He lost by it, not
only that prosperous kingdom, but a large portion of his army; the
Gallas seizing the occasion to annoy him greatly on his return. He
foresaw his fall, and it probably struck him that the friendship
of England might be useful to him; or should he doubt its possibility,
he might seize us as hostages, in order to make capital out of us;
therefore, but with apparent reluctance, he granted us the long-expected
permission to enter his country.
We have now the solution of a part of this difficult problem; we
can understand, to a certain degree, the strange character of this
man so remarkable in many ways. Imbued with a few European notions,
he longed to obtain some of the advantages he had heard of: but
how? England and France would only return his friendship by words - he
wanted deeds; sweet phrases he would not listen to. He soon became
convinced that he might with impunity insult foreigners or envoys
from friendly states; and at last it struck him that, while he
insulted and ill used Europeans, he might as well keep in his hands
an important man like a consul, as a hostage.
CHAPTER IV.
News of Cameron's Imprisonment reaches Home - Mr. Rassam is
selected to proceed to the Court of Gondar, and is accompanied
by Dr. Blanc - Delays and Difficulties in Communicating with
Theodore - Description of Massowah and its Inhabitants - Arrival
of a Letter from the Emperor.
In the spring of 1864 it was vaguely rumoured that an African
potentate had imprisoned a British consul; the fact appeared so
strange, that few credited the assertion. It was soon ascertained,
however, that a certain Emperor of Abyssinia, calling himself
Theodore, had cast into prison and loaded with chains, Captain
Cameron, the consul accredited to his court, and several missionaries
stationed in his dominions. A small pencil note from Captain Cameron
at last reached Mr. Speedy, the acting vice-consul at Massowah,
giving the number and names of the captives, and suggesting that
their release depended entirely on the receipt of a civil letter
in answer to the one the King had forwarded some months before.
There is no doubt that much difficulty presented itself in order
to meet the request expressed by Consul Cameron. Little was known
about Abyssinia, and the conduct of its ruler was so strange, so
contrary to all precedents, that it became a matter of grave
consideration how to communicate with the Abyssinian Emperor without
endangering the liberty of others.
In the official correspondence on Abyssinian affairs there is a
letter from Mr. Colquhoun, her Majesty's Agent and Consul-General
in Egypt, dated Cairo, 10th May, 1864, in which that gentleman
informs Earl Russell "that it is difficult to get at Theodore." He
was expecting to learn what means the Bombay Government could place
at his disposal, as from Egypt none were available; he adds, "except
from Aden I really can see no measures feasible, and such could
only be of a mild nature, for from the character we have had of
late of the King, he would appear to become subject to fits of rage
which almost deprive him of reason, and would render all approach
dangerous."
On June 16th the Foreign Office selected for the difficult and
dangerous task of Envoy to Theodore, Mr. Hormuzd Bassam, Assistant
Political Resident at Aden; instructions were at the same time
forwarded to that gentleman to the effect that he should hold himself
in readiness to proceed to Massowah, and, if needful, to Abyssinia,
with a view of obtaining the release of Captain Cameron and other
Europeans detained in captivity by King Theodore.
