boaster. He wore abundance of clothing, most of
which was superfluous, but it made him excessively
vain. He informed the travellers that he had
been despatched by the king of Jenna, to meet them
in the path, and to escort them to the capital; but
understanding that Adooley had supplied them with horses,
he did not conceive it necessary to send others.
The messenger, however, dismounted and offered them
his horse, and the Landers agreed that they should
ride him in turns. They therefore immediately
proceeded, and traversed a rich and various country,
abounding plentifully with wood and water. A
fine red sand covered the pathway, which they found
to be in much better condition than any they had before
seen. Sometimes it winded through an open, level
tract of fine grazing land, and then it again diverged
through forests so thick and deep, that the light
of the moon was unable to penetrate the gloom, and
they were frequently left in comparatively midnight
darkness. It is scarcely possible to give an
adequate description of the magnificence, solemnity,
and desolate repose of the awful solitudes through
which they passed on this evening. They were,
however, at times enlightened by the appearance of
glow worms, which were so luminous that they could
almost see to read by their golden splendour, and
sometimes by the moonbeams, which trembled upon the
leaves and branches of the trees. A fragrance
also was exhaled from the forest, more odiferous than
the perfume of violets or primroses, and they might
almost fancy, when threading their way through scenery,
which cannot be surpassed for beauty in any part of
the world, that they were approaching those eternal
shades, where, in ancient time, the souls of good
men were supposed to wander. The woods rang with
the song of the nightbirds, and the hum of the insects,
which continued to salute them with little intermission
till about ten o’clock at night, when they entered
Laatoo, a large and pleasant town. Here they
were informed that no house would be offered them,
the fetish priest having declared that the moment a
white man should enter the dwellings of the inhabitants,
they would be seized by their enemies and enslaved.
They arrived thirsty and exhausted, but for a long
time could not procure even a drop of water.
Their tent had been left on the road for want of carriers,
and they had made up their minds to rest under a tree,
when about two hours afterwards it was fortunately
brought into the town. They fixed it immediately,
and having succeeded in procuring some wood from the
inhospitable inhabitants, they kindled a fire in front
of it, and whilst their attendants laid themselves
in groups outside, the Landers attempted to sleep
within their tent, but it was in vain, so tormented
were they with the mosquitoes and the ants.