Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/313

 six days; and it afforded me considerable amusement to watch its progress. He first suspended the paper against the wall; then, made an exact outline of his design with charcoal; and afterwards went carefully over it again with a coarse sort of Indian ink; subsequently to which he introduced the colours. As I consider this production to be, in some respects, better than might have been expected, I have given an exact outline of it for the amusement of the reader.

The subject represented is that of two Abyssinian horsemen engaged in battle with the Galla. The dress of the warriors and the accoutrements of the horses are very faithfully delineated, and there appears to me something very characteristic in the expression on the countenances of the retreating Galla, who, notwithstanding they have witnessed the extraordinary prowess of their companion, (who keeps his post perfectly disregardless of the spear run through his body) begin to think it high time to quit the field. The Abyssinians, in their pictures, always strangely exaggerate the dimensions of the eye, and invariably draw their figures with full faces, except when they wish to represent a Jew, to whom they uniformly give a side face; but the reason for this singular distinction I could never justly ascertain. The colours of the original painting are of the most gaudy description; unbroken greens, reds, and yellows preponderating, and being most inharmoniously distributed throughout the composition. The materials employed by this artist were of the most common description, and had been brought by a Greek from Cairo.

After parting from our friends, we proceeded on our journey, and having travelled five hours, reached Upper Gibba, which lies a few miles to the westward of the place bearing the same name which I have before described. The Ras had ordered us a fine cow from his own farm: but instead of it they brought us so miserable an animal, that it was thought right to refuse it. This gave rise to considerable altercation, until a much better was substituted in its room. On the head man of the place being asked, why he had not complied with his orders in the first instance, he answered, very composedly, that "it