of being caught, and sold for a slave, represses every desire of the people of one town to go farther than the next. Every man I conversed with acknowledged that the practice of catching would no longer exist, if white men did not come for slaves; and that nine or ten of their wars were the result of this abominable traffic. The great men, who derive a large portion of their revenue from the presents it produces, alone desire its continuance.

On the 10th of September I set out from Soondy N'Sanga on my return to the mouth of the river of Congo. On the 12th I crossed the creek of Condo Yonga, in a canoe; other creeks, which were dry in our way upwards, were now filled with water, and we were obliged to go high up, and pass them on fallen trees. On the 18th I reached Inga, so weak and ill, that I was unable to secure my effects; and my silver spoons, great coat, and a number of other articles were stolen. On the 14th I arrived at Cooloo, and procured from the chenoo a goat, some fowls, and some eggs. The people received us with great hospitality; all ran cheerfully to assist us; brought us water, wood for our fire, and grass for our beds.

On the 15th we reached the river, and I hired a canoe; and on the 18th I arrived at the vessel, and found it crowded with goats, fowls, pigeons, pumpkins, plantains, and flaskets of palm wine. Here I soon recovered my health.

At Tall-trees, the beginning of the mangroves, the river had risen seven feet; but its velocity was not increased.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

CACONGO. LOANGO.

AFTER quitting the river of Congo, we anchored off Malemba Point, and were surprised by a visit from the mafook of Malemba, the port of the kingdom of Cacongo. This great man arrived in a European four-oared boat, with a number of attendants in two canoes. One of these addressed me in English, telling me that he was a gentleman, and his name was Tom Liverpool. The mafook asked me if I wanted slaves, and was much disappointed on my answering in the negative; saying, he was overloaded with them, and would sell them at half their value. His conversation was partly in broken English, and partly in somewhat better French.

The dress of these gentry was European above the waist; below, it was the garment of the country, a piece of checked, or other cotton cloth, and over this an apron made of the skin of some animal; the apron is only worn by gentlemen. The caps of office were neatly embroidered, and of curious workmanship; the others were of red or striped worsted, and not the manufacture of the country. The gentlemen wore rings of iron and copper on the ancles and wrists, welded so as not to be taken off; many of the copper had raised figures. Beads, and hairs of the elephant's tail, twisted into cords, were worn round the neck. These seemed to be multiplied in proportion to

the puppyism of the wearer; the graver and older men having only one or two, while some of the younger had so many that they could not move the head without difficulty. All were loaded with fetishes of the most heterogeneous kinds; horns, stones, rags, wood, and bits of shells, but the most esteemed seemed to be a monkey's bone. The principal fetish of the mafook was a piece of sculpture representing two men with high foreheads and aquiline noses, surrounded with various kinds of rubbish, and slung over the shoulder by a belt made of the skin of a snake.

My Malemba guests were cheerful, clean, dressed even to foppery, and had the manners of the French, the people with whom they have the greatest intercourse. Tammee Gomma, the mafook, was a man of middle age, tall, and well made, with a noble and interesting countenance, which resembled more that of an Arab than a negro. At dinner he carved the meat, and he and his officers drank my health; but I must confess that they paid their devotions to my brandy bottle till I thought it right to dismiss them.

I did not go on shore at Cacongo; but an extract from the relation of some French missionaries who arrived at Malemba in the year 1768, will give the reader of these travels an idea of the country and its inhabitants.

From Malemba one of the fathers repaired to Kinguelé, the capital, and the usual residence of the king. This city was an assemblage of thousands of houses, made of rushes and palm leaves. It was situated in a pleasant open plain; the air was pure; and the inhabitants were not incommoded by flies, which are generally so trouble

some in hot countries. The environs were planted with palm and other trees.

The missionary met with a favourable reception from the king of Cacongo: and the Mangova, his first minister, gave orders that a house should be erected for him; but the poor missionary was seized with the fever. In the midst of his sufferings he dreaded nothing so much as going into the next world attended by the superstitions of the negroes; and he intreated the mangova, who came to visit him, that, in case of his death, he might be buried without any ceremony, in the cassock he then wore. The minister assured him that the king had too great an affection for him to suffer it. No," continued he, "I hope the king's ganga will restore you to health; but if you die, your funeral will be celebrated like those of the great men of the kingdom. Your body will be wrapped in a great number of stuffs; exposed in a house during nine or ten months, and the servants of the king will go every night to dance and sing round it." The discussion of the funeral of the missionary was rendered useless by the recovery of his health.

The missionary was joined by his fellow labourer. The king of Cacongo gave them all, and more than all they asked; made them travel in his own hammock, and offered to put to death any one who should molest them. This bon roi, as he is called, is said to have been 126 years of age : how his age could be ascertained among a people who keep no account of time, belonged to the missionaries to explain.

The minister appeared to be less disinterested than his master; and the holy men observed, that

he favoured their cause more or less, according to the presents they made him. By a présent judiciously given, they accelerated the construction of a chapel, which they ornamented to the best of their power with gilt paper and by the time they had been a year in the country, they were sufficiently acquainted with the language to begin their public instructions. The king made one of the congregation at their first service, sitting crosslegged on a carpet; his officers and great men were seated round him at a distance; the rest of the hearers placed themselves promiscuously, and the preacher was provided with a bench.

Having been thus successful in the capital, one of the missionaries endeavoured to spread the gospel in the country. His first essay was at the house of a great man, who had married one of the princesses, and who lived about eighteen miles from Kinguelé. Nothing could exceed the kindness of his reception, or the fervent desire of this gentleman to become a Christian; but the mis sionary chose to continue his travels, and visited successively Malemba and Kaïa. He met with no opposition from any of the great men, except a few of those who were in habits of intercourse with the Europeans on the coast.

The health of the missionaries again failed them; and it is scarcely to be wondered at, for, added to the insalubrity of the climate to European constitutions, they lived chiefly upon salted meat and wine, brought from France. Having with difficulty obtained leave of the king, and his minister, the mangova, they quitted the promised harvest of souls, and, in 1770, returned to their own country.