CHAP. X. PRESENTS FROM PRINCES AT THE CAPITAL. 259 



a servant to Captain Underwood, secretary to the late Lord 

 Charles Somerset, the governor; but that many years ago he 

 had returned to his native country, and had since, in the ca- 

 pacity of guide and interpreter, accompanied many foreigners 

 from the coast to the capital. He said the present was the 

 best season for making the journey, and that I need not be 

 apprehensive of the fever. I was sorry to find afterwards 

 that habits of drinking rendered my guide incapable of afford- 

 ing us much assistance. 



During the day I had many applications for medicine, and 

 for books, dictionaries, spelling-books, &c.; and in the after- 

 noon four or five chiefs, arrayed in the large white lamba of 

 the Hovas, came to my house. They were attended by a 

 number of dependents, some of whom led an ox, while others 

 brought turkeys and other poultry, with bags of rice, and 

 other provisions, which they said they had been directed by 

 their superiors residing at the capital to present to Mr. 

 Cameron and myself on our arrival, but that as I alone had 

 come, they had brought them for my acceptance. Through 

 the medium of the interpreter, I thanked them for their kind- 

 ness, and begged them to convey to the princes at the capital 

 my grateful acknowledgments. One of the chiefs handed me 

 a letter, which, on reading it afterwards, I found to be from the 

 prince royal and his cousin, expressing the pleasure with 

 which they anticipated our arrival, and informing us that they 

 had directed the present to be given to us as an expression of 

 their regard. 



As the guide intimated that the ox' was intended as provi- 

 sion during the journey, it was, at his recommendation, killed 

 the same evening, and salt provided for curing it ; but long 

 before our departure it had all disappeared. Towards even- 

 ing two soldiers were stationed at my house, for the avowed 

 purpose of preventing any of my packages being stolen, and 

 from this time one or two soldiers were always in the house. 



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