244- INTERVIEW WITH THE KING. 



but had evidently been a very large place. I 

 gave him a present, for which he promised me 

 some bullocks. I was disappointed to hear that 

 no butter was made nearer than Domo, which 

 was represented to be distant three days' journey : 

 — the king had no ivory, nor anything to trade 

 with. I took my leave after a short audience, 

 fully satisfied I should get nothing, and feeling 

 pity for the old man, who evidently had seen bet- 

 ter times. 



The town presented an appearance as if it had 

 been sacked, and half destroyed ; roofless houses 

 and broken down walls were seen on every side, 

 with the rank vegetation springing up among 

 them in all directions. On passing the ditch, I 

 observed several human skulls, and other bones. 

 The Felatahs had assaulted the place upon this 

 side, and, if the inhabitants can be believed, were 

 repulsed three times before they stormed the 

 town. 



The exertion of the last two days, and my 

 exposure to the sun, brought on an attack of 

 dysentery, which confined me to the hut. Hector, 

 who was well, rambled about the town, but saw 

 nothing remarkable. I took my old friend the 

 barber's prescription of raw rice and water, and 



