MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 97 
him, and intreated to be sold. After much importunity the captain 
agreed to do so, provided she would put him in possession of all 
the presents Quancum had lavished on her; she produced them, 
stipulating, that her son might retain a small sum of gold, which 
Quancum had lately presented to him ; this was agreed to, and she 
was immediately sold to a distant caboceer ; but her son followed 
her, and buying her with his little property, presented her again to 
his father. On this, the King gave Quancum a house, and some 
furniture, and takes care to continue small suppHes of gold daily, 
adequate to his and this woman's comfort; having exacted a 
solemn oath from him, that he would devote himself to this one 
wife, and never try to recover any of the others. 
Mr. Tedhe's interesting interview with the King, when he desired 
his attendance to exhibit and explain his surgical instruments, and 
medicines, is best described in his own words. 
" The King sent for me this" morning, saying he wished to see 
the medicines, books, and instruments. I went immediately, and 
explained through Quashie, the Accra linguist, the proper use and 
advantage of each instrument: he was very [larticular in his 
enquiries, and asked if I had performed the operations I described ; 
I assured him that I had, and as a proof, exhibited a piece of bone 
that I had taken out of an Indian black man's head in Ceylon, who 
had been wounded, and who lived. The King held up his hand as a 
mark of approbation, and all his attendants were astonished. I 
applied the instruments first on myself, then on the linguists, after- 
wards on the King s two captains, and lastly on the King : nothing 
could exceed the King's approbation. He' then desired me to 
shew him the medicines; he enquired the virtues and doses of 
each, what time in the day they should be taken, and whether it 
was proper to eat or drink ^fter taking them ? I told him : he 
asked if I would sell them? I said no. I brought these medicines 
o 
