ME, FLANGE'S SECOND EMBASSY. 
177 
position by elevating that of his friends. Men who till 
now had only been his chamberlains, and whose office it 
was to carry his sedan chair and large umbrella, were 
made chiefs. 
On August 5th, these men dressed in a style denoting 
the highest rank, thanked the king publicly in a large 
assembly in the Elmina street. Each of them aimed at 
showing himself off to the best advantage by boasting of 
his greatness and power, and displaying his jewellery and 
riches, whilst his followers danced furiously, and endea- 
voured to outdo each other in screaming and firing off guns. 
These proceedings struck us as of a very warlike 
nature, and there were other movements amongst the im- 
portant persons present which were somewhat inexpli- 
cable. For instance the prince of Kokofu was honoured 
by a reception in the evening, on which occasion the king 
presented him with seventy-six powder boxes. The 
prince of Bekwse also arrived, and these gentlemen will 
not be allowed to leave the town until after the feast of 
yams has been celebrated, which is to be unusually early 
this year. 
On August 5th, Mr. Flange's present arrived. It was 
poor in the extreme, consisting of two lean sheep, fifteen 
small bananas, and thirty-six dollars, with nine more for 
his wife. This parsimony might result from a wise pre- 
caution on the part of the monarch, who knew he must 
make a much greater effort when he dismisses the ambas- 
sador, especially if he send us with him. He had privately 
informed prince Ansa that this time he would really let 
us go, but we did not rely on his word. 
Mr. Flange tried in a later assembly, which was attended 
by the whole council, to show the king things in their 
true light, plainly telling him that if we were not released, 
the barricading would certainly be enforced, and repeating 
that £1000 would be the very highest sum which would 
