This was a large town capable of containing some
seven or eight thousand inhabitants. The architecture was similar
to that of Queesa, but the king's palace was a large structure
covering a considerable extent of ground. Here were the apartments
of the king himself, of his wives, the fetish room, and the room
for execution, still smelling horribly of the blood with which
the floor and walls were sprinkled. The first and largest court of
the palace had really an imposing effect. It was some thirty feet
square with an apartment or alcove on each side. The roofs of these
alcoves were supported by columns about twenty-five feet high. As
in all the buildings the lower parts were of red clay, the upper
of white, all being covered with deep arabesque patterns.
Fomana was one of the most pleasant stations which the troops had
reached since leaving the coast. It lay high above the sea, and
the temperature was considerably lower than that of the stations
south of the hills. A nice breeze sprung up each day about noon.
The nights were comparatively free from fog, and the town itself
stood upon rising ground resembling in form an inverted saucer. The
streets were very wide, with large trees at intervals every twenty
or thirty yards along the middle of the road.
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