A Royal Wardrobe.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 358, 6 November 1897, Page 4

A Royal Wardrobe.

ONE CBOWN AND ONE SHIKT. - An order whioh has been received in . England from a- dusky monarch in a Brit'sh colony lot his regal robes and crown indicates that civilisation is making very rapid progress in South Africa. The kings who were content to be clothed solely in a top hat and a pair of anklets, if they have not actually all gone, are fast disappearing. The enumeration of the articles asked for will no doubt be of interest to the fashionable world, as showing the clothing of a king— in West Africa. They are:— One pair trousers, black sup. cloth, embossed in rich heavy silk. Ono shirt, black superfine cloth, embossed with gilt, straight lines of gilt braid. One mantle to design, lined black silk, embossed all round edge in gilt oak leaf with fixtures for epaulettes. One gilt nine-inch crown. One pair epaulettes, with gilt tops and gilt fringe. . One cap to design (e'.ar in centre). Three feathers for ditto. Six yards silk lining. It is a oircumstance worthy of note that a cap (star in centre), with three feathers, is an indication of royalty in Africa when the crown (gilt nine-inch) is absent, and also that his Majesty is the proud possessor of one'shirt and a pair of trousers. "What this noble king's appearance will savor of wh'en donned with his black mantle may be a matter of no small conjecture. No boots are mentioned, but evidently these are details which do not enter into the conventionalities of garbof a king in West Africa.— Loudon ' Daily Mail.'-