308 
THE WESTERN COAST. 
termed his strong names. When the king pro- 
hibits the minstrels from entering upon a disagree- 
able subject, he announces that the topic is too 
strong for him. The modern history of the Da- 
homans realizes all that history has recorded of 
ancient Lacedemon, and of those Lacedemonians 
of the north, the inhabitants of Jomsburgh, who 
were forbidden to mention the name of Fear^ 
even in the most imminent dangers, and who 
proudly declared that they would fight their ene- 
mies, though they were stronger than the Gods. 
Saxo relates, that when Frotho, king of Denmark, 
was taken prisoner in battle, he obstinately re- 
fused to accept of life, declaring, that the re- 
storation of his kingdom and treasures could never 
restore his honour, but that future ages would 
always say, Frotho has been taken by his enemy. 
The palace of the king of Dahomy is an extensive 
building of bamboo and mud-walled huts, sur- 
rounded by a mud-wall about twenty feet high, 
enclosing a quadrangular space of about a mile 
square. The entrance to the king's apartment is 
paved with human skulls, the lateral walls adorn- 
ed with human jaw-bones, with a few bloody 
heads intermixed at intervals. The whole build- 
ing resembles a number of farm-yards, with long 
thatched barns and sheds for cattle, intersected 
with low mud-walls. On the thatched roofs, 
numerous human skulls are ranged at intervals^ 
