WHITE ANTS. 
487 
surmountable obstacle prevents ; for instance, when 
the king and queen have been first lodged near the 
foot of a rock or of a tree, they are certainly built 
out of the usual form, otherwise pretty nearly ac- 
cording to the following plan. The royal chamber 
is situated at about a level with the surface of the 
ground, at an equal distance from all the sides of 
the building, and directly under the apex of the 
hill. It is on all sides, both above and below, sur- 
rounded by what I should call the royal apartments, 
which have only labourers and soldiers in them, 
and can be intended for no other purpose than for 
these to wait in, either to guard or serve their com- 
mon father and mother, on whose safety depends 
the happiness, and, according to the negroes, even 
the existence, of the whole community. These 
ap rtments compose an intricate labyrinth, which 
extends a foot or more in diameter from the royal 
chamber on every side. Here the nurseries and 
magazines of provisions begin, and, being separated 
by small empty chambers and galleries, which go 
round them, or communicate from one to the other, 
are continued on all sides to the outward shell, and 
reach up within it two-thirds or three-fourths of its 
height, leaving an open area in the middle under 
the dome, which very much resembles the nave of 
an old cathedral: this is surrounded by three or 
four very large Gothic-shaped arches, which are 
sometimes two or three feet high next the front of 
the area, but diminish very rapidly as they recede 
from thence like the arches of aisles in perspectives, 
