THE RANSOM MONEY. 
157 
to the Coast, bringing the white prisoners, if public inter- 
course was to be reopened. After several questions, the 
king exclaimed, "Well, I will try and let you go back 
soon," 
The prince's own brother then spoke so bitterly 
about the way being closed, that Ansa declared it had 
been mainly his own doing, giving his reason. Whib 
living in Cape Coast, he had been repeatedly solicited to 
intercede for the Ashantee traders, when they got into 
difficulties with Fantees. Now that he was away, there 
would be no one who understood English, and had, at the 
same time, the good of the Ashantees at heart. He there- 
fore, conjointly with Kotiko and Afirifa, the representa- 
tives of Ashantee, thought it best for communication to 
cease, so that during his absence, no inextricable compli- 
cations might occur. The monarch, and nearly all the 
council, agreed with the rules which had been adopted, 
but they were opposed by Ansa's brother, and the queen 
mother. We are evidently held in such high value, that 
it will be hard to secure our release; indeed I was 
gravely asked by one person, whether we were not 
relatives of Queen Victoria. 
When prince Ansa was privately sounded as to his 
opinion with regard to a demand for ransom, he replied : 
" If this question is seriously mooted, I beg to be spared 
the disgrace of carrying any message on the subject to 
the Coast ; you must send another person." 
The matter was left in abeyance during the celebration 
of a festival in honour of the king's guardian spirits, which 
was accompanied by the sacrifice of numberless animals, 
and dancing on the part of his majesty. At length, on 
February 17th, all of us were summoned to appear in the 
royal presence. We found the king and his mother 
seated on an elevated throne, and the counsel of chiefs 
gathered round them; but we had scarcely taken our 
