I informed them of the last negotiations of Her Britannic Majesty’s messengers with the king of Dahomé, when our friend, listening with the greatest interest to the account of these noble endeavours of Her Majesty’s government, which he could not but admire, declared, in the most distinct manner, that if the British government were able to furnish them with a thousand muskets and four cannons, they would be willing to subscribe any obligatory article for abolishing the slave- trade in their country—of course not including, all at once, domestic slavery; for such a measure would scarcely be feasible in a country where all the relations of domestic life are based upon this system. But the abolition of the foreign slave-trade would be the beginning of a better system. However, I told them that, supposing Government were to entertain such a proposal, the first thing for them to do was to open themselves a road to the river Bénuwé, as it would be difficult, not only with respect to the state of the country to be traversed, but also on account of the suspicions of the Turks, to provide them with such a military store by way of the desert. But at present this whole question has been superseded; the vizier himself has succumbed, and his master, the sheikh ʿOmár, although he has been fortunate enough once more to usurp the sovereign authority, seems scarcely sufficient to hold out any guarantee of the stability of his dynasty. Moreover, the slave-trade at present is, in fact, abolished on the north coast; and this circumstance must eventually exercise a great influence over the destinies of Bórnu, on account of its central situation, especially if at length a regular intercourse be established on the river Bénuwé. It was our lot to remain here several days; for while the Kanúri people, who were expected to join the expedition, had already assembled in sufficient numbers, only a very small portion of the indigenous Arab or Shúwa population had as yet come up; for almost all of them live in the south-eastern parts of the country, where they have taken possession of the deserted seats of former tribes, which were annihilated or weakened in the relentless wars between Islamism and Paganism. On the first day of our arrival, our encampment was very comfortable; but every day that we stayed here it became more confined, owing principally to the numerous cavalry of these Arab tribes, almost all of whom are mounted; and many a new-comer was seen hurrying about without being able to find a spot to lie down, or to meet with friends to treat him. I myself had to entertain a respectable man among these Shúwa, of the name of Háj Hamadán, belonging to the tribe of the Hasúnna.