1 
on the Countries of Congo and Loango. 
the wealth and rank of his family : Thus, the body of a Prince 
is denied the rite of inhumation during the space of four 
years. But in Loango proper, eighty miles to the northward, 
the dead are baked upon hurdles over a slow fire of aromatic 
wood. How they are disposed of afterwards, I could not learn. 
In the former case, the body is constantly attended by hired 
mourners, who at intervals utter dismal bowlings and lamentations. 
They tear their hair and puncture their bodies in the most extra- 
vagant manner, as if under the influence of excessive grief; and in- 
terpolate the fictitious song of sorrow for the deceased, with eulo- 
gies on the greatness of his lineage, his wealth, bounty, strength, 
wisdom, and valour. They are occasionally employed through the 
day in shrouding the body, which is supported in an erect position 
in the centre of a house appropriated to the purpose ; first, with 
grass-cloths, fold over fold, each piece being fastened to that 
immediately beneath, and, last of all, with European and Asia- 
tic manufactures, web over web in a similar manner, until it 
arrives at an enormous bulk. These envelopes of costly mate- 
rials ;■ — chintz, taffetas, brocades, &c. are sometimes carried to 
the ruinous extent of two hundred cubic feet, exhibiting the 
appearance of an oblong package, with a protuberance arising 
from the midst of the upper surface. To retard putrefaction, 
some gallons of brandy are daily poured upon the fabric, which, 
after percolating through it, is collected in troughs, and quaffed 
off by the attendant mourners, as the most delicious and reno- 
vating beverage in nature. It acts like a charm, for their songs 
immediately assume a loftier strain of woe. Thus, for the space 
of twelve months were conducted the obsequies of a Malemba 
trader, — Empollo Leumba,— a worthless character, whose wealth, 
great alliances, and vanity, procured him that outward respect 
and honour which his countrymen secretly denied him. His 
ears were cropped for some misdeed of his youth, and his coun- 
tenance bespoke the insidious betrayer. I was present at the 
conclusion of the solemnities. 
Among the thousands who thronged to his funeral, ardent 
spirits were distributed with an unsparing hand, which doubt- 
less was the chief cause of their attendance. The corpse, pi a- 
VOL. v. no. 9 . JULY 1821 . j> 
