I HAVE said that my father had much intercourse with white men. His principal business, indeed, was to procure cargoes of living flesh and blood, to be transported to some far land towards the setting sun. The slave ships, which came to this part of Africa, generally anchored a few miles within the mouth of the Congo, as there they lay secure from the everlasting surf which rolls all along the western coast. Sometimes my father carried down his people, as he called them, to the slavers in large canoes; but not unfrequently the white captain, with a crew of ten or twelve men, came up to my father's residence. It was, in fact, a convenient depôt for trading in other matters. A white man was, consequently, no strange sight to me, even from earliest infancy. There was an American, Captain Winton, who traded for many years with my father. It was he who had brought all the fine furniture for the palace, and amongst other toys he brought a large violin for me; but, as we had no instructor, the sounds which my father, myself, or any of his people elicited from it, would by no means have set the stones a-dancing. On one occasion, however, when I had carried the violin into the woods, it providentially had the effect of setting a whole troop of hyenas to their heels: to my great relief and amazement. At last this Captain Winton brought a small barrel-organ, which could play eight tunes; and, having instructed us how to change the tunes, it became a constant treat to prince and peasant: I really think that for six months after we received it, it was not quiet for six minutes. Like all other things, however, it fell into disuse, and was soon set aside as an incumbrance. I must confess, by the way, that my countrymen in general, though fond of music, are extremely capricious and volatile in their disposition. To proceed. This Captain Winton and his men were sometimes inmates of the palace for eight or ten days at a time, therefore I soon learned to pick up many English words, and could soon bear part in a conversation in that language. My father entertained the white men very hospitably, and presents were continually being exchanged. I may mention, however, as an instance of the way this traffic went on, that Captain Winton received two fine slaves for the barrel-organ.

To procure cargoes of slaves, my father went upon an expedition every now and then with his regulars; that is, he went to a distant part of the country, and found ways and means to pick a quarrel with some less powerful tribe, which generally ended by the weaker tribe giving up a number of slaves as ransom; or a fight took place, and the strongest helped themselves. To do my father justice, however, he made it a rule never to quarrel with his next neighbours; he rather kept on terms with them, and, consequently, they served as a kind of rampart or wall to guard him against the incursions of others. Besides the slaves which he obtained in his warlike expeditions, he procured many more by fair trade: if the term may be applied in such a case. He often sailed up the Congo with a supply of English or American goods, and by bartering these to petty kings, several hundreds of miles up the country, he never failed to come back with a full cargo, at reasonable prices. He also procured gold dust, ivory, and other valuable commodities, in the same way. His kingly office was, in fact, no sinecure; for to keep up such an establishment as my father did required considerable exertion and prudence. I may mention here, that after I was in America I heard it frequently asserted by white men that my countrymen were cannibals. From my own experience I should have said that this was very incorrect, but my father told me that in one of his journeys, about four hundred miles further up the river than his own kingdom, he had seen exposed for sale publicly in the market of a town, the name of which I forget, human limbs regularly cut up; and this I must not gainsay, as he could have no interest in making a false statement to me.

I SHALL now advert to other occurrences than hunting. My father made regular excursions with his men, and occasionally to a considerable distance, either for the purpose of quarrelling with some other tribe, and helping himself to what fortune threw in his way, or for the more laudable purpose of trading with other chiefs. He refused, however, upon all occasions to let me join him, saying that it was too much to risk both king and prince at one time. He traded with various slave captains, both British and American; but his chief customer was Captain Winton, who generally came every year, sometimes oftener. He brought many curiosities to my father to adorn his palace. We had even a very handsome London-made eight-day clock, various articles of crystal, crockery, and hardware, and even some elegant silver plate, and—what might be deemed very unnecessary for such ignoramuses as we all were—many handsome printed books with fine plates. My father understood that all civilized princes had fine libraries, and he wished not to be behind any of them. I often used to turn over and over the leaves of these volumes, and would get Captain Winton, when he was not engaged in business, to explain their nature to me; and he would occasionally read a story out of one of them. Sometimes their contents related to our own Africa, describing matters so naturally and truly, that to all of us it seemed quite incomprehensible, and indeed supernatural, that these books should talk better than our wisest men. I felt so much interested by what I heard read, and so eager to know more, that I absolutely bothered Captain Winton to give me some lessons in reading; and to him I owe the rudiments of my education. In his different visits, he enabled me completely to master the English alphabet, and even to read, in a manner, words of one syllable. For my instruction, he brought me an English primer, and I proved a very industrious scholar.

I must be permitted to say, that nature had certainly formed me in a more intellectual and thoughtful mould than the most of my countrymen; and I could not shut my eyes to the fact that, in knowledge, we were far, far behind the strangers who visited us. The various manufactures they brought us was another proof that we were but as infants in comparison to the whites. The more I thought upon the matter, the stronger became my desire to know more of the world and of mankind than what I could acquire in Africa; and I hinted this my desire to Captain Winton. But when my father learned that I had a wish to see foreign nations, he was quite indignant, and forbade me again to mention the subject. This prohibition, however, like many others to young minds, had merely the effect of setting me brooding on the matter, and contriving how to attain my object.

Captain Winton was a considerable favourite with the female part of our household. He never forgot to bring a few trinkets for them,—most of them, doubtless, of brass well gilded,—and in return he was sure to obtain real bullion in one shape or other. The women were very eager to procure small silver coins, with which they made very pretty necklaces and bracelets, stringing a coin and an amber or coral bead alternately. On gala days, my sisters carried about in this way, on their heads, necks, and arms, as much small change as an extensive retail shop would require.

I had attained the age of sixteen, when Captain Winton, having arrived, I earnestly requested of my father that he would permit me to go down the river when the captain went, and see his ship at the same time. At length he consented, saying that he had a lot of slaves to take down to the vessel, and that we would all go together. Having arranged matters, and shipped his slaves, amounting to fifty-two, in two large canoes, he and I, with twelve of the regulars, embarked in another, and the captain accompanied us with his boat, in which were eight men. In two days, we arrived at the anchoring-ground, which was four miles within the bar that stretched across the mouth of the Congo.

On approaching this spot, where lay four other slave-ships, I was struck with wonder and amazement at the beautiful appearance and gigantic size of these ships, never having before seen any vessel larger than our canoes. After reaching the deck of Captain Winton's ship, the Triton, I could hardly believe but that all I saw was enchantment. This vessel carried twelve guns; and, in honour of our visit, Captain Winton ordered a salute of five guns to be fired. I was, of course, well enough acquainted with the explosion of small arms, but had never seen a cannon fired; and as I had no warning of what was about to take place either from my father or the captain (who, no doubt, wished to try my mettle), on the first gun being discharged, I leaped a considerable height from the deck, and looked round at my father perfectly thunderstruck. Indeed, I imagined it actually was thunder, and it was some time before I could recover my composure. When an explanation took place, however, it more surely convinced me of the wonderful power and knowledge possessed by white men.

On being taken down to the cabin, I was shown some articles that appeared to me very curious; amongst others, two very large globes, the nature of which the captain explained. My father laughed outright when he was told that this earth was round, and said,—“Oh, captain, you are making fool of black men.” Several maps were also explained to us, and even the nature of eclipses was endeavoured to be illustrated to us by means of some diagrams; but Captain Winton's endeavours were often fruitless, as it was impossible for him to supply us with comprehension. Yet, although I could not understand all he said to us, I was convinced, from other circumstances, that the white man must be in the right, however mysterious it then appeared to me.

After thinking for some time, I inquired of the captain if he knew who made the world, and the sun and moon, and all other visible things. He answered, that one great and invisible Being had made all things, and that the idols we Africans worshipped were merely things invented by the imagination and ignorance of men. He also said that God in former times had sent visible angels from heaven to instruct and direct men in what was right, but that, through the wickedness of mankind, God had been displeased, and no more held visible intercourse with men. Yet that God in his mercy sent his Son, who had come into this world about two thousand years ago, and gave men good instructions and advice; and at last, because he was superior in goodness to any being who had ever appeared on this earth, he was slain by wicked men; but in three days he rose from his grave, and soon afterwards ascended up into heaven, in the presence of many witnesses. All who believed in this Son of God, and repented of their evil works, Captain Winton told me, would after their death be taken to heaven, where they would for ever be happy. All this, although in a great measure incomprehensible to me at the time, made a deep impression on my mind; and when I compared such things to the confused nonsense told to us by our itinerant priests, I longed from my heart to know something more of this Son of God. May I ask, now, if such feelings were not infused into my heart by the Holy Spirit of God, at that time, and not merely in consequence of a few sentences spoken by a slave captain? If not from this cause, from whence did they arise? I was now determined more and more, although I kept my thoughts to myself, that as soon as it was in my power I would make a voyage to the white man's country.

Captain Winton then showed us the hold of the ship, and in this there were already stowed, including my father's cargo, nearly three hundred slaves; they were mostly in fetters or shackles, and seemed otherwise very uncomfortable. Captain Winton told us that if he did not thus confine them, they would, when at sea, come on deck, and make such a confusion in the ship, that the men would be unable to do their work. This seemed plausible enough. I then asked him what would become of the slaves when he arrived in America. “Oh!” said he, laughing, “the women will all get white husbands, and will have little to do but dress and go about: they will be dressed, Prince Zamba, much better than your mother and your sisters; and as for the men, they will be taught to work at various trades, and will be well fed and clothed, and be far better off than in Africa.” I swallowed all this implicitly, and thought that in reality they would be better off than if kept by my father and other chiefs as prisoners, in which situation they had no security for their lives for one hour. Captain Winton, however, did not tell me all the facts of the case. I learned them afterwards by my own bitter experience.

We stopped on board the ship all night, and next day my father received payment for his lot of slaves. At this time a stout male slave was valued, on an average, at from thirty to forty dollars, women from five to ten dollars less, and children in proportion. But the purchase was all paid in barter. A piece of common Irish linen was taken at from twenty-five to thirty-five dollars. A musket and bayonet, which in Birmingham probably cost thirty shillings, brought twenty dollars; and gunpowder was priced at a dollar per pound weight. My father, however, would sometimes insist upon having a hundred or two of specie dollars, and seemed quite acquainted with their relative value to manufactured goods. Having arranged all with Captain Winton, we embarked in our canoes, and ere we were a mile on our way up the river, I had the pleasure to see one of the slave vessels under weigh, with a fine breeze; it was truly a marvellous spectacle to me. As we had three canoes in charge, with few hands, it was five days before we reached home.

About seven months after this excursion, my father told me he would take me upon a trading expedition; and farther promised that hereafter he would also take me in his war expeditions,—in fact that we should always keep together and take our chance. He made me promise solemnly, that, in case anything befell him, I would endeavour to walk in his footsteps, and do all things just as he had done. I did so; but I must confess, with secret misgivings, as I had quite different ideas in my head. The expedition he was now bent on, he told me, was to pay a visit and trade with a brother king named Darroola, of the Kormantu tribe, who resided about two hundred miles from our place, up the Congo. This Darroola, he said, was a very strange fellow, and it required great caution and courage to deal with him to advantage. However, I should soon be able to judge for myself. We had three of our largest canoes put in order, each of which would carry from forty to fifty men; the one in which my father himself embarked had a sort of cabin amid ships, and was furnished with an awning and other conveniences. Our merchandise—consisting chiefly of Irish linen, red flannel, flashy English printed cotton, and some hardware, with five barrels containing about a hundred gallons of rum, and provisions for the voyage—was put on board the canoes, and we were accompanied by thirty of our best men well armed.

After a passage of six days, mostly accomplished by dint of paddling, we came to King Darroola's landing-place, where we left the vessels in charge of five of the men, and then in formal order proceeded to the village, which made a handsome appearance at about a mile distant. We were soon descried, and King Darroola, at the head of twenty or thirty men, came marching down to meet us. The two chiefs appeared delighted to see each other; and I was regularly introduced. King Darroola's appearance was very striking and commanding, but there was something particularly savage in his smile, and his eyes, which were extraordinarily large, looked horribly malignant. He was dressed in red flannel breeches, with large knee-buckles—his bare legs showing above a pair of half boots; a blue naval uniform coat, with large gold epaulettes; and a red and blue striped night-cap.

As we neared the village, which was surrounded with pallisades, some of his men commenced blowing trumpets, and huzzaing with all their might. On entering the gate, the most conspicuous building was the palace, of course, which was really a very decent looking building, of two stories in height. I could, as we drew near to the palace gate, perceive several ladies at the upper windows, one of whom beat upon a drum, and another rattled a tambourine vigorously in honour of our approach. The pallisades which surrounded the palace on all sides presented a ghastly, and to me an appalling sight. At the distance of about every three feet, a human head was stuck on the end of a small pole; some of them appeared quite fresh, others were in various stages of putrefaction. I noticed that the pallisade at one side of the palace was destitute of these horrible trophies: the cause of this was soon explained. Just as my father was entering the gate, he stepped into a small pool of fresh blood, when, without appearing in the least astonished, he turned round to his brother king, and with a half serious, half comical look, said,—“What! King Darroola, still keeping up the old amusement? You are too extravagant, sir. I am sure you always find me ready enough to bargain for your prisoners or your criminals. What have you been about this morning?”—“Ah,” answered Darroola, “you know, King Zembola, that I can afford more heads than you. It is only for pocket-money I deal with you. I must have my palace adorned like a true king. I have about fifty blank spaces to fill up yet, and have only furnished three this morning.” He then explained that he had made it a rule, every new moon, to fill up at least three vacancies on the pallisades, until they should be furnished all round with heads. One of these he had taken this day, he added, belonged to one of his wives, of whom he was jealous; another was the head of a slave, who had broken by accident a fine crystal bottle; and the third, that of a prisoner who was rather sickly, and who would not, he believed, have brought ten dollars at all events. He coolly pointed out the three heads, which had been just stuck up in their places, and were still dripping with gore. My father only said, “Sir—sir, you are very extravagant.” But the impression made upon my feelings was such that I could not help shuddering at the hideous spectacle; which Darroola perceiving, he clapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Ah, boy—boy, you have not seen the world, I perceive.” I inwardly hoped that I should soon be far from a country of such horrors, and again reverted in my own mind to what Captain Winton bad told me regarding the manner in which white men lived.

On entering the interior of the palace, I observed that, although well furnished for an African prince, it had not the tasteful arrangement or handsome ornaments of my father's house; but a great many spoils of the chase lay scattered about, and the walls in every direction were adorned with implements of war. The two chiefs now sat down at a table, and, excepting myself, all others were ordered out. They then commenced to talk of business; bottles of spirits and other refreshments were produced, and after a few cups were drunk, Darroola inquired how much rum his brother had brought with him. To this and other questions, my father answered in an evasive manner, inquiring in return how many and what kind of prisoners Darroola had on hand; who, like a true merchant, also evaded the question: in fact, the two for a long time, like abler tacticians in more civilized countries, appeared to be striving to get the weather-gauge of each other. At length they came to some kind of terms, and I found, by the prices agreed upon for the various articles to be given for fifty-five slaves, that my father drove a very profitable trade: he gained cent. per cent. at least on every article, and as much upon the slaves.

After some little time, we went out and inspected the fifty-five slaves, some of whom appeared quite happy at the prospect of a change; having already, as I had no doubt, experienced that they were in the hands of a fiend. My father then sent down a detachment, accompanied by a number of Darroola's men, to the canoes to bring up the requisite goods, and in the mean time the two chiefs returned to the drinking chamber, and seemed determined upon having a jollification. Darroola was, in his own way, very amusing but I could hardly look at his savage countenance without wishing myself anywhere else than within his premises. The articles were soon brought up from the canoes; Darroola very generously ordered a cask of rum to be broached, and a good allowance to be served to all the men of both parties; and the whole afternoon was spent in jollity. My father, however, took the precaution, some time before sun-down, to go down to his canoes himself, and appoint a guard of fifteen men to watch all night: the others were to be accommodated at the palace.

We returned to the palace about dusk, and partook of a feast which did credit to Darroola's cooks. At the request of Darroola, a few of my father's men were brought into the room where the two chiefs sat, and allowed to sit down along with them, and partake of the good things; and in the course of the evening we were visited by a priest of the country, whom I instantly recollected having often seen at our own palace. After some time, this priest, who sat next my father, took a small idol out of his pocket, and holding it up, pretended to be whispering a prayer to it; but this was only to attract my father's attention without being suspected by Darroola: who, by the way, was busily plying some of our men with rum, and had his head and his attention turned in another direction. The priest then whispered, “King Zembola, listen to me, but look as if you heard not. You have been my friend; I am your friend: I cannot see you betrayed. Mark me now:—an attempt will be made to destroy you and your men tomorrow, when you are at the point of embarking: be on your guard. I can say no more. Now, do not let your countenance betray you. You are safe to-night; but tomorrow—remember to-morrow.” I could instantly perceive my father's countenance change; but he quickly commanded his emotion, and looking steadily at the faithful old priest, merely pressed his hand, and said, “Good! my friend, I shall never forget you.”

The entertainment continued, and at last all were more than ready for bed. Many, indeed, had already made theirs on the floor without ceremony, and King Darroola snored in his chair of state. My father and I retired to a room prepared for us; and after placing two sentinels at the door, and seeing that our arms were in order, we lay down to sleep, and did not awake until dawn of day. The two kings met in the morning with the greatest affability; and refreshments were soon prepared, which speedily carried off all the effects of last evening's revelry.

In the course of the forenoon, the fifty-five slaves were all taken down to the landing-place, coupled together with fetters; and all being settled at the palace, King Darroola and about a dozen of his men, unarmed, accompanied us, and we all proceeded to the shore: apparently in peace and kindness. The slaves were then placed in two of the canoes, and the troops belonging to my father were preparing to take their places; part having to go in the same canoes with the slaves, and the remainder with their chief and myself in our best canoe.

At this juncture, Darroola embraced me, and then my father, with seeming cordiality, wishing us a good voyage and a good market, and then retired up the bank a few paces. Presently, however, he turned round, and exclaiming,—“King Zembola, I forgot something,”—he gave a signal, and in an instant fifty or sixty men sprang out with a yell from the brushwood about a hundred yards distant, and commenced firing with great celerity. My father, being so far on his guard, had told his men previously to have their muskets loaded, each with a ball and eight or ten buckshot; and he now very steadily told them to stand close and firm, and give the enemy a volley. At the first surprise, two of our party fell dead, but our men were superior in discipline to Darroola's, and better marksmen; as they proved by their first volley, which brought down from fifteen to twenty of the enemy. Our men, too, were furnished with bayonets, which Darroola's had not; and ere they could again load, my father, setting the example, called on his men to charge, which they did in gallant style, and in two minutes Darroola and his men were nearly out of sight. My father, however, was as cautious as he was brave, and not knowing how many more might be in ambush, he ordered us to embark without a moment's delay; and on our way down to the water, he ordered his men to despatch every one of the enemy who lay wounded. With the utmost speed we hauled out the whole of the canoes, and were soon at the farther side of the Congo, driving down the stream as fast as our paddles and the current could carry us.

My father sat in silence for a considerable space of time after we were afloat; but his countenance was altogether changed—it absolutely turned to a palish-grey hue, and his eyes rolled in their sockets as if they would burst from their orbits. At length his rage found utterance. He lifted up his hands, and swore by all the gods that were ever known in Africa, that he would not rest day or night until he had taken bloody revenge on Darroola and his tribe. “I have known,” said he, “treachery practised by enemies on each other in war; but, in peace and friendship, never. Was there ever the equal to that accursed Darroola? By the Great Kolla! if I do not spill the blood of the whole tribe like water, may my whole race go to jumbo!” Then, by way of encouraging his men, he told them to broach a cask of rum, and gave each man a good cupful. He also gave the poor slaves a little to cheer their hearts, as they seemed evidently delighted at Darroola being put to flight. He then told the rowers to pull incessantly, promising them ample allowance of victuals and drink; and so well did all execute their task, that, by the evening of the next day, we were safe at our own landing-place.

After seeing the slaves secured, the first thing my father did was to go into the room where the hideous idol I formerly described was stationed, and give it a tremendous blow on the head with his cutlass. Although I put on a serious face, I could hardly help laughing at such conduct. He then called every male in the place to his presence, and after commenting a little on what had happened, he despatched messengers to every hut in his small domain, to summon instantly all who could wield a weapon. “That infernal scoundrel, Darroola,” said he, “will expect me, as a matter of course; but I shall be upon him ere he imagines we are at home.” He then allowed all to take rest for one night, but commanded that next morning there should be a general muster.

WHEN the morning broke, my father's men began to assemble from all quarters, and ere the sun was two hours up not one of those expected were missing: all seemed animated by the same spirit of retaliation and revenge. A hundred and forty men were selected for the enterprise, leaving about thirty in arms to take charge of matters at home till the expedition returned. Five large canoes were put in order, and well provided with victuals and liquor; ammunition, and a quantity of combustible materials were provided,—nothing, in short, that was requisite for our purpose was omitted. By mid-day all were ready; and my father, after giving orders to the person he left as his representative, and taking farewell of my mother and the rest of his wives and family, took me into the room where the idol was placed, and kneeling down, besought in a very earnest manner success on our enterprise. For my own part, even at that time I put very little faith in what the hideous image could do,—more especially now, when his ugly head was nearly cloven in two. Alas! my poor father! may the only living and true God forgive thy ignorance, in the day when motives and not words shall be weighed.

We immediately afterwards embarked in the canoes, and set off at full speed, and both arguments and stimulants were used to make the rowers do their utmost. No untoward accident occurred to delay us for a moment, and in the afternoon of the third day we were within twenty miles of Darroola village. The canoes were now brought close to the shore, and moored until the sun sank; immediately after which, having refreshed all hands, we again started, and orders were given that perfect silence should be maintained. About an hour before midnight we arrived within two miles of our destination; and here the canoes were brought close to the bank, and arrangements made for the attack.

As it was possible that Darroola might be even thus early on the watch, my father gave orders that twenty picked men, accompanied by myself, should endeavour to surprise the sentinels, who would probably be stationed near the landing-place; the remainder, including King Zembola, were to remain in arms beside the canoes, ready at a moment's warning for what might happen. I accordingly started with the twenty men, and as the night was exceedingly dark, and we were but partially acquainted with the ground, we had to choose our steps with caution. We marched right into the country for about a quarter of a mile, then taking a circuit, struck again down to the river side; and as we approached the spot where we expected any sentinels to be stationed, we crawled upon our hands and knees, hardly daring to breathe. At last we could perceive one man close to the river's bank, walking backwards and forwards; and, still advancing, we could make out three others sitting near him on the ground, quietly smoking. Had King Darroola seen them, their heads would no doubt have soon filled up a few of his blank spaces on the pallisades. We now all arose, but without the smallest noise, and rushing forward, the four sentinels were secured and bound, and threatened with instant death if a sound escaped them. I despatched two swift-footed fellows to my father, advising him to bring his men straight up by the bank of the river; and such was their eagerness, that in less than an hour our whole party had joined us.

King Zembola now divided his whole force into seven companies, of about twenty men each, and every man of them was furnished with a few pitchpine splinters, prepared in a peculiar manner to render them more combustible, with directions that as soon as they entered the village, and the signal was given, each man was to set fire to the house nearest his station. My father then addressed a few words to the whole of us, bidding us remember that his honour, and the honour of our tribe, were at stake, and that if we failed in taking signal vengeance on man, woman, and child, we were no friends of his. “I shall sacrifice at least two hundred,” said he, “and we shall have about as many left as prisoners: at all events, Darroola shall pay with his blood for his treachery. But spare the old priest you saw in conversation with me at Darroola's table. And now forward in quietness.”

We marched in dead silence until we came to the village pallisades, and as fortune would have it, the first gate we came to yielded without force. The whole village was wrapt in deep repose and darkness, until the silence was broken by the barking of a dog or two. I felt considerably irritated at the treatment we had received from Darroola; but, whether it was that my heart was formed of softer materials than my father's, or that a new light was beginning lately to break in upon my mind, certain it is I experienced an indescribable feeling—something allied to melancholy and sorrow—as I gazed around on the dwellings of the poor Kormantoos, who, though guiltless, and most of them totally ignorant of Darroola's treachery, would in a few minutes be aroused from their peaceful slumbers to all the horrors of fire, slaughter, and every species of murderous cruelty; and although I calculated that a considerable number of prisoners would be our booty, I wished, from the bottom of my soul, that the injury could be otherwise atoned for. I had, however, hardly time to make these reflections before my father ordered me to station my company in front of Darroola's palace, saying that he would place his own company close to me, as we might expect most resistance there. He then gave directions where the others should go, and told them that as soon as they saw a single torch blazing at his station, they were to light their torches with all expedition, and set fire to the nearest habitations.

In a few minutes afterwards, he struck a light himself, kindled a torch, and instantly our two companies held each his blazing torch aloft, and all the other companies followed like magic. The torches were no sooner applied to the dry thatch, or reeds, of which the huts were mostly formed, than the flames arose and spread like wildfire, and in a few minutes the whole village was in a blaze. And now arose the most awful shouting of men, mingled with the shrill screaming of women and children, that could be imagined; the terror-struck inhabitants endeavoured to rush out of their burning dwellings, but outside our men met them like infuriated tigers, and either cut them down with their cutlasses, or thrust them back into the flames with their bayonets. Some of the Kormantoo men made a gallant resistance, fighting with such weapons as they could snatch up in the confusion, but most of them were naked and unarmed, and of course had no chance. The palace windows were soon thrown open, and we could perceive Darroola himself, with a musket, at the head of a strong party of his men. They fired most determinedly, and even steadily, from the windows; but the flames made such rapid and fearful progress, that this warfare could not last long: a number of our men fell, and we could plainly see that our volleys were thinning the number of our opponents within the palace. At length the fire became so fierce, that Darroola and his whole force of about thirty men, made a sally from the front gate, and bravely met us hand to hand. The struggle was now tremendous, and many fell on both sides; at length Darroola singled out my father, who by no means evaded him, and for some time the two carried on a doubtful combat. Darroola was armed with a huge battle-axe, and my father with musket and bayonet parried his blows with great dexterity, till at length my father fairly thrust him through the body, and pinned him against a wall of the palace: even in this horrible position the brave Darroola struck at his triumphant enemy; but his blows were now feeble, and when my father withdrew his bayonet, his opponent fell dead. Just as my father had finished this fierce encounter, a ball from one of the enemy struck him on the forehead, and ere I could reach him he had fallen beside his enemy: he uttered only one groan, and lay fixed in death. I was perfectly appalled, and knew not what to do. The enemy still continued to resist; but as the news of my father's death spread through our ranks, most of the men came hurrying to the spot, and I could perceive from their numbers that we were completely victorious. I instantly gave orders that mercy should be shown to all who yielded.

Just at this moment, a young girl, with hardly any clothing on her, but who, from the ornaments about her head and neck, was evidently a person of rank, came rushing up to me, followed by one of our men, who, with a cutlass uplifted, was in the act of striking her. I parried the blow and cried to him to desist; and, upon looking down, perceived the poor girl holding me by the feet and gazing imploringly in my face. By the light of the flames, I saw that she was beautiful, and as she turned up her eyes of heavenly sweetness, I could not help stooping down, and taking her in my arms, telling her that she was perfectly safe. I then told two of my men (for the men were now mine, alas!) to take her beside the other prisoners, and see that no harm came over her.

By this time day had broken, and of the beautiful village of Darroola hardly a vestige remained: a number of smoking heaps of ashes and rubbish, mingled with the remains of human beings, told where the cheerful and happy cottages had stood but yesterday; and the loud wailing and lamentation of the wretched prisoners would have melted the heart of any but a fiend. On mustering our men, I found that thirty-five were wanting, besides my father; whilst of Darroola's people at least two hundred must have fallen in all. Of prisoners, we had a hundred and thirty: many of these were children. I now gave orders to have my father's body laid decently aside and covered with a cloth, and then directed a search to take place for the bodies of our fallen countrymen: assisting in this work myself; and after considerable trouble we found twenty-six quite dead, and nine so severely wounded that they had little chance of seeing home. We speedily had a hole dug, in which we placed the bodies; and as I felt deeply touched by my father's death and the horrible carnage amongst our enemies, I prevailed upon my men, by the promise of some rum, to dig another large pit, and bury in it as many dead bodies of the poor Kormantoos as they could collect. We left none living, nor a roof remaining, in the village; and I believe that to this day the site remains a wilderness.

I was told that during the search for the dead, at the back of Darroola's palace (which I had not personally inspected), a low-built mud-walled hut was discovered, which had escaped the fire, from its being covered with flat stones instead of rushes as the other houses were, and that it had no windows, but only a very strong door. I instantly went to the spot with a few men, and, on forcing open the entrance, discovered a flight of steps which led down to a tolerably-sized vault or cellar. This proved to be Darroola's stronghold or treasury, and we found here a very considerable quantity of foreign goods, some casks of liquor, several very fine elephants' teeth, and, to our great satisfaction, a barrel containing between three and four thousand Spanish dollars, a hundred and twenty doubloons in a bag, and two small bags of gold-dust. Having brought out all these treasures, which were ours by right as conquerors, I had them placed in a heap on the outside; and collecting all my men, except the few who guarded the prisoners, I addressed them to this effect: I told them that now, as I had succeeded my father as their king, I intended to act towards all of them as a generous chief, and that I hoped they would ever be faithful and true to me; and that, as a proof of my feelings towards them, as soon as we arrived at home, I would divide the whole of the spoil (except one or two things which I would place in the royal treasury) equally and justly amongst all of them, and that the shares of the men who had fallen would be given to their widows or other relatives. This announcement was received with shouts of joy, and immediately the whole body of the men knelt down, and each holding both hands close to the crown of his head, swore aloud by the great God Kollah, that they would be true to the death to me and mine.

When I reflected, in after years, since the light of the blessed Gospel had shone into my benighted soul, upon this act of homage paid to me, I could not help sometimes weeping bitterly to think that I, at that time a poor ignorant boy, should accept of such reverence, which was due to God only. But, alas! at that time I was sitting in the darkness and shadow of death, and knew no better.

I then ordered a detachment of thirty men to go down and bring up our five canoes to the landing-place, where I would meet them with the prisoners, whom I immediately went to inspect. I found them generally in a most miserable plight, many of them, as they afterwards told me, looking for nothing less than death in some cruel and protracted manner: for such was often the custom with conquerors in this part of Africa, so soon as they had leisure to enjoy the horrid scene. I assured them, however, that, much as we had been provoked by the treachery of their chief, not one of them should suffer so long as they behaved peaceably; and, farther, I caused some refreshment to be given them. The poor creatures, one and all, testified their joy and gratitude at this announcement, and capered and clapped their hands with delight, as well as their bonds would permit them.

I next inquired for the girl who had run to me for protection the evening before, and found her seated amidst a group of women, who had lent her some of their clothing, and appeared to hold her in great respect. At my approach, the poor girl rose, a blush (for allow me, gentle reader, to assure you that negroes really can blush as well as whites, although not so perceptibly) spread over her cheeks, and she seemed in great agitation. As our native languages were nearly alike, I could readily make myself understood; so, taking her by the hand, I inquired who and what she was—for both her personal qualifications and the rich ornaments she wore convinced me that she was no ordinary personage. She answered at once that her name was Zillah; but here she paused and held down her head, seemingly much embarrassed. She then said that both her parents were dead, and was proceeding, when I interrupted her by saying,—“Oh! never mind, Zillah, never mind; you can tell me all your history when I take you to my mother.” She seemed greatly relieved at what she was pleased, in after days, to style my delicacy and feeling, and turned her beautiful eyes upon me with a look of gratitude. The evening previous to that I shall never forget: her looks had struck to my heart with such force and influence as I had never before experienced; but now, in broad daylight, she appeared still more lovely and interesting, and I gazed upon her for some time with a sensation altogether new to me—pleasing beyond my power to describe, and yet not without a degree of anxiety and pain. In one word, love—all-powerful love—which warms alike the hearts of kings and slaves, had kindled in my breast. Yes, for the first time, and after a scene of blood and cruelty, when my hands were still red with gore (for I had, with my own weapons, done some effectual service in the fray), and while my heart was yet bleeding for the death of my brave father, did the sweet and irresistible passion of love take possession of my soul.

Zillah appeared to be about a year or so younger than myself. She was tall and exceedingly graceful, her countenance—though its features were some what of the African cast—was beautiful, and her figure might vie in elegance, colour excepted, with the finest models of ancient sculpture. She wore massive gold rings in her ears; a necklace of very large pearls, mixed with gold and coral beads, adorned her neck; and solid bracelets of gold of African manufacture, and rings of the same metal, encircled her wrists and ankles. I have little doubt but these jewels would have brought 1000l. in Europe: it was the sight of them that aroused the cupidity of the man who was pursuing her; and had I not interfered at the critical moment, the infuriated rascal would have cut her down without mercy.

I now took Zillah, and telling her to choose out two of her own sex to attend her, promised that I would take her down the river in my own canoe; and then ordered the whole party, my own men, prisoners and all, to proceed to the landing-place.

And here I cannot help relating an affecting incident that occurred by the way. On the roadside lay a young woman, cold in death, with a large wound in her side, and at her breast was an infant endeavouring to obtain its natural aliment from its dead mother's bosom. I made one of the women take the child along with her. No doubt, in last night's affray, the poor mother had been mortally wounded while endeavouring to escape, and death had overtaken her here.

By the time we reached Darroola's landing-place, our men had safely brought up the five canoes; and as these would not have conveniently carried our now increased company, we took three canoes which had belonged to our late enemy, and after some little trouble in arranging the prisoners, we proceeded down the river: as a matter of course I brought my father's body along with us. In three days we reached our village; and some of our people (amongst whom were two of father's wives and four of my sisters), who were waiting at the landing-place, perceived, as we approached, that something was wrong; although they guessed, by the additional canoes, that we had been successful.

We no sooner made known King Zembola's death, than all was confusion and outcry, and in a few minutes the whole village was in motion. I went speedily up to the palace, taking Zillah by the hand, and met my mother, whom I requested to go in with me. In a few words, I acquainted her and the other wives of my father with what had occurred. There was now nothing but screaming, tearing of hair, and other violent manifestations of grief. My mother, however, at my earnest request, commanded her feelings better than some of the other royal dames, who had possibly less affection for my father. I entreated my mother to take care of Zillah, and to treat her as a daughter; and my mother, notwithstanding her grief, embraced the poor girl affectionately, and led her to an inner apartment. I immediately returned to the landing-place, to superintend the removal of my father's body, and saw every one ashore. I then appointed suitable guards to the prisoners, and ordered arrangements for their safe custody; for such was the irritation of our people, both men and women, who had been left at home, on learning the death of my father and so many of his brave men, and at sight of the wounded (though these were now actually amending) that they were with difficulty prevented from falling upon some of the poor prisoners, and taking summary vengeance. I informed them, however, that enough revenge had been already taken, and warned them, as they valued the favour of their king, which I now was, to do the prisoners no harm. I then, having got all our plunder ashore, made a fair and just distribution, as I had promised; and this, together with a moderate supply of rum to all, had a great effect in promoting peace and resignation. I may here remark, that the value of dollars and of gold coin was perfectly understood in this part of the country; and those who were possessed of money had frequent opportunities of exchanging it for goods with passing traders.

Having made other arrangements to the best of my ability, I then gave orders that the body of the late king should be consigned to its parent earth: indeed, in such a climate, it had been already too long above ground. I permitted all who chose to take a last look of my father's corpse; and a suitable grave having been dug, we laid it in the ground with many unmeaning ceremonies, and buried with it some of the brave warrior's weapons. According to a custom often put in practice here, one or two of my father's wives insisted on being made a sacrifice, and interred along with him; but, partly by threats, and more by promises to them and their children, I induced them to forego this horrible piece of superstition. I could not, however, prevent some of the wives and other female domestics from making great gashes on their bodies with knives and other instruments.

In the evening, I paid my respects to Zillah, and was pleased to find that she had already made some progress in my mother's affections. I left them together, after a few minutes, as all were much in want of refreshing sleep.

The next day, I requested my mother to go with me to the stronghold or cavern already mentioned; for I had found a large key in my father's pocket, and recollected his having told me that he had some valuables in his treasury which he could show me at any time. I must confess that I now felt a strong curiosity to see what was in the cave, and, as I shall presently explain, for a laudable purpose. My mother and I went accordingly, and having opened a large closet or apartment which was sunk in the wall of the cavern, we found a chest containing some silver plate, about five thousand Spanish dollars, about four hundred large gold pieces in a bag, and three bags of gold dust, besides some other valuable articles. I found, also, that the stronghold was well stored with foreign goods of every description requisite for our use, and more casks of rum and brandy than we might perhaps turn to good account.

On our return, I, by my mother's advice (which showed she was far from being a jealous or envious woman) and with all good will, called into the state chamber my late father's four wives and my nine half-sisters, and informed them that they would find no difference in their treatment, occupations, or way of living, and that I would, in all respects, so conduct myself towards them, that they should find their loss the less severe. As an evidence of my good intentions towards them, and that they might, in small matters, feel themselves more independent, I informed them of what money was left in the treasury, and promised that I would give each of the four wives five hundred dollars, and a hundred to each of their daughters. I need hardly say that my generosity, as they called it, was greatly applauded. The rest of this day I spent in looking after matters out of doors, which need not be related.

In the evening, I paid a visit to Zillah; and since she had now been accommodated with more suitable apparel, the elegance of her appearance was by no means lessened. Need I describe how my heart palpitated and my hand trembled as I approached her, or descant upon her downcast and embarrassed looks as I gazed on her interesting countenance? Many of my readers, no doubt, have felt the powerful influences of love far beyond what my feeble pen can portray, and they will easily, therefore, appreciate my feelings when I say, that I was now deeply and irretrievably smitten by the charming Zillah. Captive though she was, and entirely in my power, I never for a moment indulged the idea of doing violence to her feelings or affections; but I burned with eager curiosity to know who she was. Taking her by the hand, I said,—“Now, sweet Zillah, you may perceive that I am interested in you more than words can express. Tell me, who and what were your parents?” Poor Zillah fell a trembling, and faltered out,—“What can I deny to the preserver of my life? Oh, my lord! if you could but imagine the gratitude with which my heart beats towards you, indeed you would pity me. I dare not—I am afraid to utter the truth; for, alas! I shall incur your displeasure, and you will drive me from your presence with horror.”—“Zillah!—dear Zillah! allow me to call you—what can this mean? It is all a mystery to me. It is impossible, perfectly impossible, that you can have reason to dread me. I look upon you as innocence and purity itself. If there is a secret which you dread to reveal, I swear to you that, whatever it may be, it cannot—shall not—abate my love to you for a moment.”—“Well, then, my lord, since you speak so generously, at the risk of all that is dear to me, I shall no longer conceal from you who I am. My lord,”—and here Zillah drew herself up with a dignity quite becoming—“I am the daughter of—Darroola!” She burst into tears, and would have fallen to the ground, had I not caught her in my arms, and pressed her with fervour to my bosom. “And so, Zillah,” answered I, gazing on her sweet countenance, “you were afraid, my own sweet Zillah!—for mine you must be—to tell me of a circumstance that you could no more prevent than I can help being the son of Zembola. Our fathers have both fallen, even side by side, and though both of them were wrong on many things, they fell like brave and noble princes; and henceforth the loves of Zillah and Zamba shall far, far outweigh the hatred of Darroola and Zembola—shall it not be so, dear Zillah?” Zillah seemed quite overcome; and looking up in my face with a beaming countenance, said—“Noble-minded Zamba! then am I happy. You love me for myself; and it would be folly indeed to deny that your appearance, and your generous conduct from the first, raised a passion in my breast such as I never dreamt of before.” I shall not enlarge upon this interview, for it is only to those immediately concerned that such scenes are interesting. Zillah, however, informed me, with a fresh flood of tears, that her mother was the unfortunate woman whose head Darroola had caused to be fixed on the pallisades of the palace on the morning of our first visit; but that her father's jealousy was utterly groundless. This circumstance only rendered her the more dear to me.

I BEGAN now to think of the important station in which I was placed; a youth of seventeen, with so many dependants, also all looked up to me for directions. The great number of prisoners on hand gave me much concern. I saw plainly that I could not keep them all about me; but, in the mean time, I set such of them as were able to do a little work in the fields. The stubborn and idle disposition of most of them, however, proved to me that I should be obliged to make a bargain with Captain Winton for them on his next arrival. But when I came to consider whether or not I was to pursue business as my father did, I found that my feelings and inclinations were not in unison with his. I was not, I believe, deficient in animal courage, nor in ambition, altogether; but the horrors of the burning of Darroola's village caused in me an aversion to war in any shape. If an enemy attacked me in my own dominions I would have fought to the last; but I revolted from the systematic practice of going out regularly with trained warriors, for the purpose of picking a quarrel with some weaker neighbour, and plundering him,—especially when I was convinced that by peaceably cultivating the earth, fishing in the waters, or hunting upon land, my people and I could procure sufficient for all our ordinary wants. Besides these, there was the chance of finding gold in a tolerable quantity, if it were carefully sought for. At all events, without going to war for the purpose of procuring slaves, I had capital enough to carry on trade on a large scale. But the idea of visiting some civilized countries, and attaining a knowledge of their customs and religion, was ever present to my mind: even my new-born affection for Zillah could not wholly eradicate these thoughts. Notwithstanding, my love for her continued daily to increase, and we enjoyed all the delightful sensations which innocent intercourse, and the anticipation of future happiness could bestow; for we resolved, that out of respect to our deceased parents, we would put off our union for at least three moons. Even yet, in my old age, and in a land far from my native Africa, I often recur to the delightful walks we enjoyed together on the banks of the Congo. But I must not anticipate my history.

About two months after King Zembola's death, Captain Winton arrived, and pretended to feel great sorrow at the loss of his old friend. By dint of persuasion, and some presents, I persuaded him to stay with us for two weeks, and during this time I got him to give me daily lessons in reading; and by great attention and perseverance I made astonishing progress, the captain averred. I could now read any common English book with tolerable facility; although many words, and even sentences, were as yet wholly unintelligible to me. I obtained from him, likewise, as much information regarding foreign countries as our time would permit. At length Captain Winton asked me plainly whether I would take a trip with him to America? saying, that he would then take me to London, where he was in the habit of doing business, and bring me back to my own country again. This idea pleased me mightily; but at present the thoughts of Zillah, and the necessity that pressed on me to settle affairs rightly in my own kingdom, prevented my going with him. He said, that by shipping a good lot of slaves, and taking what gold dust I had in store, they would bring me quite a fortune in America; that I could invest it in produce there—all which matters he would assist me in to the utmost; and by taking that produce to England, and purchasing manufactured goods in that country with the proceeds, I could finally land in Africa with property equal to any king in South Africa. I told him I should seriously think of all this: never for a moment doubting his sincerity. Captain Winton now made a bargain with me for the whole of my prisoners that were disposable: for there was a considerable number of infants and some others that I thought proper to retain. He bought between eighty and ninety, and in sending them away I never