I have spoken often of Samuel, and shall again and again have to
mention his name in my narrative. He was, from the beginning, mixed
up with the affairs of the Europeans, and I believe at one time he
was rather unfriendly towards them; but since our arrival and during
our captivity, he behaved exceedingly well. He was a shrewd, cunning
man, and one of the first who perceived that Theodore was losing
ground. Outwardly he swore by his name, and kept his confidence;
but all the while he was serving us, and helping us in our
communications with the coast, the rebels, &c. In his youth his
left leg had been broken and badly set; and though Theodore liked
him, he did not give him a military command, but always employed
him in a civil capacity. He did not like to speak of the accident
that occasioned his deformity, and would, if asked, always give an
evasive answer. Pietro, the Italian, was a great gossip, and his
stories could not always be relied upon. His account of the broken
leg was that when Samuel went to Shoa, some Englishman there gave
him a kick which sent him rolling down some small ravine, and in
the fall the leg was broken. It was on account of that blow from
an Englishman, Pietro said, that Samuel hated them all so much, and
was so bitter against them at first. It may be so; but I believe
that he had not been understood.
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