Sunday, 5th.—Morning clear, and a fresh breeze. In the afternoon had a visit from his majesty. I asked him if the Nyffé messenger had arrived. He said, no; that he must be dead, sick, or taken prisoner. He said we could not go by the road of Nyffé, which was impassable from the wars: what was my hurry to go? He was not yet tired of me; he had many caboceers coming from the country to see me; he wished to put every thing right on the roads for me before I set off; that the king of England did not send me to him to run away again directly; that he wished me much to wait and see the customs, for then I should see him truly a king. I said I would do so with pleasure, but that the rains would have set in by that time, and I should be unable to go to Bornou. He asked what I was going to Bornou for. “Did not the king of England send you to me alone?” “No,” said I, “he sent me to you to procure me a passage to that country, where an Englishman now resides who was left there when I returned from thence.” I then told him I would consent to remain twelve days longer, and if he did not by that time find me a passage, I would return to England and say he would not allow me to proceed. He now informed me that the messenger who arrived yesterday was from one of his provinces called Yaru, five days distance; that it was divided from the Youri by the Quorra; that he would send me by that route, which was quite safe. I asked if I could not go and see the Quorra before I departed from Katunga. He said no: the Fellatahs had possession of the road. He gave me his gooro-nut box, carved in the shape of a tortoise in ebony. I promised to let him have thirty musquets, with powder and ball; on which he went away dancing, tripped and fell, but was soon picked up by his ladies. He always brings us some little present when he comes, and to-day he brought us a bottle of honey, and some fruit called agra, about the size of a pear, with a hard outer skin, four large black seeds, surrounded by a pleasant acid pulp, like tamarinds, of a cream colour. My servant Pascoe met in the market to-day some Fellatahs, who told him there was no war in Nyffé; that the king was only afraid of the Fellatahs; that the Fellatahs of Raka had taken nine Yourribanis, who had been found in a suspicious place, but were going to return them here on the morrow. Raka is only one day’s journey north-north-east from Katunga. Monday, 6th.—In the evening, at the request of the king, I again set off five rockets, one of which having too low an elevation ran along the ground, but fortunately only set fire to some grass. We afterwards went and saw the king, who, with his ladies and principal men, was sitting outside under the verandah to see the rockets. He presented us with gooro nuts, and said he would come and see us in the morning.