The government of this kingdom is monarchical, and as defpotic as any in Afia or Africa. All the lands belong to the king. He gives them to whom he pleafes, referving a tribute. At the death of the poffeffor they revert to him again, and he again difposes of them to thofe he thinks proper. No wonder that agricul ture is difregarded, when the right of inheritance is unknown. The Portuguese have, however, perfuaded the king to permit the heirs and fucceffors of a great many to continue in poffeffion, to avoid the confufion and commotions, and fometimes rebellions, which have happened on this account; but then the tribute is enlarged, and must be punctually paid. The treafarers appointed to receive it once in three years, commit great extortions in collecting it.

The crown is not arily hereditary, nor yet wholly elective. One of the royal family muft fucceed; and who that shall be depends upon those who have a right to elect him. This fails not to caufe a great number of competitors on the demife of a monarch; but the choice commonly falls on him who brings the best retinue, or greatest number of friends and forces with him on the field of election. He must be a Chriftian of the church of Rome; for fince the converfion of thofe monarchs to the gospel, none but fuch are admitted candidates for the crown.

The fucceffor being agreed upon, all the grandees of the realm are fummoned to appear on a plain near the metropolis of St. Salvador, whence they proceed in pomp to the cathedral, once a most noble structure built by the Portuguefe; but fince, through the iniquity of the times, greatly run to decay, and turned into a public but which hath upon thefe occafons an altar reared, richly decked ; at one

hall;

end of which is a stately throne, where the bishop or his vicar is feated, and at the other is a chair of ftate for the chief officer, furrounded by the candidates; who know nothing as yet of the perfon chofen, but wait with impatience to hear him declared.

Before the officer proclaims him, he rises from his chair, and, kneeling before the altar, makes a prayer; and after being refeated, enters upon a long elaborate speech on the duties of a monarch, and the manifold cares and difficulties that attend it. Then he declares to the affembly, that he and the other electors, having duly and impartially weighed the merits of the candidates,jhave chofen fuch an one to the fovereign dignity.

Upon this he immediately goes and takes the new monarch by the hand, and brings him to the bishop, before whom they proftrate themselves; and the king remaining on his knees, receives a fhort, but pathetic admonition from the prelate, in which, among other duties, he exhorts him to fhew himself a firm and zealous promoter and protector of Christianity, and an obedient fon to the Catholic church. The ufual oaths are then administered to him, which he pronounces with a loud voice; whereupon the bishop leads him to the throne erected for him, puts the royal ftandard into his hands, and the crown upon his head. The whole affembly immediately fall down before him, acknowledging him for their king, with loud acclamations. The martial inftruments found, and presently after follows a general difcharge of the whole artillery. The ceremony thus finished, the new monarch takes the name of Alphonfo, as all his predeceffors have done before, ever fince the reign, and in honour of Alphonfo, the eldest fon of the first Christian king, who was a great promoter of the Christian religion after his advancement to the throne.

Two grand ceremonies follow that of his coronation, by which one may judge of the power and grandeur of thefe princes, and of the esteem they are held in by their fubjects. The first and most confiderable, is the public and folemn bleffing pronounced by him, on certain occafions upon the people; and the fecond, that of granting the inveftiture of the principal pofts and fiefs of the kingdom. The days fixed for each of them are proclaimed

with great pomp and ceremony throughout the nation; and in the capital of Saint Salvador by the found of various musical inftruments, and the fire of the artillery, The first of these always brings the vastest concourfe of people from all parts, as they fet fo high a value on his blessing, that they should think themselves worse than accurfed were they deprived, or fhould they wilfully miss of it. On the day appointed, the monarch appears in the utmoft fplendour, furrounded by his guards and a numerous court, together with the governors and nobles of the kingdom, all magnificently apparelled and attended. The ceremony is performed in a wide fpacious plain, fufficient to contain the innumerable multitudes that flock to it. On an eminence is raised a most fumptuous throne or canopy, from which he can see and be seen by them, and clearly diftinguish every one of his minifters and nobles, who are all fituated nearer or farther from him, according to their rank.

And here it is, that if any of these have incurred his displeasure through any neglect of duty, or other default, whom, by reafon of their great diftance from the court, or their being grown too powerful, he was obliged to let go unpunished, he cafts his first looks upon them, and caufes them to be driven from his prefence, as wretches unworthy of his bleffing, to which none but faithful fubjects can have any claim. The very difgrace of being thus caft away would be looked upon as one of the greatest misfortunes that could befall a man of quality; but this is not all: the populace, emulous to express their zeal for their fovereign, lay violent hands on the obnoxious perfons, drag them off without mercy or regard, tear their cloaths off their backs, and treat them with such variety of Outrages and indignities, that fome have been known to lose their lives before they can get out of the numerous crowd. By this ftratagem, thofe monarchs often rid themselves with ease of such bad minifters, whom they could not have attempted to punish by any other way, without imminent hazard of seeing their authority despised and affronted by them.

No fooner are thefe objects of diflike removed, than the king addreffing himself to the rest of the affembly, exhorts them to continue true and loyal to him, and

promises them his favour and protection; after which, rifing from his throne, whilst they proftrate themselves on the ground before him, he gives them his bleffing, not in words, but by a peculiar spreading of his arms over them, and gesticulation of his fingers; for which they on their part, exprefs their joy and gratitude, by loud acclamations and clapping their hands; and the whole ceremony concludes with the found of various inftruments, and the fire of the artillery. From that time, thofe who have had the disgrace to be deprived of a share of the bleffing are looked upon with horror and contempt, and esteemed as excommunicated, unless they can by help of their friends, by rich prefents, ample refundings, and submissive behaviour, regain the royal favour; which if they do, they are admitted to his prefence, and his bløsfing wipes away all former difgrace.

The other ceremony is performed with much the fame pomp, folemnity, and grandeur, and equally fhews the deep fubmiffion which the people pay to their princes. The king appears in all his magnificence on his throne, on the day prefixed, whilst all who are candidates for a new poft, fief, or inveftiture, lie proftrate before him, furrounded by vaft crouds of spectators in the fame posture. At the third discharge of the artillery, the candidates are regularly introduced to the foot of the throne, accompanied by all their friends and relations, all in the richest attire, by the master of the ceremonies. There, on their knees, at the last step of the throne, the grant is brought to them by some chief minister ; which having received with the deepest fubmiffion, the king informs them by a fet fpeech, of the greatnefs of the favour he bestows upon them, the conditions upon which he grants it to them, the duties he expects from them; to all which they take a folemn oath to conform themselves; after which, the infignia of their dignity are likewife delivered to them, which are a white hat or bonnet, more or less rich, according to the dignity granted, a fcymitar, a flag of honour, a chair of ftate, and a carpet. The whole pageantry concludes with proftrations, clapping of hands, and other flavish postures of the person invefted, and with the fhouts and thankful acclamations of his friends; who extol the royal favour to the skies, though it be commonly faddled with fuch taxes, tribute, and

other

other hard conditions, as are impoffible for him to perform but by tyranny and oppreffion of those that are under him.

As foon as the whole bufinefs is difpatched, the king rifes up; and then the whole ceremony is clofed as it began, with the loud huzzas of the audience, and the noife of the guns and mufic, in the midst of which he is conducted to his palace. It feems, however, as if thefe latter monarchs had abated much of their former ftate and pageantry, (though it may appear fufficiently extravagant at this time, to us) feeing the ritual of the court of Kongo formerly obliged every petitioner for an inveftiture, though a count, duke, or prince of the royal blood, to approach the throne not only in the cringing fuppliant form

above defcribed, but with his face, head, and shoulders, covered with an ordinary veil, be fprinkled all over with duft and dirt, in token of the deepest abafement; which laft piece of ftate is now wholly fet afide, probably fince thofe monarchs became Chriftians; though fome other kinds of refpects they ftill permit to be paid them are of so extravagant a nature, as very near to equal that which they make to the Supreme Being, and is ftill ftiled by them by the folemn terms of worship and adoration.

Some other curious particulars relating to the kings of Kongo, their queens, and the laws and customs of their country, will be given in the next number.

THE furname of this illustrious family,

of which there are many eminent perfons in France, was derived from a town in Normandy, denominated Montagu from its fituation on a pointed hill. The patriarch of the English branch was Drogo, or Dru Montagu, one of the military adventurers who attended William the Conqueror in his expedition to England, in 1066, and after the decisive battle of Haitings, was rewarded with divers manors in Somerfetfhire, one of which, then called Sheptuna, obtained the name of ShiptonMontagu, from its being made the chief feat of the family. This Drogo is frequently filed de Montecute, and Montacute, as are likewife many of his defcendants.

He was fucceeded by his only fon William, whose heir and fucceffor was Richard, the father of Dru, whofe fon and heir was William Montagu, who executed the of fice of sheriff for the counties of Dorfet and Somerfet, from the 7th to the 9th year inclufive, of the reign of king John; but adhering to the barons against that prince, his lands were forteited.

William, his fon, recovered all his poffeffions; but neglecting to repair to court, in the 17th of Henry III. to receive the dignity of knighthood, they were feized by that king's order: however, upon his doing homage next year, they were re

ftored, and he dying in 1246, left them to a fon of his own name.

This William Montagu was one of the barons, who in 1253, attended Henry III. in his expedition to Gafcony, against Alphonfo X. king of Castile, who had ufurped that province. He alfo attended Henry, in 1257, against the Welsh, then struggling for the recovery of their independency, under their gallant leader Llewellyn ap Griffith, prince of North-Wales.

Simon lord Montagu, his fon and fucceffor, diftinguished himself by his martial exploits, both by sea and land, against the Welsh, Scots, and French, in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward II. By Aufricia his lady, fifter of Orry, the expelled king of Man, of the Danish race, he had two fons, William his heir, and Simon who married Hawife, daughter of Almerick, lord St. Amend.

William, the eldest fon, accompanied his father in his feveral military expeditions, and in 1315, foon after his death, was appointed commander of a body of troops fent against Llewellyn Bren, a Welsh chieftain, then at the head of a confiderable number of his countrymen in arms. Being, in 1317, steward of the houshold to Edward II. he had a grant of the bodies and ranfems of three Welsh gentlemen, who had been concerned in an infurrection in Glamorganfhire. He was consti

tuted