were others--about fifty of them altogether--
surrounded by and cut off from the rest by a high and stout palisade--
the points of the palisades being sharpened, in order, as I took it, to
render the fence unclimbable--which were not only considerably larger
and more substantial in point of construction, but which, as I afterward
had opportunity to observe, evidenced some rude attempt at decoration in
the form of grotesquely carved finials affixed to the roofs. This part
of the town, situated in its centre, and covering, perhaps, a space of
forty acres, was, I afterwards learned, the habitation of King Banda,
his Court, the principal officers of his army and household, and the
priests, whose temple, or fetish-house, stood on the opposite side of
the square to that occupied by the "palace" of the king.

Our appearance did not at first attract very much attention, or create
any very great amount of excitement; but when we arrived within hail of
the beach in front of the town--upon which were hauled up some three to
four hundred canoes of various sizes--our skipper suddenly sprang to his
feet and, placing his hands trumpet-wise to his mouth, began, in a
curious, high-pitched voice, to shout a somewhat lengthy communication.
Before it was half finished there was a very distinct commotion upon the
beach; half the naked children, who had been playing in the water, were
racing up to the town as fast as their legs would carry them, shouting
as they went, while from every hut the inhabitants came pouring out,
like ants from a disturbed nest, and began to hurry down to the beach.
By the time that we arrived there must have been at least two thousand
people assembled to meet us, and others were hurrying down in crowds.

I soon found that I was the cause of all the commotion, for no sooner
did I step out of the canoe than, although my travelling companions
formed themselves into a cordon round me, and the headman or chief who
had me in charge strove by virtue of his authority to prevent such a
happening, there occurred a wild rush on the part of the crowd to get at
least a sight of me, while those who could get near enough to me
insisted upon touching my skin, apparently with the object of satisfying
themselves as to the genuineness of its colour; and from their eagerness
and their exclamations of astonishment I came to the conclusion that
although they might have heard of, they had never actually seen a white
man before, a concl