The Present Was Then Opened, And Everything In Turn Placed Upon
The Red Blanket.
The goggles created some mirth; so did the
scissors, as Bombay, to show their use, clipped his beard, and
The lucifers were considered a wonder; but the king scarcely
moved or uttered any remarks till all was over, when, at the
instigation of the courtiers, my chronometer was asked for and
shown. This wonderful instrument, said the officers (mistaking
it for my compass), was the magic horn by which the white men
found their way everywhere. Kamrasi said he must have it, for,
besides it, the gun was the only thing new to him. The
chronometer, however, I said, was the only one left, and could
not possibly be parted with; though, if Kamrasi liked to send men
to Gani, a new one could be obtained for him.
Then, changing the subject, much to my relief, Kamrasi asked
Bombay, "Who governs England?" "A woman." "Has she any
children?" "Yes," said Bombay, with ready impudence; "these are
two of them" (pointing to Grant and myself). That settled,
Kamrasi wished to know if we had any specked cows, or cows of any
peculiar colour, and would we like to change four large cows for
four small ones, as he coveted some of ours. This was a
staggerer. We had totally failed, then, in conveying to this
stupid king the impression that we were not mere traders, ready
to bargain with him. We would present him with cows if we had
such as he wanted, but we could not bargain.
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