4 
MISSIONARY LIFE IN ASHANTEE. 
CHAPTER IT. 
THE GENERAL FLIGHT. 
We were awakened at day break, on the morning of 9th 
June, by a loud knocking, and on opening the door, 
several soldiers announced to me, in the king's name, that 
a battle was at hand, that the town would soon be de- 
serted, and we could expect no mercy from the blood- 
thirsty Ashantees. " Would we like to escape ? " After 
some deliberation we decided in the negative. 
Scarcely had they left us when our boys asked leave 
to join their mothers, who were preparing to flee. We 
could not refuse them, for our other servants had already 
gone, except two whom we had rescued from slavery^ 
with our catechist and our clerk. By the afternoon a few 
stragglers alone remained in the town, and the king was 
trying to establish his camp in its deserted area, for a 
battle was expected in our immediate neighbourhood. 
A merchant who attended our services, visited us, and 
advised us to retire to Ho. "The Ashantees will not 
injure your persons," said he, "but they might easily 
carry you to Coomassie. I will, however, meet you again 
in the hour of danger, seeing you decide to remain." 
Still later we had a visit from a relative of the king, 
assuring us that he had not ordered a flight, and regret- 
ting that our servants had left us, though we hoped we 
should see them again the following day. Thus warned, 
we deemed it prudent, after dark, to bury two hundred 
