The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1874-01-22
THE KING OF ASHANTEE,

Will W -uhitp huhNitll anu JllIbN-bllTc
wives, which number is carefully KEEP
up, to enable him to present women t
those who distinguish themselves, bu
never exceeded, being in their eyes
mystical one. Many of these reside il
secluded part of the kings Groom, o
country residence, ut Barramang
greater number in Groom at the bacl
of the palace, Immediately in the marsh
and the remainder in two streets of til,
capital. Mary, probably, the king ha
never seen. The streets as we'll as tn,
Groom are inhabited by them exclusive
ly, and never approached but by tn,
kings messengers, or their female rela
tivcs, who only communicate with then
at the entrances, which are closed a
each end with bamboo doors, where
there is always a guard. If the king
cOnSd,oS, or marries an infant at the
breast, which is not unfrequent, she is
thenceforth confined to the house, and
vigorously secluded from the sight oi
any but the female part of her family
The king has seldom more than SIX
wives resident with him in the palace
On the occasion of signing the treaty,
about three hundred were assembled,
and nonA but the kings chamberlain,
and the deputies of the parts of the
government, were allowed to be present.
They were addressed through their own
linguist, very decrepit old man.
Many of them were very handsome,
and their figures exquisite. When
they go ont, which is seldom, they are
encircled and preceded by troops of
small boys with thongs or whips of ele-
plants hide, who lash every one Sc
verely who does not quit their path for
another, or jump into the bush with his
hands before his eyes; and some
times the offenders are heavily fined be-
sides. The scrambling their approach
occasioned in the more public parts Of
the city was very neutrality-suspicious.,
cabOceers, slaves, and children, tumb-
ling one over another, / was told what
it cost tho king daily to support them,
but it has escaped me they are said to
live as daintily as himself. None but
the chief eunuch, an immense creature,
is allowed to bear n Message to the king
when in the seraglio of the palace.
II has been mentioned before, that the
kings sisters are not only countenanced
in intrigue with any handsome subject,
but they are allowed to choose any emf
nently so (however inferior othcrwise),
rs husband, who is presently advised by
the king of his good fortune thus they
they provide for personal su
periority in their monarch. But if the
royal bride dies before the husband, un-
ess his rank be originally elevated, he
IS expected to kill himself on the occa-
sion, aud also if the only male child
lies. If he hesitates, he heisperemptorily
that as either are his superb
1rs, to whom he is to be considered as II
slave, so he must attend them wherever
hey go and when male child is born
he father does it homage and acknowl-
,dges his vassalage in the most abiect
manner.
The Ocras are distinguished bya large
circle of gold suspended from the neck;
many of them are favorite slaves, many
,ommoners who have distinguished
and who are glad to stake
heir lives on the kings, to be kept free
rom palavers aud supported by his
bounty, which they are entirely; some
ew are relatives and men of rank. All
If the two former classes, excepting
,nly the two or three individuals known
% have been intrusted with the kings
state secrets, are sacrificed on his tomb.
The royal messengers and others of the
,ute have been described in the process
iions; they are sometimes fed in the
palace, but they have free seat at the
able Of every subject.
The king has q troop of small boys,
who carry the fetch bows and arrows,
md are licensed plunderers they are
10 sly and nimble that it is very divert
ng to watch them in the market place,
which they invest every morning. What
,ver they can carry off is fair game, and
cannot be required; but the loser, if he
,an catch them before they arrive at the
palace, may beat them as severely as he
)leases short of mortal injury how
,ver, they bear it as obdurNtely as
young Spartans. Sometimes one party
rips up person with n lond of pro
visions, while another scramblcs them
lp. The anxious alarm OF the market
people, sitting with sticks in their
hands, and the comic archness of these
Boys threading the crowd in all direc-
ions, is indescribable. Some of the
earliest European travellers in Abyssinia
net with similar troop of royal plum
lerers, and / believe suffered from
hem. Our property was always re-
'pected by them, but they used to en-
ertain themselves with mimicking our
common expressions and our actions,
which they did inimitably. While
,ketching, they buzzod about me like
posouitoes. The Ashantees are with
,ut exception the most surprising MINI
cs I have ever heard. have known
,aptain, called Adoo Quamina, repeat a
sentence after | had flushed it, of at
east a dozen words, which he knew
about, and had not heard be-
ore. The king has sort of buffoon,
whose movements were as irresistibly
ionic as those of Grimaldi.
The king appeared to have nearly
hundred negroes of different colors,
through the shades of red and pink to
white; they were collected for state,
out were generally disgusting objects,
diseased and emaciated; they always
seemed as il going to shed their skins,
md their eyes blinked iu the light, as if
it was not their element.
About twenty pots of white soup and
twenty pots of black (mado with palm
nuts are cooked daily at the palace (be-
side those for the consumption Of the
household), for visitors of consequence,
and periguin of gold is given daily to
the chamberlain, for palm
wine. This would have appeared too
large sum, had 1 not witnessed the
vast consumption and waste of it; for
the vigor Of an Ashantee being estima-
ted by the measure of the draught he
can drink of, nearly half is generally