on the Countries of Congo and Loango . 47 
in the breast ; the tusks of the young elephant, filled with a 
black paste, into which shells are stuck ; tigers claws and teeth ; 
the minute horns of the chevrotten and other animals; sea- 
shells full of black paste ; to which may be added, small parcels 
of party-coloured rags, little bags of precious ingredients, and 
diminutive flasks containing consecrated gunpowder. 
No man takes a drink, without making an oblation to the mas- 
ter Fitish, which is frequently an eleph ant’s tooth. He holds it 
in the left hand, and after licking its pasted head with his 
tongue, squirts a mouthful of liquid over it in a shower ; then 
muttering a few words, he pours what remains into the dish in 
which it was presented to him, or from whence he took it. 
Malemba . — The King of Chimfooka, (or Malemba), is not 
permitted to trade, or visit sea- ports, but is obliged to reside in 
a remote part of the country with the priesthood, to superin- 
tend the great depot of their religious establishment, and guard 
the sacred asylum of the Fitishes. He is not allowed to wear 
foreign manufactures, but must be content with a dress made 
of the coarsest grass-cloth. So very scrupulous are they in 
this respect, that none of the Princes are permitted to ap- 
proach the King in a dress dissimilar to his own ; and even 
European officers, when on visits of ceremony, and accompa- 
nied by presents for the King, are under the necessity of com- 
plying. These, in conjunction with other customs, are pro- 
ductive of great hesitation among the nobles, when the throne 
becomes elective, through failure of the male line, who shall be- 
come a recluse, and submit to the drudgery and privations of 
the kingly office. This sometimes occasions an interregnum of 
many years, as happened to be the case, when I was there in 
1785. Mambooka was the only candidate for the vacant 
throne ; but being a man of immense power and wealth, and 
extensively engaged in a lucrative trade, he contrived to amuse 
the nation, and stave off his inauguration for several years ; so 
unwilling are they to relinquish the advantages and enjoyments 
of commerce, for the austerities and mortifications of royalty. 
Mambooka, it would appear, considered u the kingly couch no 
better than a watch-case, or a common flarum-bell and happy 
perhaps might it be for mankind, had the office nowhere great- 
er charms. 
2 
