This Was The First Case Of Real Babbling Intoxication
We Had Seen In This Region.
The boyaloa, or beer of the country,
has more of a stupefying than exciting nature; hence the beer-bibbers
are great sleepers; they may frequently be seen lying on their faces
sound asleep.
This peculiarity of posture was ascribed,
by no less an authority than Aristotle, to wine, while those
who were sent asleep by beer were believed "to lie upon their backs."
Sambanza had got into a state of inebriation from indulging in mead,
similar to that which Shinte presented to us, which is much more powerful
than boyaloa. As far as we could collect from his incoherent sentences,
Shinte had said the rain was too heavy for our departure,
and the guides still required time for preparation. Shinte himself was busy
getting some meal ready for my use in the journey. As it rained
nearly all day, it was no sacrifice to submit to his advice and remain.
Sambanza staggered to Manenko's hut; she, however, who had never promised
"to love, honor, and obey him," had not been "nursing her wrath
to keep it warm," so she coolly bundled him into the hut, and put him to bed.
As the last proof of friendship, Shinte came into my tent,
though it could scarcely contain more than one person,
looked at all the curiosities, the quicksilver, the looking-glass,
books, hair-brushes, comb, watch, etc., etc., with the greatest interest;
then closing the tent, so that none of his own people might see
the extravagance of which he was about to be guilty, he drew out
from his clothing a string of beads, and the end of a conical shell,
which is considered, in regions far from the sea, of as great value
as the Lord Mayor's badge is in London.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 459 of 1070
Words from 131035 to 131341
of 306638
