294 PEIVATE INTERVIEW WITH SHINTE. Chap. XVI. 



African dignity of manner all the while, but my people remarked 

 that he scarcely ever took his eyes off me for a moment. About 

 a thousand people were present, according to my calculation, 

 and three hundred soldiers. The sun had now become hot ; and 

 the scene ended by the Mambari discharging their guns. 



18th. — We were awakened during the night by a message from 

 Shinte, requesting a visit at a very unseasonable hour. As I 

 was just in the sweating stage of an intermittent, and the path 

 to the town lay through a wet valley, I declined going. Kolim- 

 bota, who knows their customs best, urged me to go ; but, inde- 

 pendent of sickness, I hated words of the night and deeds of 

 darkness. " I was neither a hyaena nor a witch." Kolimbota 

 thought that we ought to conform to their wishes in everything : 

 I thought we ought to have some choice in the matter as well, 

 which put him into high dudgeon. However, at ten next 

 morning we went, and were, led into the courts of Shinte, the 

 walls of wliich were woven rods, all very neat and high. Many 

 trees stood within the enclosure and afforded a grateful shade. 

 These had been planted, for we saw some recently put in, with 

 grass wound round the trunk to protect them from the sun. The 

 otherwise waste corners of the streets were planted with sugar- 

 cane and bananas, which spread their large light leaves over the 

 walls. 



The Ficus indica tree, under which we now sat, had very large 

 leaves, but showed its relationsliip to the Indian banian by send- 

 ing down shoots towards the ground. Shinte soon came, and 

 appeared a man of upwards of fifty-five years of age, of frank and 

 open countenance, and about the middle height. He seemed in 

 good humour, and said he had expected yesterday " that a man 

 who came from the gods, would have approached and talked to 

 him." That had been my own intention in going to the recep- 

 tion, but when we came and saw the formidable preparations, 

 and all his own men keeping at least forty yards off from him, I 

 yielded to the solicitations of my men, and remained by the tree 

 opposite to that under which he sat. His remark confirmed my 

 previous belief that a frank, open, fearless manner is the most 

 winning with all these Africans. I stated the object of my jour- 

 ney and mission, and to all I advanced the old gentleman 

 clapped his hands in approbation. He replied through a spokes- 



