newly killed. This food was contained in baskets, and was brought in by slaves; the beasts were killed at the very door of the hall ; they were thrown down and their heads cut off with swords. The guests devoured this horrible repast with the eagerness of wolves; for they had fasted during forty days before Easter, having eaten nothing but stinging nettles, and a kind of vegetable called kail. They were therefore very hungry, and thought they could not eat too much.

Their drink was Mead (a liquor made of honey mixed with the bitter sap of a tree). This liquor, no one but the king is allowed to make. It was supplied in such abundance, that by midnight there was scarcely a man in Ankobar, who was not intoxicated,-except the king himself.

Both inside and outside the hall, the greatest riot prevailed: the shrill sounds of wretched harps, and pipes, and fiddles, mingled with the shouts of the intoxicated guests.

No one can describe the scene at the door of the hall; the ground steeped in the blood of beasts, and trodden down by brutal revellers. Such was the manner in which Easter Sunday was profaned! what a strange way of honoring that evening, when Christ entered the room where his disciples were assembled, saying, "Peace be unto you."

If the palace of the king be no better than a barn, what must the houses of the people be like! They are more like sheds for cattle, than the dwellings of men.

The floors are of mud, and are freely trodden by mules and poultry. A chafing-dish is used to give warmth, and as there is no chimney, the walls are covered with soot. A fire is not needed for cooking, as cooking is despised. The beds are merely bullock skins, in which the people wrap themselves at night, after having

spent the evening in drinking many gallons of beer. The table is very low, like a round footstool, only larger, and made of wicker work. The candles are only rags dipped in grease, and give scarcely any light; but as the inmates do not employ themselves in reading or working, they only need a little light by which to drink their beer. There is no glass in the windows, but only shutters; therefore, when they are shut to keep out the wind and rain (which is often the case), the house is quite dark. There is no neat garden in front, but only heaps of rubbish; and water is never used to clean either the dwelling or those who dwell in it.

KING OF SHOA.

He is one of the greatest tyrants in the world. He has eight thousand slaves, all employed in his service at his different palaces; for he has a great many. He has about five hundred wives, and they are slaves. Every one who comes into his presence, is obliged to throw himself three times on the ground, with his forehead in the dust. The men take off their loose robe from their shoulders, as a mark of respect.

Yet the sight of the monarch's bed-chamber, might well surprise a stranger.

It was a gloomy apartment, lightened not, by windows, but by a chafing-dish, near which a cat and kittens reposed. Close to the monarch's bed three horses were eating from their mangers. The walls were of mud, lined with calico to keep out the wind; the mud floor was covered with rush matting. The seats were some black leather hassocks; but for the king himself there was a better seat,-a sofa with cushions. The doors had strong bars to keep out the king's enemies.

In this disorderly apartment there was one book-a part of the best of books-a book containing the Psalms of David. Who would have expected to see it there? It is still more surprising to hear that the king used to arise at

midnight to read in it for a little while; but it seems that he did so, in order to be very righteous, and not because he loved the word of God. How could the king delight in reading the Psalms, after an evening devoted to drinking mead?

Part of the day he spent as a king ought to spend it. For several hours he sat upon his throne, listening to the complaints of his people, and not refusing to regard the poorest, who found his way to the royal footstool. At three o'clock he dined alone, because too grand to dine with any others. After he had finished dinner, the doors were thrown open, and his chief friends and warriors sat down to a feast of raw meat. His majesty spent the evening hours, like his subjects in drinking; only with this difference; while they drank beer he drank mead. When he retired to rest, a band of priests, standing in the next room, began to sing hymns, or rather to howl and to scream. It was believed that these hymns would guard the king from evil spirits, and therefore all night long the stunning sounds were continued.

This king did other good deeds, besides reading the Psalins at night. He fed daily a thousand people, and he employed many of his own slaves in preparing their food; in his