Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/420

 39^ DICK SANDSf» THE BOV CAPTAIN. . Cousin Benedicfs spectacles were not fbrgottent but weré * firmly afiixed to the countenance of the image. The masquerade had its ludicrous as wdl as its terrible mde, When the evening arrived, a long procession was aeen wending its way to the place of intennent ; the uproar was perfectly deafening ; shouts, yells, the boisterous incantaF- tions of the musicîans, the clang of musical instruments» auul the reports of many old muskets, mingled in wild confusion. The ceremony was to take place by torch-light, and the whole population of Kazonndé, native and otherwise» was bound to be présent Alvez, Colmbra» Negoro, the Arab dealers and their havildars ail helped to swell the numbers, the queen having given express orders that no one who had been at the lakoni should leave the town, and it was not deemed prudent to disobey her commands. The remains of the king were carried in a palanquin in the rear of the cortège, surrounded by the wîves of the second class, some of whom were doomed to follow theîr master beyond the tomb. Queen Moena, în state array, marched behind the catafalque. Night was well advanced when the entîre procession reached the banks of the brook, but the resin-torches, waved on high by thcîr bearcrs, shcd a ruddy glare upon the teeming crowd. The grave, with its lînîng of livîng women, bound to its side by chains, was plaînly visible ; fifty slaves, some resigned and mute, others uttering loud and piteous cries, were there awaiting the moment when the rushing torrent should be opened upon them. The wives who were destined to perîsh had been selected by the queen herself and were ail in holiday-attire. One of the victims, who bore the title of second wîfe, was forced down upon her hands and knees in the grave, in order to form a rcsting-place for the effigy, as she had been accus- tomcd to do for the living sovereign ; the third wife had to sustain the image in an upright position, and the fourth lay down at its feet to make a footstool. In front of the effigy, at the end of the grave, a huge stake, painted red, was planted firmly in the earth« Bound to this stake, his body half naked, exhibiting marks of die