seated himself upon a little wooden stool that a servant had been carrying for him, and made signs to us to be seated on the ground; but seeingthat I hesitated about taking such a position in my best suit of black, he sent for two trusses of dry grass upon which Blockley and I had to sit down without more ado.
Sepopo began to besiege Blockley with question after question, and as I was not sufficiently versed in the Sesuto-Serotse dialect to follow their conversation, I entertained myself by criticizing the company. Presently the crowd opened to admit a young man, preceded by a herald, and carrying a great wooden dish which, after making an obeisance, he placed on the open space between us and the king. The odour was quite sufficient to make us aware that the dish contained broiled fish. Sepopo picked out a fish at random and handed it to the chiefs Kapella and Mashoku, who had to eat a portion of it; and having thus satisfied himself that the food was not poisoned, he handed one each to Blockley and me, and took another himself. Our fingers had to do duty in the absence of forks, the mighty sovereign of many and many a thousand miles setting us the example in a very dexterous fashion. We had eaten nothing since breakfast, and were consequently by no means disinclined to make a good meal now; but the etiquette of the country did not permit us to eat more than half a fish, and we were expected to pass over the rest to the chiefs who were sitting next us, they in their turn taking a bit and handing the remnant to their neighbours. Ten fish constituted the whole repast, and the servants were permitted to pick the heads.
The Marutse excel in their methods of dressing
