NATIVE INGENUITY IN TRADING. 125 



The king certainly is not surpassed in avarice 

 by any of his subjects ; and trying various ways, 

 he has resorted to the following ingenious stra- 

 tagem for discovering the real value of an ele- 

 phant's tooth : — A stranger, from the country, is 

 directed to go on board the steamer with a tooth 

 enclosed in dried grass, to give it the appearance 

 of having been brought from a distance. He 

 is instructed to ask as much as possible for it ; 

 and when he discovers the greatest quantity of 

 goods likely to be offered, he is directed to say, 

 '' I cannot take the goods now, but I will go to 

 my master at some neighbouring town" (which he 

 mentions), " and will tell what you have offered." 

 The next day, instead of the man bringing the 

 tooth as expected, the queen or some of the 

 eunuchs come on board with it, and ask the same 

 quantity of goods for it, with some other ar- 

 ticles, as guns, pieces of cloth, &c. in addition, 

 because it is the king's ivory, and therefore he 

 must have more for it. This shows consider- 

 able ingenuity and cunning on the part of the 

 natives. 



In the evening, at the express desire of the 

 king, three rockets were fired. 



The next morning we were anxiously expect- 



