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Page 10
The English soldiers were called out, and the King was allowed to enter
the city.
He stated that he had come to make submission to the British Queen or
her representative, and begged that in consideration for his rank he
might be allowed to make his submission in private.
When this message was brought to the Resident, as the English governor
is called, he refused to grant the request.
He said that Drunami's rebellion against the Queen had been public, and
therefore his submission must be public also.
The King of Benin thereupon held a council with his chiefs, who after
much arguing decided that it was best to obey the wishes of the
Resident, and make public submission.
Word of his intention was accordingly sent to the Resident, who
thereupon repaired to the Council House, and, taking his position on its
steps, waited the arrival of the penitent King.
Drunami, as he advanced to meet him, presented a very strange
appearance. From head to foot his black skin was covered with coral
ornaments. On his arms and ankles were numberless bangles, those on his
arms being so many and so heavy that he could not raise his arms, but
had to have them supported by his followers.
He had by this time added a band of music to his train, and to the
mournful music which they made on their reed instruments the King and
his chiefs marched in front of the Council House, and in the presence of
the soldiers whom the Resident had ordered to assemble, publicly
tendered his submission to the Queen of England.
This act was accomplished by bowing very low before the Resident, and
then kneeling on the ground and rubbing his forehead three times in the
dust.
The ten chiefs repeated the ceremony after their King; and thus having
signified their regret for their evil deeds, and their intention to be
faithful and obedient in future, the King and his followers were allowed
to take their way back to the palace in Benin.
* * * * *
England seems to have taken to heart the conduct of the Irish people
during the recent jubilee, and to be endeavoring to make peace with the
denizens of the Emerald Isle.
There have been many complaints that the royal family never visited
Ireland, and that the money and trade that a royal pageant always brings
with it have been purposely withheld from the land of St. Patrick.
There is a good deal of justice in this complaint. The Queen, who goes
so often to Scotland, has not set foot in Ireland since 1861, nor has
the Prince of Wales since 1871. At the same time Ireland has been in
such an unsettled state that it has not seemed a very safe country in
which to trust the precious life of a sovereign.
Now, however, the Queen has sent the Duke and Duchess of York to Dublin
to open the exhibition of Irish industries in that city.
The Duke of York is the Queen's grandson, the eldest living son of the
Prince of Wales. He is the heir to the throne, and will be the King of
Great Britain and Ireland if he survives his grandmother and father.
The Queen has therefore entrusted one of the most precious members of
her family to the keeping of the Irish, and the importance of this act
may go a long way toward making peace with Ireland.
The wife of the Duke of York is the daughter of one of the most popular
of the English princesses, and is said to have inherited all her
mother's amiability and charm of manner.
Entertainments and fetes have been given the young couple, and it is
rumored that the Queen is about to purchase for them the beautiful
"Muckross" estate near Killarney.
If this is done, her Majesty will probably require the young people to
spend a good deal of their time in Ireland.
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