ciiAi'. XV. A TRULY PITIABLE OBJECT. 423 



two other nobles and the wife of one of the prince's friends. 

 The prince's band also was there in waiting ; it commenced 

 Inlaying as Ave approached, and preceded us during the rest 

 of the way. The prince ordered his bearers to keep his 

 palanquin close to the side of mine, that we might talk to- 

 gether as we passed along. 



We had not proceeded far before we approached the walls of 

 a prison. On a low bank, on the opposite side of the road, a 

 poor wretched-looking man was sitting, playing on a small 

 lokanga, or native sort of guitar, and begging a handful of 

 rice or other alms from the passers by. He appeared of 

 middle age, and had a heavy iron ring riveted round his neck 

 and another heavy iron ring round one of his legs. The other 

 leg was lacerated and torn, as if the flesh had been cut or 

 worn away by a similar ring. Some of the by-standers seemed 

 moved with pity towards the poor sufferer. As we ap- 

 proached the prince said, "Don't look that way. I am 

 ashamed. It is barbarous ! " I asked what was the man's 

 crime. He said he did not know exactly, but he believed it 

 was slight, and that it grieved him to see such cruel punish- 

 ments. I remarked that all such tortures characterised a 

 barbarous people, and were only inflicted by governments 

 ignorant of the best means of deterring from crime and of 

 elevating the people, for all such inflictions and exhibitions 

 of torture only tended to harden and brutalise the minds of 

 the i^eople. 



It was a bright beautiful afternoon; indeed, there was not 

 a shower all the time that I was at the capital, and we conti- 

 nued our way, conversing as we passed along, until we 

 reached Amboipo, five miles from the capital, where it had 

 been at first proposed that I should halt for the night : we 

 all alighted on the plain in front of the village. The lady 

 who had accompanied us presented me with a silk lamba, to 

 take home as a memorial of my visit. The officers who had 



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