56 TRAVELS IN THE 
in number, most of them young and handsome, and wearing on 
their heads ornaments of gold, and beads of amber. 
They rallied me with a good deal of gaiety on different sub- 
jects ; particularly upon the whiteness of my skin, and the pro- 
minency of my nose. They insisted that both were artificial. 
The first, they said, was produced when I was an infant, by 
dipping me in milk ; and they insisted that my nose had been 
pinched every day, till it had acquired its present unsightly and 
unnatural conformation. On my part, without disputing my own 
deformity, I paid them many compliments on African beauty. 
I praised the glossy jet of their skins, and the lovely depression 
of their noses ; but they said that flattery, or (as they empha- 
tically termed it) honey-mouth, was not esteemed in Bondou. In 
return, however, for my company or my compliments (to which, 
by the way, they seemed not so insensible as they affected to 
be), they presented me with a jar of honey and some fish, which 
were sent to my lodging ; and I was desired to come again to 
the king a little before sunset. 
I carried with me some beads and writing paper, it being 
usual to present some small offering on taking leave : in return 
for which, the king gave me five drachms of gold ; observing, 
that it was but a trifle, and given out of pure friendship ; but 
would be of use to me in travelling, for the purchase of pro- 
visions. He seconded this act of kindness by one still greater ; 
politely telling me, that though it was customary to examine the 
baggage of every traveller passing through his country, yet, in 
the present instance, he would dispense with that ceremony; 
adding, I was at liberty to depart when I pleased. 
