224 CHARACTER OF THE KING. 



rally are well treated, but badly and scantily fed. 

 They would scramble in a disgusting manner 

 for any morsels which we might throw them. — 

 When they abscond, if they are recovered they 

 are severely punished by flogging. I saw se- 

 veral with the marks of the cowskin upon their 

 flesh. 



The Government of Fundah consists "in might, 

 not in right." The will of the chief appears law, 

 but he has a council composed of very old men, 

 with whom he pretends to consult. The present 

 king is universally disliked for his cruelty and 

 oppression ; he is notorious for his bad faith, and 

 by way of consolation in my experience of him, 

 I was told, while living with him, that he had 

 frequently enticed traders into his clutches, and 

 poisoned them for the sake of obtaining their 

 goods. The people freely expressed their abhor- 

 rence of him, and, from the feeling which I saw 

 evinced towards him, I should think that his 

 reign would not be long endured. He pretends 

 to exist without eating and drinking, and I 

 thought at one time that he wished me to follow 

 his example, as I was very often unable to pro- 

 cure food of any description. Among his pecu- 

 liarities, he has a violent antipathy to tobacco. 



