He had already burnt,
plundered, and slaughtered to his heart's content; it is therefore
not astonishing that from Agau to his camp we saw, apart from our
escort and bearers, not a human being: no sleek cattle, no smiling
hamlet--a dire, contrast to the happy Agau that "St. Michael
protects."
The 25th of January was our last stage. We had halted the night
before at a short distance from the Imperial camp. The black and
white tents of Theodore, pitched on a high conical hill, stood out
in bold relief as the setting sun made the dark background darker
still. A faint, distant hum, such as one hears on approaching a
large city, came now and then to us, carried by the soft evening
breeze, and the smoke that arose for miles around the dark hill
crowned by its silent tents, left us no, doubt that we should before
long find ourselves face to face with the African despot, and that
we were even then almost in the midst of his countless host. As we
approached, messenger after messenger came to meet us; we had to
halt several times, march on again for a while, and then halt anew;
at last the chief of the escort told us that it was time to dress.
A small rowtie was accordingly pitched; we put on our uniforms,
and, mounting again, we had hardly proceeded a hundred yards, when,
coming to a sudden turn in the road, we saw displayed before us one
of those Eastern scenes which brought back to our memory the days
of Lobo and of Bruce.
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