fish, fowl, or mutton, on ordinary occasions. On feast days he
generally gave large dinners to his officers, and sometimes to the
whole army. At these festivals the "brindo" [Footnote: Raw beef]
would be equally enjoyed by the sovereign and by the guests. At
these public breakfasts and dinners the King usually sat on a raised
platform at the head of the table. No one has ever been known,
except perhaps Bell, to have dined out of the same basket at the
same time as Theodore; but when he desired specially to honour some
of his guests, he either sent them some food from his basket, or
had others placed on the platform near him, or, what was a still
higher honour, sent to the favoured one his own basket with the
remains of his dinner.

Unfortunately Theodore had for several years before his death greatly
taken to drink. Up to three or four o'clock he was generally sober
and attended to the business of the day; but after his siesta he
was invariably more or less intoxicated. In his dress he was generally
very simple, wearing only the ordinary shama, [Footnote: A white
cotton cloth, with a red border, woven in the country.] native-made
trousers, and a European white shirt; no shoes, no covering to the
head. His rather long hair--for an Abyssinian--was divided in three
large plaits, and allowed to fall on his neck in three plaited
tails. Of late he had greatly neglected his hair; for months it had
not been plaited; and to show the grief he felt on account of the
"badness" of his people, he would not allow it to be besmeared with
the heavy coating of butter in which Abyssinians delight. On one
occasion he apologized to us for the simplicity of his dress. He
told us that, during the few years of peace that followed the
conquest of the country, he used often to appear in public as a
king should do; but since he had been by the bad disposition of his