The terror and horror of the four or five hundred
ladies, when they found that their husband was about to abandon his
palace and that they would have no time to remove their treasured
finery, can be well imagined.
In almost every apartment and yard of the palace were very slightly
raised mounds, some no larger than a plate, others two or even three
feet long. These were whitewashed and presented a strong contrast
to the general red of the ground and lower walls. These patches
marked the places of graves. The whole palace, in fact, appeared
to be little better than a cemetery and a slaughterhouse in one.
A guard was placed over the palace, and here, as elsewhere through
the town, looting was strictly forbidden.
All day the general expected the arrival of the king, who had sent
a messenger to say he would be in early. At two o'clock a tremendous
rainstorm broke over the town, lasting for three hours. In the evening
it became evident that he was again deceiving us, and orders were
issued that the troops, in the morning, should push on another three
miles to the tombs of the kings, where he was said to be staying.
Later on, however, the news came that the king had gone right away
into the interior, and as another storm was coming up it became
evident that the rainy season was setting in in earnest.
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