ning nature, with the addition
of low spirits, it is really crushing--quite crushing."

I laughed, and replied that he must just submit to be crushed, as it was
impossible for Jack and me to change our dispositions to suit his
convenience; whereupon he sighed, lighted his pipe, and began to smoke
vehemently.

In the course of little more than an hour Jack returned, accompanied by
Makarooroo, and from the satisfied expression of their faces I judged
that they had been successful.

"Ah! I see; it's all right," said Peterkin, raising himself on one
elbow as they entered the hut and seated themselves beside the fire.
"Old Jambai has been `talked over.'"

"Right; but he needed a deal of talk--he was horribly obstinate," said
Jack.

"Ho, yis; ho! ho! horribubly obsterlate," added Makarooroo in
corroboration, rubbing his hands and holding his nose slyly over the
bowl of Peterkin's pipe, in order to enjoy, as it were, a second-hand
whiff.

"Here, there's a bit for yourself, old boy. Sit down and enjoy yourself
while Jack tells us all about his interview with royalty," said
Peterkin, handing a lump of tobacco to our guide, whose eyes glistened
and white teeth gleamed as he received the much-prized gift.

Jack now explained to us that he had found the king in a happy state of
satiety, smoking in his very curious and uneasy-looking easy-chair; that
he had at first begged and entreated him (Jack) to stay and take command
of his warriors, and had followed up his entreaties with a hint that it
was just possible he might adopt stronger measures if entreaty failed.

To this Jack replied in a long speech, in which he pointed out the
impossibility of our complying with the king's request under present
circumstances, and the absolute necessity of our returning at some
period or other to our native land to tell our people of the wonders we
had seen in the great country of King Jambai. Observing that his
arguments did not make much impression on the king, he brought up his
reserve force to the attack, and offered all the remainder of our goods
as a free gift to his majesty, stipulating only that he (the king)
should, in consideration thereof, carefully send our boxes of specimens
down to the coast, where the messengers, on arriving, should be
handsomely paid if everything should arrive safely and in good order.

These liberal offers had a visible influence on the sable monarch, whose
pipe indicated the state of his mind pretty