plains, and under the guidance of some of the remaining hereditary
chiefs, retired to high plateaus, or concealed themselves in secluded
valleys. In Godjam, Walkait, Shoa, and Tigre, the rebellion broke
out almost simultaneously. Theodore had for a while to abandon his
ideas of foreign conquest, and did his utmost to crush the mutinous
spirit of his people. Whole rebel districts were laid waste; but
the peasants, protected by their strongholds, could not be reached:
they quietly awaited the departure of the invader and then returned
to their desolated homes, cultivating just enough for their
maintenance; thus, with only a few exceptions, the peasants evaded
the terrible vengeance of the now infuriate Emperor. His immense
army soon suffered severely from this mode of warfare. Each year
the provinces which the soldiers could plunder became fewer; severe
famines broke out; large districts such as Dembea, the granary of
Gondar and of central Abyssinia, lay waste and uncultivated. The
soldiers, formerly pampered, now in their turn half starved and
badly clad, lost confidence in their leader; desertions were numerous;
and many returned to their native provinces, and joined the ranks
of the discontented.

The fall of Theodore was even more rapid than his rise. He was still
unconquered in the battlefield, as, after the example of Negoussi's
fate, none dared to oppose him; but against the passive warfare of
the peasantry and the Fabian-like policy of their chiefs he could
do nothing. Never resting, almost always on the march, his army day
by day becoming reduced in strength, he went from province to
province; but in vain: all disappeared at his approach. There was
no enemy; but there was no food! At last, reduced by necessity, in
order to keep around him some remnants of his former immense army,
he had no alternative left but to plunder the few provinces still