20 FEBRUARY 1959, Page 27

Ends of the Earth

The Mountains of Rasselas, By Thomas Paken- ham. (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 21s.) On mule- back and on foot, the enterprising and not un- courageous author sought and found the mountain fastnesses that were once the prisons of Abyssinian royalty—origin of that novel of Dr. Johnson's, Rasselas, which those who have found readable have also found romantic. Mr. Pakenhain made some archteological discoveries of moment, frolicked a little in Addis Ababa, and tells it all in a style that is rather flat for so lively-minded and adventurous a traveller.