the object of every woman's ambition, that of being Queen for life, the
royal road to which, in this country, lies through a course of
gormandizing. The same custom extends to the wives of the great men, who
undergo a similar operation before marriage. On the morning of their
wedding-day they are seated at a table, to receive presents from their
relations and friends; a yard of cloth from one, some silk from another,
some beads from a third, according to the taste incapacity of the
donors. My companions were not much struck with the beauty of the
Queens, for they declared that some of the pretty young slave-girls had
much more lovely looks. Each of the Duke's wives bring, or send, a jug
of water for his large brass-pan bath every morning, and his favourite
wife remains to assist in his ablutions.

On leaving the Queens' Square, we were invited to go over the Duke's
English house, as it was called, which, in fact it was, having been sent
out in frame, from Liverpool, with carpenters to erect it, by Mr. Bold,
formerly a merchant of that town. This wooden edifice stood by the side
of his mud hut, in which, by the bye, such was the force of habit, he
preferred residing. In the English house there was a grand display of
European articles, consisting of furniture, mirrors, pictures, a
quantity of cut-glass on the sideboard, and to crown all, there was a
large brass arm-chair, weighing 160 pounds, a present from Sir John
Tobin, with an inscription engraved on it, to that effect.

About two o'clock we took leave of the Duke, and went on board the Kent,
where the poor mate was lying dangerously ill, and we all apprehended
the worst result, not having any medical man to dress the wound, or tell
the exact nature of it. After dining with Captain Cumings, we returned
to the Duke's house, to learn if he had ascertained the name of the
vessel the Frenchman commanded. The reply was unsatisfactory, as he
still declared his ignorance on the subject. It is not unusual for the
blacks (like the Chinese) to identify the ship in the Captain, for
instance, if they want to speak of the Jane, Captain Brown, they say,
'that Brown's ship.' It was, therefore, possible that the Duke might
really have spoken the truth in protesting that the name of the vessel
was unknown to him.

Finding there was nothing more to be done with the Duke that evening, we
left him, with an assurance that we should persist in our demand of
having either the Captain, or