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Rh but soon arrived, and invited us into the house. In a few minutes we were provided with as fine a supper as we ever enjoyed in Africa.

Ijaye is one of the largest of the Yoruba towns, containing not less than eighty thousand inhabitants. It is ruled by Kumi, entitled Arey, a man, intelligent, active, haughty, cruel, ambitious, stubborn and despotic, yet an excellent ruler, if we judge from the decorum of his people and the respect which they show him. By the people of the surrounding towns he is much hated, and will not be permitted to maintain his position longer than they can help. The town is a part of the Toruba kingdom, but Kumi has for several years disputed the legitimacy and defied the authority of the king at Oyo, and has actually set up himself as his rival.

Accompanied by the missionaries mentioned before, we made his excellency a visit, a day or two after our arrival. He was not at home when we reached his palace, but his officials received us kindly, and promised to call him immediately, which one of them did by making a loud peculiar noise with a drum, which, with its drummer, is kept for this and similar purposes. These drummers can, we learned, communicate, nay, converse with each other at any distance within the sound of the instrument. After we were seated a few