at kind is
wanted, it is not long before it is obtained. The eunuch sent them a
very fat sheep, as a further token of his good will. On Friday May
14th, Richard Lander accompanied by Ebo, and the other unwieldy
eunuchs, took a present to the king, which was pretty well received;
Mansolah, it was supposed out of compliment, remarked that if they
had not brought with them the value of a single kowrie, they should
have been favourably received at Katunga, and well entertained at his
own expense. They had, previously to presenting themselves before the
king, consulted their friend Ebo, on the subject of their journey to
the Niger, and he strongly advised them by no means even to hint at
such an intention to the king, whose suspicions, he assured them,
would immediately take the alarm, so that instead of being forwarded
on their way thither, they would either be detained in the town for
an indefinite time, or sent back again to the coast. They therefore
conceived it prudent to give him the following statement only:--"That
the king of England, anxious to procure the restoration of certain
papers which belonged to a countryman of theirs, who perished at
Boosa about twenty years ago, which papers were supposed to be in the
possession of the sultan of Yaoorie, they had been despatched hither
by their sovereign, in the hope that the king of Katunga would
forward them to the latter state, for the purpose of obtaining them
from the sultan of Yaoorie, and taking them back with them to
England."

Mansolah, with the natural indifference of the uncultivated mind,
displayed neither eager curiosity as to their object in coming to his
country, nor surprise when they had informed him of it, but very
promptly observed, that in two days time, he would send a messenger
to Kiama, Wouwou, Boossa, and Yaoorie, for the purpose of acquainting
the rulers of those provinces of their intention to pay them a visit,
and that on the return of the messenger, they should have his
permission to depart. This was promised after Richard Lander's
repeated solicitations and importunities, that they should not be
detained here longer than necessary, as in a very short time, the
violent rains would render the roads to those countries impassable,
and, in consequence, they would not be able to travel till the return
of the dry season. Their speedy departure was also a matter of
importance to them on account of their health, which they found to be
far better when