It may readily be imagined by our young readers, that, from the obscure state in which the young monarch is brought up, he has little notion of those qualities which are necessary to govern a people. On the contrary, the sudden transition from this obscurity, to the paths of ease and pleasure, and every facility of self-gratification, unfortunately gives a peculiar relish for those pursuits and pleasures, with which, had he become guardedly and progressively familiar, in all probability he would have been satiated. But this not being the case, the king of Whidáh lives almost in a state of indolence; seldom going abroad, and only occasionally attending his grandees when they are assembled in the hall of audience, for the administration of justice: all the rest of his time is spent in the recesses of his seraglio, attended by his numerous wives, who are divided into three classes. When the period of the coronation has been fixed by the grandees, they give intimation of it to the king, who assembles them in the palace; and the council having deliberated on the measures to be used in executing the ceremony, notice of it is given to the public by a discharge of cannon, and the glad news is soon circulated throughout the kingdom. The following morning, the grand sacrificer goes to the king, demanding, in the name of the great serpent, (their deity!) the offerings due on such a solemn and joyful occasion. These offerings consist of an ox, a horse, a sheep, and a fowl, which are sacrificed in the palace, and afterwards taken to the market-place. In the centre of this, the grand sacrificer erects a pole, nine or ten feet high, with a piece of linen attached to it like a flag, and around it are placed the victims, with small loaves of millet, rubbed over with palm-oil. After a few trifling ceremonies the company retire, leaving the victims exposed to the birds of prey; no person being permitted to touch them, upon pain of death. Arrived at the palace, about twenty of the king's wives walk in procession to the place of sacrifice, the eldest, or chief, (Note G.) bearing a figure formed of earth, representing a child in a sitting posture: this she places at a short distance from the victims. These women are attended by a party of fusileers, and the king's flutes and drums, the people prostrating themselves as they pass, and expressing their joy by the loudest acclamations. When these ceremonies are over, the grandees repair to the palace, dressed in their richest apparel, and attended by their numerous slaves, of whom they are very proud, adorning them with a profusion of trinkets, and ornaments of silver and gold. The king is not visible on this occasion; but they enter, and prostrate themselves before the throne, and again retire. This part of the ceremony continues fifteen days, during which the women make the palace re-echo with their acclamations; and the public joy is testified by the firing of cannon, and the almost continual display