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Show 66 PICTUR':£ OF AFRICA AT HOM!:. bringing him to a public trial •. But this deg_ree of protection is extended only to the na\lve or domestic slave." On the arrival of Park at Fatteconda, the Capital of Bondou, he was invited to the presence of the king, who having entertained him with. great complaisonce and hos. pitality, " observed, that h1s women were very desirous of seeing him, and requested that he would favour them with a visit." He describes his interview with these royal personages thus : " An attendant was ordered to conduct me ; and I had no sooner entered the court appropriated to the ladies, than the whole seraglio surrounded me ; some begging for physic, some for a_mber; an_d aU of them _desirous of trying that great African specific, blond-lettmg. They were ten or twelve in number, most of them young ancl kndsome, and wearing on their heads ornaments of gold, and beads of amber. • '-' They rallied me with a good deal of gaiety on different subjects; particularly upon the whiteness of my skin, and the prominency of my nose. They insisted that both were artificial. The first, they said, was produced when I was an infant by dipping me in milk; and they insisted that my nose had been pinched every day, till it had acquired its present unsightly and unnatural conformation. On my part, without disputing my own deformity, I paid them many compliment• on Afi-ican beauty. I praised tl~e glossy jet of their skins, and the lovely depression of their noses; but they said that flattery, or (as they emphatically termed it) honey-mouth, was not esteemed in Bondou. In r~tun1, however, for my company or my compliments (to which, by the way, they seemed not so insensible as thev affected to be) they presented me with a jar of honey and some fish, which were sent to my lodging; awl I was desired to come again to the king a little before sunset." Mr. Park states, that he fouhd many schools in his pro. gress through the country, and observed with pleasur_e, the great docility and submissive deportment of the clul- PICTURE OF AFRICA AT HOM.!.. 67 dren, and heartily wished they had better in~tructors and a purer religion. " The industry of the Foulahs of Bondou in the occu. pations of pasturage and agriculture, is every where remarkable. Their herds and flocks are numerous, and tl1ey are opulent in a high degree! and enjoy ·all the neces. s.1nes of hfe m the greatest profusiOn. They display great skill in the management of their cattle, making them extremely gentle by kindness and familiarity." After having arrived in one of the villages, and being a; a loss how to procure food, Mr. Park describes the voluntary kindness of a female slave, as follows : " .. Fowards evening, as·I was sitting upon the Bentang, chewmg straws, an ale\ female slave passing by \~lth a basket upon her head, asked me if 1 had got my dm11er. As I thought she only laughed at me, I gave her no answer; but my boy, who was sitting close by, answered for me, and told her, that the king's people had robbed me of all ?'Y money. On hearing this, the good old woman, With a look of unaffected benevolence, immedi~ tely took the basket !rom her head, and shewing me tbat II con tamed ground-nuts, asked me if I could eat them· being answered in the affirmative, she presented me with a few handfuls, and walked away before I had time to ibw;k her for this seasonable supply." Mr. Park describes his arrival at the town of Jumbo in company with one of the natives who had been sevcrai years absent, thus: " On enterin_g the _town, the singing man began an extempore. song. m pra1se of the blacksmith, extolling his cour:.tge m_ hav1~g ~v~rco~e so ma_nydifficulties, and concludmg WI~h stnct InJUnctions to his friends, to dreos him plenty of VICtuals: " When \~e arrived at the blacksmith's place of resi. dence, we d1smount~d ~nd fired our muskets. The |