Should I ever visit that
country again, I should take a great number of "Freemasons'" aprons for
the women; these would be highly prized, and would create a perfect
FUROR. The only really pretty women that I saw in Latooka were Bokke,
the wife of the chief, and her daughter; they were fac-similes of each
other, the latter having the advantage of being the second edition. Both
women and men were extremely eager for beads of all kinds, the most
valuable being the red and blue porcelain for helmets, and the large
opalescent bead, the size of a child's marble.
The day after my arrival in Latooka I was accommodated by the chief with
a hut in a neat courtyard, beautifully clean and cemented with clay,
ashes, and cow-dung. Not patronising the architectural advantages of a
doorway of two feet high, I pitched my large tent in the yard and stowed
all my baggage in the hut. All being arranged, I had a large Persian
carpet spread upon the ground, and received the chief of Latooka in
state. He was introduced by Ibrahim, and I had the advantage of his
interpreter.
I commenced the conversation by ordering a present to be laid on the
carpet of several necklaces of valuable beads, copper bars, and coloured
cotton handkerchief. It was most amusing to witness his delight at a
string of fifty little "berrets" (opal beads the size of marbles) which
I had brought into the country for the first time, and were accordingly
extremely valuable.
