So great jars of "arack" were brought in and drinking
vessels, and each chief in turn, standing before some whilom enemy,
sang his praises in musical recitative before giving him the cup;
and after each phrase of the song the multitude joined in with a
long-drawn sonorous shout, which, while the drink flowed down, rose
to a mighty roar. This is a most effective way of drinking a man's
health, and combines the advantages of making a speech over him and
singing "For he's a jolly good fellow"; moreover, the drink goes to
the right party, as it does not with us. It should be adopted in this
country, I think. By many repetitions of this process we were soon
reduced to a state of boisterous conviviality; and many a hard-faced
old warrior, who but the day before had drawn his weapons against
his enemy, now sat with his arms lovingly thrown about that same
enemy. When this state of affairs was reached, our work seemed to be
accomplished, and we white men retired to lunch, leaving one chief in
the midst of a long-winded speech. As soon as the restraint of the
Resident's presence was removed, the orator began to utter remarks
of a nature to stir up the dying embers of resentment; at least so
it seemed to one wily old chief, a firm supporter of the government,
who bethought him to send one of his men to pull away the palm-leaf
mats from above the indiscreet orator, and so leave his verbosity
exposed to the rays of the mid-day sun.
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