Their coronations are now conducted with less magni ficence ; and many of their ancient ceremonies have fallen into disuse. Enough still remain, however, to give splendour and dignity to the government; and a striking resemblance may be traced between many of the customs which still prevail in Abyssinia, and the pompous usages of the Persian court. The king of Abyssinia, like the Persian monarchs of old, is salute(' with the title of " King of kings." Subjects, in both countries, approach the royal person, with the external signs of adoration, prostrating themselves before and continuing in that posture till ordered to rise. A.. nothing preserves, or heightens the veneration for ma jesty so much as distance and rc serve, neither the Abys sinian nor Persian monarch ever exposes himself to the view of his subjects. \Vhen the king of Abyssinia either rides abroad, or gives audience in his palace, his head and forehead are perfectly covered ; and one of his hand•, is placed on his mouth, so that only his eyes are seen. This total seclusion from the public, though in one re spect advantageous, was attended with many income niencies ; to remedy which, two officers were appointed in Persia, who were called the King's-Eyes and the King's-Ear, and who were intrusted with the dangerous charge of seeing and hearing for their sovereign. The Abyssinian monarch holds communication with his sub jects by means of an officer named Kahl Iatze, the voice. or word of the king. When sitting in council, or in judgment, lie is enclosed in a kind of balcony, with lattice windows and curtains before him. In cases of treason,. he speaks through a hole in the side of his bal cony to the Kal-Hatze, who conveys his questions or remarks to the judges, who are seated at the council table. \Vhen consulting on civil affairs, the counsellors are seated at the table : and the king, though himself unseen, has a distinct view of them all. They deliver their sentiments, according to their age or rank ; the youngest, or lowest officer, always speaking first. After they have concluded their deliberations, the whole as sembly rise, and the Kai-Hatze pronounces the royal decree. Though the original object of these delibera tions must have been to decide on any measure accord ing to the sense of the majority, yet no majority can pre vail against the prerogative of the king : nay, even a majority have frequently been punished by imprison ment, when their sentiments happened to differ from those of his majesty. In Abyssinia, however, the an cient custom of the monarch's concealing himself from public view, is now less strictly observed. The constant wars in which this country has been engaged, since Adel was occupied by the Mahometans, have often compelled the sovereign to expose his person in the field ; and on many occasions, the army, and the kingdom at large, have been indebted for safety and victory to the skill and gallantry of their prince. in the time of war, he is at tended by an officer, named Lilca Magwass, who rides constantly round him, carrying his shield and his lance ; and such was the respect once paid to him, not only by foreign enemies, but even b• his own subjects in rebel lion, that, before the arrival of the Europeans, no king of Abyssinia ever fell in battle. At that period, the practice, both of excommunicating and murdering their sovereizns, seems to have been first introduced. Even yet, however, the respect for the royal person is, in some degree, retained ; and, in the day of battle, he is often arrayed in his insignia, lest, being unknown, he should perish by the sword of his enemies.
Those who wish to complain of grievances, assemble, at break of day, before the doors mid Windows of the palace, and continue there till night, crying for justice in a loud and querulous tone, and in all the different Ian I•iages which they can speak. It may well be supposed, that in a country so ill governed as Abyssinia, involved too in perpetual wars, there will be multitudes of suffer f.rs, who have to complain of real injuries aid s iolence.
'What was at first only an unhappy consequence of a bad government, has now grown into an established lo•m ; insomuch, that when the rains prevent the really dis tressed from approaching the capital, or standing in the streets, a set of vagrants arc provided and maintained, w hose business it is to imitate the various tones of sor row and of pain ; and this, they say, is for the king's honour, that he may not be lonely from the quietness of the palace. The burden of these complaints, whether real or feigned, is always, Rue 0 jan hai ; Do me jus tice, 0 my king. 'When quickly repeated, it very much resembles Prue Amu, (of which Presser John is a cor ruption,) the name that was given to this prince, and the derivation of which has not yet been ascertained.
As if the clamour of these complainants were insuf ficient to rouse his majesty from his morning slumbers, he has an officer, called Serach Massery, who, with a long whip, begins cracking and making a noise at the door of the palace before the dawn of day. This fright ens away the hyaena and other wild beasts, and serves likewise as a signal for the king to arise ; for he sits in judgment every morning till eight o'clock, his hour of breakfast. He has likewise six noblemen of his own election, who are called Baalomaal, (masters of his effects,) and whose office corresponds to that of gentle men of the bed-chamber ; four of these always attend him. There is a seventh, who is their president, called Azeleffa el Camisha, groom of the robe or stole. He is keeper of the king's wardrobe, and first officer of the bed-chamber. These officers, with the black slaves, and some others, wait upon the king as menial servants ; and enjoy a degree of familiarity with him, to which no other subject is admitted. There are many other officers in the king's retinue ; but to enumerate them, would only incumber our pages with uncouth and barbarous names, without conveying any precise idea of the offices which they denote. The Kasmati of Tigre is the most power ful of the governors ; and the office of Ras is the highest dignity to which a subject can attain.
As the use of money is unknown in Abyssinia, the revenue is paid in bullion gold, and the rude products of the various provinces. Agownildre pays the king annually about 1000 ounces of gold, 1000 dabras of ho ney, and 1000 or 1500 cattle ; Damot pays SOO ounces of gold ; Gojam 80 ounces, and 70 mules ; Lasta 1000 ounces ; Tigre pays to the amount of 400 ounces in salt and cotton cloths ; Walkait 1500 ounces in cotton cloth.
The want of money is supplied by fossil salt, which, being divided into square pieces about a foot long, is the only medium of traffic used in this country. The value of commodities is sometimes estimated likewise by cot ton cloths ; thus they say, that an article is worth so many webs or cloths of cotton. Various coins, indeed, are current at :11asuah, which, being the very entrance of Abyssinia, is a place of considerable trade. These coins have been introduced by the commercial inter course of this island with the opposite coast of Arabia. !heir names, and relative value, may be learned from the following table : The borjooke are small glass beads of all kinds and colour, which, w nether broken or entire, pass for small money ; the harf is equal to 120 grains of these beads.
The wakea, or Abyssinian ounce, is equivalent to 10 denims or drains, and 12 ounces make a litir, or rotol, which may therefore be called the Abyssinian pound. At Gondar, the capital, a wakea is equal to 6 drains 40 grains Troy weight, and is divided into 10 drains of 40 grains each. The ordinary value of a wakea is from 72 to 76 of the salt bricks already mentioned. In 1769 the wakea was sold at 80 salts, and in 1770 at 54; but the bricks differed considerably in size.