The king's messengers, who were distinguished by gold breast-plates, made way for us, and as I was to take the hand of every governor and captain, as I passed him, I had time to observe their dress. They wore Ashantee cloths, of incredible size and weight, and extravagant price, as the most costly foreign silks had been unravelled to form them, in a great variety of colour and pattern. These were thrown over the shoulder like the Roman toga. A small silk fillet was worn round the temples; and massive gold necklaces curiously wrought, round the neck. From the latter were suspended Moorish charms, inclosed in square cases of gold, silver, and embroidery. Some wore necklaces of aggry beads, reaching below the stomach. A band of gold and beads, from which hung several strings of the same, encircled the knee, and a band composed of casts of animals, rings, and round flat pieces of gold, strung together, went round the ancle. Their sandals were of green, red, and delicate white, leather. Manillas and rude lumps of rock gold hung from their left wrists, of which some were so heavily loaded, that they were supported on the heads of handsome boys. Gold and silver pipes and canes appeared in every direction. Wolves and rams' heads, of the natural size, cast in gold, were suspended from gold-handled swords, the blades of which were rusted with blood; the sheaths were of leopard's skin, or the shell of a fish resembling shagreen, The large drums were placed on the head of one man, and beaten by two others, and were braced around with the thigh bones of conquered enemies, and ornamented with their skulls. The

kettle-drums were covered with leopards' skins, and the wrists of the drummers were hung with bells and pieces of iron, that gingled loudly as they were beating. The smaller drums were suspended from the neck by scarves of red cloth. The horns were formed of the teeth of young elephants, and were ornamented with gold, and human jaw-bones.

The great officers were seated on chairs of black wood, inlaid with ivory, and embossed with gold. Large fans of ostrich feathers played around them, and behind them stood their handsomest youths, arrayed in corslets of leopard skin, covered with gold cockle-shells. These were stuck full of small knives, with handles of blue agate, and sheaths of gold or silver. Large gold-handled swords were fixed behind the left shoulder; and silk scarves, and horses' tails, generally white, streamed from the arms and the waist cloth. They were armed with Danish muskets, ornamented with gold and shells. Behind some of the chairs stood handsome girls, holding silver basons. Each of the great men had a stool, the badge of his place and rank, borne on the head of a favourite ; and crowds of little boys were seated around, flourishing elephants' tails, curiously mounted. The stools were carved with great labour, and had a large bell at each end.

The soldiers were sitting on the ground. Their caps were of leopard's skin, with the tail hanging down behind. Their faces and arms were painted with long white streaks. On their hips and shoulders was a cluster of knives. Some of the most daring were distinguished by a chain and collar of

iron, which I was afterwards informed they would not have exchanged for gold.

We now passed seventeen Moors, arrayed in large cloaks of white satin, richly trimmed with spangled embroidery. Their shirts and trowsers were of silk, and their large muslin turbans were studded with a border of different coloured stones. We then passed the great officers of the household; the chamberlain, the gold-horn-blower, the captain of the messengers, the captain of the market, the keeper of the royal burying-ground, the master of the bands, who each sat surrounded by a retinue that announced the dignity of his office. The cook had a large quantity of silver plate displayed before him, and a number of small services, covered with a leopard's skin, held behind him. The executioner, a man of uncommon size, wore a heavy gold hatchet on his breast, and before him was carried the execution stool, clotted with blood, and partly covered with a caul of fat. The four linguists were surrounded by persons who carried gold canes, tied in bundles, like fasces. The keeper of the treasury, in addition to his private magnificence, had the blow-pan, boxes, scales and weights of his office, which were of gold.

We now approached the sovereign, the highest point of this astonishing display of magnificence, and I received his offered hand. He appeared to be about thirty-eight years of age, and inclined to corpulence. His countenance was benevolent, and his manners were majestic, yet courteous.

A diadem was elegantly painted in white on the forehead of the king, a kind of epaulette on each shoulder, and a large full-blown rose on his breast. His fillet was of aggry beads, his necklace of gold

cockspur shells, his bracelets were the richest mixture of beads and gold, his fingers were covered with rings; his knee-bands were of aggry beads, his ancle-strings of small drums, swords, guns, stools, and birds of gold, clustered together, his sandals of soft white leather, and his cloth of dark green silk. On his finger and thumb he wore a pair of gold castanets, which he clapped to enforce silence.

The king was seated on a low chair richly ornamented with gold; the elephants' tails that waved before him were spangled with gold; the belts of the guards who stood behind him were cased with gold, and covered with small jaw-bones of gold. The eunuch who presided over the attendants had about his neck a massive piece of gold; the royal stool was entirely cased with gold, and was held under a splendid umbrella, ornamented with various musical instruments covered with gold. In a word, gold was blazing in every direction; and Peru, as it appeared at its first discovery, was present to my imagination.

I was now seated under a tree to receive the visits of this magnificent assembly. The chiefs dismounted from their hammocks, as they approached me, and advanced, under their umbrellas, with a small number of their guards, their captains halloing in their ears their valourous deeds and strong names. These great men, like the king of Abyssinia, were too great to walk alone, and were supported round the waist by the hands of a favourite slave. Chiefs of five or six years of age, bending under their golden ornaments, were carried under their canopies on the shoulders of a strong slave; and old captains of a

secondary rank were borne in the same manner. Some of my visitors danced as they passed me; some took off their sandals; all took my hand.

At length the king advanced. He enquired my name a second time, and then wished me a good night. He was followed by his sisters, aunts, and others of his family, who wore rows of fine gold chains round their necks. Numerous chiefs succeeded these, and it was late before we were at liberty to retire, when we were conducted to a range of spacious buildings that had been the habitation of a son of one of the former kings. I estimated the number of warriors present at my public reception at 30,000.

CHAPTER XXV.

KING AND CUSTOMS OF ASHANTEE.

THE next day I was desired to attend the king

at his own house and deliver my presents. Nothing could surpass his surprise and pleasure on seeing the different articles of European manufacture that I had assembled; particularly a camera obscura and telescope. He returned thanks in a dignified manner, and said, Englishmen know how to do every thing proper. Englishmen know more than Dutchmen or Danes; black men know nothing."

I was afterwards present at a council held in the king's palace, which was an immense building, containing a number of oblong courts and squares. The squares had a large apartment on