, accordTheir drefs ing to their rank. Upon the whole, their drefs is chiefly Suited to the accommodated to the climate, and where they are fituate climate. fo long a time under the fcorching beams of a vertical fun, that they are hardly able to bear any cloaths to touch their flesh, their chief care is to have them as light, and to hang as loofe as poffible, during that season. Hence it is, that their cloak, or piece of cloth that covers their bodies, and their breeches and women's drawers, are made fo wide and long, as to let in as much air as poffible. In the cooler seasons they bring them much closer to their bodies; and then the richer fort appear in handsome banyan vefts, open only to the waift, and clofed with fmall buttons: thefe have little collars, and very long and ftraight fleeves, gathered in at the wrift. Some authors have miftaken them for fhirts; though they have another light garment under them, next to the fkin, which is made of thin taffety, fattin, or damafk, according as the season and their circumftances will permit ".

Meanness of their houses.

As they are thus negligent and inelegant in their dress, food, and furniture of their houfes, fo are they with regard to the fymmetry and architecture of their buildings, a defect which is owing to their living in tents or camps, after the manner of their monarchs. Excepting fome few old royal palaces and churches, of which we fhall speak among their artificial rarities, neither public ftructures nor private buildings are to be feen throughout the whole empire; and thofe which they ftyle houfes, would hardly deferve the name of huts amongst us; being built of nothing but clay and laths, or fplinters, put together in the meanest and most flovenly manner; fo as to be eafily reared, and as readily abandoned, when they think proper to remove their quarters. The inferior fort who follow the royal camp, and are not able to purchase pavilions or tents, quickly build themselves fuch huts, and with al

Tellez, Ludolph, Lobo, Poncet, et al.

moft

most as little trouble, as is commonly taken up in pitching
a large tent. Thus, whatever fome authors have ro-
manced concerning their ftately edifices, their cities, and No palaces,
towns, is found by experience to be all falfe. We have cities,
taken notice of the once famed city of Axuma being re- cafiles, &c.
duced to a poor defpicable village, though it ftill retains
its ancient dignity, and title of metropolis of the whole tended ci-
empire. All the reft, if ever any of them made any fi- ties mere
gure, are now reduced to the fame difmal plight; ex- villages.
cepting, perhaps, that they contain a greater number of
fuch fcattered huts as we have defcribed, and fo ought
rather to be called large villages, than cities or towns..
And this is fo far evident, that abbot Gregory, and as
many other Abyffinians as have travelled into Europe,
could not forbear being aftonished at the largeness and
magnificence of our great cities, and looking upon them
as fo many prodigies of human industry, and much more
fo, when they found them ftand at fuch fmall distances
from each other they being unable to conceive how it
was poffible to find fufficient quantities of wood, victuals,
and other neceffaries, for the vaft numbers of people and
cattle which they contained.

them.

What other places worth naming are to be met with in the whole empire, are only thefe few: 1. Fremona, The most which owed its grandeur to the Portuguefe miffionaries, noted of whose refidence it became in the reign of the emperor Adam Segued. This prince chofe it, on account of its being at a great diftance from his court, as he was no friend to them, but, as they pretend, was more inclined to Mohammedifm than to Chriftianity. So that it is most likely to have fallen into utter decay, fince their total expulfion (E). 2. Gubay,in the kingdom of Dembea,

• See Tellez, & al. fupra citat. & feq.

(E) This place, which stands near the conflux of two streams, from whofe murmuring noise it had the name of Maegoga (for that of Fremona was given to it by the Jefuits from the famed Frumentius, or Fremonatius, the first bishop of Aczum), had been well fortified by thofe fathers against the robbers and freebooters of that territory. They had built a ftrong houfe of ftone and clay on the fecond

remarkable

Ludolph, lib. ii. cap. 11. fect. 18.

head of the abovesaid brook, to
which feveral others were add-
ed quickly after, which lay
fcattered at a distance from
each other, upon the declivity
of the hill, and each of them
had a good inclófure of stone
and clay.

The whole was, furrounded
with a flout wall of the fame
materials, flanked with feven or
eight bastions, and loftycurtains
between each of them. Within
I 3

they