60 SPECIMENS OF COMPOSITION. 



27. Emu bale agbede. 

 Towjs are governor of smithslwp. 



The tongs are at the head of the MacksmitKs shop ; because they control the hot iron which 

 otherwise would be unmanageable. 



28. Os6 ouibudze kb kpe isaq, oso oniuabi ko dz;u oduq 

 Ornaments of hadie-umnan not remain nine-days, ornaments of mah\-ivoman not exceed year 



loh. 

 going. 



The marks made by the hudio-woman do not last nine days ; the marks made by the iuabi-too- 

 man do not last more than a year. — No advantage or possession is permanent. 



29. Bi ad:^a ba li eni leliiq, k kpa obo. 



If dog * has person behind, he-will kill baboon. 



If a dog has his master behind him, he will kill a baboon. — This proverb is designed to show 

 the advantage of sustaining and encouraging people in their efforts. 



30. Adza ti ko li eti k6 se idegbe. 



l>og which not has eai-s not do for hunting. 



A heedless dog will not do for the chase. — If a person will not take advice, no one will employ 

 or trust him. 



31. Gagalo subu, owo t^ akpako. 



Stilts fall, hand seizes jmlm-stalk. 



If a man let fall his stilts, a hand will be stretched out to seize them. — That is, so soon as one 

 man loses an office or position, another is ready to occupy his place. 



32. A ki dd owo le ohuq ti d k6 le igbe. 



We not give hand to thing which we not can perform. 



We should not undertake a thing which we cannot accomplish. 



33. Onilc rjdze eso gbiijgbiiido ; aledi;o ni ki d se oq li gw6 kdq 



Housekeeper is-eating fruit of loild-bcans ; guest says that we do him as-to hand one 



ewa. 



boiled-maize. 



Although the host may be living on wild beans, the guest expects a handful of boiled corn. 



28. Oso, an ornament. In this place it means the deep black stripes with which maidens ornament their 

 faces and arms. — ' Budie ' is the fruit of a small tree of the same name, which when green makes a jet black 

 stain on the skin. ' Onibudze ' is the woman who makes a trade of marking the faces and arms of girls for a 

 few cowries each. There is a fable of a jet black and exquisitely beautiful girl who was sought in marriage 

 by all the nobles and rich men of the country ; but she treated every suitor with disdain. At last a worthless 

 fellow laid a plan by which she was enticed into his house and detained all night. Although she escaped 

 uninjured, the community at first thought otherwise; and the disgrace afflicted her so much, that she fled 

 into the woods, where the violence of her grief changed her into the bush that still bears her name. 

 ' Inabi ' is a plant the acrid root of which burns a durable black mark on the skin. It is seldom used for 

 marking. — ' Loh,' pleonastic after dzi\ (Grain. § 207, 1). 



29. Ba, an auxiliary particle (Gram. § 139) ; — k, he will (Gram. § 135, 1, b). 



31. Stilts are made of the foot-stalks of the akpako, or wine-palm, called bamboo by the whites on the 

 western coast. 



33. Ndze (Gram. § 129, 3) ; — se . . . li, to do . . . in regard to, i. e. to supply with. 



