The Request Of An African Prince, In His Own Dominions, Comes Very Little Short Of A Command.

Mr. Park, therefore, very quietly took off his coat, the only good one in his possession, and laid it at his feet.

In return for his compliance, he presented Mr. Park with great plenty of provisions, and desired to see him again in the morning. Mr. Park accordingly attended, and found the king sitting on his bed. His majesty told him he was sick, and wished to have a little blood taken from him, but Mr. Park had no sooner tied up his arm, and displayed the lancet, than his courage failed, and he begged him to postpone the operation. He then observed, that his women were very desirous to see him, and requested that he would favour them with a visit. An attendant was ordered to conduct him, and he had no sooner entered the court appropriated to the ladies, than the whole seraglio surrounded him, some begging for physic, some for amber, and all of them trying that great African specific, blood-letting. They were ten or twelve in number, most of them young and handsome, and wearing on their heads ornaments of gold and beads of amber. They rallied him on the whiteness of his skin and the prominency of his nose. They insisted that both were artificial, the first they said, was produced when he was an infant, by dipping him in milk, and they insisted that his nose had been pinched every day, till it had acquired its present unsightly and unnatural conformation. On his part, without disputing his own deformity, he paid them many compliments on African beauty. He praised the glossy jet of their skins, and the lovely depression of their noses; but they said, that flattery, or as they emphatically termed it, honey-mouth, was not esteemed in Bondou. The ladies, however, were evidently not displeased, for they presented him with a jar of honey and some fish.

Mr. Park was desired to attend the king again, a little before sunset, on which occasion he presented to his majesty some beads and writing paper, as a small offering, in return for which the king gave him five drachms of gold. He seconded the act by one still greater, he suffered the baggage to pass without examination, and Mr. Park was allowed to depart when he pleased.

Accordingly, on the morning of the 23d, Mr. Park left Fatteconda, and in a few hours arrived at a small village, the boundary between Bondou and Kajaaga. Hearing it was dangerous for travellers, Mr. Park resolved to proceed by night, until they should reach a more hospitable part of the country, and directed their course through the woods. On this occasion, Mr. Park says, "the stillness of the air, the howling of the wild beasts, and the deep solitude of the forest, made the scene solemn and impressive. Not a word was uttered by any of us, but in a whisper; all were attentive, and every one anxious to show his sagacity, by pointing out to me the wolves and hyenas, as they glided, like shadows, from one thicket to another." The following afternoon they arrived at Joag, in the kingdom of Kajaaga, where they took up their abode at the house of the chief man, here called the dooty. He was a rigid Mohammedan, but distinguished for his hospitality. The town was supposed to contain about two thousand inhabitants; it was surrounded by a high wall, in which were a number of port-holes for musketry. Every man's possession was likewise surrounded by a wall, the whole forming so many distinct citadels, and, amongst a people unacquainted with the use of artillery, the walls answer all the purposes of stronger fortifications.

The same evening, Madiboo, the Bushreen from Pisania, went to pay a visit to his father and mother, who dwelt at a neighbouring town, called Dramanet. He was joined by the blacksmith; and as soon as it was dark, Mr. Park was invited to see the sports of the inhabitants. A great crowd surrounded a dancing party; the dances, however, consisted more in wanton gestures, than in muscular exertion or graceful attitudes. The women vied with each other in displaying the most voluptuous movements imaginable.

On the 25th December, early in the morning, a number of horsemen entered the town, and came to the bentang on which Mr. Park had made his bed. One of them, thinking he was asleep, attempted to steal his musket; but finding that he could not effect his purpose undiscovered, he desisted.

Mr. Park now perceived, by the countenance of the interpreter, Johnson, that something bad was in agitation; he was also surprised to see Madiboo, and the blacksmith so soon returned. On inquiring the reason, Madiboo informed him, that as they were dancing at Dramanet, ten horsemen belonging to Batcheri, the king, with his second son at their head, had inquired if the white man had passed. The ten horsemen mentioned by Madiboo arrived, and entering the bentang dismounted, and seated themselves with those who had come before, the whole being about twenty in number, forming a circle round him, and each man holding his musket in his hand. Mr. Park now remarked to his landlord, that as he did not understand the Serawoolii tongue, he hoped whatever the men had to say, they would speak in Mandingo. To this they agreed, and a man, loaded with a remarkable number of saphies, opened the business in a long oration, purporting that the white man had entered the king's town, without having first paid the duties, or giving any present to the king, and that according to the laws of the country, his people, cattle and baggage were forfeited, and he added, that they had received orders from the king, to conduct Mr. Park to Mauna. It would have been equally vain and imprudent to have resisted or irritated such a body of men, he, therefore, affected to comply with their demands.

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