nes, which were unoccupied.
The principal among them were seated on carved wooden chairs
ranged to the right and the left of the thrones, but not in front
of them, and were dressed in white tunics, with various embroideries
and different coloured edgings, and armed with the usual pierced
and gold-inlaid swords. To judge from the dignity of their appearance,
they seemed one and all to be individuals of very great importance.
Behind each of these great men stood a small knot of followers
and attendants.

Seated by themselves, in a little group to the left of the throne,
were six men of a different stamp. Instead of wearing the ordinary
kilt, they were clothed in long robes of pure white linen, with
the same symbol of the sun that is to be seen on the back of
the chairs, emblazoned in gold thread upon the breast. This
garment was girt up at the waist with a simple golden curb-like
chain, from which hung long elliptic plates of the same metal,
fashioned in shiny scales like those of a fish, that, as their
wearers moved, jingled and reflected the light. They were all
men of mature age and of a severe and impressive cast of features,
which was rendered still more imposing by the long beards they wore.

The personality of one individual among them, however, impressed
us at once. He seemed to stand out among his fellows and refuse
to be overlooked. He was very old -- eighty at least -- and
extremely tall, with a long snow-white beard that hung nearly
to his waist. His features were aquiline and deeply cut, and
his eyes were grey and cold-looking. The heads of the others
were bare, but this man wore a round cap entirely covered with
gold embroidery, from which we judged that he was a person of
great importance; and indeed we afterwards discovered that he
was Agon, the High Priest of the country. As we approached,
all these men, including the priests, rose and bowed to us with
the greatest courtesy, at the same time placing the two fingers
across the lips in salutation. Then soft-footed attendants advanced
from between the pillars, bearing seats, which were placed in
a line in front of the thrones. We three sat down, Alphonse
and Umslopogaas standing behind us. Scarcely had we done so
when there came a blare of trumpets from some passage to the
right, and a similar blare from the left. Next a man with a
long white wand of ivory appeared just in front of the right-hand
throne, and cried out something in a loud voi