Interior Paris of Afiica* 69 



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fome comfort. At laft he commanded itie tti'Be^l^rirnctl to 

 prifonj but ordered the principal accufer to rem ain/ that Tie 

 might fee, on the following day, how I fhould be puniilied. 

 Being now utterly inconfolable, and convinced that the end' 

 of my life was drawing near, I had not flept a wink, when, 

 in the morning, four foldiers came to me, bidding me follow 

 them. As I went, I perceived people who piticti my'c6ri^3i-2 

 tion ; but others, ftanding here and there, who feemed to 

 enjoy my diftrefs, On the public place where T was to be 

 puniftied, thirty foldiers on foot, and twenty on horfeback, 

 were drawn up in a circle, in the middle whereof a buBalo's 

 Ikin was flretched, and near it Itood fix young men," two of 

 the ftronged having platted thongs in their hands. T was all 

 over in a tremor, on the point of fainting every moment, 

 concludinp- that I was either to underoo a violent death, or 

 certainly to be cruelly fcourged. The king, with his offi- 

 cers, now arriving, called for the principal accufer, who 

 fprung into the circle apparently with great fatisfaftion. 

 The king now afkcd me, whither T had purpofed to go? 

 — I anfwered : ^ To Vahafua.' — ' Where didit thou meet 

 the ftranger?' faid he then to the accufer; who replied: 

 ^ On the bye-road behind V^ahafua *.' On which the 

 king immediately ordered the man to be llripped, then 

 thrown on the buffalo's (kin_, and to have (ixty ftrokes on the 

 belly. All prcfent were aftonifhed to fee the puniilmient 

 they expetfted was to be given to me infli<Sfed on the accufer; 

 y)ut they prefently faw how the matter ftood, on hearing the 

 king declare, that ^ Nobody ihould belye a ftranger, or do 

 him an injury, or endeavour to draw on him a puniflimerit 

 which he had not defcrved.' The delinquent, after receiving 

 this chaftifenient, was directly fent beyond the borders of the 

 country, while I was put in his poft, and received his horfe. 

 The king then related to me how it happened, that he had 

 rcfolved to make a ftri61: examination into the real ftate of 

 the cafe between me and the man now baniflied. Having 

 perceived, he faid, that it was the very pcrfon who, on the 

 journey to Boofu, was obliged to difmount from his horfc, 



*" Tliat is the way to Fcene, to which place numbers had fecretly 

 BiaJf tl.eir efc.ipc from this territory. 



and 



