s a very little boy, and that he knew not
what had become of his effects; that the deplorable event had
occurred in the reign of the late king's predecessor, who died
shortly after, and that all traces of the white men had been lost
with him.

This answer disappointed the hopes of the Landers, for to them it
appeared final and decisive. But in the evening their hopes were
again excited by a hint from their host, who was the king's drummer,
and one of the principal men in the country; he assured them, that
there was at least one book saved from Mr. Park's canoe, which was
then in the possession of a very poor man in the service of his
master, to whom it had been entrusted by the late king during his
last illness. He said moreover, that if but _one_ application were
made to the king on any subject whatever, very little was thought of
it, but if a second were made, the matter would be considered of
sufficient importance to demand his whole attention; such being the
custom of the country. The drummer therefore recommended them to
persevere in their inquiries, for he had no doubt that something to
their satisfaction would be elicited. At his own request, they sent
him to the king immediately, desiring him to repeat their former
statement, and to assure the king, that should he be successful in
recovering the book they wanted, their monarch would reward him
handsomely. The king desired the drummer to inform them, that he
would use every exertion, and examine the man, who was reported to
have the white man's book in his possession.

On the following day, the king came to see them, followed by a man
with a book under his arm, which was said to have been picked up in
the Niger after the loss of their countrymen. It was enveloped in a
large cotton cloth, and their hearts beat high with expectation, as
the man was slowly unfolding it, for by its size they guessed it to
be Mr. Park's journal, but their disappointment and chagrin were
great, when on opening the book, they discovered it to be an old
nautical publication of the last century. The title page was missing,
but its contents were chiefly tables of logarithms. It was a thick
royal quarto, which led them to conjecture that it was a journal.
Between the leaves they found a few loose papers of very little
consequence indeed; one of them contained two or three observations
on the height of the water in the Gambia; one was a tailor's bill on
a Mr. Anderson, and another was add