shells. They wore loose cotton trousers, with great boots of dull red
leather coming halfway up to the thigh, and fastened by small chains to
their waist belts, also ornamented with bells, horse tails, strings of
amulets, and strips of colored leather. Long leopards' tails hung down
their backs.

Through this crowd the party moved forward slowly, the throng thickening
at every step. They were escorted to a house which they were told was
set aside for their use, and that they would be allowed to see the king
on the following day. The houses differed entirely from anything which
they had before seen in Africa. They were built of red clay, plastered
perfectly smooth. There were no windows or openings on the exterior, but
the door led into an open courtyard of some twelve feet in diameter. On
each side of this was a sort of alcove, built up of clay, about three
feet from the ground. This formed a couch or seat, some eight feet long
by three feet high, with a thatched roof projecting so as to prevent the
rain beating into the alcove. Beyond were one or more similar courts
in proportion to the size of the house. A sheep and a quantity of
vegetables and fruits were sent in in the course of the day, but they
were told not to show themselves in the streets until they had seen the
king.

"We shall be expected to make his majesty a handsome present," Mr.
Goodenough said, "and, unfortunately, our stores were not intended for
so great a potentate. I will give him my double barreled rifle and your
Winchester, Frank. I do not suppose he has seen such an arm. We had
better get them cleaned up and polished so as to look as handsome as
possible."

In the morning one of the captains came and said that the king was in
readiness to receive them, and they made their way through a vast crowd
to the marketplace, an open area, nearly half a mile in extent. The sun
was shining brightly, and the scene was a brilliant one. The king, his
Caboceers or great tributaries, his captains, and officers were seated
under a vast number of huge umbrellas, some of them fifteen feet across.
These were of scarlet, yellow, and other showy colors in silks and
cloths, with fantastically scalloped and fringed valences. They were
surmounted with crescents, birds, elephants, barrels, and swords of
gold, and on some were couched stuffed animals. Innumerable smaller
umbrellas of striped stuff were borne by the crowd, and all these
were waved up and down, while a v