Willis and Francis left us; our hearts were sad to see them go where all
our wishes centred; but the die was cast. The king gave the signal to
depart; the canoes took the lead, and we followed. In an hour we saw the
royal palace. It was a tolerably large hut, constructed of bamboos and
palm-leaves, very neatly. Several women were seated before it, busily
employed in making the short petticoats of reeds which they all wore.
Their hair was very carefully braided in tufts on the crown of the head;
none were good-looking, except two daughters of the king, about ten and
twelve years old, who, though very dark, were graceful: these, no doubt,
he intended for wives for my Francis. We disembarked about a hundred
yards from the hut. The women came to meet us, carrying a branch of the
mimosa in each hand; they then performed a singular kind of dance,
entwining their arms and shaking their feet, but never moving from the
spot; this they accompanied with a wild chant, which was anything but
musical. The king seemed pleased with it; and, calling his wives and
daughters, he showed them his _tayo, Bara_ and _Ourou_, calling himself
Fritz-Ernest; he then joined in the dance, dragging my sons with him,
who managed it pretty well. As for me, he treated me with great respect,
always calling me _ecroue_--father, and made me sit down on a large
trunk of a tree before his house; which was, doubtless, his throne, for
he placed me there with great ceremony, rubbing his royal nose against
mine.
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