the tained amount only to three in each, but this wholly depends upon laft palm nut. In this manner the game proceeds, until one party has won as many counters as he began with, which decides the game in his favour. Simple as this game may appear, it is fufficiently interefting to employ their whole attention, and is purfued with equal avidity by the boys and girls, by matrons and infirm old men. Upon these occafions, a number of people collect around the players, mutually affifting them with their advice, and appearing highly gratified with their fuccefs. Thefe games being forbidden by the Koran, are feldom or never practiled by the Mahommedans." Vol. i. p. 115. The eighth Chapter explains their government and adminif tration of justice; the ninth, the political fituation of their women, their marriages, and domestic peculiarities. We next have an account of their wars, and ftate of their commerce; and here we have the most fatisfactory conviction, that the accufation which fome writers have brought against the Africans of being anthropophagi, is falfe and unjuft. In the twelfth Chapter, the author defcribes the perfons of the Africans, and endeavours to explain the fuppofed causes of their black colour; in that which follows, we have the general character of the natives as given by different authors, their pride, fenfibility, deference to old age, hofpitality, genius, &c. The following circumftances are curious on this head, and are taken from the fourteenth Chapter. "The Foolas and Mandingos being a more enlightened people, and profeffing a religion which teaches them that God alone is the proper object of worship, are in fome meafure emancipated from the grofs fuperftition of their ignorant neighbours; but they still entertain a degree of belief in the powers of witchcraft, and in those of greegrees or charms. The cuftoms of thefe people bear a ftriking refemblance to thofe of the Jews, as described in the Pentateuch; and after Mahommed, Mofes is held by them in the highest eftimation. They attend to the ceremonial duties of their religion with such strictness as might well caufe Chriftians to blufh. The Ramadan, a kind of Lent, during which they abstain from food, and every fpecies of indulgence, from fun rife to fun fet, is obferved with rigorous accuracy. Sick perfons and travellers only are exempt, on condition of obferving it at a more convenient feafon. This faft, which continues during the period of one entire lunation, ends with the appearance of the next new moon, which, as it frees them from fo irkfome a conftraint, is looked for with the greateft anxiety. On the morning which fucceeds the first appearance of the new moon, the great drum is beaten at eight o'clock, to affemble the people to prayers: these are generally performed on this occafion in a large field, or open piece of ground; the men and women, dreffed in their beft apparel, ftanding at fome diftance apart. When prayers are over, the young women amufe themfelves with dancing, and the men engage with each other in mock contefts. The women are not permitted to enter the fame mofque with the men; a circular building, open at the fides, is built adjoining to the mofque, for the women to pray in. As the mofque is built with mud walls like a houfe, the women cannot fee nor hear what is done within; but a man who itands without repeats with a loud finging voice every prayer in order, as it is made by the iman within, making alfo the proper genuflexions and proftrations, in all which the women join, obferving, however, a profound filence, except when Salam Alaicum is pronounced, which they alfo repeat aloud. The women, during the time of prayer, appear careful to cover their heads with a corner of the cloth thrown round their shoulders. They are very strict in preventing Europeans from entering the mofques of the men, though not thofe of the women, and alfo from paffing over their burying grounds. As they turn their face towards Mecca during the time of prayer, the Foolas were very anxious to know the true direction in which this place lay from Teembo, and it was accordingly pointed out to them by our travellers: they were alfo defirous of being Thewn the far which in the evening rofe over Mecca, and which proved to be one of the pointers of the great bear. Hitherto they had locked to the eaft, but they now turned more towards the calt north eat. They pray five times a day, early in the morning, at noon, at three in the afternoon, at fun fet, and a little after seven in the evening, which clofes their day. When the time of prayer arrives, in whatever place they chance to be, if clean; and even if in the midft of a journey, they ftop to pray; and, after washing their hands and feet, fpread a goat's fkin, on which they alternately ftand and kneel. When a number of them are together, they range themfelves in one or more lines; and one perfon advancing a few yards in front, like the fugle man of a regiment, ferves to regulate the motions of the others, which are all performed at once, as they fee their leader act. This has a very impofing appearance when fome hundreds are affembled at prayers. They pronounce in a loud voice, and all together, their profeffion of faith, La allah illa allah Mohammed refoul alJah, there is no God but God, and Mahommed is the prophet of God. In Reland de Religione Mohammedica is given a very exact reprefentation of the ceremonies and getures uled by the Mahommedans of Africa in their prayers; and if the turbaus be changed for caps, it fhews tolerably well their mode of drefs. As the Koran is their code of civil as well as religious law, it is always brought into court and read before fentence is poffed upon a criminal. Adultery is punifhed by ftripes, and is thus defcribed in my brother's journal. A man who had been guilty of this crime was pur into confinement at a fmall diftance from the houfe we lodged in. One of his legs was put through a hole in a log of wood, fomewhat like a pair of stocks, and fecured there by a wooden pin; the other was fecured by an iron ring, nailed to the outfide of the log, and his hands were tied behind his back. In the morning the drum beat, to fummon the people to the palaver, and to fee the fentence inficted. The aflembly was held at the mofque, waither we went, and feated ourselves on the outfide; the prifouer was then brought before the head man, and afterwards taken to a small diftance from the mofque, where he was ftretched upon his face, on the ground, having his bare back expofed for a con fiderable fiderable time to the rays of a fcorching fun. The book of their law was then taken to the mofque with much ceremony and read; after which, a head man, named Mohamedoo, approaching the prifoner, and ordering him to be held fast, gave him fixty lafhes upon the back with a small whip; another head man, called Mamadoo Sambo, then gave him fixty more. When the punishment was over, the prifoner cried out, Alhamdillah, " God be praifed". The next part of the punishment was cutting off his hair clofe to his head, during which he exclaimed, Alla ackbar, "God is gracious". Having picked up his hair very carefully, he returned to his own houfe". Theft is punished by amputating the hand or leg. This punishment appears to be inflicted very impartially, for my brother's journal fpeaks of "one of the Foola king's brothers, who was a great thief, and had his right hand cut off for ftealing". People a little advanced in years are seldom without their chaplets or rofaries confifting of ninety-nine beads, which, when alone, or when converfation begins to flag, they turn over, reciting a fhort prayer as they drop each bead. The beads are frequently alfo counted by way of amufement, without any prayers being offered up." P. 230. This first volume concludes with detailed accounts of the fuperftition of the Africans, their treatment of fick perfons, the practice of Obi; with an Appendix, in which, among other particulars, is a defcription of the Termites, and two Vocabularies, one of the Bullam and Timmanee, and another of the Soofo language. We now proceed to an examination of the fecond volume of this account of a fettlement which, in a commercial point of view, promised (at no very remote period) to be an object of high importance to this country. Excepting fome obfervations in the Appendixes, this fecond volume relates wholly to the defcription of African diseases, and the method of treating them: and as in the former volume, the author appeared to advantage as a traveller and general obferver, fo here he does himself at leaft equal credit in his character of physician. The practice of medicine among the native Africans does not appear to be in a progreffive flate of improvement; but remains nearly as it was many centuries ago. This arifes from their great repugnance to deviate from eftablished cuftoms. Their notions refpecting the effects of medicine are fo blended with magical ceremonies and incantations, that it is often difficult (fays the author) to difcover on which they chiefly rely for fuccefs. It is very common for those who are indifpofed, to go and refide for foine time in a diftant village, in order to take medicines from fome one who has acquired celebrity for the cure of a particular disorder; this is fre quently quently fome old woman, to whom even Europeans will often truft themfelves, in preference to their own countrymen. In profecuting his inquirics into the difeafes of the Africans, the author confiders, firft, general difeafes, to which both fexes are liable; fecondly, the difeafes of women, with the fexual peculiarities in Africa; and, thirdly, the difeafes and management of children. Among the most frequent and moft fatal difeafes to which Europeans are fubject in the fettlement of Sierra Leone, are fevers. They are of the remittent and intermittent type; and are accompanied with violent headach, vomiting, and exceflive thirst. The treatment confifts in the ufe of epithems and cataplafms to the head, cupping, with fudorific, and other de coctions. Worms of the inteftines are very common among the Africans; and particularly the tape-worm. They attri bute their production to their living fo much upon milk. They employ various purgative remedies, taken from the vegetable kingdom, for their removal. The venereal difeafe is frequently met with among the natives, though there is great reafon to believe, that in every inftance it had been firft communicated by Europeans. It has been afferted that they (like the Sumatrans and the Indians of North America) poffefs a plant which cures this difeafe, by exciting falivation, and producing in other refpects the fame effects upon the conftitution as mercury; but Dr. W. is perfuaded this is not the cafe, and that when they excite a falivation, which they do in every cafe of fyphilis, it is only by means of mercury procured from Europeans. The Foolas and Mandingos are fubject to a disease which they call Launda. It is very infectious, and has a firiking refemblance to the venereal difeafe, though they confider it to be different. It is remarkable, that the coup de foleil, fo common in other hot countries, is unknown to the Africans. "They expofe the head uncovered to the perpendicular rays of a fcorching fun, during the greatest bodily exer ions, with perfect impu. nity; and children not a month old are expofed, whilft fleeping behind their mother's backs, to the full heat and glare of fun-fhine, without appearing to fuffer in the leaft. This probably depends upon the great relaxation of the fyftem, by which a general and profufe perfpiration immediately follows the leait exertion, and which tends, by promoting an equable circulation, to prevent local congeftions in the brain and other vifcera, at the fame time that it cools the furface by evapora. tion." P. 38. Next to fevers, dyfentery (as might be expected) is one of the greateft fcourges with which people are afflicted on the coaft of Africa. Vaft numbers of the Negroes on board the hips employed in the flave-trade are carried off by this diforder; for which the moft celebrated remedy among the natives, is the bark of a large tree, called by the Foolas, beilenda. It is employed either in powder mixed with boiled rice, or in a ftrong infufion. It is an agreeable aftringent, poffeffing fomewhat of a fweetifh tafte. A further account of this African bark is given in Appendix 1. wherein the author ftates, that he has prescribed it with good effect in cases of diarrhea, and intermittent fevers. Next follow defcriptions of the elephantiafis, dracunculus or Guinea-worm, and of fome other local diseases. Gout is a disease unknown to the pagan natives of Africa, although they commit exceffes in the ufe of fpirituous liquors and venery; but rheumatifm is common. Confumptions are very rare in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone; but not unfrequent among the Foolas and Mandingos. Though nyctalopia, or night-blindnefs, appears to be unknown among the natives, yet feveral inftances of it occurred among the children of the fettlers. Whatever may have been the cafe formerly, the fmall-pox at the prefent day is (the author observes) fo far from being endemial on the wellern coaft of Africa, that it can always be traced to importation by the Europeans. It has at various times made dreadful havoc among them. They do not practice inoculation themfelves; whenever employed, it has been by the Europeans alone. In the eighth Chapter we have a good account of the yaws. It appears, that in the latter ftage of this difeafe, mercury is the only remedy on which any reliance can be placed; and of the various preparations of this metal, Van Swieten's folution of corrofive fublimate has been found the most efficacious. In the tenth Chapter, the author delivers his obfervations on the bites of fnakes, the fting of the fcorpion, and the bite of the tarantula. He enumerates four fpecies of venomous ferpents, and adds the African names, with the antidotes employed by the natives. The bite of the aranea avicularia, improperly called tarantula, by the English, caufes more violent pain, he fays, than the fting of the fcorpion, "and often produces cold fweats and fainting; but there is feldom much fwelling of the part. The practice of the natives is fomewhat inert, and patience feems to be their chief remedy. They usually apply a tight ligature round the limb, and rub the wound with tobacco alhes. Or they fometimes bruife the animal which has inflicted the wound, burn it and rub the ashes over the affected part. The part is fometimes fomented with a hot infufion of the leaves of the ananas in water; or flices of the fruit are applied, and frequently renewed." P. 189. In confidering the peculiarities and diforders of the African women, the author obferves, that " Their |