I Still Apprehended Some
Double-Dealing; And As I Was Now Entirely In His Power, I Thought It
Best To Smooth The Way By A Present.
Accordingly, I took with me in
the evening one canister of gunpowder, some amber, tobacco, and my
umbrella; and
As I considered that my bundles would inevitably be
searched, I concealed some few articles in the roof of the hut where
I lodged, and I put on my new blue coat in order to preserve it.
All the houses belonging to the king and his family are surrounded
by a lofty mud wall, which converts the whole into a kind of
citadel. The interior is subdivided into different courts. At the
first place of entrance I observed a man standing with a musket on
his shoulder; and I found the way to the presence very intricate,
leading through many passages, with sentinels placed at the
different doors. When we came to the entrance of the court in which
the king resides, both my guide and interpreter, according to
custom, took off their sandals; and the former pronounced the king's
name aloud, repeating it till he was answered from within. We found
the monarch sitting upon a mat, and two attendants with him. I
repeated what I had before told him concerning the object of my
journey, and my reasons for passing through his country. He seemed,
however, but half satisfied. When I offered to show him the
contents of my portmanteau, and everything belonging to me, he was
convinced; and it was evident that his suspicion had arisen from a
belief that every white man must of necessity be a trader.
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