relicts among the royal
family. Six were selected by the new prince, who divided thirteen
among his brothers and kinsmen, but gave his mother to his
father-in-law. As soon as the allotment was over, his highness very
courteously offered me the choice of his _six_, in return for my
gifts; but as I never formed a family tie with natives, I declined the
honor, as altogether too overwhelming!

FOOTNOTE:

[9] See Maryland Colonization Journal, vol. i., n. s., p. 212.

CHAPTER LXXII.

When I was once comfortably installed at my motley establishment, and,
under the management of Colonists, had initiated the native workmen
into tolerable skill with the adze, saw, sledgehammer and forge, I
undertook to build a brig of one hundred tons. In six months, people
came from far and near to behold the mechanical marvels of Cape Mount.
Meanwhile, my plantation went on slowly, while my _garden_ became a
matter of curiosity to all the intelligent coasters and cruisers,
though I could never enlighten the natives as to the value of the
"foreign grass" which I cultivated so diligently. They admired the
symmetry of my beds, the richness of my pine-apples, the luxurious
splendor of my sugar-cane, the abundance of my coffee, and the cool
fragrance of the arbors with which I adorned the lawn; but they would
never admit the use of my exotic vegetables. In order to water my
premises, I turned the channel of a brook, surrounding the garden with
a perfect canal; and, as its sides were completely laced with an
elaborate wicker-work of willows, the aged king and crowds of his
followers came to look upon the Samsonian task as one of the wonders
of Africa. "What is it," exclaimed Fana-Toro, as he beheld the
deflected water-course, "that a white man cannot do!" After this, his
majesty inspected all my plants, and shouted again with surprise at
the toil we underwent to satisfy our appetites. The use or worth of
_flowers_, of which I had a rare and beautiful supply, he could never
divine; but his chief amazement was still devoted to our daily
expenditure of time, strength, and systematic toil, when rice and
palm-oil would grow wild while we were sleeping!

* * * * *

It will be seen from this sketch of my domestic comforts and
employment, that New Florence prospered in every thing but _farming_
and _trade_. At first it was my hope, that two or three years of
perseverance would enable me to open a lawful traff