sed three things:--the
establishment of a friendly intercourse between the two nations by
means of a consul, who was to reside at the _seaport_ of Raka; the
delivery of certain presents described, at the port of Fundah,
supposed to be somewhere near Whidah, and the prohibition of the
exportation of slaves, by any of the Houssa merchants, to Atagher,
Dahomy, or Ashantee.

No doubt whatever rested on the mind of Lander, that Clapperton was
in some respects made the dupe of the pride, pomposity, and deception
of the African sultan. It may be remembered that the sultan offered
him land on the sea coast, on which to form a settlement, when it was
subsequently discovered, that he was not in possession of an inch of
territory within several hundred miles of the sea; the _seaport_ of
Raka was nearly similar to Sancho Panza's Island Barrataria, it was
not to be found in any existing map, and it will be seen in the
sequel, that the people resident on the sea coast knew as little of
sultan Bello of Sockatoo, as he knew of them, although, according to
his own report, the greater part of the sea coast belonged to him.

On the arrival of Clapperton in England, Lord Bathurst, then
secretary of state for the colonies, conceived the proposals
contained in the sultan's letter, to afford a fair opportunity for
endeavouring to carry into effect objects of such considerable
importance, and Clapperton immediately volunteered his services for
the occasion. He had arranged with sultan Bello, that his messengers
should about a certain time be at Whidah, to conduct the presents and
the bearers to Sockatoo. Clapperton was allowed to take with him on
this novel and hazardous enterprise two associates, one of whom was
Captain Pearce of the navy, an excellent draughtsman, and the other
Dr. Morrison, a surgeon in the navy, well versed in various branches
of natural history; and at his particular request, a fellow
countryman of the name of Dickson, who had served as a surgeon in the
West Indies, was added to the list; Richard Lander accompanying
Captain Clapperton in the capacity of a servant.

The travellers embarked on board his majesty's ship Brazen, on the
25th August 1825, and arrived off Whidah on the 26th of the following
November. Mr. Dickson landed at Whidah, for reasons which do not
appear in the narrative of Clapperton's expedition, but which have
been fully stated to us by Lander, to whom we are indebted for the
information which we no