The World of Waters, Or, A Peaceful Progress O'er the Unpathed SeaOsborne, David, Mrs. (Fanny)
General
The World of Waters, Or, A Peaceful Progress O'er the Unpathed Sea
Osborne, David, Mrs. (Fanny)
Geography -- Juvenile literature; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile literature
MR. WILTON. "They are a more civilized set than the people of
Dahomey; and the Danes have furnished us with a portrait of one of
their kings, whose name was Opocco. Here is the account:--'The
monarch was seated on a throne of massive gold, under the shade of
an artificial tree with golden leaves. His body, extremely lean, and
inordinately tall, was smeared over with tallow mixed up with gold
dust. A European hat, bound with broad gold lace, covered his head;
his loins were encircled with a sash of golden cloth. From his neck
down to his feet cornelians, agates, lazulites, were crowded in the
form of bracelets and chains, and his feet rested on a golden basin.
The grandees of the realm lay prostrate on the ground, with their
heads covered with dust. A hundred complainers and accused persons
were in a similar posture; behind them twenty executioners, with
drawn sabres in their hands waited the royal signal, which generally
terminated each cause, by the decapitation of one or other of the
parties.'
"The Danish envoy was introduced; and passing a number of bloody
heads, recently separated from the bodies, approached the throne.
The magnificent flaming prince addressed him with the following
most gracious questions:--'I would willingly detain thee for some
months in my dominions, to give thee an idea of my greatness. Hast
thou ever seen anything to be compared with it? 'No! lord and king,'
replied the obsequious envoy, 'thou hast no equal in the world!'
'Thou art right,' said Opocco, 'God in heaven does not much surpass
me!' The king drank some English beer from a bottle, and then handed
it to the Dane; the latter took a little, and excused himself by
saying that the liquor would intoxicate him. 'It is not the beer
that confounds thee,' said Opocco; 'it is the brightness of my
countenance which throws the universe into a state of inebriety!'
This same king conquered the brave prince Oorsoock, chief of the
Akims, who slew himself. He caused the head of the vanquished prince
to be brought to him, decked it with golden bracelets, and in
presence of his generals directed to him the following speech:
--'Behold him laid in the dust, this great monarch, who had
no equal in the universe, except God and me! He was certainly the
third. Oh! my brother Oorsoock, why wouldst thou not acknowledge
thyself my inferior? But thou hopedst to find an opportunity of
killing me; thou thoughtest that there ought not to be more than
_one_ great man in the world. Thy sentiment was not to be blamed; it
is one in which all mighty kings ought to participate.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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