oppreffion. Seeing them now become flaves to fuperftition and arbitrary power; their former character and fpirit enervated and fubdued; the poverty and defolation of the country; and comparing former periods with the prefent: the effects of their ancient conftitution, with those of its abolition; we may not hesitate

to conclude that their native temper and genius are incompatible with a defpotic authority, and cannot appear while under fuch oppreffion, Nothing lefs than civil and religious liberty can reftore their character, and repeople their now naked and arid plains.'

WAS now come to the difagreeable and truly fatiguing part of the journey, and judged fome reft neceflary, previous to entering upon it. Here the great wood commences, through which the path is fo narrow, crooked, and bad, that it is impoffible to be carried in a hammoc, even at the prefent, which is the best and drieft feafon of the year,

We entered the wood at three o'clock in the morning, Feb. 3d, with the advantage of a bright moon and ferene fky. The captain of the guard disposed his men, some in front, fome in the rear, with loaded muskets, to defend us from the attacks of wild beats with which this dreary wood abounds; two of the hammoc men, carrying lanthorns with lighted candles in them, on each fide of me, on which the natives have great reliance for terrifying the beasts of prey the whole party finging, and houting as loud as they could bellow; blowing their trumpets, and firing mufkets occafionally, which, with the chattering of monkeys, alarmed at our approach, the fqualling of parrots, the roaring of wild beafts, and the crafhing and ruftling of elephants through the underwood, formed the most horrid difcord that could be conceived.

After a fatiguing march of five hours, we reached Agrimee, a small

town on the oppofite fide of the wood, where we halted fome time to breakfast, and then refumed our journey to Calmina, which we reached in two hours.

I left Calmina at five in the evening, and profecuted my journey for Abomey, which I reached in two hours.

On my arrival at the gate of A. bomey, I was faluted with fifteen guns, and conducted to the white men's apartments in May hou's house; whofe fteward waited on me, with a prefent from his mafter of a jar of cool water, a pot of pitte, and fome fowls. Mayhou foon made his ap pearance, accompanied by Eubigah the vice-roy of Whydah, and prefented the king's compliments on my fafe arrival, and efcape from accidents, or fickness on the journey; which was followed by a prefent from the king, of a fheep, fome fowls, two jars of pitto, two baskets of cornflour, a callebafh of palm oil, one of falt, and a flask of brandy.

Having had occafion to mention Mayhou's name, it may be neceffary to explain his office, and that of a few others. The prime minister is called Tamegah: he is the first civil officer of the ftate, and ranks immediately after the king: he is the only perfon in his dominions whofe head the king may not take off at

his pleafure. It is Tamegah's duty to affift the king with his advice, and to aid him in the cares of government. Upon the decease of the king, he, and Mayhou, have the power of appointing which of his fons is to fucceed to the government; tho' the first fon born after his father's acceffion is deemed the heir apparent, yet, if they think him unworthy to fucceed, they have a right to confer the fovereignty on fome one of his brothers, whom they judge poffeffed of fuperior merit and abilities. The next in rank is filed Mayhou; he is also a counfeller of the king, and acts as mafter of the ceremonies; he directs, or fuperintends the public feftivals of the court; and has the care of all ftrangers that vifit Dahomy, whether Europeans, Moors, or Negro ambaffadors from neighbouring states. Ta megha and he are judges in criminal cafes; and one or other of them are almost constantly with the king, informing him of every circumftance that paffes. Agaow is commander in chief of the army. Eubigah is vice-roy of Whydah: the literal tranflation of his title is, "Captain of the white men." Jahou is mafter of the horfe: he has the care of criminals, and is to fee their punishments inflicted; he has also the fu-. perintendance of the plantations which fupply the king's household with provifions; and to fee that the women who are to cultivate them are not remifs in the discharge of their duty.

The court was engaged at this time in the celebration of a grand feftival, which continues feveral weeks, and is called "the Annual "Cuftoms;" when the king waters the graves of his ancestors with the blood of many human victims. The governors of the forts at Whydah are expected to attend, and make a prefent on the occafion; which fhould confift of at least one piece of Indian

damafk, or fome other handfome filk: the vice-roy of Whydah, and the governors of the different towns and provinces, must be there with their prefents alfo, and give an account of their conduct, and of every cir cumftance which the king wishes to be informed of.

On the annual return of the Cuf toms (at which all must attend, unlefs prevented by sickness,) every perfon being immediately in the king's power, they who have been guilty of any delinquency are apprehended without any trouble; and an inquiry into fmall offences is frequently deferred to that time; but on a fufpicion of crimes that merit immediate inquiry, fuch as impru dent familiarity with the king's women, witchcraft, or theft, the offender is vifited by certain meffengers, called half-heads; (from having one half of their heads fhaved, and the hair permitted to grow to its full length on the other; which, with half a dozen ftrings of human teeth that reach from the right fhoulder acrofs the breaft, and back to the oppofite knee, gives them a ftrange appearance ;) thefe meffengers hear the merits of the cafe before the magiftrate of the town; and if the offence is proved, they either carry the criminal's head with them in a bag, to fhew the king that fentence has been executed, or conduct him to the capital to receive his punishment there.

The town is large, and may contain about twenty-four thousand inha. bitants. It is built without any order, or the least regard paid to the regularity of the streets. A number of fmall huts for the women, and a fhady piazza or two for the maiter, the whole inclofed with a high mud wall, form the accommodations of each family. It is fituated upon a dry gravelly plain, and is fupplied with water from a rivulet near two miles off, which makes that article

dear;

dear; and a number of women are employed in carrying it round the town, in earthen pots, to fell. The town is furrounded by a wide and deep ditch, but has no breast-work; nor does it appear how they have difpofed of the clay that has been dug out of it, unless it has been expended in conftructing the mud walls of their houses. There are in different places four wooden bridges across this ditch, and a guard-houfe at each, in which fome foldiers are ftationed.

The king has two houfes, called Dahomy and Gringomy,in the town, and another without the gates, called Dampogey; they are about the fame dimenfions as that at Calmina; and, like it, are inclosed by a mudwall about twenty feet high. In paffing the guard-houfe at the door of Gringomy houfe I observed a great Bumber of human skulls fixed on Small stakes on the roof of it: they were the heads of prisoners taken in war. On each fide of the door was a pile of human heads, at leaft fifty in each; and at a few yards diftance, oppofite to the door, was fmall ftage about ten feet high, on which lay about two dozen heads of unfortunate victims who had been facrificed a few days before at fome of the late festivals.

a

On my return, I received a mef fage from the king, who defired to fee me next morning in Dahomy houfe. I prepared, accordingly, for my vifit, by unpacking a very handfome fedan chair, and a chamber or gan, which I had previously fent up from Whydah.. These I fent early in the morning by my porters to the palace, and followed them at ten o' clock, February 5, accompanied by my linguift. I was received at the door by Mayhou; on each fide of it was a human head, recently cut off, lying on a flat ftone, with the face down, and the bloody end of the Deck towards the entrance. In the

guard-houfe were about forty women, armed with a mufket and cutlafs each; and twenty eunuchs, with bright iron rods in their hands; one of whom flipped away to announce my arrival; and Mayhou, walking cautiously forward, conducted me through the first court to a door, near which were two more heads, where he proftrated himself, and kiffed the ground; on which it was opened by a female, and we entered a fecond court, two fides of which were formed by long fhady piazzas: in this we were met by Tamegah and Eubigah, who, with Mayhou frequently knelt down, and kibed the ground, pronouncing aloud fome of the king's titles, as we walked across this court, in which were ranged frx human heads. From this we paffed through a third door into the court, where the king was feated on a handfome chair of crimson velvet, ornamented with gold fringe, placed on a carpet, in a spacious cool piazza, which occupied one fide of the court. He was fmoking tobacco, and had on a gold-laced hat, with a plume of oftrich feathers; he wore a rich crimson damafk robe, wrapped loofely round him; yellow flippers, and no ftockings: feveral women were employed fanning him, and others with whifks to chace away the flies: one woman, on her knees before him, held a gold cup for him to fpit in.

When the door which led into this court was opened, Tamegah and his two companions immediately fell down, rubbed their foreheads in the duft, kiffed the ground repeatedly, and approached the king crawling on their hands and knees, proftrating themfelves frequently, and throwing the duft plentifully with both hands upon their heads: had it been mud from preceding rain, the fame ceremony would have been perform ed.

Having bowed to the king, I was directed

directed to a chair a few yards from him; and having drank his health in a fmall glafs of brandy, and he mine, he enquired after the health of his brother, King George of England; and asked fome questions refpecting my voyage. We converfed through the medium of my fervant, who acted as interpreter, and Mayhou, who first kiffed the ground before he prefumed to repeat the king's words to my fervant; a custom always obferved in every part of the country, as well as in the royal prefence, when a perfon has occafion to repeat the king's words, or deliver any meffage or order of his. After fome converfation, he desired me to let him hear the organ, and appeared much pleafed with the tunes. I then explained the ufe of the fedan chair, which I reprefented as much more convenient than hammocs, which he generally used. Half a dozen of his hammoc men were then introduced, crawling on their hands and knees; and by his defire, I went into the fedan, and directing them what to do, was carried by them all in turns, until they appeared to be pretty expert at their buffnefs: he then went into it himfelf, and was carried repeatedly round the court, amid the fhouts and acclamations of his minifters, his women, and his hammoc men. It was a fmart fhowy thing, covered with red morocco leather, and lined with white filk. He was aitonishingly delighted with it, and diverted him felf with opening and drawing the curtains, which he deemed a moft ingenious contrivance; at lafl, in the exultation of his foul, fome of the eunuchs were called in to fupply the place of the hammoc men, and the door leading from the piazza to his private apartments being opened, he was carried by them to display his finery among his women; and I had permiffion to depart: his nobles retiring in the fame abject

I

manner which they obferved in apa proaching him. In the evening, purchased thirty-two flaves, which finished the bufinefs of the day.

On the next morning (Feb. 6.) I had an invitation to come, if it was agreeable, and be a spectator of fome amufements at the king's gate, at Gringomy, which I accepted, as I underflood that Agaow (the general) had returned, in the preceding night, from an expédition against the Mahees, and, had brought fome prifoners which I wished to inquire about. I found Tamegah, Mayhou, Eubigah, Agaow, and Jahou feated on ftools, placed on leopards fkins, at the king's gate, and fheltered under farge umbrellas from the fun. An accommodation of the fame fort was provided for me. A large concourfe of people was affembled, but I found it was not a time, or place, for business, fo entertained my felf with the droll diftortions, and antic dances of a multitude of people, to the harfhmufic of a variety of inftruments > amidst all this feftivity, fhould a man's foot flip, and fhould he tumble and get a fall, which are regarded as bad omens, the poor wretch is immediately taken out of the crowd, and his head is ftruck off, without any interruption to the dance, which goes on, as if nothing had happened. To thefe fucceeded a troop of about two hundred and fifty females, whofe motions and grimaces were ftill more comic, if poffible, than what had preceded. This band was compofed of ladies of pleasure, ordered to be fuch by royal authority. This is a precaution taken by government to prevent the peace of private families being violated, and is perhaps more neceffary here than in any other ftate; as adultery is feverely punished, and every indifcretion of gallantry expofes the delinquents to death, or flavery; efpecially, too, as the people of rank engrofs the major part of the women. The

King's feraglio confifts of between three and four thousand; his principal men, have from one to three or four hundred wives each; and people in humbler ftations from half a dozen, to twenty from this unequal diftribution, in which the rights of mankind are infringed, and their wants egregioufly mifcalculated, the lower clafs remain unprovided with female companions; but in every town there is a certain number of women, proportioned to its fize, who are to be obliging to every cuflomer that offers: the price of their favours is regulated, and very moderate; and though these poor creatures pay a heavy tax annually, which was the occafion of their being convened at prefent, yet by having finall beer, and breeding poultry added to what their occupation brings in, they are enabled to live; and I am inclined to think there are wretches in the world of the fame profeffion more miferable than they are.

Whatever entertainment this fcene might afford, was damped, by my fervant's officiously pointing cut feven horses, and the fame number of men with their ankles and wrifts fecured round tall pots fred in the ground; where they were to remain till the night preceding the next feftival; when both men and horfes were to have their heads ftruck off; thefe unhappy victims, though confcious of their impending fate, were not indifferent to the mufic, which they feemed to enjoy, by endeavouring to beat time to it. I foon took my leave and quitted this fcene of diftrefs, but had not proceeded far before I was almoft fuffocated by an infupportable stench; which, upon looking round, I found to proceed from the heads of thirty-two horfes and thirty-fix men who had been maffacred on two preceding feftiVOL. X. No. 55.

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vals, not for any crime of theirs, but as a facrifice to the mistaken grandeur of the king, and agreeable to cuftom immemorial. Directing my course from thence towards the market place, I found at the ent rance of it two gibbets about twenty feet high, with a murdered man hanging naked by the ankles to each; and at the other end of the market two other gibbets furnished in the fame manner. These poor wretches were put to death by blows of heavy clubs on the head, and had their pri vities cut clofe off, that the delicacy of the king's women, who had to march under them in proceffion on a festival about eight days before, might not be offended. The birds of prey were tearing out their bowels and devouring them peace-meal, which the natives looked at without the leaft emotion, only admiring the grandeur of the king, who could defray the expence of fuch exhibitions *.

February 7th. Early this morning I went to the gate of Dahomy houfe to fee a proceffion of the king's women, who came out, in number about feven hundred, neatly dreffed, and danced in the parade before the guard-houfe; where a number of men under arms were drawn up at a diftance, to prevent the populace from approaching them. Upon their retiring, Agaow advanced with about five thousand men under arms, who went through the various evolutions of their exercife; and concluded with a general dance, and fome war-fongs. After which I went in to pay my refpects to the king, and by his defire played over the tunes on the chamber organ; it had three barrels, which made it rather too complicated a bufinefs for him. It played feveral agreeable tunes, and fome felect marches, but he prefer

red