Chap. XVI.— B.P.] THE KING OF MOSQUITO. 2G9 
swarthy—darker than that of a Spaniard, bnt still 
fairer than the generality of his countrymen, probably 
because he was not subjected to the life of constant 
exposure and hardship which is their common lot; his 
face was flat, like that of a Chinese, cheek-bones high 
and rather prominent, the nose small and thin,—a dis¬ 
tinguishing feature of the Mosquitians, the other tribes 
on the coast not being characterized by this marked 
peculiarity, but, on the contrary, having noses similar 
to those of other Indians, nay, in some instances, 
even prominent. His hair was very black, cut rather 
short, and parted on one side; it was very fine, and 
straight, without the slightest appearance of a curl or 
even waviness. Having neither whiskers nor mous¬ 
tache, nor in fact the least vestige of a hair on his face, 
and with the delicately-shaped hand and foot of his 
race, he gave one the idea of being very young; ho 
was not quite thirty, but looked scarcely twenty. 
The King was educated at Jamaica, and I could not 
help remarking to him that I had never known any 
one out of England who spoke English so perfectly, 
without the least perceptible foreign accent. He said 
that he felt more like an Englishman than anything 
else, and in fact considered English his proper language, 
for he certainly could not speak Mosquitian so well. 
Altogether, it was impossible not to be impressed with 
his Majesty, and I could not help speculating on the 
different fate that might have befallen him and his 
people had the life of his guardian and adviser, 
Mr. Walker, been spared. This gentleman had been 
appointed by the English Government to the above- 
