342 
t 
A VOYAGE TO 
July* anc ^ ^ at down on his foil’s left hand, about twenty paces 
~-v—from him. The young prince, then, quitting his fir ft pofi- 
tion, went and fat down under the Hied, with his attend¬ 
ants ; and a confiderable number more placed themfelves 
on the grafs, before this royal canopy. The prince himfelf 
fat facing the people, with his back to the moral . This 
being done, three companies, of ten or a dozen men in 
each, ftarted up from amongft the large crow r d, a little after 
each other, and running haftily to the oppoftte fide of the 
area, fat down for a few feconds; after which, they re¬ 
turned, in the fame manner, to their former ftations. To 
them fucceeded two men, each of whom held a fmall 
green branch in his hand, who got up and approached the 
prince, fitting down, for a few feconds, three different 
times, as they advanced; and then, turning their backs, 
retired in the fame manner, inclining their branches to 
each other as they fat. In a little time, two more repeated 
this ceremony. 
The grand proceflion, which I had feen march off from 
the other moral , now began to come in. To judge of the 
circuit they had made, from the time they had been abfent, 
it muft have been pretty large. As they entered the area, 
they marched up to the right of the fhed, and, having 
proftrated themfelves on the grafs, depoftted their pretend¬ 
ed burthens (the poles above-mentioned), and faced round 
to the prince. They then rofe up, and retired in the fame 
order, doling their hands, which they held before them, 
with the moft ferious afpedt, and feated themfelves along 
the front of the area. During all the time that this nume¬ 
rous band were coming in, and depoliting their poles, three 
men, who fat under the Hied, w T ith the prince, continued 
pronouncing feparate fentences, in a melancholy tone. 
i After 
