ro began his dismal tale.

He was called Madou,--the name of his father, an illustrious warrior,
one of the most powerful sovereigns in the land of gold and ivory: to
whom France, Holland, and England sent presents and envoys. His father
had cannon, and soldiers, troops of elephants with trappings for war,
musicians and priests, four regiments of Amazons, and two hundred wives.
His palace was immense, and ornamented by spears on which hung human
heads after a battle or a sacrifice. Madou was born in this palace. His
Aunt Kerika, general-in-chief of the Amazons, took him with her in all
her expeditions. How beautiful she was, this Kerika! tall and large as a
man,--in a blue tunic; her naked arms and legs loaded with bracelets
and anklets; her bow slung over her shoulder, and the tail of a horse
streaming below her waist. Upon her head, in her woolly locks, she
wore two small antelope horns joining in a half-moon; as if these black
warriors had preserved among themselves the tradition of Diana the white
huntress! And what an eye she had, what deftness of hand! Why, she could
cut off the head of an Ashantee at a single blow. But, however terrible
Kerika might have been on the battlefield, to her nephew Madou she was
always very gentle, bestowing on him gifts of all kinds: necklaces of
coral and of amber, and all the shells he desired,--shells being the
money in that part of the world. She even gave him a small but gorgeous
musket, presented to herself by the Queen of England, and which Kerika
found too light for her own use. Madou always carried it when he went to
the forests to hunt with his aunt.

There the trees were so close together, and the foliage so thick, that
the sun never penetrated to these green temples. Then Madou described
with enthusiasm the flowers and the fruits, the butterflies, and birds
with wonderful plumage, and Jack listened in delight and astonishment.
There were serpents, too, but they were harmless; and black monkeys
leaped from tree to tree; and large mysterious lakes, that had never
reflected the skies in their brown depths, lay here and there in the
forests.

At this, Jack uttered an exclamation, "O, how beautiful it must be!"

"Yes, very beautiful," said the black boy, who undoubtedly exaggerated
a little, and saw his dear native land through the prism of absence, of
childish recollections, and with the enthusiasm of his southern nature;
but encouraged by his comrade's sympathy, Madou cont