234 conference: with 



The scene was extremely interesting. On the 

 king's right hand sat one of his principal daugh- 

 ters, with her father's arm resting on her shoul- 

 der ; while round the yard were seated about a 

 hundred eunuchs, fifty Mallams of venerable ap- 

 pearance with white beards, and a number of 

 chiefs and respectable natives from the neigh- 

 bouring towns. On the king's left were five of 

 his principal Mallams, two of whom had copies 

 of the Koran marked with hieroglyphic cha- 

 racters of a pink colour on a dark ground. 



After the usual salutations, the palaver, which 

 I considered a very important one, was com- 

 menced by my telling him that an opportunity 

 now offered for me to contradict publicly the 

 false statements which had gone abroad ; viz. 

 that the white men had not come up the river 

 for the purposes of trade, but to deprive the 

 natives of their dwellings and take possession of 

 the country. This I emphatically pronounced 

 to be false, and assured the king that I was pre- 

 pared to swear it by my faith, as I should expect 

 him to pledge himself upon his to any agree- 

 ment to be made between us. 



I had drawn out two copies of an agreement 

 on behalf of the African Inland Commercial 



- K 



