210 
priests possess the privilege of 
taking hold of them, for the purpose 
of reinstating them in the temple 
should they be found elsewhere. 
When a house is struck by light- 
ning, the master is obliged to pay 
a heavy tribute to the priests of the 
“Fire of Heaven ;” for such an event 
is always regarded as the denun- 
ciation of a great culprit. Should 
a man be struck by lightning, his 
body is cut in pieces, and sold by 
the priests to the populace, who 
devour this roasted flesh! The 
dwelling of the dead man is then 
pillaged and razed to the ground; 
and the Fetisch worshippers im- 
molate victims on its site, in order 
to appease the anger of the “ Fire 
of Heaven.” 
The Vampires may be found on 
trees in the vicinity of the Temple 
of Serpents ; there they are collected 
by millions, and after sunset they 
disperse through the gardens and 
over the surrounding country. 
On leaving Whydah for the inte- 
rior, the traveller at once observes 
that the land rises gradually through 
a succession of upheaved plateaux 
or downs, which run parallel to the 
sea from east to west, the surface 
soil being toa great extent inter- 
mixed with small rolled flints. 
The utmost elevation which I 
found between Whydah and Kana 
was 500 English feet, and that was 
at a village called Havy (? Havee), 
about halfway between the two 
towns. Although Kana is lower 
than this point, it is quite apparent 
that further towards the north the 
land again rises to such a degree, 
that the capital, Abomey, situated 
ten miles north-east of Kana, must 
be elevated to about the same 
height as Havy. From the infor- 
mation that I have obtained in 
various quarters concerning the in- 
terior, there must be a range of 
mountainsabout three days’ journey 
north of Abomey. However, this 
is a question on which I hope 
shortly to have ocular evidence. 
Notes and Correspondence. 
| Jan. 
The King received me cordially; 
but, in order to reach the palace, 
I had to pass several scaffolds, bear- 
ing the corpses of victims who had 
been immolated on the previous 
evening. Some were suspended 
by the feet, others were upright. 
During twenty days these horrible 
spectacles were renewed, with a few 
decapitations in the interval. 
Consul! Burton was more fortunate 
than I, for he only arrived at Kana 
two or three days before the King 
departed for the war, and after the 
conclusion of the sacrifices. It is 
a difficult matter to predict what 
Europe may gain from this king and 
his advisers. I believe, however, 
that if the abolition of the slave- 
trade be conceded (the very seat 
and centre of which is at this place 
—Whydah), there is a happier fu- 
ture in store for this land. 
It is with the view to obtain this 
concession that I am on the eve of 
my departure with your brave Com- 
modore Willmot, and we shall soon 
have a definite reply. If it be 
favourable, my journey of explora- 
tion will be suspended ; otherwise, 
T shall at once proceed northward. 
The concession of the abolition of 
the slave-trade in the kingdom of 
Dahomey is the more to be desired, 
inasmuch as it would put a stop 
to the depopulation of a country of 
undoubted fertility and natural 
wealth, and which is eminently 
adapted for the cultivation of 
cotton. 
If the King grants the abolition, 
he would be all the more ready to 
encourage the growth of that staple, 
in order to give employment to his 
people, who would then no longer 
be compelled to engage in war for 
the purpose of making prisoners, to 
be sold as slaves. 
This isa succinet account of my 
hasty impressions of Dahomey ; 
receive it as such as I am able to 
communicate. 
JULES GERARD. 
