English on the Gambia, and his supper was served in pewter dishes.

The next day we proceeded to Baniserile the capital of Dentila, which was a very long day's journey. We travelled through the woods with great expedition, till noon, when one of the slaves dropped the load from his head. He was whipped, and the load was replaced; but he had not proceeded more than a mile before it fell a second time. He underwent the same discipline, and continued marching till two o'clock, when the day being remarkably hot, we stopped to breathe near a pool of water. Here the unfortunate man lay motionless on the ground, and his pitiless master perceived that the lash would no longer serve his purpose. He released him from the rope, and left him in the woods, with a man to attend him, who had orders to bring him on, in the cool of the evening, if possible; but Providence rescued the captive from farther suffering, and at eight o'clock in the evening the man brought word that he was dead.

One of our slave merchants was a native of Baniserile, and had been absent from it three years. This man invited me to his house, at the gate of which he was met by his friends, who shook hands with hin, embraced him, and danced before him with many expressions of joy; but the most interesting personage was a young woman, his intended bride, who, as soon as he was seated on a mat at the threshold of his door, brought a little water in a calabash, and, kneeling before him, requested to wash his hands. When she had finished, with a tear of joy sparkling in her eyes, she drank the water.

This was considered as the greatest testimony she could possibly give of her fidelity and affection.

From Baniserile, we travelled through thick woods, till four o'clock in the afternoon, when we approached a large town called Kirwani. The country for more than a mile round it was cleared and cultivated, and the dung of the cattle was collected in large heaps for the purpose of manuring the land. Several furnaces, by means of which the inhabitants extract very good iron from the ore, were seen near the town.

After remaining three days at Kirwani, we entered the Tenda wilderness, which is two days journey across through this we continued our route during the whole day, over a rugged country, covered with extensive thickets of bamboo, and, at sun-set, to our great joy, we arrived at a pool of water. As the days were intolerably hot, and water at this season was not plentiful in the forest, Karfa proposed to travel in the night; and we set out at eleven o'clock, and travelled with great alacrity till the dawn of day, when it was discovered that a free woman was missing. She was called till the woods resounded with her name; but no answer being returned, it was supposed that she had either lost her way, or had been seized by a lion. Four persons were dispatched, however, to a small stream which we had passed in the night, and the kafilah waited their return. They brought with them the woman, whom they had found sleeping by the side of the water, and we then pursued our journey to Tambacunda, where we remained four days.

One of the slave merchants of the kafilah had

formerly married a woman of this town, who had borne him two children. He had been absent from her eight years without having been heard of, and, at the end of three years, she had married another, to whom she had also borne two children. The slave merchant now claimed his wife; the husband refused to deliver her up, saying that she was his by law, her first husband not having been heard of during three years. A palaver was held on the occasion; and after the affair had been fully investigated, the men of Tambacunda had the complaisance to leave the decision to the lady. She did not evince the promptitude that might have been expected in such a matter, but desired time for consideration. The first husband was the richer man, the second was the younger; I thought the balance was on the side of the former.

The next day from Tambacunda we travelled over a wild and rocky country, and reached the village of Koomboo. The inhabitants have so bad a reputation that strangers seldom lodge in the village. We did not examine whether the report were well-founded or otherwise, for we erected temporary huts in the fields.

The second day of travelling from Koomboo, we reached a well-inhabited part of the country, where there were several towns within sight of each other. These, collectively, are called Tenda, and at one of these, called Koba Tenda we passed the night, and employed the following day in procuring provisions to enable us to cross the Simbani forest.

On the following day we reached Jallacotta, a considerable town, but much infested by Foolah banditti. Here one of the slaves of the kafilah,

who had travelled with difficulty during the last three days, was unable to proceed any further, and his owner exchanged him for a young female slave. The unfortunate girl was ignorant of her fate till the next morning, when, coming with some other young women, to see us depart, her master took her by the hand, and delivered her to the slave merchant. Never was a face of serenity more suddenly changed to one of deep distress. The load was placed on her head, the rope round her neck, and she took a most affecting leave of her companions.

The next morning, about nine o'clock, we crossed the river Nerico, when our singing men began to vociferate a particular song, expressive of their joy at having arrived safe in the land of the setting sun. In the afternoon we had rain, and we had recourse to the common umbrella of the country, a large ciboa leaf, which being placed on the head, completely shelters the whole body. We passed the night under a large tabba tree, and the next day, June the 1st, to my infinite satisfaction, I saw myself once more on the banks of the Gambia. The river here was smooth, deep, and navigable. On the south, or opposite side, was a morass called Toombi Toorila, which is more than a day's journey in extent, and in which people are frequently lost. In the evening we arrived at the village of Seesukunda, in the kingdom of Woolli.

On the following day we passed a number of villages, at none of which the kafilah was permitted to stop, though we were all greatly fatigued. In the evening we reached Barraconda, where we rested one day.

The day after, we arrived at Medina, the capital of Woolli, where I entered the route I had taken on my journey out. As Karfa would not allow the kafilah to stop, I could only send by one of his officers my good wishes to the king, who had promised to offer up his prayers for my safety. We proceeded to a small village, where we lodged.

The next day we reached Jindey, where I left the slaves; but though I was drawing towards the end of a long and toilsome journey, I could not without emotion part with my unfortunate fellow travellers, doomed as I knew most of them were, to a life of labour, captivity and sorrow, in a distant land. During a wearisome march of more than five hundred English miles, exposed to the burning rays of a tropical sun, these poor people, amidst their own infinitely greater sufferings, would, unbidden, bring me water to allay my thirst in the day, and make my bed of leaves and branches at night. My good wishes and prayers were all I could give them, and it afforded me some consolation to be told by them that they were sensible I could not ameliorate their condition.

Having remained three whole days at Jindey, I travelled to Tendacunda, accompanied by Karfa. Here we were hospitably received at the house of an aged black female, who had resided many years at the English factory, and who spoke the English language. Every thing that Karfa saw seemed wonderful. The furniture of the house, the chairs, and particularly the beds with curtains, were objects of his admiration; and he asked me a thousand questions concerning the necessity of differ