"Man loves knowledge: and the beams of truth
More welcome touch his understanding's eye,
Than all the blandishments of sounds his ear,
Than all of taste his tongue."
—Akenside.
It is necessary to observe that this Work is designed to extend to 4 vols., to be published in regular succession; each Volume to embrace a distinct portion of the whole, and to be complete in itself. The entire publication will form a consecutive series of the Author's Voyages and Travels Round the World.
The present Volume contains:—Madeira—Teneriffe—St. Jago—Sierra Leone—Cape Coast—Accra—Fernando Po—Bonny, Calabar, and other Rivers in the Bight of Biafra—Prince's Island—Ascension—Rio Janeiro—and Journey to the Gold Mines.
[Note: The beginning of this dedication was missing from the text.]
...that your Majesty may long be spared to a nation that is so sensible of the influence of your Majesty's exalted character.
With the most profound feelings of gratitude and devotion,
I have the honor to subscribe myself,
Your Majesty's Most faithful Servant,
JAMES HOLMAN.
Passion for Travelling—Author's peculiar Situation—Motives for going Abroad—Resources for the Blind—Embark in the Eden, Capt. Owen, for Sierra Leone—Lord High Admiral at Plymouth—Cape Finisterre—Arrival at Madeira—Town of Funchal—Wines of Madeira—Cultivation of the Grape—Table of Exports—Seizure of Gin—Fruits and Vegetables—Climate —Coffee, Tea, and Sugar Cultivation—Palanquin Travelling—Departure from Madeira
Teneriffe—Town of Santa Cruz—Female Costume—Incident at a Ball—Bad Roads—Climate—Productions—Population of the Canary Islands—Imports and Exports—Various Qualities of the Wines—Fishery—Leave Santa Cruz—Crossing the Tropic of Cancer—Shaving and Ducking—General Remarks—Make St. Jago—Anchor at Porto Praya—Sickly Season—Death of the Consul and his Wife—Consul's Sister—Governor's Garden and Watering-place—Population of the Island—Produce—The Orchilla Weed, its growth, uses, and varieties—Cause of Fever—Departure for Sierra Leone
Arrival at Sierra Leone—Mr. Lewis—Black Washerwomen.—Visitors on board—Capture of Leopards—Mortality—Funeral of Mr. Lewis—Education of Native Children—Regimental Mess—Curious Trials at a Quarter Sessions—Depredations of the Kroomen—Causes of Unhealthiness—The Boollam Territory—Lieutenant George Maclean's Mission—Election of a King—Regent's Speech—Macaulay Wilson—Ceremonies of the Coronation—Character of the Boollams—Christian and Mahommedan Missionaries—Aspect of the Country—Cession of Boollam to Great Britain—Extraordinary Trial for Crim. Con.—News of the Death of Mr. Canning
Auction at Sierra Leone—Timber Establishments in the River