328 KING boy's palace. 



woman, the very picture of misery, with her 

 breasts dried and drooping in a most disgusting 

 manner. But this old hag drank six and a half 

 glasses of rum that were given to her undiluted ! 

 and as she swallowed each one, began to caper 

 and dance in the fandango style, throwing her- 

 self into the most indecent postures and contor- 

 tions possible. I felt curious to know who she 

 was, and I found that she was King Boy's mo- 

 ther. We left the place in a few minutes, and 

 proceeded to the residence of King Boy, where 

 we landed, and entered a house open at its sides 

 and roofed with dry grass and bamboo {Arundo 

 bmnbos). 



This building we found was used by King Boy's 

 boys and slaves. Opposite to this, and on the 

 bank of the river, were his houses, three in num- 

 ber. The centre one was the apartment in which 

 King Boy slept, and was elevated above the 

 others about three feet : one dark passage com- 

 municated from one end to the other. They 

 were built of bamboo and plastered with mud, 

 being one story high. Such was the palace of 

 King Boy ! The interior was frightful to behold : 

 it was unpaved, and the floor of nmd quite wet 

 from the encroachments of the river, which is 



