To Menilek he gave
great encouragement, offered him the friendship of England, and
even went so far as assuring him that he would be acknowledged by
our Government as king, should we be indebted to him for our
deliverance; he requested him to encamp at Selassie, fire his
two guns against the gate, and should the garrison not give in, to
encamp between Arogie and the Bechelo, and keep Theodore from
reaching the Amba until the arrival of our troops.
We had been greatly disappointed by Wakshum Gobaze: for six
weeks he was always coming, but never came. Next we had Mastiate
as our great excitement: she, we thought, would strive to gain
possession of her amba; but she also never made her appearance; and
now for nearly a month we were in daily expectation of the arrival
of Menilek. We had already given him up when, to our great surprise,
on the morning of the 30th of November, we perceived a large camp
pitched on the northern slope of Tanta; and on the top of a small
eminence commanding the plateau, and opposite to Magdala, stood the
red, white, and black tents of the King of Shoa, the ambitious young
prince who styled himself already "King of kings." Our astonishment
was complete when, towards noon, we heard the report of a steady
musketry-fire mingled with the occasional discharge of small cannon.
We at once gave credit to Menilek for greater pluck than we ever
believed him capable of; expecting that under cover of his fire the
elite of his troops would assault the place; and aware of the little
resistance he would meet with, we already rejoiced at the prospect
of liberty, or at least of an advantageous change of masters.
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