ight be all very
pleasant objects, even under an equatorial sun, yet the following
account of some of the disagreeables, when taken in contrast, rather
tends to overbalance the sum of the agreeables. Thus we find, that on
the day subsequent to that on which John Lander had written his
rhapsody on the agreeables of Badagry, the noise and jargon of their
guests pursued them even in their sleep, and their dreams were
disturbed by fancied palavers, which were more unpleasant and
vexatious, if possible, in their effects than real ones. Early on the
morning of the 25th, they were roused from one of these painful
slumbers to listen to the dismal yell of the hyenas, the shrill
crowing of cocks, the hum of night flies and mosquitoes, and the
hoarse croaking of frogs, together with the chirping of myriads of
crickets and other insects, which resounded through the air, as
though it had been pierced with a thousand whistles. The _silence_ of
night, under these circumstances, could not have been very pleasant
to them, and it scarcely amounts to a question, whether the warbling
of the birds could afford any great delight, if the hyenas and the
mosquitoes, and the frogs and the crickets considered themselves
privileged to make up the chorus.

The sun had scarcely risen, when two Mahommedans arrived at their
house, with an invitation for them to accompany them to the spot
selected for the performance of their religious rites and
observances. This being a novelty, they embraced the proposal with
pleasure, and followed the men to the distance of about a mile from
their house. Here they observed a number of Mahommedans sitting in
detached groups, actively employed in the duties of lustration and
ablution. It was a bare space of ground, edged with trees, and
covered with sand. The Mussulmans were obliged to bring water with
them in calabashes. Seated in a convenient situation, under the
spreading branches of a myrtle tree, the two travellers could
observe, without being seen, all the actions of the Mussulmans. A
number of boys, however, soon intruded themselves upon their privacy;
and, in truth, they were more amused by the artlessness and
playfulness of their manners, than with all the grave and stupid
mummery of the Mahommedan worshippers. Groups of people were
continually arriving at the spot, and these were welcomed by an
occasional flourish of music from a native clarionet, &c. They were
clad in all their finery, their apparel being