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 compliments on African beauty, I praised
the 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 return, however, for my
company or my compliments, (to which, by the way, they seemed not so
insensible as they affected to be), they presented me with a jar of honey
and some fish, which were sent to my lodging; and I was desired to come
again to the king a little before sunset.

I carried with me some beads and writing paper, it being usual to present
some small offering on taking leave; in return for which, the king gave
me five drachms of gold; observing that it was but a trifle, and given
out of pure friendship; but would be of use to me in travelling, for the
purchase of provision. He seconded this act of kindness by one still
greater; politely telling me, that though it was customary to examine the
baggage of every traveller passing through his country, yet, in the
present instance, he would dispense with that ceremony; adding, that I
was at liberty to depart when I pleased.

Accordingly, on the morning of the 23d, we left Fatteconda, and about
eleven o'clock came to a small village, where we determined to stop for
the rest of the day.