Wet and uncomfortable as this accident had rendered them, having no change of linen at hand, they walked to a small creek about the distance of a quarter of a mile from the sea shore, where they were taken into a native canoe, and conveyed safely through an extremely narrow channel, overhung with luxuriant vegetation, into the Badagry river, which is a branch of the Lagos. It is a beautiful body of water, resembling a lake in miniature; its surface is smooth and transparent as glass, and its picturesque banks are shaded by trees of a lively verdure. They were soon landed on the opposite side, when their road lay over a magnificent plain, on which deer, antelopes, and buffaloes were often observed to feed. Numbers of men, women, and children followed them to the town of Badagry, making the most terrific noises at their heels, but whether these were symptoms of satisfaction or displeasure, admiration or ridicule, they could not at first understand. They were soon, however, satisfied that the latter feeling was predominant, and indeed their clothing was sufficient to excite the laughter of any people, for it certainly was not African, nor had it any pretensions to be characterized as European. In the first place, the covering of the head consisted of a straw hat, larger than an umbrella, a scarlet mahommedan tobe or tunic and belt, with boots, and full Turkish trousers. So unusual a dress might well cause the people to laugh heartily; they were all evidently highly amused, but the more modest of the females, unwilling to give them any uneasiness, turned aside to conceal the titter, from which they were utterly unable to refrain.
On their way they observed various groups of people seated under the spreading branches of superb trees, vending provisions and country cloth, and on their approach, many of them arose and bowed, whilst others fell on their knees before them in token of respect. They reached the dwelling, which had been prepared for them about three o'clock in the afternoon, but as the day was too far advanced to visit the chief or king, they sent a messenger to inform him of their intention of paying him their respects on the following morning.
Towards evening, Richard Lander his brother being too fatigued to accompany him, took a saunter in the immediate vicinity of his residence, when he found, that in one respect, the streets of Badagry, if they might be so called, and the streets of London, bore a very great resemblance. It might be the mere effect of female curiosity, to ascertain what kind of a man's visage could possibly be concealed under such a preposterous hat, or it might be for any other purpose, which his penetration could not discover, but certain it was, that ever and anon a black visage, with white and pearly teeth, and an expressive grin of the countenance, somewhat similar to that of the monkey in a state of excited pleasure, protruded itself under the canopy of straw, which protected his head, but he, who had withstood the amorous advances of the widow Zuma, or of the fat and deaf widow Laddie, could not be supposed to yield to the fascinations and allurements of a Badagry houri. Richard therefore returned to his dwelling, fully satisfied with himself, but by no means having satisfied the ladies of Badagry, that an European was a man of love or gallantry.
At nine o'clock on the morning of the 23rd March, agreeably to the promise which they had made on the preceding day, they visited the chief at his residence, which was somewhat more than half a mile from their own. On their entrance, the potent chief of Badagry was sitting on a couple of boxes, which, for aught Lander knew, might at one time have belonged to a Hong merchant at Canton; the boxes were placed in a small bamboo apartment, on the sides of which were suspended a great number of muskets and swords, with a few paltry umbrellas, and a couple of horses' tails, which are used for the purpose of brushing away flies and other insects.
King Adooley looked up in the faces of his visitors without making any observation, it perhaps not being the etiquette of kings in that part of the world, to make any observation at all on subjects before them, nor did he even condescend to rise from his seat to congratulate them on their arrival. He appeared in deep reflection, and thoughtfully rested his elbow on an old wooden table, pillowing his head on his hand. One of the most venerable and ancient of his subjects was squatted at the feet of his master, smoking from a pipe of extraordinary length; whilst Lantern, his eldest son and heir apparent, was kneeling at his side, the Badagry etiquette not allowing the youth to sit in the presence of his father. Everything bore an air of gloom and sadness, totally different from what they had been led to expect. They shook hands, but the royal pressure was so very faint, that it was scarcely perceptible, yet, notwithstanding this apparent coldness, they seated themselves one on each side, without ceremony or embarrassment. It was evident that neither Lander nor his brother knew how to deport themselves in the presence of a king, a thing which the former had never seen in his life but at the courts of Africa, and they, God knows, were not calculated to give him an exalted idea of royalty; but when it had been ascertained, that it was contrary to etiquette at the court of Badagry, for even the heir apparent to assume any other attitude in the royal presence than that of kneeling, it might have occurred to the European travellers, that seating themselves without permission, in the presence of so august a personage as the king of Badagry, might be the forerunner of their heads being severed from their body, which, as it has been detailed in a preceding part of this work, is in that part of the country, a ceremony very easily and speedily despatched. It was, however, necessary that some conversation should take place between the king and his visitors, and therefore the latter began in the true old English fashion, to inquire about the state of his health, not forgetting to inform him at the same time, that they found the weather uncommonly hot, which could not well have been otherwise, considering that they were at that moment not much more than 5° to the northward of the equator. In regard to the state of his health, he answered them only with a languid smile, and relapsed into his former thoughtlessness. Not being able to break in upon the taciturnity of the monarch, they had recourse to a method which seldom fails of "unknitting the brow of care," and that was by a display to the best advantage, of the presents, which they had brought for him from England. Badagry is not the only kingdom in which, if a present be made to the king, the sole return that is received for it, is the honour of having been allowed to offer it, and this experience was acquired by our travellers, for the king certainly accepted the presents, but without the slightest demonstration of pleasure or satisfaction; the king scarcely deigned to look at the presents, and they were carried away by the attendants, with real or seeming indifference. To be permitted to kiss the hand of the sable monarch could not rationally be expected, as an honour conferred upon them for the presents, which they had delivered, but it was mortifying to them not to receive a word of acknowledgement, not even the tithe of a gracious smile; they accordingly said not a word, but they had seen enough to convince them that all was not right. A reserve, the cause whereof they could not define, and a coldness towards them, for which they could in no wise account, marked the conduct of the once spirited and good-natured chief of Badagry, and prepared them to anticipate various difficulties in the prosecution of their plans, which they were persuaded would require much art and influence to surmount. The brow of the monarch relaxed for a moment, and an attempt was made on the part of Richard Lander to enter into conversation with him, but on a sudden the king rose from his boxes, and left them to converse with themselves.
After waiting a considerable time, and the king not returning, a messenger was despatched to acquaint him, that the patience of his visitors was nearly exhausted, and they would feel obliged by his immediate return, in order to put an end to their conference or palaver, as it is emphatically styled, as speedily as possible. On the receipt of this message, the king hastened back, and entered the apartment with a melancholy countenance, which was partially concealed behind large volumes of smoke, from a tobacco pipe, which he was using. He seated himself between them as before, and gave them to understand in a very low tone of voice, that he was but just recovering from a severe illness, and from the effect of a series of misfortunes, which had rendered him almost brokenhearted. His celebrated generals Bombanee and Poser, and all his most able warriors had either been slain in battle, or fallen by other violent means. The former in particular, whose loss he more especially lamented, had been captured by the Lagos people, who were his most inveterate enemies. When this unfortunate man was taken prisoner, his right hand was immediately nailed to his head, and the other lopped off like a twig. In this manner he was paraded through the town, and exposed to the view of the people, whose curiosity being satiated, Bombanee's head was at length severed from his shoulders, and being dried in the sun and beaten to dust, was sent in triumph to the chief of Badagry. To add to his calamities, Adooley's house, which contained an immense quantity of gunpowder, had been blown up by accident, and destroyed all his property, consisting of a variety of presents, most of them very valuable, that had been made him by Captain Clapperton, by European merchants, and traders in slaves. The chief and his women escaped with difficulty from the conflagration; but as it was the custom to keep the muskets and other firearms constantly loaded, their contents were discharged into the bodies and legs of those individuals, who had flocked to the spot on the first alarm. The flames spread with astonishing rapidity, notwithstanding every exertion, and ended in the destruction of a great part of the town. This accounted in some measure for the sad and grievous expression so strongly depicted on the chiefs countenance; but still another and more powerful reason had doubtless influenced him on this occasion.
On returning to their residence, a number of principal men, as they style themselves, were introduced to compliment them on coming to their country, although their true and only motive for visiting their quarters was the expectation of obtaining rum, which is the great object of attraction to all of them. They had been annoyed during the greater part of this day by a tribe of ragged beggars, whose importunity was really disgusting. The men were in general old, flat-headed, and pot-bellied. The women skinny and flap-eared. To these garrulous ladies and gentlemen they were obliged to talk and laugh, shake hands, crack fingers, bend their bodies, bow their heads, and place their hands with great solemnity on their heads and breasts. They had not indeed a moment's relaxation from this excessive fatigue, and had Job, amongst his other trials, been exposed to the horrors of an interminable African palaver, his patience would most certainly have forsaken him. Lander was of opinion that he never would be a general favourite with this ever-grinning and loquacious people. If he laughed, and he was obliged to laugh, it was done against his inclination, and consequently with a very bad grace. At this time, Lander, speaking of himself, says, "for the first five years of my life, I have been told, that I was never even seen to smile, and since that period, Heaven knows my merriment has been confined to particular and extraordinary occasions only. How then is it possible, that I can be grinning and playing the fool from morning to night, positively without any just incentive to do so, and sweltering at the same time under a sun that causes my body to burn with intense heat, giving it the appearance of shrivelled parchment. Fortunately these savages—for savages they most certainly are in the fullest extent of the word—cannot distinguish between real and fictitious joy; and although I was vexed at heart, and wished them, all at the bottom of the Red Sea, or somewhere else, I have every reason to believe that my forced attempts to please the natives have so far been successful, and that I have obtained the reputation, which I certainly do not deserve, of being one of the pleasantest and best-tempered persons in the world."
This candid exposition, which Lander gives of his own character is fully borne out by our own personal observation. On no occasion do we remember that we ever saw a smile sit upon his countenance, and as to a laugh, it appeared to be an act which he dreaded to commit. He seemed always to be brooding over some great and commanding idea, which absorbed the whole of his mind, and which he felt a consciousness within him, that he had not the ability to carry into execution, at the same time that he feared to let a word escape him, which could give a clue to the subject, which was then working within him. In this respect, he was not well fitted for a traveller in a country where, if his nature would not allow him, it became a matter of policy, if not of necessity, to appear high-hearted and gay, and frequently to join in the amusements of the people amongst whom he might be residing. Lander himself was not ignorant of the Arab adage, "Beware of the man who never laughs;" and, therefore, as he was likely to be thrown amongst those very people, he ought to have practised himself in the art of laughing, so as not to rouse their suspicions, which, it is well known, if once roused, are not again easily allayed.
To return to the narrative, one of the fetishmen sent them a present of a duck, almost as large as an English goose; but as the fellow expected ten times its value in return, it was no great proof of the benevolence of his disposition. They were now obliged to station armed men around their house, for the purpose of protecting their goods from the rapacity of a multitude of thieves that infested this place, and who displayed the greatest cunning imaginable to ingratiate themselves with the travellers. On the following morning, they awoke unrefreshed at daybreak; the noise of children crying, the firing of guns, and the discordant sound of drums and horns, preventing them from enjoying the sweetness of repose, so infinitely desirable, after a long day spent in a routine or tiresome ceremony and etiquette.
On the 24th March, one of the chief messengers, who was a Houssa mallam, or priest, presented himself at the door of their house, followed by a large and handsome spotted sheep from his native country, whose neck was adorned with little bells, which made a pretty jingling noise. They were much prepossessed in this man's favour by the calmness and serenity of his countenance, and the modesty, or rather timidity of his manners. He was dressed in the Houssa costume, cap, tobe, trousers, and sandals. He wore four large silver rings on his thumb, and his left wrist was ornamented with a solid silver bracelet: this was the only individual, who had as yet visited them purely from disinterested motives, as all the others made a practice to beg whenever they favoured them with their company.