in the knavery and villany of the native
authorities; until they reached the borders of Abyssinia. We had by no
means been aware that volcanoes had made so large a share of this portion
of Africa. The whole border seems to be volcanic, and to retain in its
blasted and broken surface, evidence of its having been, in remote ages,
perhaps in the earliest, the scene of most intense and general volcanic
action.

In Major Harris's animated description--"singular and interesting indeed
is the wild scenery in the vicinity of the treacherous oasis of Sultelli.
A field of extinct volcanic cones, vomited out of the entrails of the
earth, and each encircled by a black belt of vitrified lava, environs it
on three sides; and of these Mount Abida, three thousand feet in height,
whose cup, enveloped in clouds, stretches some two and a half miles in
_diameter_, would seem to be the parent. Beyond, the still loftier crater
of Aiulloo, the ancient landmark of the now-decayed empire of Ethiopia, is
visible in dim perspective; and, looming hazily in the extreme distance,
is the great blue Abyssinian range."

In any part of Africa a river of tolerable magnitude is an object of the
most anxious interest; and the approach to the Hawash, the boundary river
of the kingdom of Shoa, was looked to with eager speculation. At length
the height was reached from which was obtained "an exhilarating prospect
over the dark, lone valley of the long looked-for Hawash. The course of
the river was marked by a dense belt of trees and verdure, stretching
towards the base of the great mountain range, of which the cloud-capped
cone, which frowns over the capital of Shoa, forms the most conspicuous
feature." The mission now began to exalt:--"Though still far distant, the
ultimate destination of the embassy appeared almost to have been gained,
and none had an idea of the length of time that must elapse before his
foot should press the soil of Ankober." A day of intense heat was as usual
followed by a heavy fall of rain, which, owing to the unaccommodating
arrangement of striking the tents at sunset, thoroughly drenched the whole
party.

The new difficulty was, how to cross the Hawash, "second of the rivers of
Abyssinia, and rising in the very heart of Ethipoia, at an elevation of
8000 feet above the sea. It is fed by niggardly tributaries from the high
bulwarks of Shoa and Efat, and flows, like a great artery, through the
arid plains of the Adaiel, green and woo