I
Was Here In Danger Of Losing My Life By A Compliment Which The
Portuguese Paid The Prince Of A
Discharge of twelve muskets; one
being unskilfully charged too high, flew out of the soldier's hand,
and falling against my
Leg, wounded it very much; we had no surgeon
with us, so that all I could do was to bind it hard with some cloth.
I was obliged by this accident to make use of the Chec Furt's horse,
which was the greatest service we received from him in all our
journey.
When we came within two leagues and a half of the King's court, he
sent some messengers with his compliments, and five mules for the
chief of our company. Our road lay through a wood, where we found
the ground covered over with young locusts, a plague intolerably
afflictive in a country so barren of itself. We arrived at length
at the bank of a small river, near which the King usually keeps his
residence, and found his palace at the foot of a little mountain.
It consisted of about six tents and twenty cabins, erected amongst
some thorns and wild trees, which afforded a shelter from the heat
of the weather. He received us the first time in a cabin about a
musket shot distant from the rest, furnished out with a throne in
the middle built of clay and stones, and covered with tapestry and
two velvet cushions. Over against him stood his horse with his
saddle and other furniture hanging by him, for in this country, the
master and his horse make use of the same apartment, nor doth the
King in this respect affect more grandeur than his subjects. When
we entered, we seated ourselves on the ground with our legs crossed,
in imitation of the rest, whom we found in the same posture. After
we had waited some time, the King came in, attended by his domestics
and his officers. He held a small lance in his hand, and was
dressed in a silk robe, with a turban on his head, to which were
fastened some rings of very neat workmanship, which fell down upon
his forehead. All kept silence for some time, and the King told us
by his interpreter that we were welcome to his dominions, that he
had been informed we were to come by the Emperor his father, and
that he condoled the hardships we had undergone at sea. He desired
us not to be under any concern at finding ourselves in a country so
distant from our own, for those dominions were ours, and he and the
Emperor his father would give us all the proofs we could desire of
the sincerest affection. We returned him thanks for this promise of
his favour, and after a short conversation went away. Immediately
we were teazed by those who brought us the mules, and demanded to be
paid the hire of them; and had advice given us at the same time that
we should get a present ready for the King.
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