The pride of an African dignitary will not allow him to beg, and
therefore he conjectured that on the receipt of his present of the
sheep, common courtesy would instruct the Landers to return the
compliment, by a present of some European article of corresponding
value. Nor was the master of the horse wrong in his conjectures, for
a present was sent him, and to his great delight a strip of red cloth
was included in it. The unfortunate master of the horse, however,
discovered, that although he filled the high office of master of the
horse, he was not master of himself, nor was he master of that, which
he believed did in reality belong to him, for his master and king no
sooner heard that he had received a present of a piece of red cloth,
than his majesty discovered that it was a colour, which royalty alone
was entitled to wear. The master of the horse had scarcely exhibited
his valuable present to his admiring wives, all of whom begged for a
bit wherewith to enhance the charms of their unwieldy persons, than a
messenger from the king arrived, bearing the afflicting intelligence
to the master of the horse, to deliver up for the use of his majesty,
a certain piece of red cloth presented to him by the Europeans then
in the town, or submit to have his head cut off by the dexterity of
his chief eunuch. The master of the horse judged it better to lose
the cloth than his head, and with a very ill grace, and muttering
some expressions partaking strongly of the enormous crime of high
treason, the cloth was delivered up, and the master of the horse
returned to his wives to condole with them on the heavy loss which
they had sustained.

Speaking of the town of Katunga, Lander says, "All seems quiet and
peaceable in this large dull city, and one cannot help feeling rather
melancholy, in wandering through streets almost deserted, and over a
vast extent of fertile land, on which there is no human habitation,
and scarcely a living thing to animate or cheer the prevailing
solemnity." The walls of the town have been suffered to fall into
decay, and are now no better than a heap of dust and ruins, and such
unconcern and apathy pervade the minds of the monarch and his
ministry, that the wandering and ambitious Fellata has penetrated
into the very heart of the country, made himself master of two of its
most important and flourishing towns, with little, if any opposition,
and is gradually, but very perceptibly gaining on the lukewarm
natives o