TIME8 OF SICKNESS, dv. 
119 
and said, sympathisingly, to poor Rosa, "You have, 
indeed, much trouble, white woman." I seized the oppor- 
tunity to tell him I had lived too long in Africa; 
that my illness made a change to the Coast necessary, 
and I entreated him to hasten our departure. He bade 
me take courage, promising to send a messenger with 
letters to my friends. He then paid Kiihne a visit, to 
whom his physician daily brought rice soup, mixed with 
fish and vegetable. 
The excitement of this interview, heightened the fever, 
so that I feared I might be leaving my poor wife desolate 
in this barbarous land ; but I rallied through God's mercy, 
thousfh I suffered lonoj from extreme weakness. 
Meanwhile, the long expected exchange of prisoners 
took place on the Prah. Of our party, only M. Bonnat 
could be present at the reception, on March 20th, of the 
seventy-six Ashantees. The general joy was so great, 
that many of the chiefs danced, and the liberated hastened 
to shake hands with M. Bonnat, while parents and friends 
thanked the king by a loud shout. The warm heart of 
the Frenchman sympathised deeply with them, and some 
day, we trusted a similar festival was in store for us, 
though it approached very slowly. A letter from the 
prince stated that the exchange of prisoners had taken 
place on the 2nd, and one of the returned captives said, 
that he had not resumed his journey until five days later, 
so that we knew not when we might expect his return, 
and our life was more dismal than it is possible to 
describe. 
We had just retired to rest on Sunday evening 26th, 
when the death horn woke us, and in the morning we 
heard that the king had danced with his wives. On 
these occasions, human life is always sacrificed. The best 
band of music, called the Kete, is stationed at some 
distance, no man being permitted to approach. The in- 
