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MISSION TO ASHANTEE, 
gold, and we also received twelve from Amanquatea, and three 
ftbm our house master. On the 9th of July the King sent us ten 
ackies of gold, and repeated his satisfaction of the result of the late 
correspondence, and daily presents of meat and fruits from various 
quarters, evinced the better opinion of his chiefs. 
I paid my first private visit to Baba the chief Moor, and took 
some pens, paper, ink, and pencils with me as a present ; the paper 
and pencils were much esteemed, but he preferred his reed and 
vegetable ink. He received me courteously, and was contemplat- 
ing a curiously intricate figure like a horoscope ; the ms. was filled 
with them ; he laid his finger on it, and said, if you have any hard 
palaver, this can make me settle it for you when no other person 
can ; or if you have any dear friend in England you wish to see, 
tell me the name, and this shall bring him to you. I thanked him, 
observing, that when Englishmen knew their palaver was right, 
they always left it to God, and that England was too good a place 
for me to wish any one I regarded to leave it. His disciples and 
pupils were writing on wooden boards, like those Mr. Park de- 
scribes. When a charm was applied for, one of the oldest wrote 
the body of it, and gave it to Baba, who added a sort of cabalistical 
mark, and gave it a mysterious fold ; the credulous native snatched 
it eagerly as it was held out to him, paid the gold, and hurried 
away to enclose it in the richest case he could afford. I had a 
long conversation with Baba, and he begged me to visit him fre- 
quently ; he was much gratified with the specimens of African 
Arabic at the end of Mr. Jackson^s work, and read them fluently. 
I visited him the next day, when he sent hastily for a Moor, who 
he told me was very learned, and just come from Timbuctoo. 
This man expressing no surprise when he first saw me, Baba 
explained it, by telhng me, spontaneously, that this Moor had seen 
three white men before, at Boussa. I e;agerly enquired the parti- 
