Major Denham gives a
very good account of an interview with the Sultan of Bornou. He
writes:--'The Sultan received us in an open space in front of the
royal residence: we were kept at a considerable distance, while his
people approached to within about 100 yards, passing first on
horseback; and after dismounting and prostrating themselves before
him, they took their places on the ground in front, but with their
backs to the royal person, which is the custom of the country. The
Sultan was seated in a sort of cage, of cane or wood, near the door
of his garden, on a seat which, at the distance, appeared to be
covered with silk or satin, and through the railing looked upon the
assembly before him, who formed a semicircle in front of him.
Nothing could be more absurd and grotesque than the figures who
formed this court. Large stomachs and large heads are indispensable
for those who serve the court of Bornou, and those who unfortunately
possess not the former by nature, make up the deficiency with
wadding. A little to our left, or nearly in front of the Sultan, was
an extempore declaimer, shouting forth praises of his master, with
his pedigree; and near him one who bore the long wooden "frum-frum,"
on which he ever and anon blew a blast, loud and unmusical,' The
major says, the appearance of these courtiers was ridiculous in the
extreme, squatting down in their places, or tottering under the
weight and magnitude of their turbans and their stomachs, while
their thin legs, that appeared underneath, but ill accorded with the
bulk of the other parts.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353