SOUTHERN AFRICA. 101 



latioii mid triumph. Having* shaken liaiids^ we led him into 

 the tent, and seated him on a chair ; the courtiers and g-reat 

 men squatting* themselves on their hams on the g-round in 

 semicircular order on either side. He was particularly g-lad 

 to see Andries, and shook him by the hand several times. 



The expression of the despot's features, thoug-h sing-ularly 

 cunning'j wil}", and suspicious, is not altog"ether disagreeable. 

 His fig'ure is rather tall, well turned, and active, but throug-h 

 iieg'lect of exercise, leaning- to corpulency. Of dignified and 

 reserved manners, the searching* quickness of his eye, the 

 point of his questions, and the extreme caution of his re- 

 plies, stamp him at once as a man capable of ruling* the wild 

 and sanguinary spirits by which he is surrounded. He 

 appeared about forty 3'ears of ag*e, but being* totally beard- 

 less, it was difficult to form a correct estimate of the years 

 he had numbered. The elliptical ring* on his closely shorn 

 scalp w as decorated with three g*reen feathers from the tail 

 of the paroquet, placed horizontally, two behind and one hi 

 front. A sinofle strinof of sm-all blue beads encircled his 

 neck ; a bunch of twisted sinews encompassed his left ankle, 

 and the usual o-irdle dano-lino- before and behind with leo- 

 pards' tails, completed his costume. 



The interpreters, three in number, were rang*ed in front. 

 After a long* interval of silence, during* which the chieftain's 

 eyes were far from inactive, he opened the conversation by 

 saying* he rejoiced we had come to bring* him news from his 

 friends the white people. Mohanycom put this speech into 

 Sichuana, Baba translated it into Dutch, and Andries en- 

 deavoured to render the meaning* intelligible in Eng-lish. To 

 this w^e replied, that having* heai'd of the king's fame in a 

 distant land, we had come three moons across the great 

 water to see him, and had brought for his acceptance a few 

 trifles from our country, which we thought would prove 

 agreeable. He smiled condescendingly, and the Parsee im- 



