ABSTRACT
Agay, when a boy, carried salt from Aquoomo to Coomassie for sale; he was afterwards taken into the service of Aquootoo, caboeeer of that place, against whom the govermm:~nt had instituted a palaver, but wrongfully. Agay accompanied the caboceer when he was sent for to Coomassie for judgment. After the King's messengers had spoken, misrepresenting the case in preference to confessing the King to be in the wrong, and the caboceer was con. fused, this boy suddenly rose, and said, to use the words of the narrators, " King, you have people to wash you, to feed you, to serve you, but you have no people to speak the truth to you, and tell you when God does not like your palaver." The assembly cried out unanimously, that the boy might be hurried away and his head taken off; but the King said, " No! let him finish;" and Agay is said to have spoken three hours, and to have disclosed and argued the palaver to the King's conviction, and his master's acquittal. He was retained to attend the King, but treated with no particular distinction. A serious palaver occurring between two prinoipal men, it was debated before the council, who were at a loss to decide, but inclined to the man whom the King doubted; judgment was suspended. In the interim the King sent Agay, privately, to the house of each, to hear their palavers in turn, t~te
a-t~te; he did so, and when the King asked him who he thought
was right, he confirmed his impression. " Now," said the King, "I know you have a good head." Agay wa~ then made a Linguist, and presented with a house, wives, slaves, and gold. Sometime afterwards, the King confessing a prejudice against a wealthy captain, his linguists, always inclined to support him, said, " If you wish to take his stool from him, we will make the palaver;" hut Agay sprung up, exclaiming, " No, King! that is not good; that man never did you any wrong, you know all the gold of your subjects is your's at their death, but if you get all now, strangers will go away and say, only the King has gold, and that will not be good, but let them say the King has gold, all his captains have gold, and all his people have gold, then your country will look handsome, and the bush people fear you." For this the King made him second linguist, and much increased his property. When Amanqua had the command of the army against Cudjo Cooma, the King asked him which linguist he would take, he replied, Adoosee or Otee; the King said, no! I will give you this boy, he has the best head for hard palavers. Amanqua urged that he was too young, the King told him he was a fool to say so. He then made Amanqua take fetish with him to report the merits of A gay faithfully, who distinguished himself so much, that he is always employed in difficult foreign palavers.
