Richard Therefore Returned To His Dwelling, Fully Satisfied With Himself, But By No Means Having Satisfied The Ladies Of Badagry, That An European Was A Man Of Love Or Gallantry.

At nine o'clock on the morning of the 23rd March, agreeably to the promise which they had made on the preceding day, they visited the chief at his residence, which was somewhat more than half a mile from their own.

On their entrance, the potent chief of Badagry was sitting on a couple of boxes, which, for aught Lander knew, might at one time have belonged to a Hong merchant at Canton; the boxes were placed in a small bamboo apartment, on the sides of which were suspended a great number of muskets and swords, with a few paltry umbrellas, and a couple of horses' tails, which are used for the purpose of brushing away flies and other insects.

King Adooley looked up in the faces of his visitors without making any observation, it perhaps not being the etiquette of kings in that part of the world, to make any observation at all on subjects before them, nor did he even condescend to rise from his seat to congratulate them on their arrival. He appeared in deep reflection, and thoughtfully rested his elbow on an old wooden table, pillowing his head on his hand. One of the most venerable and ancient of his subjects was squatted at the feet of his master, smoking from a pipe of extraordinary length; whilst Lantern, his eldest son and heir apparent, was kneeling at his side, the Badagry etiquette not allowing the youth to sit in the presence of his father. Everything bore an air of gloom and sadness, totally different from what they had been led to expect. They shook hands, but the royal pressure was so very faint, that it was scarcely perceptible, yet, notwithstanding this apparent coldness, they seated themselves one on each side, without ceremony or embarrassment. It was evident that neither Lander nor his brother knew how to deport themselves in the presence of a king, a thing which the former had never seen in his life but at the courts of Africa, and they, God knows, were not calculated to give him an exalted idea of royalty; but when it had been ascertained, that it was contrary to etiquette at the court of Badagry, for even the heir apparent to assume any other attitude in the royal presence than that of kneeling, it might have occurred to the European travellers, that seating themselves without permission, in the presence of so august a personage as the king of Badagry, might be the forerunner of their heads being severed from their body, which, as it has been detailed in a preceding part of this work, is in that part of the country, a ceremony very easily and speedily despatched. It was, however, necessary that some conversation should take place between the king and his visitors, and therefore the latter began in the true old English fashion, to inquire about the state of his health, not forgetting to inform him at the same time, that they found the weather uncommonly hot, which could not well have been otherwise, considering that they were at that moment not much more than 5 deg. to the northward of the equator. In regard to the state of his health, he answered them only with a languid smile, and relapsed into his former thoughtlessness. Not being able to break in upon the taciturnity of the monarch, they had recourse to a method which seldom fails of "unknitting the brow of care," and that was by a display to the best advantage, of the presents, which they had brought for him from England. Badagry is not the only kingdom in which, if a present be made to the king, the sole return that is received for it, is the honour of having been allowed to offer it, and this experience was acquired by our travellers, for the king certainly accepted the presents, but without the slightest demonstration of pleasure or satisfaction; the king scarcely deigned to look at the presents, and they were carried away by the attendants, with real or seeming indifference. To be permitted to kiss the hand of the sable monarch could not rationally be expected, as an honour conferred upon them for the presents, which they had delivered, but it was mortifying to them not to receive a word of acknowledgement, not even the tithe of a gracious smile; they accordingly said not a word, but they had seen enough to convince them that all was not right. A reserve, the cause whereof they could not define, and a coldness towards them, for which they could in no wise account, marked the conduct of the once spirited and good-natured chief of Badagry, and prepared them to anticipate various difficulties in the prosecution of their plans, which they were persuaded would require much art and influence to surmount. The brow of the monarch relaxed for a moment, and an attempt was made on the part of Richard Lander to enter into conversation with him, but on a sudden the king rose from his boxes, and left them to converse with themselves.

After waiting a considerable time, and the king not returning, a messenger was despatched to acquaint him, that the patience of his visitors was nearly exhausted, and they would feel obliged by his immediate return, in order to put an end to their conference or palaver, as it is emphatically styled, as speedily as possible. On the receipt of this message, the king hastened back, and entered the apartment with a melancholy countenance, which was partially concealed behind large volumes of smoke, from a tobacco pipe, which he was using. He seated himself between them as before, and gave them to understand in a very low tone of voice, that he was but just recovering from a severe illness, and from the effect of a series of misfortunes, which had rendered him almost brokenhearted.

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