and annoyed by their unconquerable love of gain, and desire to make if possible a fortune out of us. They would come, examine the parcels, and charge three or four times more than the labor was worth. One refuses to pay, and they walk off. After great trouble you procure another set; they serve you in the same way; then the first return and abate somewhat, but the charge is still too great, and you refuse to pay it; they walk off again, expecting that as you are in a hurry, you will call them back, which of course you do not, having acquired some wisdom by your past experience in the country. They go out of sight for twenty minutes, and at last return again, asking an honest price, and the bargain is completed. Surviving all the annoyance, which I assure the reader is much worse than I can depict, we at length left Abbeokuta about nine o'clock in the evening on the fifth of April, intending to sleep that night at Aro, and depart early the next morning; but having attained that point, our relentless carriers placed down their loads, and declared that as they were heavy they would not carry them any further without more pay. This they did because the next day being Oro-day, it would be impossible to get others, and we could not delay a day longer without the risk of losing our passage to England. I was at a loss what to do, but of all things I
