on the agreeables of Badagry, the noise and jargon of their guests pursued them even in their sleep, and their dreams were disturbed by fancied palavers, which were more unpleasant and vexatious, if possible, in their effects than real ones.  Early on the morning of the 25th, they were roused from one of these painful slumbers to listen to the dismal yell of the hyenas, the shrill crowing of cocks, the hum of night flies and mosquitoes, and the hoarse croaking of frogs, together with the chirping of myriads of crickets and other insects, which resounded through the air, as though it had been pierced with a thousand whistles.  The silence of night, under these circumstances, could not have been very pleasant to them, and it scarcely amounts to a question, whether the warbling of the birds could afford any great delight, if the hyenas and the mosquitoes, and the frogs and the crickets considered themselves privileged to make up the chorus.

The sun had scarcely risen, when two Mahommedans arrived at their house, with an invitation for them to accompany them to the spot selected for the performance of their religious rites and observances.  This being a novelty, they embraced the proposal with pleasure, and followed the men to the distance of about a mile from their house.  Here they observed a number of Mahommedans sitting in detached groups, actively employed in the duties of lustration and ablution.  It was a bare space of ground, edged with trees, and covered with sand.  The Mussulmans were obliged to bring water with them in calabashes.  Seated in a convenient situation, under the spreading branches of a myrtle tree, the two travellers could observe, without being seen, all the actions of the Mussulmans.  A number of boys, however, soon intruded themselves upon their privacy; and, in truth, they were more amused by the artlessness and playfulness of their manners, than with all the grave and stupid mummery of the Mahommedan worshippers.  Groups of people were continually arriving at the spot, and these were welcomed by an occasional flourish of music from a native clarionet, &c.  They were clad in all their finery, their apparel being as gaudy as it was various.  The coup d’oeil presented by no means an uninteresting spectacle.  Loose tobes, with caps and turbans striped and plain, red, blue, and black, were not unpleasantly contrasted with the original native costume of figured cotton, thrown loosely over the shoulders, and immense rush hats.  Manchester cottons, of the most glaring patterns, were conspicuous amongst the crowd; but these were cast in the shade by scarfs of green silk, ornamented with leaves and flowers of gold, and aprons covered with silver spangles.  Very young children appeared bending under the weight of clothes and ornaments, whilst boys of maturer years carried a variety of offensive weapons.  The Turkish scimitar, the French sabre, the Portuguese dagger confined in a silver case, all gleamed brightly, and heavy