110 MISSIONARY LIFE IiV ASIIANTEE. 
announced, as we thought, a great conflagration; the 
cause, however, was an eclipse of the moon, which the 
mohammedans have taught the people to believe can 
only be removed by their prayers : on this day therefore 
they were loaded with presents. In the morning we 
again heard the dreadful sound which betokened an exe- 
cution — this time that of a thief. 
Prince Ansa had made repeated attempts to gain the 
ear of the king on our behalf, and at length he succeeded 
in reaching him in his retirement. He first requested 
that we might be entirely freed from our former people. 
Bosommuru opposed, but the queen-mother took our part 
on hearing how ill they behaved to us. He then pleaded 
for my wife, who had none of the care and comforts she 
was now specially needing. She was very unwilling to 
leave me, but I earnestly wished that she might be 
allowed to accompany the prince to the Coast. The king 
however declined to let her go on some trifling pretext, 
but promised that some of our former property should be 
brought us from Totorase. 
On January 12th, the little Adae was celebrated, and 
the king, again visited the buildings which contained the 
chairs of the deceased monarchs. Ten sheep were killed 
and cooked for them, after which his m^ajesty sprinkled 
the chairs with their blood, " to serve the spirits." We 
paid our respects in the third court of the palace, and 
received the customary nine dollars from Bosommuru. 
A rumour was set afloat at the court, that my wife was 
the daughter of Mrs. Bannerman, originally an Ashantee 
princess, married in the war of 1836 to a mulatto, who 
was thought to be a deadly enemy of the Ashantees ; and 
it was added that Dompre had lost his life in his enthusi- 
astic efforts to procure her liberty. There had been so 
much silly talk on the subject, that we desired to know 
what the king had to say. For the first time in his life, 
