552 INTERVIEW WITH CASEMBE. 



ited chiefs of whom he scarcely knew anything, excited most 

 attention. He then assured me that I was welcome to his 

 country, to go where I liked, and do what I chose. We then 

 went (two boys carrying his train behind him) to an inner 

 apartment, where the articles of my present were exhibited in 

 detail. He had examined them privately before, and we knew 

 that he was satisfied. They consisted of eight yards of orange- 

 colored serge, a large striped tablecloth ; another large cloth 

 made at Manchester in imitation of west coast native manufac- 

 ture, which never fails to excite the admiration of Arabs and 

 natives, and a large richly gilded comb for the back hair, such 

 as ladies wore fifty years ago : this was given to me by a friend 

 at Liverpool, and as Casembe and Nsama's people cultivate the 

 hair into large knobs behind, I was sure that this article would 

 tickle the fancy. Casembe expressed himself pleased, and again 

 bade me welcome. 



" I had another interview, and tried to dissuade him from 

 selling his people as slaves. He listened a while, then broke off" 

 into a tirade on the greatness of his country, his power and 

 dominion, which Mohamad bin Saleh, who has been here for 

 ten years, turned into ridicule, and made the audience laugh by 

 telling how other Lunda chiefs had given me oxen and sheep, 

 while Casembe had only a poor little goat and some fish to 

 bestow. He insisted also that there were but two sovereigns in 

 the world, the Sultan of Zanzibar and Victoria. When we 

 went on a third occasion to bid Casembe farewell, he was much 

 less distant, and gave me the impression that I could soon be- 

 come friends with him ; but he has an ungainly look, and an 

 outward squint in each eye. A number of human skulls 

 adorned the entrance to his courtyard ; and great numbers of 

 his principal men having their ears cropped, and some with 

 their hands lopped off, showed his barbarous way of making his 

 ministers attentive and honest. I could not avoid indulging a 

 prejudice against him. 



" The Portuguese visited Casembe long ago ; but as each new 

 Casembe builds a new town, it is not easy to fix on the exact 

 spot to which strangers came. The last seven Casembes have 

 had their towns within seven miles of the present one. Dr. 

 Lacerda, Governor of Tette, on the Zambesi, was the only vis- 



