our readers that the ship on board which our young friend was now taken was the "Myrmidon," and the commander was Captain Leeke, they will have no difficulty in recognising the heathen Adjai under the Christian name of Samuel Crowther.

But our object is history, not biography; we shall not follow Adjai in the events of his next few years, except to say that, on his arrival at Sierra Leone, he was placed under the care of an European catechist and his wife, who showed him every kindness; that grew in grace as in years, was baptised, and became first a student, and then a teacher in the Fourah Bay Institution for the education of young men as teachers and catechists.

he

Years rolled on in Yoruba, but brought with them. no return of peace or prosperity; the Fellatahs still gained ground; the slave-wars were still carried on, and the king, driven from his capital, was forced to take up his abode in the town of Aggo-Ojá. The whole country was disorganised, and the inferior chiefs, throwing off their allegiance to their sovereign, left him in possession of but a small part of his former dominions.*

Adjai's town was rebuilt, and again destroyed;

*Now called Yoruba Proper.

and not a vestige now remains of what has twice been Oshogun. Large districts were depopulated,* the land in consequence was left untilled, fields of waving corn were supplanted by the tangled wood and impenetrable jungle; the chatter of the monkey, and the shrill scream of the parrot, took the place of the busy hum of active human life; while the roar of the lion proclaimed that he had reasserted his ancient rights, and was once more the monarch of the forest.

Judges v. 6, 7.

clear streams, tumbling over their rocky bed, add to the beauty of the scenery.

The appearance of the towns, from a distance, is often imposing; the walls enclose a large extent of land, and fields and trees are interspersed among the thatched roofs of the lowly dwellings. It is strange, that in a tropical climate the natives should take such pains to exclude the air; but the African hut, like that of the Hindoo, is without windows or any opening but the low door, while the roof projects so far beyond the walls, that but little air can find its way even here. The houses of the better classes are built round a quadrangle, into which the separate dwellings open, and a rude piazza runs along the whole interior. The head of the family occupies the largest of these dwellings, and round him are gathered children and grandchildren, and any other members of his family for whom a separate habitation can be found. The court in the centre is often planted, and is the common place of resort for all the inmates, where, shut in among themselves, they can, without fear of interruption, talk over any subject of family interest; and where, on the bright moonlight nights of that southern clime, the whole party are frequently collected. Here they will remain for hours, seated on the ground, and listening with fixed attention, while one and another relates some passing incident, or amuses his hearers with some legend or

fairy tale, of which these people are passionately fond. It is the hour of calm enjoyment, and the eye of even a Christian Yoruban will glisten at the thought of these moonlight scenes, though now his conversation would be of a higher and holier tone.

*We cannot refrain from inserting one of these for the amusement of our younger readers-it will remind them of the Arabian Nights; but we must preface it by mentioning that the character of cunning which we attribute to the fox is by the Yorubans ascribed to the land tortoise. The tale runs thus, and is rehearsed in parts, some of it being sung, and the rest in recitative. There was once a town that was harassed by the frequent visits of a monstrous and mischievous bird, with a very large and strong bill, with which he seized on any living being that struck his fancy. When they had reason to expect his approach, the people would shut themselves up in their houses, and not stir out till the danger was over. But they seldom had any warning, and the visits of their winged enemy became so frequent and so fatal, that many consultations were held as to the best mode of averting the evil. No effectual means could be devised till the tortoise came forward and proposed a scheme, which he assured them would be infallible. 66 Get," said he, "three large brass mortars, and set them upside down, one upon the other, in the market place; shut yourselves up in your houses, and leave the rest to me, only do not stir out till I call you." The people adopted the advice of the tortoise, procured the largest mortars the town afforded, placed them according to the directions, and retired to their own dwellings, while the tortoise quietly crept under the lowest mortar of the three. Presently the well-known sound of wings was heard, the bird came, and was surprised at the unusual appearance of the market, in which nothing was to be seen but the three brass mortars. There is some trick in this, thought he, and I doubt not the