A Narrative Of Captivity In Abyssinia With Some Account Of The Late Emperor Theodore, His Country And People By Henry Blanc
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He, However, Left To Theodore The
Option Of Sending The Prisoners Down With A Trustworthy Person To
Whom He Could Deliver The Letter From The Queen Of England.
He
concluded by advising his Majesty that his embassy to the Queen had
been accepted, and should it reach the coast before his (Mr. Rassam's)
departure for Aden, he would take the necessary steps to see that
it reached England in safety.
A month - six weeks - two months, passed in hourly expectation of the
return of the messengers. All suppositions were exhausted: perhaps
the messengers had not reached; possibly the King had detained them;
or they might have lost the packet whilst crossing some river, etc.;
but as no reliable information could moreover be obtained, as to
the exact condition of the captives, it was impossible to remain
any longer in such a state of uncertainty. Mr. Rassam, therefore,
despatched with considerable difficulty two more messengers, with
a copy of his letter of July 24, accompanied by an explanatory note.
Private messengers were, at the same time, sent to the Emperor's
camp to report on his treatment of the captives, and to different
parts of the country, from whence we supposed information might
possibly be obtained. A short time afterwards, having succeeded in
securing the names of some of the Gaffat people who had formerly
been in communication with Consul Cameron, we wrote to them in
English, French, and German, not knowing what language they understood,
earnestly requesting that they would inform us as to what steps
they considered most advisable in order to obtain the release of
the captives.
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