from three to four pounds. The government of Yourriba is hereditary, and an absolute despotism, every subject being considered the slave of the king; but its administration is mild and humane, and appears to have been so for a long period. The only distinction of rank that obtains is that of caboceer, who may be considered as the governor of a distant town or province; the appointment of these governors depending on the will of the king. The military force consists of the caboceers and their own immediate retainers, which, allowing one hundred and fifty to each, will not give such immense armies as we have sometimes heard stated; that of Yourriba is perhaps as numerous as any of the kingdoms of Africa. I think the general appearance of the Yourribanians has less of the characteristic features of the negro than any other I have yet seen; their lips are less thick, and their noses more inclined to the aquiline shape, than negroes in general. The men are well made, and have an independent carriage, that cannot fail to attract attention. The women are almost invariably of a more ordinary appearance than the men, which may arise from their being more exposed to the sun, and the drudgery they are obliged to undergo; all the labour of the land devolving on them. The city of Eyeo (in Houssa language, Katunga), the capital of Yourriba, is situated in latitude 8° 59′ north, longitude 6° 12′ east. It is built on the sloping side and round the base of a small range of granite hills, which, as it were, forms the citadel of the town; they are formed of stupendous blocks of gray granite of the softest kind, some of which are seen hanging from the summits, in the most frightful manner, while others, resting on very small bases, appear as if the least touch would send them down into the valley beneath. The soil on which the town is built is formed of clay and gravel, mixed with sand, which has obviously been produced from the crumbling granite. The appearance of these hills is that of a mass of rocks left bare by the tide. A belt of thick wood runs round the walls, which are built of clay, and about twenty feet high, and surrounded by a dry ditch. There are ten gates in the walls, which are about fifteen miles in circumference, of an oval shape, about four miles in diameter one way, and six miles the other, the south end leaning against the rocky hills, and forming an inaccessible barrier in that quarter. The king’s houses and those of his women occupy about a square mile, and are on the south side of the hills, having two large parks, one in front, and another facing the north. They are all built of clay, and have thatched roofs, similar to those nearer the coast. The posts supporting the verandahs and the doors of the king’s and caboceers’ houses are generally carved in bas relief, with figures representing the boa killing an antelope or a hog, or with processions of warriors attended by drummers. The latter are by no means meanly executed,