called, our men were ready within reasonable limits. After two hours'
hammock we found ourselves at Atábo, capital of eastern Apollonia, about
to pay our promised return-visit to good King Blay. It is useless to
describe the settlement, which in no way differs from those passed on the
path. The country-people related its origin as follows:--A Fanti man from
the country between Secondee (Sekondi), or Fort Orange, and Shamah
(Chamah), at the mouth of the Bosom Prah, when driven out by war, first
founded 'Kabeku,' near the present place of that name. His sons built
Béin, or Behin, [Footnote: The aspirate is hardly audible. Captain
Brackenbury, generally so careful, manages to confound Béin and Benin.]
meaning a 'strong man,' and Atábo, in Fanti _atába_, the name of a tree
with a reddish-yellow fruit. The latter was paramount till late years,
when turbulent and unruly Béin was allowed to set up for herself an
independent king; and the sooner things return to the _status quo ante_
the better for peace.

King Blay's guest-house of whitewashed swish is a model of its kind. You
pass through a large compound, which contains the outhouses, into a broad,
deep verandah, generally facing away from the sea. It opens upon a central
room adorned with German prints of Scriptural subjects--Mariahilf, for
instance, all gaudy colour and gilt spangles. On each side of this piece
are sleeping-rooms. The furniture of the five is exceedingly simple--a
standing bedstead, a table, and a few wooden chairs. But Ahin Blay is a
civilised man who strews his floors with matting, and has osier
_fauteuils_ from Madeira. These quarters are quite wholesome and
comfortable enough for temporary use. They would be greatly improved by
mounting on pillars or piles; and they might serve for all seasons save
the rainy.

Mr. Graham, who dispenses elementary knowledge to the missionary pupils,