The King had oftentimes vaunted the extraordinary natural fortification of Angollála by the river Chácha, which for two days’ journey to the north-westward rolls through a deep precipitous valley, opposing an impassable barrier; and being then joined by the Beréza and by numerous other streams, skirts the celebrated2 sanctuary3 of Sena Márkos, whence the combined waters, taking the title of Jumma, roll on into the Nile. Setting out one morning at sunrise through the “sirkosh ber,” (i.e. The secret gate or wicket) he sent a page to conduct us to the junction4 of the tributary5 Fácha, which tumbles its torrent6 over a perpendicular7 wall seven hundred feet in height; and here His Majesty8, surrounded by a crowd of noisy applicants9 for justice, already occupied his favourite seat on the brink10 of the giddy chasm.
A cloud had overcast11 the despot’s brow, for “Boro Winkee,” his favourite war-steed, had that morning fallen down dead whilst exercising in the meadow. Taken in battle from a potent12 Galla chieftain, whose name it inherited, the steed had long enjoyed a stall within the royal bedchamber, and strong fears indeed were entertained for the effeminate little page Kátama, who had been the luckless jockey. But no punishment followed the catastrophe13. The boy was a court favourite, and Antonistye, his father, by far the most renowned14 warrior15 in Shoa, was mayor of the corporation of king’s herdsmen, who take the field in independent bodies, and under the title of Abelám (derived from the Amháric word “abélla,” “he may eat up”) form a distinct class, mingling16 with no other portion of the population.
“What think you of my Galla ditch?” inquired the monarch17. “Have you any such in your country?”
There could be but one opinion regarding the yawning gulf18, which extends a full mile in breadth, and has been rent by some violent convulsion in the bowels19 of the earth. Fifteen hundred feet below the otherwise uninterrupted plain, the mingled20 waters flow on like a silver cord, fed at intervals21 by foaming22 cascades23, which raise a shower of white spray in their headlong descent: whilst frowning basaltic cliffs cast a deep gloom over wild steppes and terraces, whose lone24 hamlets and cottages are scarcely to be distinguished25 from the fallen masses of rock. Vast colonies of pig-faced baboons26, the principal inhabitants, sally forth27 morning and evening from their strong city, to devastate28 the surrounding crops, in defiance29 of incessant30 war waged against them by the peasantry, armed with sticks and stones; but outcasts, and criminals too, find a safe asylum31 among the almost inaccessible32 crannies of the perpendicular scarps, where they hide amidst masses of foliage33, unthought of, and unmolested.
Deep buried in the bosom34 of this stupendous chasm, and immediately below the roaring cataract35, stands the little hamlet of Guréyo, the seat of the royal iron-works, and thither36, after the sylvan37 court had closed, the king descended38, leaning on the arm of the chief smith, great master of the Tabiban, or mechanics, and royal physician in ordinary. The process of smelting39 and refining pursued in Abyssinia has been common to almost every age and country from the earliest antiquity40. Broken into small fragments and coarsely pulverised, the ore is mixed with a large proportion of charcoal41, and placed in a clay furnace resembling the smith’s hearth42, but furnished with a sloping cavity considerably43 depressed44 below the level of the blast pipes. The non-metallic particles being brought to a state of fusion45 by the constant action of four pair of hand-worked bellows46, the iron with the scoria sinks to the bottom. This is again broken, and re-fused, when the dross47 flowing off, the pure metal is discharged in pigs, which, by a repetition of heating and welding, are wrought48 into bars; but owing to the very rude and primitive49 apparatus50 employed, the unceasing toil51 of ten hours is indispensable to the realisation of two pounds’ weight of very inferior iron, which after all, in private works, is liable to a heavy tax to the crown.
Embowered in a dark grove52 of junipers on the opposite brink of the Chácha rises the silent village of Chérkos, rendered famous a few years since through the massacre53 of one thousand of its Christian54 inhabitants by Medóko (his gazelle), a celebrated rebel. His proceedings55 occupy one of the most conspicuous56 pages in the chronicles of Shoa. Exalted57 by rare military talents and undaunted intrepidity58 to the highest pinnacle59 of royal favour, he became elated by the distinctions conferred, and being suspected of aiming at even greater dominion60, was suddenly hurled61 into the deepest disgrace, and bereft62 in the same moment of property and power. Burning with revenge, the warrior crossed the border to the subjugated63, though disaffected64 Galla, whom he had so lately held in check, and who now with open arms received him as their leader in revolt.
At the head of a vast horde65 of wild cavalry66, reinforced by a number of matchlock-men, who had deserted67 their allegiance, the rebel marched upon Angollála. But he was frustrated68 in his designs by finding the only assailable69 point fortified70 by staked pits and ditches—the deep rugged71 channel of the Chácha opposing, as he well knew, an insurmountable barrier in every other direction. Desertion soon spread among the undisciplined rabble72, and after several skirmishes with the royal troops, the offender73 sought an asylum at Zalla Dingai. Through the powerful mediation74 of Zenama Work, the Queen-dowager, he was suffered to throw himself at the feet of his despotic master, and not only obtained pardon, but from motives75 of policy was eventually restored to all his former dignities.
Medóko’s second rebellion and tragic76 death, embodied77 from the authentic78 details of eye-witnesses, will form the subject of the six succeeding chapters. They are designed to throw upon the character of the monarch, and upon the customs of his court, a light which could scarcely have been admitted through any other lattice. The standard of revolt long waved over the heathen frontier, and when the storm which for months threatened the subversion79 of the empire had at length been quelled80 by the extinction81 of the fiery82 and turbulent spirit that had raised it, large offerings were made by His Majesty to all the churches and monasteries83 throughout the realm, in return for their prayers; and solemn processions and thanksgivings were attended by the exercise of every sort of work of charity and devotion.
Among the royal retinue84 this day seated before the village of Chérkos, was a young man of haughty85 and daring exterior86, whose flowing black mantle87 covered a breast that must have been often agitated88 by strange emotions. It was Chára, the son of the rebel, one of the only two members of the disgraced family to whom Sáhela Selássie has become reconciled, and a youth who is said to resemble his sire, not less in appearance than in gallant89 bearing. Prior to the breaking out of the insurrection, he had urged the arrest of his father; but no attention being paid in the proper quarter, he subsequently enlisted90 under his banner, and carried arms against the crown until the fall of the traitor91, when, from his previous well-timed, though disregarded disclosure, he received full pardon for the past.
Ayto Tunkaiye, a gigantic warrior, greatly distinguished for his valour, who enacted92 a prominent part in Medóko’s execution, was also of the cortège; and beside him stood Hailoo, younger brother of the rebel noble, who purchased restoration to royal favour at the expense of a deed of the blackest treachery. This he recounted not only without a blush, but with extraordinary satisfaction at his fancied heroism93. Apprehending94 a similar fate with him whose cause he had espoused95, he fled across the border, and found a safe asylum with Wodáge Girmee, a powerful Galla chieftain, long in open revolt, and one of the bitterest enemies of the monarch. Basely assassinating96 his benefactor97, whilst seated unsuspectingly in the open field, he sprang upon his horse, and casting the head of his victim at the royal footstool in token of his villainy, was rewarded by advancement98 to the government of Mésar Médur, a post of high honour, which he enjoys to the present day, and which occupies the frontier of the Galla dependencies.
点击收听单词发音
1 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
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2 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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3 sanctuary | |
n.圣所,圣堂,寺庙;禁猎区,保护区 | |
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4 junction | |
n.连接,接合;交叉点,接合处,枢纽站 | |
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5 tributary | |
n.支流;纳贡国;adj.附庸的;辅助的;支流的 | |
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6 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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7 perpendicular | |
adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
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8 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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9 applicants | |
申请人,求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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10 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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11 overcast | |
adj.阴天的,阴暗的,愁闷的;v.遮盖,(使)变暗,包边缝;n.覆盖,阴天 | |
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12 potent | |
adj.强有力的,有权势的;有效力的 | |
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13 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
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14 renowned | |
adj.著名的,有名望的,声誉鹊起的 | |
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15 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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16 mingling | |
adj.混合的 | |
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17 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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18 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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19 bowels | |
n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处 | |
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20 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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21 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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22 foaming | |
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
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23 cascades | |
倾泻( cascade的名词复数 ); 小瀑布(尤指一连串瀑布中的一支); 瀑布状物; 倾泻(或涌出)的东西 | |
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24 lone | |
adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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25 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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26 baboons | |
n.狒狒( baboon的名词复数 ) | |
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27 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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28 devastate | |
v.使荒芜,破坏,压倒 | |
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29 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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30 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
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31 asylum | |
n.避难所,庇护所,避难 | |
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32 inaccessible | |
adj.达不到的,难接近的 | |
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33 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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34 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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35 cataract | |
n.大瀑布,奔流,洪水,白内障 | |
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36 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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37 sylvan | |
adj.森林的 | |
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38 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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39 smelting | |
n.熔炼v.熔炼,提炼(矿石)( smelt的现在分词 ) | |
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40 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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41 charcoal | |
n.炭,木炭,生物炭 | |
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42 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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43 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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44 depressed | |
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的 | |
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45 fusion | |
n.溶化;熔解;熔化状态,熔和;熔接 | |
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46 bellows | |
n.风箱;发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的名词复数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的第三人称单数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫 | |
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47 dross | |
n.渣滓;无用之物 | |
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48 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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49 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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50 apparatus | |
n.装置,器械;器具,设备 | |
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51 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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52 grove | |
n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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53 massacre | |
n.残杀,大屠杀;v.残杀,集体屠杀 | |
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54 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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55 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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56 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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57 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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58 intrepidity | |
n.大胆,刚勇;大胆的行为 | |
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59 pinnacle | |
n.尖塔,尖顶,山峰;(喻)顶峰 | |
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60 dominion | |
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图 | |
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61 hurled | |
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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62 bereft | |
adj.被剥夺的 | |
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63 subjugated | |
v.征服,降伏( subjugate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64 disaffected | |
adj.(政治上)不满的,叛离的 | |
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65 horde | |
n.群众,一大群 | |
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66 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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67 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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68 frustrated | |
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧 | |
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69 assailable | |
adj.可攻击的,易攻击的 | |
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70 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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71 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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72 rabble | |
n.乌合之众,暴民;下等人 | |
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73 offender | |
n.冒犯者,违反者,犯罪者 | |
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74 mediation | |
n.调解 | |
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75 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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76 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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77 embodied | |
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含 | |
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78 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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79 subversion | |
n.颠覆,破坏 | |
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80 quelled | |
v.(用武力)制止,结束,镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81 extinction | |
n.熄灭,消亡,消灭,灭绝,绝种 | |
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82 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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83 monasteries | |
修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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84 retinue | |
n.侍从;随员 | |
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85 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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86 exterior | |
adj.外部的,外在的;表面的 | |
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87 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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88 agitated | |
adj.被鼓动的,不安的 | |
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89 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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90 enlisted | |
adj.应募入伍的v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 );获得(帮助或支持) | |
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91 traitor | |
n.叛徒,卖国贼 | |
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92 enacted | |
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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93 heroism | |
n.大无畏精神,英勇 | |
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94 apprehending | |
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的现在分词 ); 理解 | |
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95 espoused | |
v.(决定)支持,拥护(目标、主张等)( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96 assassinating | |
v.暗杀( assassinate的现在分词 );中伤;诋毁;破坏 | |
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97 benefactor | |
n. 恩人,行善的人,捐助人 | |
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98 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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