arms a mirror, a bottle of hair-oil, a couple of bottles
of perfume, a comb and brush, some variegated bath towels, and an
American flag. First he let the chief sniff at the bottles, and then,
pointing to the group on the shore, motioned to be taken over. In a few
moments he and MacGregor were being conveyed towards the shore in the
gathering dusk.

Four hours passed. It was midnight. There was noise of drums and
shouting on the shore, which did not relieve our suspense. Suddenly
there was a commotion in the canoes that still remained near the
Wilderness. The headman appeared before us, and beckoned to Blithelygo
and myself to come. The beckoning was friendly, and we hoped that
affairs had taken a more promising turn.

In a space surrounded with palms and ti-trees a great fire was burning.
There was a monotonous roll of the savage tom-tom and a noise of
shouting and laughter. Yes, we were safe, and the American had done it.
The Coliseum was open, MacGregor was ring-master, and U. S. and Bob
Lee were at work. This show, with other influences, had conquered Pango
Wango. The American flag was hoisted on a staff, and on a mighty stump
there sat Van Blaricom, almost innocent of garments, I grieve to say,
with one whom we came to know as Totimalu, Queen of Pango Wango, a
half circle of savages behind them. Van Blaricom and MacGregor had been
naturalised by having their shoulders lanced with a spear-point, and
then rubbed against the lanced shoulders of the chiefs. The taking of
Pango Wango had not been, I fear, a moral victory. Van Blaricom was
smoking a cigar, and was writing on a piece of paper, using the back
of a Pango Wango man as a desk. The Queen's garments were chiefly
variegated bath-towels, and she was rubbing her beaming countenance and
ample bosom with hair-oil and essence of new-mown hay.

Van Blaricom nodded to us nonchalantly, saying: "It's all right--she's
Totimalu, the Queen. Sign here, Queen," and he motioned for the obese
beauty to hold the pencil. She did so, and then he stood up, and, while
the cock-fight still went on, he read, with a fine Chicago fluency, what
proved to be a proclamation. As will be seen, it was full of ellipses
and was fragmentary in its character, though completely effective in
fact:

Know all men by these Presents, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Seeing that all men are born free and equal (vide United States
Constitution), et cetera. We, Jude Van Blaricom, of the city