avellers rather
mistrusted the monarch's assertion.

A hut having been selected for them, they repaired to it, and were well
supplied with dishes of meat, rice, and corn for supper.

What was their astonishment the next day to receive a visit from the
widow Zuma! who appeared, however, woefully changed, being clad in very
humble apparel of country cloth. Having quarrelled with the ruler of
Wawa, she had made her escape over the city wall in the night,
travelling on foot to Boussa, where she had since taken up her abode.

The king was highly pleased with the presents which the Landers had
brought him, and he and his wife, his chief counsellor and only
confidant, honoured them with a visit at their hut. The queen was
dressed in a check shirt, with several pieces of blue cotton--one tied
round her waist, another hanging over her shoulder, and one covering her
head--brass rings ornamenting her great toes, and bracelets her wrists;
besides which she wore a necklace of coral and beads of gold, and small
pieces of coral stuck in the lobe of each ear. Coral appeared to be in
great demand wherever they went, and the queen was disappointed on
finding that they had brought none.

Lander, concealing the object of his journey, informed the king that his
purpose was to go to Bornou by way of Youri, and requested a safe
conveyance through his territories.

This permission was granted, and, sending their horses by land, they
proceeded up the river in a canoe which was furnished them, towards
Youri.

The scenery on the main branch of the river was interesting and
picturesque: the bank literally covered with hamlets and villages, and
fine trees bending under the weight of their dark foliage, and
contrasting with the lively verdure of the hills and plains.

After proceeding a short distance the stream gradually widened to two
miles, in some places the water being very shallow, but in others of
considerable depth.

Steering directly northward they voyaged on for four days, having
passed, they were told, all the dangerous rocks and sandbanks which are
to be found above Youri or below Boussa.

Landing at a little village on the bank, where their horses met them,
they rode a distance of eight miles to the walls of Youri. That city
they entered through an amazingly long passage, at the end of which was
an immense door, covered with plates of iron rudely fastened to the
woodwork.

A habitation had been provided for them, to whi