"A crown fits me,"—so his name, Adeyemi, proclaimed. Once an heir to the throne of Oyo, formerly Katunga, he had seen the days of grandeur that Mungo Park and other travelers witnessed. But the earthly crown had indeed failed him.Through the many wars, he was "taken captive by three different tribes and undergone many hardships." Five years ago, now old and nearly useless, he bought back his freedom for just "a few bags of cowries" and made his way to Ibadan, relying on his knowledge of medicine and charms to survive.He found a sister who gave him shelter, but when illness struck, she cast him into the street, unwilling to bear the burden of burying one who had once been heir to a crown. "The poor old man dwelt under a tree and struggled through his illness." Yet, fate had not abandoned him entirely—passersby, upon recognizing who he was, offered him cowries and a little food.One of the young schoolmasters, "who, sixteen years ago, was one of the first African children we took into our house," took an interest in Adeyemi’s plight. He tended to the old man's bodily needs while speaking to him about his soul. But Adeyemi, steadfast in his beliefs, "heaped curses on the youth for daring to speak to him of a way better than his own," wishing only to be reunited with his idols in the afterlife.Then, against all expectations, he recovered. Another relation took him in, and the schoolmaster continued to visit. At last, "light broke in upon his poor dark mind," and the once-stubborn prince found peace in his Savior.Excerpts from the 1873 Book : Seventeen Years in Yoruba Country by Anna Hinderer

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