I was now received by a commanding figure, whom I took to be the king.
He was even more gorgeously dressed than the others, with strings of
bright stones round his neck and Paradise plumes in his hair, while
upon his head was a circlet composed of human teeth, set in clay, in
the centre of which glowed an opal of extraordinary fire. His face was
sullen and cruel, and his hazel eyes, with their dark lashes and
yellow-tinged whites, gave to his countenance an expression scarcely
human. Near to him stood a group of young men, their bodies plastered
with a bright red pigment, who appeared to be his personal attendants,
or slaves.
This savage now addressed me, asking the same questions as the other
chief, to which I returned similar answers. I was then led to a house
with a beehive-shaped roof, where food was brought to me, consisting of
coconuts and bananas, with a luscious kind of fruit I had never before
tasted, but which I found very palatable. After my meal I was taken
before the queen.
CHAPTER XVII
QUEEN MELANNIE
The queen was white--indeed very pale--with large dark eyes, and brown
hair that hung down in its natural beauty, untouched by the pigments
with which the savages convert their own hair into mops.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105