The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and DiscoveryHakluyt, Richard
History
The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and Discovery
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English -- Juvenile literature; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile literature
"The people that inhabited round about came downe and amongst them the
King himselfe, a man of a goodly stature & comely personage, with many
other tall and warlike men: before whose comming were sent two
Ambassadors to our Generall to signifie that their King was comming, in
doing of which message their speach was continued about halfe an houre.
This ended, they by signes requested our Generall to send some thing by
their hand to their King as a token that his comming might be in peace:
wherein our Generall having satisfied them, they returned with glad
tidings to their King, who marched to us with a princely majestie, the
people crying continually after their manner, and as they drew neere
unto us, so did they strive to behave themselves in their actions with
comelinesse. In the forefront was a man of a goodly personage who bare a
scepter or mace before the King, whereupon hanged two crownes, a lesse
and a bigger, with three chaines of a marveilous length: the crownes
were made of knit worke wrought artificially with fethers of divers
colours; the chaines were made of a bonie substance, and few be the
persons among them that are admitted to weare them: and of that number
also the persons are stinted, as some ten, some twelve &c. Next unto him
which bare the scepter, was the King himselfe with his Guard about his
person, clad with Conie skins, & other skins; after them followed the
naked common sort of people, every one having his face painted, some
with white, some with blacke, and other colours, & having in their hands
one thing or another for a present, not so much as their children, but
they also brought their presents.
"In the meane time our Generall gathered his men together, and marched
within his fenced place, making against their approaching a very
warre-like shew. They being trooped together in their order, and a
generall salutation being made, there was presently a generall silence.
Then he that bare the scepter before the King being informed by another,
whom they assigned to that office, with a manly and loftie voyce
proclaymed that which the other spake to him in secrete, continuing
halfe an houre: which ended and a generall Amen as it were given, the
King with the whole number of men and women (the children excepted) came
downe without any weapon, who descending to the foote of the hill set
themselves in order. In comming towards our bulwarks and tents, the
scepter-bearer began a song, observing his measures in a daunce, and
that with a stately countenance, whom the King with his Guarde, and
every degree of persons following, did in like manner sing and daunce,
saving onely the women, who daunced and kept silence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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