_Chained in the market place he stood_, &c.
The story of the African Chief, related in this ballad, may be found
in the African Repository for April, 1825. The subject of it was a
warrior of majestic stature, the brother of Yarradee, king of the
Solima nation. He had been taken in battle, and was brought in
chains for sale to the Rio Pongas, where he was exhibited in the
market-place, his ankles still adorned with the massy rings of gold
which he wore when captured. The refusal of his captor to listen to
his offers of ransom drove him mad, and he died a maniac.