206 
DISCOVEFcIES OF THE ENGLISH. 
The king of Barsally, as well as all his attend- 
ants, are zealous Mahometans ; and whenever he 
was not completely intoxicated, he prayed most 
fervently. Far from thinking, with others of his 
persuasion, that it was worse than death to taste 
brandy, or other strong liquors, he considered it 
almost as deadly an evil to taste any thing weaker. 
His usual course of life was, to rise at night, and 
drink till towards daylight, then eat, and go to 
sleep till near sunset. At that time he rose, and 
having again drank copiously, went to sleep till 
midnight. His insatiable thirst for brandy kept 
both his subjects and neighbours in a state of per- 
petual terror. When he stood in need of a supply 
of this indispensable article, he immediately sent 
to the managers of the Company at James-Fort, 
requesting that they would despatch a cargo to be 
exchanged for slaves ; a call which those worthy 
personages always obeyed with the utmost alacrity* 
The king then marched suddenly to a neighbour- 
ing town, set fire to three parts of it, and stationed 
his guards at the fourth, who seized the inhabi- 
tants as they attempted to escape. If he w^as not 
at war with any of his neighbours, he then, says 
Moore, ** falls upon one of his own tow^ns, which 
are numerous, and uses them in the very same 
maimer J^^ One of the amusements of this 
august personage, was to go on board a vessel in 
the river, and shoot at the canoes as they passed j 
