was so less troublesome, than protractive of bw Conferences t the hour
■ of two had passed; tea was introduced, of which we drank with fhe
Raja. We received presents of fruits and vegetables, and' retired to
Güf house.
It was expected, and seemed necessary, that We should pay* the
st^ériör officers under gOXmffiment, the compfihieüt of a v&it ; I dispatched
therefcWe a mesSengertoeach of them; add, a convenient time
being appointed, we proceeded the following day, to"perform the cère-
Mofif. They were alf three aecofflniodatedJtt tfte pHaëéf and, thofigh
invested withroffices of different duty,’ were looked uponàs-meurly df
equal rank. Their titles, and; as Weil a rî could understand, tfe ^Ô ro
of their employments Were as follow : firsts the TaSsé-ZoampdÖÓ, who
is commandant of thé castle of Tàssistiden, kéepenof warlike stbrea,
and governor of all that tract of country over which We had travelled,
between the capital, and the Company’s dominions. Seoond, the Zoott-
donier, who is treasurer, âs well as captain-general of all the forces,
which in times of emergency hé heads in person. Third, the Zfeffipf,
who is master of ceremonies, cup-bearer, and keeper of the wardrobe ;
he is constantly attendant upon the Raja, and conducts the plan óf all
his operations : Ms office, being rather of a private nature, is of less
ostensible conseqûhncè than the other two; but, as he is always near
the person of the Raja, and consequently supposed to be a favourite,
his situation gives him weight in the general estimation.
We Were first conducted to the apartment of the Tasse-Zoompoon,
whom we met on the day of Our introduction to the Raja« in the west
angle of the palace. He was a Corpulent; unwieldy figure, and not Of
thp ^nq&t ,polished manners,; but what was wanting fp this,jcesuee(;,was
amply .compensated* by ap,$hupdapt share ,of,goo,d-humour, Thc ZbQP?
punier was and athletic, aandmve striking vindications of a ’fetter
understanding than his.asspfiate fin,-offiqs,.: f i e , p „ q s ^ e s j a m e
time .an easier .apd • n^p^spirhed,^adpcess,. Jn the, hpgjrmmg,t,of his
catfep in life, he had begp ^ppjpyed somewhere onthe skiRtSLof.the
mountains, .and hap, picked qp a Jew. w or(is. uf.the.p^wajlee, ilau-
gqagq, ,whiqh he ,was dond-of,repe$ing. of .^changing
a ^efpng„scarf passed .b^t.^eept.,vu&: .tea; course,’vwe ^ere; ofligpd
to ,pj£rtak;e - of, which ;is ;peyer ,qmittjed,.fe;t (yfsits,.heimade-,pxsr> so
frequently, ,at any .hour qf the }dpy„ Th,er,e was worthy recapitulation,
in these visits; mere mopapon-place.offers nLeivflkv.op
their .part, acknowledgments pn mipe^ and .mutual wishes tn he heftgr
. acquainted.'
The day was far advanced) iwh$£^^'left}die«^ootijipqqn pap ^ 9,0117
dppipj.SO that-we were obliged to ppstppne.Qiir,wsjf t,n yjpjripi, M.rW ij
the.following,day. We thenfoundhim dequpying^paPK^nfs^djmtp
ipg .to that in which we were introduced to, the ffaef; to ■ rohnip Jaft' i^
nearly related. He wqs awell-formed-youpg- qipp.nnqhhsE.tah p,nV rOtH?1e
lent,.afeout twenty Tour years„qf age; ,ipmarifhh{y,fpjlP|\n.frjB mJHWfiSS*
and.of,an open and,- ingqnupns deportipept- ,,H£ rhad lessor,qserye tfap
either,^the other ministers, and-.sppmep,a$.y.et to have contracted none
pf the .austere habits.of high office. ,He expressed himself earnestly
solicitous to qpltivate a friendly and familiar iptipi^qy. prgipg. as ,an
inducement,;hh .relative situation» anp hia^g^;
last respect, .there was nof.mpch disparity hqtween^py,o,f us-.