She was
dressed in a robe of white tapa cloth with strings of bright shells and
gold ornaments upon her neck and arms. Upon her head was a diadem of
white clay encrusted with uncut gems. The throne upon which she sat
was of polished marble. Her left hand rested upon the woolly head of a
black boy, who showed his white teeth as we entered. In her right hand
she carried a human skull. The queen, though very beautiful, looked
sad. She could not have been more than eighteen years old, and it was
evident she came from European descent, and was in no way related to
the savages by whom she was surrounded.
And now I bethought me if I would gain favour I must make a present to
the queen, and remembering a small mirror I had with me, set in a
silver frame, which Anna had given me as a parting gift, I took it from
my pocket and presented it to Queen Melannie, the name by which her
people addressed her. It cost me a pang to part with it, but I
reflected that if these savages killed me, as seemed likely unless I
could ingratiate myself with them, the mirror would, with equal
certainty, pass into their hands as if I voluntarily surrendered it.
The queen uttered an exclamation of surprise when she caught sight of
her face in the looking glass, nor could some of her attendants who
stood near resist the temptation to look over her shoulder in order to
see the reflection of their own faces also.
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