ch they were conducted,
excusing themselves from paying their respects to the sultan on account
of the fatigues of their journey. The following evening they visited
the sultan, whose palace consisted of a group of buildings enclosed by a
high wall. Dismounting, they were conducted along a low, dark avenue,
with pillars on either side, and, passing through which, they entered a
large square yard, where a number of servants were hurrying about and
others seated on the ground. They were kept waiting for some time,
till, receiving a summons to advance, they were introduced into another
square, which resembled a clean farm-yard. Here they found the sultan
seated alone on a plain piece of carpet, with a pillow on each side of
him and a neat brass pan in front. He was big-headed, corpulent, and,
though of advanced age, a jolly-looking man. He expressed his annoyance
that Clapperton did not visit him, and that Lander had not done so on
his return, and they were not sorry to take their leave.

He here was shown a rich damask _tobe_, covered with gold embroidery,
which had belonged to Mr Park, and was probably part of the spoil taken
from the canoe, intended as a present to some native prince. They were,
at first, in hopes of obtaining Park's journals; but only an old
nautical almanack was seen, and they afterwards discovered that the
journals themselves, though kept for some years, had, after Clapperton's
death, been destroyed by the person into whose hands they had fallen.
They, however, obtained a gun which had undoubtedly belonged to Park,
and which was given up to them in exchange for one of their own
fowling-pieces.

The king, though he expressed his readiness to assist them, declared
that he could not forward them on their way to the eastward, as from the
disturbed state of the country he would be unable to guarantee their
safety, and that the best thing he could do was to send them back to
Boussa. On this they immediately sent a message to the King of Boussa,
saying that as they were unable to continue their journey in the
direction they had proposed, they would feel deeply obliged if he would
lend them a canoe, by which they might proceed down the river to the
salt water, and that they would remunerate him to the best of their
ability.

The disturbances of which they had heard had been created by the widow
Zuma, who had instigated the people of Nouffie to make a raid into the
territory of the King of Wawa. Th