56 
MISSION TO ' ASHANTEE. 
the calamities and the sacrifices which menace the Settlements and 
the Mission, to secure your serious deliberation, as the only pre- 
ventive we can look to with confidence. 
Yesterday we were conducted some way without the town to an 
assembly of the Moorish caboceers and dignitaries, who exert 
every device against us. A chapter was read from the Koran, and 
we were ordered to swear by that book that we had no rogues 
palaver, and that we had put no poison in the King's liquor. We 
severally refused to swear on the Koran, but offered to do so on 
our own prayer books. The King's linguist mediated, and asked 
us if we would only strike that book three times, and then declare 
as much, because the Moors said, that book would kill us if we 
lied. We did this, and were about two hours afterwards ordered 
to sit without our house and receive the following present from the 
King: 
One bullock, 2 pigs, 8 oz. of gold, for Mr. James. 
One sheep, 3 oz. 4 ackies of gold, for each of us. 
To each of the numerous Fantee messengers, 10 ackies of gold. 
To our cooks, a large assortment of pots and country vessels, 
100 large billets of wood, 100 yams, 100 bunches of plantains, four 
of sugar cane, four (24 gallon) pots of palm oil, three jars of palm 
wine. 
To the soldiers, 10 ackies of gold. 
To the Accra linguist, 10 ackies of gold. 
On Saturday we were summoned to the King, and waited as 
usual a considerable time in one of the outer courts of the palace, 
which is an immense building of a variety of oblong courts and 
regular squares, the former with arcades along the one side, some 
of round arches symmetrically turned, having a skeleton of bam- 
boo; the entablatures exuberantly adorned with bold fan and 
trellis work of Egyptian character. They have a suit of rooms 
