268 DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. ' [Chap.XVI.—B.P. 
sliop iu a basket carried on the head of a young 
Carib under a broiling sun; but in spite of this, and 
with no remedy in the shape of ice (such a thing as 
frozen water never having been seen at Blewfields), 
the general satisfaction at the appearance of our 
national drink was unbounded. I shall not soon for¬ 
get the chorus of deep-drawn sighs of relief and enjoy¬ 
ment which were elicited from my worthy shipmates 
when a good draught of this most delectable fluid had 
passed over their dry and thirsty throats. 
Having been thus comfortably provided for, both 
inside and out, we repaired to the King’s room, where 
I formally introduced the officers who had accompanied 
me in the gig. The King shook hands cordially with 
each, and said he was delighted to see us, and hoped 
the refreshment of a bath and some beer would go 
far towards banishing from our minds the difficulty 
we had found in reaching his house, but that for the 
future we must always have a native with us when 
we entered the Lagoon, the navigation being so intri¬ 
cate and difficult. Of this there could be no doubt; 
and I told his Majesty that I would take very good 
care not to enter the Lagoon again without a pilot, at 
least until I had made myself acquainted with a channel 
from Cassava Cay to the town by which a boat could 
be sent from the ship to the settlement in something 
less than two hours. 
We now had time to take a good look at George 
Augustus Frederic, the King of Mosquito. He was 
about five feet seven inches in height, well built, but 
slight, and of pure Indian blood. His complexion was 
