This Intelligence Bore In The Eyes Of The Landers The Character Of A Complete Fiction, But For What Purpose It Was So Got Up, They Could Not Divine.

The king could gain little or nothing by their protracted stay in his capital; he had received his presents,

And therefore it was conjectured, that it might be the etiquette of the court of Katunga, not only for the king to receive some presents from strangers on their arrival, and especially from travellers of the character and importance which the Landers gave themselves out to be, as the accredited ambassadors of the king of England, but also that the departure was to be preceded by certain presents, as a kind of passport or purchase of his leave to travel through his dominions. It appeared also most strange to the Landers, that the very day after their arrival, the Fellatas should so opportunely seize upon a town, through which they were to pass, and that the information of the inroad of so dreaded an enemy should not have reached Katunga at an earlier period, when intelligence of no moment whatever flies through the country with the swiftness of an arrow from the bow. There was also another strong inducement, which operated upon the mind of the Landers, to expedite their departure, and that was, that from some circumstances which had occurred, it was not beyond the range of probability, that the head of John Lander, if not of his brother also, might be severed by the skill of Ebo, the executioner. Love is certainly a most wondrous power, whether it shows itself in the bosom of the fair English girl, or in that of the sooty African; nor is it confined to times and places, to condition or to climate; for it grows and flourishes in the wigwam of the American, the coozie of the African, and the proud edifices of the Europeans. It, however, sometimes happens, that although one party may be in love, the other is as frigid, as if he were part and parcel of an iceberg, and so was it situated with John Lander. It has been already stated, that the communication between the yard which the Landers occupied, and that which was tenanted by the wives of Ebo, was uninterrupted, and of course in the absence of their husband, there was no impediment to any of them whispering their tale of love into the ears of the juvenile travellers, whenever they thought they were in a disposition to hear it. Some of the wives indeed, instead of being the nourishers and fosterers of love, were the veriest antidotes to it, that perhaps human nature could produce; on the other hand, there were some in the fullness and freshness of youth, who had just been selected or rather purchased by Ebo, as very proper persons to soothe and comfort him in his declining years. One of them in particular, had, by certain signs and gestures, given John Lander to understand, that although they might vary very much in colour, yet that a kind of sympathy might exist between their hearts, which would lead to a mutual communication of happiness, so much desired at so great a distance from his native land. John, however, either did not or would not understand the language, which the sable beauty spoke; still her conduct was not unnoticed by several other ladies of the seraglio, and particularly by the shrivelled and the wizened, who hesitated not to convey the intelligence to Ebo, who immediately paid a visit to the travellers, out of pure compliment and good-will, as he said, at the same time expressing his fears that the curiosity of his women might be troublesome to them, and as it was by no means his wish, nor that of his lord and sovereign, the king, that they should be subjected to any species of annoyance, he had given directions for the door-way to be instantly blocked up with mortar, which would effectually prevent any further unpleasant intrusion on the part of the women.

The Landers could evidently see the lurking motive for this extreme attention of Ebo, to promote their comfort, nor were they in reality displeased at it, for the society of the women was certainly at times very unpleasant and irksome, and as some of them evinced a strong disposition for intriguing, it was considered fortunate that the communication was closed, as the friendship and good-will of Ebo were particularly necessary to them, not only to secure their good treatment during their stay at Katunga, but also to expedite their departure from it.

Ebo had scarcely taken his departure, and they were rejoicing at the probability of not being again intruded upon, particularly as it was the Sabbath day, when, to their great annoyance, they were favoured with the company of several Houssa mallams, who, notwithstanding the irksome restraint to which they are subjected by the jealousy of the king and his people, are content to remain so far from their native country, and reside amongst strangers and pagans as long as they live. Whether the priests have taken this step purely from religious motives, or, which is the more likely reason of the two, that they have exiled themselves from their home and families for the mere purpose of being enriched at the expense of the credulity and ignorance of the inhabitants, were questions, which could not at the time be solved. At all events, the institutions of these missionaries are effectually concealed under a cloak of piety and devotion; and thus they are tolerated by the common consent of the monarch and his subjects.

The practice of making presents is, in general, in the African cities, not confined to the sovereign and his immediate ministers, but it extends to every grade, in the least degree connected with the court. Thus the Landers supposed that when they had made their presents to the king and his chief eunuchs, no further demand would be made upon them in the way of presents; in this, however, they found themselves mistaken, for they now discovered that there were certain gentlemen, styled head men, who are the confidential advisers of the king, and lead his armies to battle.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 212 of 302
Words from 216193 to 217238 of 309561