140 
ANTALOW. 
Captain Rudland (Hamed Chamie and Ibrahim being out in the 
town) ; our communication with him at the first was of a trifling 
nature. We presented to him some small trinkets for his Ozoro, 
which gave him much pleasure ; I also gave him an English guinea, 
which he said he would have fixed on the top of one of his knives. 
He then sent for some arrack made at Antalow, of which we drank 
a small quantity. He was very curious concerning the method of 
making this spirit, and expressed a wish that we would manufac- 
ture some for him from a quantity of dried plantains then in his 
possession. We represented the impossibility of this from want of 
proper apparatus, and also from our never having been engaged in 
any pursuit of the kind, this being in our country, as we informed 
him, the business of a distinct set of men, who sold it, when made, 
to the rest. Our interpreters now coming in, I requested some 
private conversation with the Ras, on which all the slaves were sent 
out of the room. 
" I now urged to him my surprize at having heard nothing from 
Basha Abdallah, in answer to the communication which I had made 
through him. The Ras said, that he had had many strangers with 
him in the morning, which had prevented his sending us an answer 
sooner, but that he expected Basha Abdallah every minute, and if 
1 pleased, would send to hasten his coming. I told him that 1 was 
sorry that it was not in my power to speak my sentiments to him at 
once without an interpreter ; that the interest of Mussulmauns was 
so directly contrary to ours as Christians, that it was impossible for 
me to say through a Mussulmaun interpreter, the things which I 
wished to communicate ; that all these people were in the interest 
of the SherifFe of Mecca, who at present supplied his country 
