CHAPTER VII.

They journeyed at night

In the pale moonlight,

'Mid sunshine and storm on they sail'd;

Baffling winds and still calms

Caused our friends no alarms,

For Faith ever fearless prevail'd.

"It is of no use, Emma: I cannot do it. Girls are certainly a most

persevering race of beings, and you deserve to be at the top of the

class; for, if you determine to accomplish anything, I believe not

even Mr. Stanley's knock at the door, or, what would be more to you,

Dora Leslie's loving kiss, would make you swerve from your purpose.

Ah well! You are quite welcome to the work; and if you are not

tired, I know _I_ am, and these very _important_ articles may remain

unpacked for the trouble I shall take. I wonder you are so

particular about them: what signifies how they are put in, if you

can but shut the box? It can be of no consequence; and yet you have

been on your knees for the last two hours, arranging and placing,

until I am positively weary with watching you."

"George! George! Where is your boasted patience? Your fellow

traveller in your anticipated voyage? Only see what a trifling

exertion makes you weary and complaining. Now, suppose I act

according to your sage proposition, and merely fill the trunk; we

can then both jump on the lid, and _make_ it shut--what think you

would be the effect?"

GEORGE. "Well, my most patient sister, I think it very probable that

my microscope would be smashed to atoms, and all your little knick

knacks reduced to a similar condition. But surely there is no

necessity for such violent means to secure the lid: let me see, I

have no doubt it will shut quite easily."

"There, you see it will not shut," said Emma, as George in vain

endeavored, by moderate pressure, to bring the lid to its proper

place. "Now the things _must_ be arranged differently; and, if you

will only help me this once, we shall have done before Dora or Mr.

Stanley or any one else knocks at the door: come, be my own good

brother, and lay all these parcels carefully on the floor while I

find places for them."

Emma looked so irresistibly kind and coaxing, that George once more

good humoredly set to work; and presently the carpet was strewed

with packages, apparently sufficient to fill three such trunks, but

which Emma was determined should be snugly packed into one.

The articles might almost be arranged alphabetically, there was such

a miscellaneous collection; but the variety in their size and shape

rendered it actually a puzzle to dispose them so as to allow space

for all, without the hazard of any portion being crushed.

"Perseverance overcomes difficulties," said Emma, as she carefully

deposited the last paper, and turned the key in the lock.

"Hurrah!" shouted George. "Now we have done it. Well, really, I did

not think it possible: only imagine the number of parcels in that

one trunk, Emma! What a treat it will be when we get to Jamaica to

unpack it all again. Oh dear! how I wish we were there!"

"Miss Emma, you are wanted," said Hannah, entering the room;

"Mistress cannot find the books that came to-day, and she wants to

pack them up."

"Ah! it is nothing but _pack up_ now all day, and every room is in

confusion," said George, wearily. "Well, I am glad our share is at

an end for _this_ day, for I am heartily tired of the business, and

shall be thoroughly glad when there is nothing more left to _pack

up_."

"Oh! master George, how impatient you are," exclaimed Hannah. "But

come, you have no time to be grumbling now. Only look at your dirty

fingers, and dinner will be ready in five minutes: why, you will

scarcely be washed before the bell rings;" and the anxious maid

bustled out of the room with her weary charge.

The mention of Mr. Stanley's name requires an explanation. On the

previous evening, when Mr. Wilton returned from his office, he

brought with him a letter, which he put into George's hand after

tea, desiring him to read it aloud. It was from Mr. Stanley, and

George almost shouted for joy, when he read that his dear, dear

friend was then at Liverpool, and hoped to be with them the next

day to dinner.

"What a grand muster we shall have to-night, George," said Mr.

Wilton, while they were waiting the arrival of their expected guest.

"Why, we shall not find sufficient subject for so many speakers,

shall we?"

"Oh yes! papa. Emma and I have been too busy, _packing up_, to

prepare much. Besides, Mr. Stanley is sure to have a great deal to

tell: he has been away so long, and seeing strange countries all the

while. But there he is! I saw him pass the window;" and away ran

George to embrace his beloved friend.

"What bright eyes and rosy cheeks!" exclaimed Mr. Stanley, kissing

his pet. "My boy has indeed grown since I was here: why you will

soon reach my shoulder. I suppose, when next I come, I must inquire

for Mr. Wilton, junior. But where is sister Emma, and mamma and

papa, and dear, kind Grandy?"

"Oh! they are all in the dining-room," replied George: "we were only

waiting for you, sir."

Into the dining-room they went accordingly; and the welcome guest

was soon engaged, equally with the rest of the party, in discussing

a hearty meal, and the various events that had taken place during

his absence.

The hours flew like moments; and the arrival of the other members

quite astonished George, who had no idea it was so near seven

o'clock. He was in high glee, as he assisted Charles in placing the

chairs and books. But when Mr. Stanley, taking his hand, requested

_permission_ to sit by his side, the proud and happy boy looked

doubtingly into his face, not thoroughly comprehending the drift of

the request.

"I am anxious to have the services of an experienced pilot through

the stormy seas," said Mr. Stanley; "and if you are by my side,

George, to direct me, I think I can manage to steer clear of

difficulties."

"Now, you are joking," returned George: "why, you have positively

been to these very countries, and yet apply to _me_ for directions!

But I understand the reason. You intend to make observations on

subjects _not_ geographical, and I expect you will be keeping a

sharp look-out on _my_ observations, to discover what progress I

have made lately."

MR. STANLEY. "I perceive already that there is a decided

improvement, my boy; and I candidly aver that I expect to be edified

by these juvenile discoveries. Now to business--weigh anchor and

start. Who is pilot?"

CHARLES. "I have charge of the 'Research' for the present; but I am

not an experienced navigator, and if I happen to run you on a shoal,

I hope all hands will help to get the vessel clear off?"

MR. BARRAUD. "We will make due allowance for your youth and

inexperience, Charles. Now give your orders."

CHARLES. "The first voyage, we are to navigate the Indian Ocean,

calling on as many Robinson Crusoes as we can find in the various

little islands: our second voyage is to explore the whole coast of

Africa.

"Our ship was last at anchor off the coast of New Holland, and our

next stoppage will be at the Moluccas. The name signifies 'Royal

Islands,' and was given by the Arabs in the days of their maritime

prosperity. The principal are Celebes, Gililo, and Ceram. Dora,

Emma, and George have patronized those isles, and will set forth

their various qualifications."

DORA. "Celebes is the largest of the Moluccas, and is a ragged,

irregular-looking island, in shape similar to a star-fish. The

inhabitants are rendered active, industrious, and robust by an

austere education. At all hours of the day, the mothers rub their

children with oil or water, and thus assist nature in forming their

constitutions. At the age of five or six, the male children of

persons of rank are put in charge of a friend, that their courage

may not be weakened by the caresses of relatives, and habits of

reciprocal tenderness. They do not return to their families until

they attain the age at which the law declares them fit to marry.

Celebes was first discovered by the Portuguese in 1512; but the

Dutch expelled them in 1660, and it now belongs to them. Unlike most

of the other islands, it abounds in extensive grassy plains, free

from forests, which are looked upon as the common property of the

tribes who dwell thereon, and are carefully guarded from the

intrusion of aliens. The people are Mohammedans."

GEORGE. "Gililo is Celebes in miniature, being of the same singular

shape, and producing similar fruits. I have little more of its

advantages to set forth. But near here is a portion of the Ocean

called Molucca Sea, which possesses a strange peculiarity. It is the

periodical appearance of a current of opaque white water, like milk,

which, from June to August or September, covers the surface of the

basin in which the Banda Islands are situated. During the night it

is somewhat luminous, which makes the spectator confound it with the

horizon. It is dangerous for vessels, for the sea seems to undergo

an inward boiling agitation wherever it passes. During its

prevalence the fish disappear. This white water is supposed to come

from the shores of New Guinea and the Gulf of Carpentaria."

MR. STANLEY. "You are slightly wrong, George, in stating this

curious sea to be near Gililo. Gililo is _on_, the equator, and the

Molucca Sea is at least 5° _below_ the equator, and directly south

of Ceram."

EMMA. "Ceram produces quantities of sago, and contains large forests

of those trees: they are extremely profitable, for one tree will

sometimes yield as much as five or six hundred pounds of sago! The

original inhabitants were called Alfoors, and, as some of the race

still exist, I will introduce them. The only dress of the men is a

girdle encircling the loins. They fix bunches of palm leaves to

their heads, shoulders, and knees, and wear square bucklers, which

they ornament with considerable taste. The eyesight of these people

is uncommonly acute; and their swiftness is such as to enable them

to chase the wild hog with success. Rats and serpents form part of

their food. This island is equally fertile with the other Moluccas,

and produces spices of all kinds, but particularly cloves and

nutmegs. There are, happily, more Christians now to be found in

Ceram than there were a few years since: nevertheless the majority

are still Mohammedans, and barbarous in their habits."

MR. BARRAUD. "Yes. Very little improvement has taken place in the

manners of the Alfoors. The young men, even to this day, adhere to

the savage practice of propitiating their intended wives, by

presenting them with the heads of five or six of their enemies. In

order to seize their victims by surprise, they lie in ambush in the

woods, cover themselves with moss, and hold branches of trees in

their hands, which they shake in a manner so natural, that they have

the appearance of real trees: they then allow the enemy to pass,

assassinate him by coming up behind him, and, cutting off his head,

carry it away as a trophy. These murderers are received by the

people of the village with all the honors of a barbarous triumph."

MR. STANLEY. "These identical Alfoors have a singular method of

evincing their respect for friends or visitors: as an instance: One

of the kings (for the nation has _three_ to share the government)

invited a Dutch missionary to an entertainment. When Mr. Montarnes

arrived, he was received with great demonstrations of joy, and

treated by the king with the most splendid repast that the

resources of the country could afford. When the meal was over, the

king ordered a number of men armed with swords to step forward. They

performed a war-dance, and, after a few feats of this sort,

commenced a serious fight: their swords clashed, blood flowed, and

some of their bodies were laid dead on the ground. The peaceful

minister of religion, shocked at the horrid spectacle, entreated the

king to put a stop to it. 'It is nothing,' was the reply: 'they are

my slaves! it is only the death of a few dogs! Happy shall I be if

this mark of my high respect convinces you of my eager desire to

please you!'"

GRANDY. "Astonishing! that people with any belief in a superior

power, should hold life in such low estimation; and, simply for

amusement, deprive a fellow-creature of that which their utmost

stretch of power cannot restore. Oh! may God, in his mercy, soon

enlighten these wretched Alfoors, and write in plain characters on

the tables of their hearts--'Thou shalt do no murder.'"

CHARLES. "We now come to Java, one of the finest and most

flourishing colonies in the world. It is about 600 miles in length,

and 90 miles average breadth; almost entirely volcanic; therefore,

metals and precious stones are not to be expected. Iron is not to be

found in Java; indeed, it is extremely rare in the whole

Archipelago; consequently it bears a high price, and the art of the

blacksmith is held in a sort of reverence. The term for a son of the

anvil signifies 'learned.' The inhabitants of this island trace

their origin to a monkey, which they call 'woo-woo.' They are, for

the most part, Mohammedans, but not strict, as they will not

hesitate to drink wine at the religious festivals."

MRS. WILTON. "The Javanese are remarkable for their veracity and

love of music: their ear is so delicate, that they readily learn to

play the most difficult and complex airs on any instrument. They are

remarkable also for their superstition, and people their forests,

caves, and mountains with numerous invisible beings of their own

creation. I will quote two instances of whimsical superstition,

which took place in Java about thirty years ago. The skull of a

buffalo was conducted from one end of the island to the other; this

skull was to be kept in constant motion, for a dreadful fate was to

await the individual who detained it in his possession, or allowed

it to rest. After travelling many hundred miles, it reached

Samarang, where the Dutch governor caused it to be thrown into the

sea. No person could tell how this originated; but no person refused

to obey while the skull was on _terra firma_. Again, in 1814, a

smooth road, fifty or sixty miles long, and twenty feet broad,

leading to the top of an inland mountain, called Sumbong, was

suddenly formed, crossing no rivers, but passing in an undeviating

line through private property of all descriptions. The population of

whole districts was employed in the labor, and all because an old

woman dreamed that a divine personage was to descend on the

mountain!"

"Oh! how very ridiculous!" exclaimed Charles. "Such silly people

deserve to be imposed upon, for not using the faculties they

possess, to greater advantage."

GRANDY. "When once superstition usurps the throne of reason,

Charles, it is a difficult task to displace her. There are so many

pleasing fallacies connected with her sway over the naturally

indolent mind of man, that reason is altogether banished, and

superstition's authority knows no bounds."

MR. STANLEY. "Java produces, in great abundance, the _Hirundo

esculenta_, a species of swallow, whose nests are used as an article

of luxurious food among the Chinese. This nest has the shape of a

common swallow's nest, and the appearance of ill-connected

isinglass. The bird always builds in the caves of the rocks, at a

distance from any human dwelling. Along the sea-shore, these nests

are particularly abundant, the caverns there being more frequent.

The finest are those obtained before the nest has been contaminated

by young birds. Some of the caverns are very difficult of access,

and dangerous to climb; so that none can collect the nests but

persons accustomed to the trade from their youth."

GEORGE. "Oh, yes! I remember all the particulars of that business;

we were told at one of our meetings; but I do not care to taste

them: it is both nasty and cruel to eat bird's-nests."

CHARLES. "Sumatra is, next to Borneo, the largest island in the

Eastern seas. It is situated in the midst of the torrid zone, is

upwards of 1000 miles long, nearly 200 in breadth, and is divided

from Java by the Straits of Sunda.

"The Sumatrans are a well-made people, with yellow complexions,

sometimes inclining to white. They have some of the customs of the

South Sea Islanders; amongst others, those barbarous practices of

flattening the noses, and compressing the heads of children

newly-born, whilst the skull is yet soft or _cartilaginous_. They

likewise pull out the ears of infants to make them stand at an angle

from the head. They file, blacken, and otherwise disfigure the

teeth; and the great men sometimes set theirs in gold, by casing the

under row with a plate of that metal."

GEORGE. "Is Sumatra a gold country?"

"Why," said Mr. Wilton, smiling, "have you never heard of the gold

of Mount Ophir? Well, that is the name of the highest mountain in

Sumatra."

GEORGE. "Then there is gold in Sumatra, and I suppose it is washed

down by the rivers. Is there any other metal there?"

MR. WILTON. "Gold is the most abundant; but saltpetre and naphtha

are among the products. Quantities of rice are grown here, and a

singular method is adopted for separating the grain from the ear.

The bunches of paddy are spread on mats, and the Sumatrans rub out

the grain under their feet, supporting themselves, for the more easy

performance of this labor, by holding with their hands a bamboo

placed horizontally over their heads."

[Illustration: A WATER SPOUT]

CHARLES. "I should hope they wash the rice after this process:

although, as rice is so dry, they doubtless consider it unnecessary:

I find Sumatra is a foggy island, and contains only one important

kingdom.--viz., Acheen."

MR. BARRAUD. "Fogs are not its worst calamities: thunder-storms and

water-spouts off the coasts are very frequent."

GEORGE. "What produces water-spouts?"

MR. BARRAUD. "Dr. Franklin supposed that water-spouts and whirlwinds

proceed from the same cause. A fluid moving from all parts

horizontally towards a centre, must at that centre either mount or

descend. If a hole be opened in the bottom of a tub filled with

water, the water will flow from all sides to the centre, and there

descend in a whirl; but air flowing in or near the surface of land

or water, from all sides towards a centre, must at that centre

ascend, because the land or water will hinder its descent."

MR. WILTON. "As Charles states, Acheen, with regard to business

transactions, is the only place of note in the island of Sumatra.

The inhabitants have no coin, but make their payments in gold dust,

which they keep in divided parcels, contained in pieces of bladder,

and these are weighed by the person who takes them in payment. They

have some odd forms about them; for instance, in _marriage_ and

_burial_. The bride is bargained for with the parents, and if

settled satisfactorily, the young couple partake together of two

different sorts of rice, and the ceremony is concluded by the father

of the lady throwing a piece of cloth over them.

"When a man of rank dies, his body is kept in a coffin for several

months; the soft parts dissolving during that interval are conveyed

in a fluid state by a bamboo tube, from the bottom of the coffin

into the earth."

EMMA. "How very disgusting! and how very unwholesome for the

relatives of the deceased, in such a hot country too. I wonder the

inhabitants do not all die from infection."

MR. STANLEY. "These practices do vastly increase the mortality; but

old customs are not easily abolished. Do you sail as far north as

the Bay of Bengal, Charles?"

CHARLES. "No, sir, all that portion of the ocean has been navigated:

our next island is Borneo."

MR. STANLEY. "But I suppose there would be no objection to my

putting in a word on the Burman Empire, which probably you are not

_much_ acquainted with. Parts of it are in the same longitude as the

north of Sumatra; and I merely wish to mention some peculiarities

connected with the Burmese. The government is entirely despotic, and

the sovereign almost deified. When anything belonging to him is

mentioned, the epithet 'golden' is invariably attached to it. When

he is said to have heard anything, 'it has reached the golden ears:'

the perfume of roses is described as grateful to the 'golden nose.'

The sovereign is sole proprietor of all the elephants in his

dominions; and the privilege to keep or ride on one is only granted

to men of the first rank. No honors here are hereditary. All

officers and dignities depend on the crown. The 'tsaloë,' or chain,

is the badge of nobility, and superiority of rank is signified by

the number of cords or divisions."

GEORGE. "Is it true that they are a proud, consequential people?"

MR. STANLEY. "Yes, quite true. Men of rank have their barges tugged

by war-boats, common watermen not being admitted into the same boat

with them.

"A singularly absurd custom takes place in this country, in certain

forms of political homage shown to a white elephant,--a

preternatural animal kept for the purpose,--superbly lodged near the

royal palace, sumptuously dressed and fed, provided with

functionaries like a second sovereign, held next in rank to the

king, and superior to the queen, and made the recipient of presents,

and other tokens of respect from foreign ambassadors."

CHARLES. "Well, that _is_ an odd superstition. I am much obliged to

you for going out of the track to tell us these strange 'sayings and

doings' of the Burmese. Are we now to resume our station?"

MR. WILTON. "You are pilot. Charles; we rely on your guidance! Go

where you please: we are not to control your movements."

CHARLES. "Then, like Sir James Brooke, I will go to Borneo; but I do

not expect to be made a rajah for my trouble: indeed I scarcely know

if I should like to live there, although it is the largest island in

the world, and is very fertile, and contains diamond mines and vast

quantities of gold."

MR. STANLEY. "By-the-by, that reminds me of the fact that the petty

prince of Mattan, in Borneo, is in possession of one of the largest

diamonds in the world. It was obtained a hundred years ago from the

mines of Landak, and is worth 269,378_l_."

EMMA. "Which are the other large diamonds?"

MR. WILTON. "The Great Russian diamond, which is valued at

304,200_l._; and the Great Pitt diamond, valued at 149,605_l_. But

we are departing from our subject. Borneo is, next to New Holland,

the largest island in the world. It is 900 miles long, and 700

broad."

DORA. "When did Sir James Brooke go to Borneo, and what was his

object in going?"

MR. WILTON. "In August, 1839, he anchored off Borneo; and his object

was purely philanthropic. He went to spread abroad the glorious

truths of Christianity--to arouse the slumbering energies of these

interesting people--to increase trade--to suppress piracy,--and to

gain information for the profit of his own native land. Such were

his principal motives. Particulars of his success, of the benefits

he has conferred on thousands of his fellow-creatures, and of his

travels and adventures, may be seen in his own published journal, to

more advantage than I can possibly set them before you."

MR. BARRAUD. "Since Sir James Brooke's visit, the Dido and several

other vessels of war have cruised in the Asiatic Archipelago, all

tending to suppress piracy, and encourage native trade and commerce.

The island of Labuan, off the north-west of Borneo, has been ceded

to England, and Sir James Brooke appointed agent for the British

Government,--an appointment which confers on him additional power

and influence; besides which, the Sultan has nominated him Rajah of

Sarawak. Thus in the course of a few years has a complete revolution

been worked in one of the finest portions of our globe, and a new

and better system of things been established, all through the

enlightened and philanthropic energy of a single individual."

CHARLES. "Borneo is the chief of the Sunda group, is extremely

fertile, producing all sorts of tropical fruits, and various spices

and drugs. Much of the interior is covered by immense forests,

inhabited by wild animals, and aboriginal tribes of human beings

almost as wild. It is in Borneo that the largest of the monkey

tribe, the ponga, equalling the human race in stature, is to be

found; also the ourang-outang, or Simia Satyrus, which comes nearer

to man in his looks, manners, and gait. Some writers assert that

these animals light fires, at which they broil their fish and rice;

but these accounts are not verified by recent observers. Wild bees

are so numerous here, that their wax forms a very extensive article

of export."

MRS. WILTON. "Borneo is called, by the natives, Pulo Kalamantan.

Borneo was the name of a city, the residence of a powerful prince in

1520, when Magellan went there: hence the Spaniards concluded that

the whole island belonged to this prince, and they called it all

Borneo. There are a great many tribes of Indians in this large

island, and the sea-coasts are inhabited by Malayans, of whom Sir

James Brooke speaks in the higher terms, as regards honesty,

cleanliness, &c. They understand the art of cutting, polishing, and

setting their diamonds. Gold and silver filigree works they excel

in; and they are otherwise ingenious, but can scarcely be considered

industrious."

DORA. "South-west of Sumatra, in latitude 12° south, longitude 97°

east, are the Cocos or Keeling Islands, which are entirely coralline

in their formation; very fertile, with a salubrious climate. In

1830, Captain Ross and Alexander Hare, Esq., undertook to cultivate

these islands, and render them productive. They succeeded, and they

now form a fine settlement."

CHARLES. "I shall feel greatly obliged if Mr. Stanley will take the

helm, and steer us across the Indian Ocean; for there are such

hundreds, I might almost say thousands, of islands, that I feel

convinced I shall run you all ashore, where none of you are disposed

to go."

MR. STANLEY. "Come, then, I will relieve you for a while, because it

would be most unpleasantly awkward for the ladies to be cast ashore

on a desert island; and equally so on an inhabited one, if they

possessed no letters of introduction to the natives.

"In crossing the Indian Ocean, we must sail by a great many islands;

but I do not think it will be prudent to go ashore until we arrive

at the Isle of Bourbon, and there we can pass a few days very

comfortably before we sail for Madagascar."

EMMA. "Oh, yes! Bourbon is quite a civilized island. It belongs to

the French, does it not, mamma?"

MRS. WILTON. "Yes, my dear; but the discovery was not theirs.

Mascarenhas, a Portuguese navigator, claims the credit. He

discovered it in 1545, and it bore his name until the French took

possession of it in the next century. When they first occupied it,

the sides of the mountains were covered with forests, which reached

even to the shores. The whole of the lower lands have since been

cleared; but the centre of this island is still covered with its

primitive vegetation, which affords forty-one different species of

woods serviceable for arts and manufactures. The coasts abound with

fish and large turtles, and furnish also coral and ambergris.

Bourbon contains a college, and numerous schools, sixteen churches,

two hospitals, two establishments for the relief of the poor, and

two prisons."

MR. BARRAUD. "Why are we to take no notice of the fine colony of

Mauritius, or Isle of France? It is quite as large as Bourbon:

moreover it is a British possession."

MR. STANLEY. "I see no just cause or impediment why we should not

land there. Let us see, what is its size?"

CHARLES. "Its circumference is about 140 miles. Port Louis is its

principal town, and is said to contain 30,000 inhabitants; it has an

excellent harbor, capable of containing 50 large vessels; and it is

well protected by nature from the violence of the weather, and from

the attacks of enemies, by strong fortifications."

GEORGE. "Now to Madagascar. I am longing to go there; for I know

nothing about either country or people."

MRS. WILTON. "Madagascar is a large and beautiful island, with

mountains, valleys, lakes and streams, diversifying its whole

extent. It is between 800 and 900 miles long, and between 200 and

300 broad. The metals dug here, are gold, silver, copper, steel, and

iron; and a great variety of precious stones are found in the rivers

and brooks of Madagascar. Civet is plentiful, and is taken from the

civet cat; and the natives obtain musk from the crocodile, and call

it tartave. Tananarievo, the capital, stands on the summit of a

lofty hill, and commands an extensive prospect of the surrounding

country. The principal houses are of wood, and the palace of the

king is about the centre of the town, enclosed in a high palisading

of strong poles."

GEORGE. "If the palace be so homely, what can the poor folks' houses

be like?"

MR. WILTON. "Oh! they are of wood too, but mere huts; they have no

chimneys, and the door and window affording the only means of escape

for the smoke arising from the fires, which are kindled on the floor

of the house, the soot collects on the inner side of the roofs of

their dwellings, where it is never disturbed by the people, who

consider it a badge of honorable ancestry to have large quantities

of soot hanging in long black shreds from the roof of their

dwelling."

EMMA. "What a dirty badge! Are they dirty people?"

MR. STANLEY. "They are not exactly dirty, but very slothful; and

when not compelled to exert themselves in husbandry or war, they

pass their time in sleep. They have little thought for the morrow;

and, in fact, seem to be a thoroughly contented happy race; and so

they ought to be, in one sense, for they are surrounded by every

comfort, and even luxury, which the hand of nature can produce.

Their characteristic feature is simplicity; and they regard the

example of their forefathers as authority for every action."

DORA. "They are Christians, I believe?"

MRS. WILTON. "I wish I could say they are, my dear Dora. Some

Christians there certainly are in Madagascar; but the majority are

ruled by superstition. They acknowledge one only true God, the

Creator of heaven and earth, and the Supreme Ruler of the universe,

and they call him 'Ungharry,' or 'Zanhare,' which signify the

'Highest God,' or 'God above.' They believe him to possess infinite

power; but they consider him too great a being to condescend to

attend to the concerns of mortals: they therefore suppose that four

inferior spirits are appointed, to whom are delegated the affairs of

the world. These are denominated the Lords of the North, South,

East, and West. The East is supposed to be the dispenser of plagues

and miseries to mankind, by the command of the Great God. The other

three are employed in the dispensation of benefits. Besides this,

they have faith in a _world_ of spirits, and believe that every

family has its guardian angel, which is generally supposed to be

the soul of a particular ancestor; and, strangely enough, although

they believe in the immortality of the soul, they deny that there

can be a future punishment, or that the soul can suffer evil after

its separation from the body; but they assert that bad men will be

punished in this world by a complication of misfortunes, and that

the good will be rewarded by health, constancy of friends, increase

of fortune, and obedience of children."

GRANDY. "There was at one period great hopes concerning Madagascar.

Missionaries went out, and were cordially welcomed by the

authorities, although the people, from ignorance, were hostile. But,

poor creatures! white men had never visited their shores but to

carry away their children and friends to sell them for slaves in

different parts of the world; and, of course, they were very

suspicious; so much so, that when the missionaries first endeavored

to establish schools in Madagascar, the parents refused to allow

their children to attend, alleging that the white men wanted them

for no other purpose than to eat them; for they attributed all their

sorrows to the cannibalism of the white people, believing that the

slaves they captured were caught, as wild animals would be, only for

food. They carried their antipathy so far, that, rather than permit

their little ones to enter the schools, they hid them in rice holes,

where they were often suffocated. King Radama reigned at that time,

and, being a convert himself, he naturally desired the conversion of

his people. He reasoned with them, and prohibited the secretion of

the unfortunate children, and after a time, by God's blessing, the

people became aware of the advantage of the schools and many were

converted from the error of their ways, and died rejoicing in God

their Saviour. But Radama died also; and there arose a sovereign who

knew not God; enemies crept into the fold, and endeavored to destroy

the good work of the pious missionaries. They partially succeeded;

and in 1837 these worthy men were obliged to quit Madagascar, and

have never since been able to revisit it with any prospect of

success. We cannot understand why this great work should be allowed

to fall to the ground; but God in His wisdom appears to have

withheld his blessing for a season, and we must in patience await

the issue."

GEORGE. "The Malagasses were never cannibals, were they?"

MR. WILTON. "No. Their ordinary food consists of the natural produce

of the soil; principally rice, dressed in the simplest manner, and

seasoned with pepper; and they usually drink hot water or broth from

the boiled meats; wines, of which they make several kinds, are

reserved for the entertainments of their friends on occasions of

festivity or ceremony. Their usual dinner hour is ten in the

morning, and that of supper four in the afternoon."

MR. STANLEY. "Although not cannibals, their superstition prompts

them to many acts of cruelty; for instance, one half of the infant

population is murdered by the misfortune of being born on an unlucky

day; and, to prove the truth of the dogma, they are deliberately

killed. One mode of perpetrating this unnatural deed, is by taking

the infant to a retired spot in the neighborhood of the village,

digging a grave sufficiently large to receive it pouring in a

quantity of water slightly warmed, putting a piece of cloth upon the

infant's mouth, placing it in the grave, filling this up with earth,

and leaving the helpless child, thus buried alive, a memorial of

their own affecting degradation, and the relentless barbarism of

their gloomy superstition, and a painful illustration of the truth

of God's word, which declares that 'the dark places of the earth are

full of the habitations of cruelty.'"

MR. WILTON. "We cannot enlighten these people without help from on

high; and their circumstances are too melancholy to dwell on. Let us

continue our voyage, and pray for their conversion. Who can inform

me how many bays there are around this great island?"

GEORGE. "I can, papa. There are fourteen on my map; and the Bay of

Antongil, up in the north-east, is the largest"

MR. WILTON. "So it is, George; and near it lies the Island of St.

Mary, which once formed the principal retreat of the pirates who, in

the 17th century, infested the Indian Ocean. It is a delightful

island, abounding in every necessary of life. Now, I have a droll

story to tell you, and that will conclude our remarks on

Madagascar.

#Translation of a Malagassy Fable, accounting for the enmity between

the Crocodile and the Dog.#

"A serpent and a young crocodile dwelt in the same part of the

country. The serpent fixed itself in a tree by the water-side; and

underneath the same tree the young crocodile watched for prey. After

a time a dog came to drink; the crocodile pursued him; down came the

serpent to stop the crocodile. "What have you to do with me?" said

the crocodile.--"Why, you are seeking to eat everybody that passes

this way," replied the serpent--"Be quiet,"--said the crocodile,

"lest I give you a blow with my tail, and cut you in two."--"And

pray what are you?" asked the serpent: "I suppose you are thinking

that, because I have neither hands nor feet, I can do nothing; but,

perhaps, you have not looked at _my_ tail, how sharp it is."--"Cease

your noise," replied the crocodile, "or I'll just break you in two."

The serpent, then becoming excessively angry, struck the crocodile

with his tail, and wounded his loins, so as nearly to break his

body. All the fish were astonished; and, addressing the crocodile,

said, "How is this,--you that can conquer people and cattle, however

large, and anything else?" The crocodile, ashamed, dived out of

sight; while the serpent resumed his place on the tree. The

crocodile, however, hoping to repay him, kept watching for prey.

After a time, there came a goose to the water. The crocodile

pursued, and got hold of him; when down came the serpent, to stop

him, as before. "Where are you going?" cried the crocodile.--"Let

that goose alone," said the serpent, "lest I kill you." The

crocodile replied contemptuously, and the serpent, enraged,

exclaimed, "Well, this time, see if you are not the worse for it;"

and then he struck the crocodile, and wounded him on the face, and

made him scream again. So he was conquered _that_, time, and the

goose got off. Then all the little fish came again, and said to the

crocodile, "How is it that you are beaten by that foolish serpent?

You are wise and powerful, and that little fellow conies and beats

you." Completely ashamed, again the crocodile hid himself in the

water, and began to think by what means he might conquer this

serpent upon the tree. After thinking a long time, the crocodile

determined on boring a hole through the root of the tree; and for a

whole week he kept on boring. Presently, a dog came to drink;

afterwards a goose; also a man; but, the crocodile keeping at his

work, the serpent exulted in having intimidated his adversary, and

said, 'There's nothing so strong, then, as I am." The crocodile

heard him, and labored with all his might to finish boring at the

root, one branch of which remained to cut. The crocodile then

watched at the water-side a good while, when down came the dog to

drink: the crocodile pursued him; the serpent, as before, came to

oppose him, calling out, "Let that dog alone there, lest you get the

worst of it."--"You," said the crocodile, "do not fear God. Yonder

dogs deceive us, and that's the reason I pursue them: as to people,

I never touch them, unless they are guilty of witchcraft. I only

eat the small things,--so just let _me_ alone." When the serpent

heard that, he replied, "There _is_ no God; for if there were, I

should have had both hands and feet: there is no God at all. But I

will have your carcass to-day." Then the dog and the serpent

together made an attack on the crocodile; the crocodile got weaker,

and dived in the water; when all the little fish came again, and

expressed their astonishment, as before, that he should be conquered

by that little serpent, "Wait a little," said the crocodile, "and

you will see I am not conquered by him." The serpent got up the tree

as usual; the crocodile watched,--bored the hole completely,--then

looked up, and saw the serpent sound asleep on a branch overhanging

the water; then, cutting what remained of the root, the tree broke

and fell into the water, the serpent falling with it. Then all the

fishes acknowledged that the crocodile was superior, for he had got

the serpent into the water, and made him dive in it, and kept him

under water half-an-hour. The serpent, however, survived it, and

repented of what he had done. "Oh! that I had never opposed you;

only let me go, and I will never attack you again."--"Ah!" said the

crocodile; "but as often as I pursued the dog, I was pursued by you;

so you must suffer in your turn." Thus the crocodile made him

heartily repent before he let him go. "Then," said the serpent, "if

ever I touch you again, may I be conquered." After that, the

crocodile let him go. He was glad to get off; but he had been

beaten, and took an oath not to renew the attack when the crocodile

went to look out for prey. The crocodile, however, owed the dog a

grudge, because he had attacked him, and so laid all his family

under a curse to devour the dog whenever opportunity offered.

"Unless you do that," said he, "may you die without posterity; for

yonder dog took part with the serpent against me."

MR. STANLEY. "Well, George, are you like the serpent? Have you had

enough of the water?"

GEORGE. "Oh! no! I shall be very sorry when the voyages are over."

MR. STANLEY. "You have been on the ocean a weary while. Have you,

like Sir James Ross, reached either of the Poles?"

GEORGE. "No, sir; but we have been very near the North Pole; have we

not, Charles?"

CHARLES. "Yes; in the Arctic Ocean we have been as high as 80°

parallel of north latitude to Spitzbergen; and in the Antarctic as

high as the 66° parallel of south latitude, to the New South

Shetland Isles."

MR. STANLEY. "Well done! You will not then start any objections on

the score of cold, to accompany me to Kerguelan's Land?"

"Oh dear, no!" exclaimed the boys. "We do not mind the cold."

MR. STANLEY. "Kerguelan's land was discovered in 1772 by Monsieur de

Kerguelan, a French navigator, who took it for a continent, and so

reported it to his government. He was sent back the following year

to make critical examination. Three years after this, Captain Cook

fell in with the island, and, not finding it of any importance,

called it Isle of Desolation. But, despite its name, it is not a bad

place by any means. It is a safe and commodious harbor, and

abundance of fresh water. However, considering its latitude, it is

exceedingly bare of vegetation; and there is only one plant which

claims attention, that is the famous cabbage discovered by Captain

Cook. For 130 days his crew enjoyed the luxury of fresh vegetables,

which were served out with their salt beef and pork, and prevented

sickness among them."

GEORGE. "Are there any animals on the island?"

MR. BARRAUD. "Numbers of birds; penguins, albatrosses, gulls, ducks,

cormorants, &c.; and the island is the resort of seals and

sea-elephants."

CHARLES. "It cannot be a very pretty place?"

MR. STANLEY. "Here is an idea of it. The whole island appears to be

deeply indented by bays and inlets, the surface intersected by

numerous small lakes and water-courses. These becoming swollen by

the heavy rains, which alternate with the frost and snow,

accompanied by violent gusts of wind, rush down the sides of the

mountains and along the ravines in countless impetuous torrents,

forming in many places beautiful foaming cascades, wearing away the

rocks, and strewing the valleys below with vast fragments."

CHARLES. "That is _grand_, but decidedly not _comfortable_."

GRANDY. "Sailors need great powers of endurance to undergo such

hardships as they must continually encounter on these voyages of

discovery. How grateful we ought to feel towards the brave men who

hazard life, property, everything to extend our knowledge! for how

many happy hours are we indebted to their researches! how often have

we perused with delight, the voyages, the discoveries, the exciting

descriptions of enterprising sailors! and all, perhaps, without

reflecting that the very adventures which have so much amused us,

may have been the ruin of all their hopes, and the destroyer of all

their happiness in this world. While you are sipping your wine,

preparatory to our last voyage, I will tell you a true

#Story of a Sailor as related by himself.#

"Four years ago I left the port of Boston, the master of a fine ship

bound for China. I was worth ten thousand dollars, and was the

husband of a young and handsome wife, whom I married but six months

before. When I left her, I promised to return to her in less than a

twelvemonth. I took all my money with me, save enough to support my

wife in my absence, for the purpose of trading when in China, on my

own account. For a long time we were favored with prosperous winds;

but when in the China seas a terrible storm came upon us, so that in

a short time I saw the vessel must be lost, for we were drifting on

the rocks of an unknown shore. I ordered the men to provide each for

himself in the best possible manner, and forget the ship, as it was

an impossibility to save her. We struck: a sea laid me upon the

rocks senseless; and the next would have carried me back to a watery

grave, had not one of the sailors dragged me further up the rocks.

There were only four of us alive; and when morning came, we found

that we were on a small uninhabited island, with nothing to eat but

the wild fruit common to that portion of the earth; and there we

remained sixty days before we could make ourselves known to any

ship. We were at length taken to Canton; and there I had to beg, for

my money was at the bottom of the sea, and I had not taken the

precaution to have it insured. It was nearly a year before I had an

opportunity of coming home; and then I, _a captain_, was obliged to

ship as a common sailor. It was two years from the time I left

America that I landed in Boston. I was walking in a hurried manner

up one of its streets, when I met my brother-in-law. He could not

speak nor move, but he grasped my hand, and tears gushed from his

eyes. 'Is my wife alive?' I asked. He said nothing. Then I wished

that I had perished with my ship, for I thought my wife was dead;

but he very soon said, 'She is alive.' Then it was my turn to cry

for joy. He clung to me and said, 'Your funeral sermon has been

preached, for we have thought you dead for a long time.' He said

that my wife was living in our little cottage in the interior of the

state. It was then three o'clock in the afternoon, and I took a

train of cars that would carry me within twenty-five miles of my

wife. Upon leaving the cars I hired a boy, though it was night, to

drive me home. It was about two o'clock in the morning when that

sweet little cottage of mine appeared in sight. It was a warm

moonlight night, and I remember how like a heaven it looked to me. I

got out of the carriage and went to the window of the room where the

servant girl slept, and gently knocked. She opened the window and

asked, 'Who is there?' 'Sarah, do you not know me?' said I. She

screamed with fright, for she thought me a ghost; but I told her to

unfasten the door and let me in, for I wished to see my wife. She

let me in and gave me a light, and I went up stairs to my wife's

room. She lay sleeping quietly. Upon her bosom lay her child, whom I

had never seen. She was as beautiful as when I left her; but I could

see a mournful expression upon her face. Perhaps she was dreaming of

me. I gazed for a long time; I did not make any noise, for I dared

not wake her. At length I imprinted a soft kiss upon the cheek of my

little child. While doing it a tear dropped from my eye and fell

upon her cheek. Her eyes opened as clearly as though she had not

been sleeping. I saw that she began to be frightened, and I said,

'Mary, it is your husband!' and she clasped me about my neck, and

fainted. But I will not describe that scene. She is now the happy

wife of a poor man. I am endeavoring to accumulate a little

property, and then I will leave the sea forever."

MR. WILTON. "A vote of thanks for Grandy. That little narrative has

agreeably refreshed our minds, while the wine and cake has had the

like effect on our bodies. Now, voyage the last!"

GEORGE. "Oh, papa! that sounds so strangely. I cannot bear the last

of anything; and now particularly, it reminds us how soon our happy

evening meetings will be at an end, and naught left but the bare

recollection of them."

MRS. WILTON. "Well, my dear, I will not distress you by repeating

the obnoxious word. We will start anew, and sail round the coast of

Africa. We are a goodly party, and I dare venture to say, shall not

lack for amusement during the voyage."

MR. STANLEY. "Then we are not to go so far south as Victoria Land,

and see all the wonderful things Sir James Ross saw?"

MR. WILTON. "No: we have been in the cold long enough, and I am

rejoiced that we have no more enormous icebergs to encounter--no

more still ice-fields stretching away in every direction, or

clashing and grinding under the influence of mighty storms--no more

mountains cased in eternal ice; but we have really bid adieu to the

wintry desolation of those frozen regions that

'Lie dark and wild, beat with perpetual storms.'"

MR. STANLEY. "I am glad to get into a more genial climate, and I

perceive our next voyage commences in the Mediterranean; that is, if

it be the intention of our young discoverers to call at the bays on

the north of Africa."

DORA. "It is our intention, sir; and the first gulf, called

Malillih, is on the coast of Morocco. Mrs. Wilton has kindly

undertaken the land survey."

MRS. WILTON. "Morocco is now only the remains of a state, although

at one period, when the Moors were in the zenith of their power, it

was a splendid country. Still, however, the inhabitants entertain

the loftiest ideas of themselves and their native land, and

half-naked creatures as they are, they style the Europeans 'agein,'

or barbarians, and hold them in contempt."

GRANDY. "But the Moors, although Mohammedans, are not destitute of

virtues; and, as a peculiarly good trait in their character, a Moor

never abandons himself to despair; neither sufferings nor losses can

extort from him a single murmur; to every event he submits as

decreed by the will of God, and habitually hopes for better times.

We might learn something even from the Moors."

MR. STANLEY. "Ay! but we must keep at a distance if we wish the

ladies of our party to learn; for the Moors would altogether object

to teach them, as women are there regarded merely as tools

--creatures without souls. They would not admire our ladies

either, for their idea of female loveliness is most singular. Beauty

and corpulence are synonymous. A perfect Moorish beauty is a load

for a camel; and a woman of moderate pretensions to beauty requires

a slave on each side to support her. In consequence of this depraved

taste for unwieldy bulk, the Moorish ladies take great pains to

acquire it early in life; and for this purpose, the young girls are

compelled by their mothers to devour a great quantity of kous-kous

and to drink a large portion of camel's milk every morning. It is no

matter whether the girl has an appetite or not, the kous-kous and

milk _must_ be swallowed, and obedience is frequently enforced by

blows."

DORA. "How very disagreeable! I scarcely know which is the worst

stage of the affair, the cause or the effect."

EMMA. "I should say the _cause_; for the fat comes by degrees, and

cannot inconvenience them so much as swallowing quantities of food

and drink when they require it not."

MR. WILTON. "They have other quaint notions. Among the points of

etiquette which prevail at the court of Morocco, the following is

mentioned:--The word _death_ is never uttered in presence of the

Sultan. When it is unavoidable to mention the death of any person,

it is expressed by such words as, 'He has fulfilled his destiny;' on

which the monarch gravely remarks, 'God be merciful to him!' Another

point of whimsical superstition is, that the numbers _five_ and

_fifteen_ must not be mentioned in presence of the sovereign."

GEORGE. "I should be continually saying forbidden words if I were

there; so we will go on, if you please, pilot."

EMMA. "I have the bays. They are Boujanyah, and Storah, on the coast

of Algiers. This state is inferior to Morocco, both in extent and

fertility; but the city has a grand harbor, is itself very populous,

and contains some splendid ruins."

DORA. "I have the gulfs. They are Tunis, Hammamet, and Khabs, on

the coast of Tunis, which was once the seat of Carthaginian power,

but like the other states, is now reduced to a tithe of its former

greatness, although it is still one of the finest cities in Africa.

It has a good harbor and fortifications. The manufactures are silks,

velvets, cloth, and red bonnets, which are worn by the people."

MR. WILTON. "There is yet another Barbary state to pass: who has a

word for Tripoli?"

CHARLES. "I have, madam. Tripoli is the most easterly, and the most

wretched of the Barbary states. It extends straggling along a great

extent of coast, where may be seen the enormous Gulf of Sidra or

Sert, called by the natives 'Djou al Kabit,' or Gulf of Sulphur, and

the Gulf of Bombah. Tripoli received its name from once containing

three cities of considerable importance, which are now little else

than ruins."

MRS. WILTON. "The 'Research' has not tarried long on that coast, at

any rate. We must now suppose ourselves _authors_ instead of

_travellers_; and without thinking of impossibilities, straightway

carry our ship overland, across the Isthmus of Suez, and launch

quietly on the waters of the Red Sea."

MR. BARRAUD. "It is scarcely fair to pass Egypt without a

recognition: the Egyptians would sympathize with us in our

partiality for the _ancient element_. They are special lovers of two

things--gardens and water. Even stagnant water, if sweet, they

consider a luxury; running water, however dirty, they hold to be

extremely luxurious; when during the inundation, the canal of Cairo

is full, all the houses on its banks are occupied by persons, who

sit in their leisure hours, smoking by its muddy waters; but the

height of their enjoyment consists in sitting by a fountain--this

they esteem equal to paradise."

MRS. WILTON. "In the Red Sea there are eleven gulfs of moderate

dimensions, and some small bays: we will not wait to examine them,

as they are not important; but how are we to sail out of this sea?

George, will you undertake to pilot us?"

GEORGE. "I know no other way out than through the Straits of

Babelmandeb, by Abyssinia, of which country I should like to have a

description."

MRS. WILTON. "The country consists of a succession of hills and

valleys, the former for the most part well-wooded, and the latter

fertile; with the climate mild upon the whole for so tropical a

latitude. For the people and customs I must refer you to some other

more intelligent member."

MR. STANLEY. "The present Bishop of Jerusalem[18] went to Abyssinia

some years ago; and he has sketched a few interesting particulars

concerning the people. 'As soon as a child is born, it is

immediately taught to drink lukewarm butter, with a little honey.

After the age of six or seven years, the children are considered

servants. The boys are shepherds, till the age of fourteen or

fifteen, and reside with their parents; but if their parents are

poor, they leave them, by their own choice at the age of eight or

nine years, in order to get their livelihood by keeping cattle

elsewhere. The girls are occupied in managing the little affairs of

the house; and begin to fetch water, which is always at a distance,

as soon as they can walk steadily. At the age of eight or nine years

they begin to fetch wood from the mountains. There are some fathers

who send their children into convents to have them instructed; but

there are many who will not do this, lest their children should

become monks: on this account many boys desert their parents, in

order to seek instruction for themselves. Some enter the house of a

priest as servants during the day, and they receive instruction at

night. Others go, after the lessons are over, to get food by

begging. There are also many persons in easy circumstances who

support those children who seek for instruction without the help of

their parents. Nearly all the great men send their children into

convents to learn reading, and to repeat the psalms from memory;

this is all the instruction they receive. The daughters of the

higher class learn nothing but spinning and managing the affairs of

the house; there are, however, a _few_ ladies who can read.'"

[Footnote 18: Right Rev. Samuel Gobat.]

MR. BARRAUD. "They seem early accustomed to habits of industry; but

in other respects, the training of the children is not very rigid:

almost the only crime they punish them for, is stealing. Mr.

Stanley's author, Bishop Gobat, says, he saw a mother, usually of a

very meek temper, and who would not see a man cause suffering to the

smallest reptile, burn the skin off both the hands and lips of her

daughter, only nine years of age, for having dipped her finger into

a jar of honey!"

EMMA. "Oh! how extremely cruel! they surely are not Christians."

GRANDY. "They are--and differ very little from the Roman Catholics

of more civilized countries. Some of the points of variation in

their doctrine are as follow:--They believe in no separate

purgatory; but that almost all men go to hell at their death, and

that from time to time, the Archangel Michael descends into that

place of torment, in order to deliver men's souls, and to introduce

them to paradise, sometimes for the sake of the prayers and

meritorious works of their relatives and their priests. They have a

great number of tales in support of this doctrine; the one they most

frequently make use of, is the story of a man who had done nothing

but evil when on earth, except that he had always observed the

_fast_ on Wednesday and Friday. When he died, he descended into

hell, to a dark place; but had always two lights surrounding him, by

the assistance of which he could go to the gate which separated hell

from paradise. The Archangel Michael then went to receive him;

saying, that the two lamps which had saved him, were the _fasts_

which he had observed on Wednesdays and Fridays."

MR. STANLEY. "That is one of the fallacies of the Romish Church. But

I am not surprised that popery acquires such power over the

ignorant; for it assails the mind through every sense; through the

sight by its pageantry, the hearing by its splendid music, the

smell by the delicious odor of the incense, and thus gratifies and

soothes its votaries by the application of forms destitute of power.

But enough of this; if we venture on such a subject, we are

continually reminded, that to speak evil of other sects is

malicious, and that we cannot disapprove of a man's doctrine without

having an uncharitable feeling towards the individual. _I_ most

strenuously deny the truth of that assertion; for I reckon many

amongst my dearest connections, whose friendship I value extremely,

but whose religious tenets I utterly repudiate. But I fear this is

incomprehensible to the youngsters; we will return to business.

"The coast of Africa, from the Red Sea to the River Juba, which is

as far as the equator, is inhabited by a tribe called Somauli, who

are reckoned to be descendants from the aborigines of the country,

and were early subjected to the laws of the Koran, by the Arab

merchants trading with them. They are a mild people, of pastoral

habits, and confined entirely to the coast; the whole of the

interior of this portion being occupied by an untamable tribe of

savages, called Galla, perhaps the most uncultivated and ferocious

people in existence."

EMMA. "We shall cross the equator before we enter another bay; then,

in the parallel of 3° south, lies the Bay of Formosa, on the coast

of Zanguebar; and 4° nearer south, is the little island of Zanzibar.

I am a stranger here."

MRS. WILTON. "Zanzibar is a most valuable possession of the Imaun

of Muscat, on account of its abundant produce of grain and sugar.

The climate is particularly fatal to Europeans, so that the crews of

vessels trading there are never allowed to sleep on shore. But there

is perhaps no place, where refreshments are so cheap as in this

island: fowls may be had for two shillings the dozen, sugar

twopence, and rice one penny a pound; and a large bullock is sold

for one sovereign."

CHARLES. "No great advantage to get food cheap in a country so

unhealthy that you lack the appetite to eat it."

MR. BARRAUD. "No; we will not go there to victual _our_ ship. Here

are the Seychelle Isles almost in the latitude of Formosa Bay;

suppose we ''bout ship' and look in upon them. There appear to be

fifteen, and navigators say they are composed of granite rocks.

Their chief inhabitants are French Roman Catholics, who have very

little of either religion or morality, but spend the greater portion

of their time in dancing and gambling. All the blacks resident on

these isles are unhappy slaves, although their owners live in

luxurious indolence."

GEORGE. "They are such small islands, and some of them so close

that, if I lived there, I would build bridges to go from one island

to another."

MR. BARRAUD. "The inhabitants do that without a bridge. They have

numerous canoes, built and fitted with much skill and neatness. In

these they pay their visits, and at the close of a party a stranger

would be surprised at hearing the announcement--'Madame le Jeune's

_canoe_ is waiting!' instead of Madame le Jeune's _carriage_ stops

the way.' But that is the fashion in the Seychelle Isles. Torches

are at hand; the ladies and gentlemen are lighted to the water,

where some stout negroes almost in a state of nudity, await to

transport them to their own island."

DORA. "That may be very delightful when you are accustomed to it,

but I should prefer a carriage.

"There are no more indentations until we enter Mozambique Channel,

where we shall find Pemba Bay and Sofala Bay."

MRS. WILTON. "Pemba Bay is on the coast of Mozambique, which belongs

to the Portuguese. The harbor of Mozambique is formed by a deep

inlet of the sea. At the entrance are three small islets, which,

together with reefs and shoals, render the anchorage perfectly safe

in the worst weather. The city stands on an island of the same name,

formed of coral, very low and narrow, and scarcely one mile and a

half in length. The streets in the city are narrow, although the

houses are mostly lofty and well constructed; but the place in

itself is fast sinking into insignificance, and its finest buildings

falling rapidly into decay. Mozambique, like many other cities of

the world, is now reduced from its ancient wealth and vice-regal

splendor, to the almost forgotten seat of desolation and poverty."

MR. WILTON. "Between this island and Sofala Bay is the slave town

Quillimane. It is in a commodious situation and one of the finest

countries in the world; but is continually in a state of turmoil,

from the different tribes striving by mutual conflict to obtain

prisoners for sale to the Portuguese, who wickedly excite the wars

and fatten and grow wealthy on the blood and wretchedness they

produce."

GRANDY. "The port of Sofala, its castle, its town; in short

everything relating to it, is most interesting; for in olden time

this was the Ophir of King Solomon, whence his fleets returned laden

with gold, algum-trees, and precious stones."

GEORGE. "Then the Ophir of Sumatra is not the real Ophir, but only

named after the place in Africa, because it was rich in gold?"

MR. WILTON. "Exactly so, George. I did not then explain it, as I

wish you to feel sufficient interest in the subject to inquire into

the truth yourself."

DORA. "Delagoa Bay. This coast is a continued tract of land and

sand-hills from fifty to five or six hundred feet high, with a few

straggling black rocks."

MR. WILTON. "The inhabitants of this coast are a harmless race, but

have their own little peculiarities; and one of the greatest

luxuries in life in the opinion of a Delagoan is smoking the

'hubble-bubble.' A long hollow reed, or cane, ending in two branches

the lower one immersed in a horn of water, and the upper one capped

by a piece of earthenware, forming a bowl, is held in the hand; they

cover its top, with the exception of a small aperture, through

which by a peculiar action of the mouth, they draw the smoke through

the water below; they fill the mouth, and after having kept it there

some time, they eject it with violence from the ears and nostrils.

It makes them giddy, half stifles them, and produces a violent

coughing, accompanied by profuse perspiration, and yet these people

consider it highly strengthening and beneficial."

CHARLES. "Is not Caffraria near here?"

MR. STANLEY. "Yes: but you must go a few miles inland to see them;

for the Caffres have an extraordinary dislike to water, and will

never trust themselves on it, but from extreme necessity."

MR. BARRAUD. "The Caffres (Kaffirs) are worth looking at, for they

are a fine, handsome race of men, nearly black, with very good and

pleasing features. Their dress, male and female, is composed

principally of softened hides; but the women are so fond of

ornaments as often to wear fifty necklaces at one time. Their huts

are constructed in the form of a beehive, and are perfectly

water-tight and warm. In times of peace the men tend the cattle, the

women cultivate the land. The elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo,

hippopotamus, lion, and various others are hunted in Caffraria with

great spirit by the natives. Of a Divine Being whom they call

'Uhlanger,' or 'Supreme,' they have some idea; but as to a state of

future rewards or punishments they are altogether in ignorance.

Sorcery and witchcraft in various forms most extensively prevail,

and are the causes of much cruelty."

GRANDY. "To hundreds of the Caffres, however, the preaching of the

everlasting Gospel has been productive of much temporal and eternal

benefit; and an interesting illustration of this occurs in some of

the missionary records, which also exemplifies the character of the

unconverted Caffre.

#Story of the little Caffre.#

"A little girl about eight years of age, was reclining on the

ground, in the cool of the day, when four wolves rushed upon the

place. One of them seized the child by the head, a second by the

shoulder, and the other two by her legs. The people of the kraal

with all possible speed flew to her help, and succeeded in releasing

her, but apparently too late. They tried for a few days to help her

with their medicines; but finding all hope fail, and as from the

heat and flies she had now become loathsome, they gave her her

choice, either to be put to death by the youths of the place, or go

to the woods to die or be farther devoured as might happen. The

little girl chose the woods. In this forlorn condition she

determined to cast herself on the mercy of the missionaries; and

although she had never been at the station, she believed from what

she had heard, that could she reach the place, she should receive

that protection and help which her unnatural relatives refused to

give. With this resolution she set out; and although she had to

travel several miles through deep glens, she succeeded in reaching

the station, an awful picture of deformity and suffering, all but

in a state of nudity, covered with large wounds to the number of

fourteen, among the most ghastly of which was that of the head and

face, where the wolf having endeavored to grasp the whole head, had

torn the mouth open to the ear, stripping the head of the upper part

of its covering and making a ghastly wound of eight inches. Through

the mercy of God she recovered, and was scarcely at all deformed;

but she refused ever to return to the cruel people who forced her

into the woods to die. She became a Christian, and the Rev. Mr.

Shaw, who relates the incident, says, that one day, as he was

walking a little distance from his house, he heard some one engaged

in fervent prayer; he listened, it was the voice of a child; and

going towards the place, he beheld in a secluded spot among the

weeds, the young Caffre girl who had been rescued from the jaws of

death, earnestly pouring out her soul to the God of her mercies,

when she thought no eye saw, and no ear heard her, but God."

MRS. WILTON. "How encouraging for the missionaries to find that the

seed had been sown on good ground, and was brought to bear the fruit

of righteousness through the blessing of the Almighty God!"

DORA. "Algoa Bay is on the coast of that portion of Cape Colony,

known by the name of Albany. It was discovered by Bartholomew Dias.

His sailors becoming discontented with their long voyage, hesitated

to proceed any further, and he, to satisfy their scruples, landed

with the chief officers and several seamen, on an island in this

bay, hoping by the touching solemnities of religion to soften a

decision so discouraging to his adventurous hopes. He caused the

sacrament to be administered at the foot of a cross which he then

planted with his own hands, and which has given the name of Santa

Cruz to the island. There, upon this rugged spot, at present only

visited by a few fishermen, and where European foot had never before

trodden, were the symbols of Christianity first displayed in the

Southern Ocean."

MRS. WILTON. "Graham's Town is the emporium of these eastern

frontier districts of Cape Colony, and its main streets present a

scene of incessant commercial activity; while almost every article

whether of utility or of ornament, may be as readily obtained as in

most of the provincial towns of the mother country. There are

several good inns, where visitors may command and receive every

reasonable comfort and attention. Religious services are well

attended, and numerous schools established, in which the children

are making encouraging progress. The flowers and fruits of most

parts of Europe flourish here, and the climate is unexceptionable.

There are a great many missionaries in Graham's Town; and on the

whole it may be safely averred, that the general intelligence of the

inhabitants is not a whit inferior to that of the middle and lower

classes of any country in the United Kingdom."

EMMA. "Camtoos or St. Francis Bay, is a few miles further along the

coast, and Plestenburg, Mossel, Vaccas, and St. Sebastian's Bay,

are among those in the south of Cape Colony.

"Cow Bay, or Bahia das Vaccas, is in latitude 34° south, longitude

22° east, and is so called on account of the vast number of sea-cows

which used to frequent it in former times. The chief value of these

animals is in their ivory tusks, which, being harder than those of

the elephant, and not so liable to turn yellow, are much more

esteemed by dentists. Their hides are also valuable for harness

leathers; and the skins of the young ones make handsome coverings

for trunks.

"St. Sebastian's Bay is at the mouth of Breede River, and is said to

possess good holding ground. It is seldom visited, except by vessels

intending to enter the river; and, as that is not our intention, we

will pass it, and go on until we come to False Bay, near the Cape of

Good Hope."

MR. WILTON. "False Bay is rather a _sound_ than a _bay_. It contains

within its capacious bosom several fine and safe inlets, among which

Simon's Bay is the most important, for there is the naval arsenal

and _dépôt_: but the proximity of the metropolis, and its more

convenient bay, distant only twenty-one miles, diverts the whole of

the trade from this excellent and perfectly land-locked harbor."

MRS. WILTON. "The Cape of Good Hope is a crown colony. Its affairs

are administered by a governor and a lieutenant-governor. The first

has his residence at Cape Town; the second, at Graham's Town. With

much truth we may describe the inhabitants of Cape Colony at large,

as a serious and religious people. In the towns and villages the

strictest attention is paid to a close and regular attendance on

public worship; and in the country districts, where churches are

'few and far between,' and the opportunities difficult, the private

altar is every morning and evening duly served by the head of each

family. The Lord's Supper is administered four times a year at every

town and village, when the greater part of the population make a

point of resorting thither with all the members of their families,

though the distance to be traversed for the purpose often exceeds

200 miles."

MR. BARRAUD. "Cape Town is situated on the shores of Table Bay,

which is the chief harbor of the Cape of Good Hope, and is

exceedingly commodious; and close by rises a mountain of the same

name, to the height of 3582 feet, by a declivity so gradual, that it

has been ascended on horseback. I do not wish to detract from the

general goodness of the inhabitants of Cape Town, but I must say

they are an eager money-getting race. On the arrival of a ship from

England an auction is generally held, and the various articles

exhibited, damaged and sound, under the shade of some tree in the

centre of the town; where an Englishman would be amused to see one

of the first merchants shuffling round with a handful of tea, and

telling the audience that it is just upon the rise, and recommending

that he be allowed to send home a pound or two."

MR. STANLEY. "When I was there a few months since, I was much

struck with the appearance of the streets. They are broad and

handsome; but a wide _ditch_, which the townsfolk dignify with the

name of a canal, runs through the centre. There is generally but

little water in this ditch, but millions of restless mosquitoes,

which populate the whole town, and (I speak from experience) are a

perfect torture. The houses being mostly plastered, have a

stone-like and cleanly appearance, with their green Venetian blinds,

and plantations of acacias and other Eastern trees, waving

gracefully in front of them. The climate is salubrious, and

provisions of all kinds abundant and cheap. I was within a very few

miles of Constantia, so famous for its wines. Unfortunately I had no

time to visit it, but a description given by a gentleman,[19] who

was there much about the same time, will, perhaps, answer our

purpose better than my account. He says:--'The approach to

Constantia is as romantic and beautiful as it is possible to

conceive, from the mixture of the English shrubs and flowers with

those of Southern Africa. Here we passed by a long hedge of monthly

roses, all in full flower. Over our heads waved the fine foliage of

the banana and plantain. There was a long vineyard loaded with

grapes, and the African negroes employed therein. Now we pass an

avenue of English oaks; and this brings us to a fine large octagonal

building in the Dutch style, which is the residence of the

proprietor of Lower Constantia.' Mr. Leigh next describes the

interior of the wine vaults as 'a long building, 100 yards or more;

on either side enormous butts, with polished oak ribs, kept in the

cleanest style.' As I cannot offer you a glass of wine from these

celebrated butts, I will not detain the party any longer."

[Footnote 19: Mr. Leigh, surgeon of the Australian Company's ship

"South Australia."]

CHARLES. "The finest bay in the world falls to my share. It is

Saldana Bay, which is capable of containing at safe anchorage the

whole British fleet, during all seasons of the year."

MR. WILTON. "But dame Nature, always capricious in her favors, has

denied fertility to the adjacent soil; and the supply of water is

limited, in consequence of which it is seldom resorted to, except by

foreign whalers fishing on the coast. Almost the same may be said of

St. Helena Bay, and for the same reasons. How many more bays in Cape

Colony?"

EMMA. "Only one, papa, and that is Donkin's Bay. We must then sail

along the Hottentot coast until we arrive at Walwisch Bay."

GEORGE. "Papa, are not the Boschmen dwelling somewhere near here?"

MR. WILTON. "Why, they are a wandering people, and can scarcely be

said to hold any definite territory of their own; but they are to be

found north of Cape Colony, and are thus designated from the place

of their residence, which is in the bushes or woods. They are a

dirty, wild, savage people, and make a boast of the most inhuman

actions, to get glory from their companions. They neither cultivate

the ground, nor tend cattle, but are dependent on the chase for

animal food."

MR. STANLEY. "Many superstitions and traditions are entertained by

these rude people; among them there is one related by Sir J.E.

Alexander as follows:--

#A Transformation.#

"It is believed in the land that some of the Bosch people can change

themselves into wolves and lions when they like. Once on a time, a

certain Namaqua was travelling in company with a Bosch woman

carrying a child on her back. They had proceeded some distance on

the journey, when a troop of wild horses appeared; and the man said

to the woman, 'I am hungry, and I know you can turn yourself into a

lion: do so now, and catch us a wild horse, that we may eat.'

"The woman answered, 'You'll be afraid.'

"'No, no,' said the man; 'I am afraid of dying of hunger, but I am

not afraid of you.'

"Whilst he was yet speaking, hair began to appear at the back of the

woman's neck, her nails began to assume the appearance of claws, and

her features altered. She set down the child.

"The man, alarmed at the change, climbed a tree close by. The woman

glared at him fearfully, and, going to one side, she threw off her

skin petticoat, when a perfect lion rushed out into the plain. It

bounded and crept among the bushes, towards the wild horses; and

springing on one of them, it fell, and the lion lapped its blood.

The lion then came back to where the child was crying, and the man

called from the tree, 'Enough, enough! do not hurt me! Put off your

lion's shape. I will never ask to see you thus again.'

"The lion looked at him and growled. 'I will remain here till I

die,' said the man, 'if you do not become a woman again.'

"The mane and tail then began to disappear; the lion went towards

the bush where the skin petticoat lay; it was slipped on, and the

woman, again in her proper shape, took up the child. The man

descended, partook of the horse's flesh, but never again asked the

woman to catch game for him."

GEORGE. "This is very droll: but I think they must be very ignorant

people to believe such absurdities."

EMMA. "I have Walwisch Bay. There is a broad sandy beach around it,

and sand-hills heaped up in various forms inland, and the general

aspect of things here is very wild and Arabian-like. The climate is

healthy and good. It is hot in the beginning of the year; but from

May until August it is cool and pleasant."

MRS. WILTON. "About three miles from Walwisch Bay, or Bay of Whales,

is a Hottentot village, containing nearly 300 inhabitants, who are a

friendly, harmless people, but very indolent and filthy. Both sexes

dress alike, in the skins of animals sewed together with the sinews

of the same animals, in the form of a blanket, which they throw over

their shoulders, with the hair-side next to their bodies. The women

are only distinguished by the profusion of their ornaments. These

consist of shells, bones, and minerals of different kinds, and are

worn about the neck and wrists. They are all expert hunters and

fishers. They devour their fish raw, and the small ones without even

divesting them of their entrails; what they cannot eat they pickle

with salt procured at the head of the bay."

GEORGE. "What nasty disgusting people, to eat raw fish!"

MR. WILTON. "In appeasing the cravings of hunger they are, in fact,

horribly disgusting, being actually more fond of the entrails of

cattle and sheep than of any other part; and when an animal is

killed, these people positively devour its entrails raw, even before

they are cold, while they will refuse to partake of the carcass,

cooked or otherwise."

DORA. "Now we pass on to Great and Little Fish Bays, which are on

the coast of that wretched slave country, Benguela."

GRANDY. "Ah! poor Africa is cursed with evils, unknown to the rest

of the human race in any section of the globe--reptiles of the most

deadly venom, beasts of unparalleled ferocity, deserts of sand, and

moral deserts a thousand times more appalling. But her greatest

curse of all is the white man's cupidity, tearing asunder the

tenderest ties of human nature, and plunging villages and families

into mourning and despair. The hyena, the tiger, the crocodile, are

creatures existing by the will of God; the man-stealer is a

sin-created monster! The depredations of the former are the effects

of hunger; those of the latter avarice--the meanest passion that can

enter the human breast."

MR. WILTON. "It is now sixty years since Great Britain commenced

offensive warfare against the African slave-trade; but grieved am I

to say that little good has resulted from it; for the slave-trade is

still carried on as extensively as ever. Our ships, which are

continually on the look-out to recapture the slave-vessels, scarcely

ever take more than fifteen in the course of twelve months; and the

cost of maintaining this force to our country is 600,000_l_.

annually. This money, in my humble opinion, might be more

advantageously laid out--mean in reference to this degraded and

demoralized quarter of the world, Africa. It might be expended in

planting industry, knowledge, and security; in fact, in civilizing

the wretched people; and surely that would more effectually check

the slave-trade than the occasional capture of one or two cargoes.

For the African slave-trade is not the _cause_, but the _effect_, of

African ignorance, as any wretched creature there will seize and

sell his more wretched neighbor for the paltry sum of a dollar."

MRS. WILTON. "This civilization will take years to effect; for

deep-rooted evils cannot be destroyed in a day, among an ignorant

and prejudiced people."

EMMA. "We are at Fish Bay. Dora, will _you_ continue."

DORA. "Yes: Fish Bay is one of the finest places in the world for

fishing with a 'seine,' by which thousands of barrels of excellent

fish are caught in the course of the year."

GEORGE. "What sort of a town is Benguela?"

DORA. "Small: it consists of not more than 200 houses, mostly one

story high. Everything good to eat can be procured here; but there

is no good water, except in the rainy season."

MR. STANLEY. "Then we had better make all sail, and get away, for it

would be sad work to be becalmed with--

'Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.'

While we are in these latitudes, we may as well visit the two

islands, which look so tempting after a long voyage on the great

Atlantic. Come boys: St. Helena for Charles--Ascension for George."

CHARLES. "St. Helena was discovered by those pioneers of navigation,

the Portuguese, on Saint Helen's day, the 21st of May, 1501. It is

1200 miles from the continent, in latitude 5° south, longitude 15°

west. It is a beautiful island, inhabited by about 300 English

families, whose ancestors took possession of it in 1600. The

Portuguese stocked it well with cattle and fruit, and the English

now benefit by their forethought. 'St. Helena,' says a clever

writer,[20] 'is the dark monument of the most conspicuous man that

has arisen within the period of certain history.' Of course that

means Napoleon Bonaparte. I have done."

[Footnote 20: Captain Morrell]

GEORGE. "Ascension Isle lies between Africa and Brazil: it was

discovered in 1508. It is about 39 miles in circumference, and of

nearly a circular form. It has water only in one spot, called the

Green Mountain, from the rich verdure with which it is covered. The

natural productions are not numerous. Guinea-fowl have been

introduced, and are now quite wild. Ten head of cattle were likewise

imported, which have also taken to the woods, and are hunted by the

garrison as required. This island was at one period overrun with

enormous rats, to destroy which somebody with good intent imported a

cargo of cats, which are now become as great a plague as their

predecessors, keeping the sportsmen constantly on the alert to

destroy them."

MR. STANLEY. "Well done, George! I am glad to hear you not only

remember the information, but try to retain the phraseology of the

geographers. That is the right method to improve your memory; do not

halt at the trouble it cost you, for you will be abundantly repaid

in the end."

DORA. "We have only one more bay on this side of the equator to

notice. Among the numerous bays on the western coast of Africa,

first in rank stands Kabenda Bay, near Congo. It is a very fine

harbor, and is so agreeable a situation that it is denominated the

'Paradise of the Coast.' The sea is always smooth, and debarkation

easy. The town of Kabenda stands amidst delightful scenery, composed

of lofty cliffs, verdant hills, and deep luxuriant vales; it is

resorted to principally by slavers, who trade thither for slaves,

ivory, and wood. The poor inhabitants, strange to say,

notwithstanding their oppression, have a great respect for white

men, and believe that they know everything, or, in their dialect,

'_sabe ebery ting_.'"

MR. BARRAUD. "There is a fact worthy the attention of travellers

connected with the kingdom of Loango, which you will perceive lies

immediately north of Congo. It contains amongst its inhabitants

numbers of black Jews scattered throughout the country. They are

despised by the negroes, who do not even deign to eat with them.

They are occupied in trade, and keep the sabbath so strictly that

they do not even converse on that day; they have a separate

burying-ground, very far from any habitation. The tombs are

constructed with masonry, and ornamented with Hebrew inscriptions,

the singularity of which excites the laughter of the negroes, who

discern in these hieroglyphics only serpents, lizards, and other

reptiles."

MRS. WILTON. "Crossing the line is no longer a novelty to such

experienced voyagers as we are, and I think Dora may carry us on to

our next station without further remark."

DORA. "The Gulf of Guinea."

MR. WILTON. "Plenty of sea-room _there_, Dora; but I hope we are to

keep along the coast, for with the exception of Fernando Po and St.

Thomas's, I know of no place where I should feel disposed to go

ashore."

MRS. WILTON. "We are on a coasting expedition, although, for the

_furtherance of science_, we occasionally sail out of the direct

track; and as, in this instance, the mention of your inclination to

visit these two islands implies some knowledge of their situation,

we expect you will furnish the meeting with the requisite

information."

MR. WILTON. "Your mamma is very sharp upon me, George. Take warning

by my case, and do not interfere with the pilot."

GEORGE. "Ha, capital! Now, papa, Ferdinand Po!"

MR. WILTON. "Our sojourn there will be very brief; not because the

island is deficient in fertility, but simply because the society of

the natives would be intolerable to civilized noses. They are the

filthiest people in the whole world. Words cannot convey an idea of

their disgusting nature. They have long hair matted together with

red clay and palm oil. This composition has a most outrageous smell,

and with it they smear their faces and bodies. They are, generally

speaking, a stout, athletic, well made race of people, and

particularly harmless in their dispositions, though from their

appearance you would not imagine that to be the case, as each

individual is always armed with a spear about eight feet in length,

made of hard wood, and barbed at each end; which, added to their

fierce color and smell, would daunt the courage of a more

enlightened savage.

"St. Thomas's should have been first, as it is nearer the equator.

It is one of the four Guinea Islands; Prince's Island and Anaboa

will make up the number. I know very little of it, except that it

helps to furnish the Portuguese shipping with provisions and fresh

water. Now I have satisfied the demands of the meeting, and will

promise not to interfere again."

CHARLES. "I shall be rejoiced at your interference, sir, if it

always have the effect of bringing out your stores; and, now I am

pilot for a short time, I beg to state that I shall not require any

apology, should you interrupt _me_ in the discharge of my duty, but

be thankful for the same.

"Fernando Po. It is in the Bight of Biafra, the coast of which bight

is thus described by Dr. Bayle:--'This coast is forbidding in its

aspect, dangerous to approach, repulsive when examined, and

disgusting when known.' There: that is not a very inviting account:

had we not better sail on? Who cries forward?"

"Forward all," exclaimed Mr. Stanley; and Charles was about to

proceed, when George interrupted him to inquire if the chimpanzee

were not a native of these parts.

MR. STANLEY. "Yes, my boy; it is found not very far from the

equator."

GEORGE. "Is it not the largest ape in Guinea?"

MR. STANLEY. "Right again. I will tell you all I know about the

gentleman. Its height is four feet, and there is no appearance of a

tail. Monsieur de Grandpié gives an account of one which he had the

opportunity of observing during a voyage. This animal had learned to

heat the oven, and was particularly careful that no coals should

escape to set fire to the vessel. It perfectly understood when the

oven was sufficiently heated, and never failed to apprise the baker

of the circumstance; while he in his turn so entirely confided in

it, that he hastened with his bread as soon as the animal went to

fetch him, and was never once led into an error. When they turned

the capstan, it endeavored to assist with all its power, like a

sailor. When the sails were loosened, it mounted the yards of its

own accord. It belaced the shrouds as well as any sailor; and

observing how the end of the rope was fastened to prevent its

hanging, it did the same to the rope of which it had possession. It

was as clever as many of the men, and much more nimble, and was

treated by the sailors as one of their own crew. This animal died on

the passage, owing to the brutal treatment of the second mate. It

bore his cruel usage with the greatest resignation, raising its

hands in a suppliant manner to implore a remission of the stripes he

inflicted. From that moment it refused to eat, and died of hunger

and suffering on the fifth day, almost as much regretted as one of

the crew would have been. The chimpanzee generally walks upright,

supported by the branch of a tree, after the manner of a

walking-stick. The negroes dread it, and with much reason; for it is

powerful, and uses its power with great harshness whenever they

meet. I believe you may see a chimpanzee in the Zoological Gardens

in the Regent's Park. We will go some day on speculation, George.

Now, Charles, 'forward!'"

CHARLES. "The Bight of Benin washes the coast of Dahomey and other

countries, known also by the name of the Slave Coast. Dahomey,

including the subjugated districts, extends at least 150 miles into

the interior. The principal town is Abomey, lying about three

degrees east longitude."

MRS. WILTON. "Whidah on this coast must be noticed, as it is so

connected with Dahomey. It was once an independent kingdom; but in

the year 1727 was conquered by Guadja Irudo, King of Dahomey. Its

capital contains about 20,000 inhabitants. In Whidah the religion is

pagan; but for some unaccountable reason they worship their divinity

under the form of a particular species of snake, called _daboa_,

which is not sufficiently large to be terrible to man, and is

otherwise tamable and inoffensive. These _daboas_ are taken care of

in the most pious manner, and well fed on rats, mice, or birds in

their _fetish_ houses or temples, where the people assemble to pay

their adoration, and where those also who are sick or lame apply for

assistance."

GRANDY. "Their creed is an odd mixture. They believe in two beings,

equal in power; the one doing good, the other evil; and they pray to

the demon to allow them to remain unmolested by the magicians, who

are constantly endeavoring to injure them."

MR. STANLEY. "In Dahomey the tiger is an object of religious regard;

but the people wisely deem it the safest mode of worship to perform

their acts of devotion to his skin only, and it is stuffed for that

purpose. The government of this country is entirely despotic. The

sovereign may cut off as many heads as he likes, and dispose of his

subjects' property as he thinks fit, without being accountable to

any earthly tribunal. He has from three to four thousand wives, a

proportion of whom, trained to arms under female officers,

constitute his body-guard."

CHARLES. "What a royal regiment! all queens; why the sight of them

would strike terror into an English army. I should throw down my

weapons directly."

MR. STANLEY. "But their enemies are not so gallant, and hesitate not

to fight this female army, who very often gain the advantage by

being so well disciplined."

MR. BARRAUD. "In Dahomey, at a particular period of the year, a

grand annual festival is held; and, amidst feastings and rejoicings,

deeds are done from which the civilized mind recoils with horror.

Numbers of human victims are sacrificed in solemn form.

"They are generally prisoners of war set aside for the purpose; but

as seventy is the required number, should there not be so many

prisoners, the king makes it up from his own subjects. Their bodies

are thrown to wild beasts, while their heads are used to decorate

the walls of the royal palace! Still more barbarous is the notion of

enjoying the gratification of trampling on the heads of their

enemies; and, in order to do this, the King of Dahomey has the

passage leading to his bedchamber paved with the skulls of his

enemies!"

EMMA. "O cruel murderous people! Sail on, Charles, and leave them

far behind. Is not the next coast Ashantee?"

CHARLES. "Yes; Ashantee is at present the most powerful state in all

Western Africa, and, in fact, rules over a considerable portion of

it. The natives are remarkable for oratory, and will discourse

fluently on a given subject for hours. A taste for music is also

extensively cultivated, and their taste is evidenced by the native

band at Cape Coast Castle, which plays admirably by ear several of

the most popular English tunes. The Ashantees, and the natives of

the countries contiguous to this coast, build their houses of mud

and sticks, which composition they call '_swish_.'"

MR. WILTON. "They are a more civilized set than the people of

Dahomey; and the Danes have furnished us with a portrait of one of

their kings, whose name was Opocco. Here is the account:--'The

monarch was seated on a throne of massive gold, under the shade of

an artificial tree with golden leaves. His body, extremely lean, and

inordinately tall, was smeared over with tallow mixed up with gold

dust. A European hat, bound with broad gold lace, covered his head;

his loins were encircled with a sash of golden cloth. From his neck

down to his feet cornelians, agates, lazulites, were crowded in the

form of bracelets and chains, and his feet rested on a golden basin.

The grandees of the realm lay prostrate on the ground, with their

heads covered with dust. A hundred complainers and accused persons

were in a similar posture; behind them twenty executioners, with

drawn sabres in their hands waited the royal signal, which generally

terminated each cause, by the decapitation of one or other of the

parties.'

"The Danish envoy was introduced; and passing a number of bloody

heads, recently separated from the bodies, approached the throne.

The magnificent flaming prince addressed him with the following

most gracious questions:--'I would willingly detain thee for some

months in my dominions, to give thee an idea of my greatness. Hast

thou ever seen anything to be compared with it? 'No! lord and king,'

replied the obsequious envoy, 'thou hast no equal in the world!'

'Thou art right,' said Opocco, 'God in heaven does not much surpass

me!' The king drank some English beer from a bottle, and then handed

it to the Dane; the latter took a little, and excused himself by

saying that the liquor would intoxicate him. 'It is not the beer

that confounds thee,' said Opocco; 'it is the brightness of my

countenance which throws the universe into a state of inebriety!'

This same king conquered the brave prince Oorsoock, chief of the

Akims, who slew himself. He caused the head of the vanquished prince

to be brought to him, decked it with golden bracelets, and in

presence of his generals directed to him the following speech:

--'Behold him laid in the dust, this great monarch, who had

no equal in the universe, except God and me! He was certainly the

third. Oh! my brother Oorsoock, why wouldst thou not acknowledge

thyself my inferior? But thou hopedst to find an opportunity of

killing me; thou thoughtest that there ought not to be more than

_one_ great man in the world. Thy sentiment was not to be blamed; it

is one in which all mighty kings ought to participate.'"

GRANDY. "What fearful arrogance and presumption! It sufficiently

testifies their direful state of ignorance, which ignorance, I

trust to hear, will soon be effectually removed; for there are now

missionary establishments on this coast, which, since the year 1834,

have been progressing. At first, the ministers were much dispirited,

owing to the evil effects of the climate on the European

constitution, for after a year or two they were cut off by death;

and, in order to continue the mission, other pious men and their

wives were obliged to be sent out. Again, these died; but yet the

work prospered; and now, blessed be God! the few whose lives have

been spared, are enabled to report that many natives have turned

unto the Lord their God. Every Sabbath morning, public worship is

celebrated in the chapel at Cape Coast Town, when the beautiful

liturgy of our Church is read; and the decorum which is observed by

the natives, who read the responses, appears in striking opposition

to the wild irrational service which they formerly offered at the

temple of their fetish."

MRS. WILTON. "The unconverted believe in a Supreme Being; but they

have a curious tradition respecting the creation, which has

prevailed among them from the earliest period of their history. They

believe that, in the beginning of the world, God, having created

three white and three black men, with an equal number of women of

each color, resolved, in order that they might be left without cause

of complaint, to allow them to fix their own destiny, by giving them

the choice of good and evil. A large box or calabash was placed upon

the ground, together with a sealed paper or letter. The black men

had the first choice, and took the calabash, expecting that it

contained all that was desirable; but, upon opening it, they found

only a piece of gold, some iron, and several other metals of which

they did not know the use. The white men opened the paper, and it

told them everything. All this is supposed to have happened in

Africa, in which country it is believed God left the blacks, with

the choice which their avarice had prompted them to make, under the

care of inferior or subordinate deities; but conducted the whites to

the water-side, where he communicated with them every night, and

taught them to build a small vessel, which carried them to another

country, from whence, after a long period, they returned with

various kinds of merchandise to barter with the blacks, whose

perverse choice of gold in preference to the knowledge of letters

had doomed them to inferiority."

MR. STANLEY. "Affairs would have been better ordered for the blacks,

had they allowed the ladies to have a voice in the selection; but

they never had a good opinion of the fair sex, and they are no wiser

at the present day as many of their customs sufficiently testify.--A

peculiar provision is made in Ashantee with reference to the female

sex. One of the king's sisters is constituted the governess of the

empire, or queen over the females, and all are said to be placed

under her control and direction: but whatever may be the nature and

object of the training to which she subjects them, it is certain

that it is not intended to make the wife the rational companion and

confidential friend of her husband; for if an Ashantee wife is

detected in listening to a conversation of her husband, her

curiosity is sure to cost her an ear; and if she betray a secret

with which she has by any means become acquainted, her incensed

husband punishes her by cutting off her upper lip. The sight of

women who have suffered such inflictions, is common even in the

present day.'"

MR. BARRAUD. "These are the cruelties of a barbarous people, but

they are not horrified at deeds of blood; indeed, such is the union

of barbarism and magnificence in this African country, that on a

court day there is invariably in immediate attendance upon the king

the royal chief executioner, a man of gigantic size, bearing a

massive gold hatchet, and having exhibited before him the execution

stool, clotted with human blood and partly covered with a caul of

fat!"

MRS. WILTON. "That is done, no doubt, from policy, to inure his

courtiers to scenes of horror, in hopes of rendering them callous to

human suffering and courageous in the field of battle. Ah, well! we

have heard enough of _them_: let us now visit some other country."

DORA. "Liberia is the next station and much more desirable; for the

climate is better than most other parts of the coast, the soil

fruitful, and the inland population quiet and inoffensive, and more

inclined to industry than their neighbors."

GRANDY. "There is a thriving missionary establishment at Liberia,

which I hope will before long exert its benign influence over the

Bowchee people, who are located some few miles distant. They are a

miserable race, entirely devoid of feeling; the gentle appeals of

nature are unknown to them; parental tenderness dwells not in their

bosoms, for they will sell their children as slaves to the greatest

strangers in the world, with no more remorse of conscience than if

they had been common articles of merchandise. I will tell you a

story of a Bowchee mother:--'A travelling slave-dealer passing

through the place had purchased several of their children of both

sexes, from the inhabitants, and amongst others an old woman had an

only daughter, whom she parted with for a necklace of beads. The

unhappy girl, who was about thirteen or fourteen years of age, on

being dragged away from the threshold of her parent's hut, clung

distractedly around the knees of her unfeeling mother, and looking

up wistfully in her face burst into a flood of tears, exclaiming

with passionate vehemence:--"O mother! do not sell me; what will

become of me? what will become of yourself in your old age if you

send me from you? who will fetch you corn and milk? who will pity

you when you die? Have I been unkind to you? O mother! do not sell

your only daughter. I will take you in my arms when you are feeble

and carry you under the shade of trees. I will repay the kindness

you showed me in my infant years. When you are weary, I will fan you

to sleep; and whilst you are sleeping, I will drive away flies from

you. I will attend on you when you are in pain; and when you die, I

will shed rivers of sorrow over your grave. O mother! dear mother!

do not push me away from you; do not sell your only daughter to be

the slave of a stranger!" Her tears were useless--her remonstrances

vain. The unnatural parent, shaking the beads in the face of her

only child, thrust her from her embraces; and the slave-dealer drove

the agonized girl from the place of her nativity.'"

EMMA. "Oh! how very shocking! Poor girl! how dreadful to have such

cruel, relentless parents. Oh dear! I hope the work of the

missionaries will be blessed, and that God will soften the hard

hearts of those savage and mercenary people."

CHARLES. "Between Liberia and Sierra Leone are Sherboro' Bay and

Yawry Bay. Sierra Leone, or 'Mountains of the Lioness,' is so

unhealthy that we should not live long if we went there."

MRS. WILTON. "You are right, Charles. It was established as a colony

in 1787, for the express purpose of laboring to civilize the

Africans. All the cargoes of the recaptured slavers are taken there,

and every comfort and convenience afforded to the unfortunate

negroes. But it is so extremely unhealthy that Europeans can

scarcely carry out their plans, and death mows them down in the

midst of their usefulness."

CHARLES. "Then I may conclude that all members are desirous of

proceeding. Between Sierra Leone and Cape Verd the bays are

immaterial; but from Cape Verd, sailing north, we pass four

tolerable-sized indentations--Tindal, Greyhound, Cintra, and Garnet

Bays. Then a brisk wind will speedily waft us to the point from

whence we started, viz. the Straits of Gibraltar."

MR. WILTON. "We have nearly come to a conclusion then, and without

any of the misfortunes incidental to travellers. We have gone over

the vast extent of waters which encompass our globe, and been for

some months engaged in examining the wonders of the ocean, without

meeting any of the monsters of the deep, such as krakens,

sea-serpents, &c.; nevertheless, I am not so skeptical as to

disbelieve all I have not the opportunity of viewing with my own

bodily eyes. I do think that the sea contains monsters such as Mrs.

Howitt describes:--

'Things all misshapen, slimy, cold,

Writhing, and strong, and thin,'

which it would be dangerous to observe too near; and I shall feel we

have gained an advantage by these little meetings if they lead you

young folks to reflect on the probabilities of different travellers'

assertions, before you either receive or reject them."

MRS. WILTON. "We have sailed all round the coast of Africa, but

would there be any danger in going to the lakes of Africa?"

MR. WILTON. "None that I am aware of; and as there are only three of

any magnitude there, we shall not be long on the excursion. I will

visit two myself, and report discoveries.

"Lake Ludea is in Tunis, and is scarcely worth the expense of a

journey thither. Lake Maravi is in the south, near Mozambique, and

is rather larger, but not an agreeable situation. Mr. Stanley, will

you be good enough to conduct the ladies to the banks of Lake

Tchad?"

MR. STANLEY. "I should be sorry to take the ladies to such a

country; but I will venture alone and, like you, collect the

necessary information, if that will suit the purpose?"

EMMA. "Oh! yes, sir, that will do quite as well."

MR. STANLEY. "Lake Tchad is the largest inland sea in Africa, its

circumference about 300 miles, its situation in the country of

Bornou. It contains sweet, fresh, and still water; is surrounded by

many lakes, both fresh and salt; and has several rivers running into

it, although it has no outlet, which is the cause of its

occasionally overflowing the surrounding country. Bornou is not a

pleasant place, it swarms with innumerable creeping horrors, and

savage animals; the latter often enter the villages, and carry off

the unfortunate slaves while at work. Simplicity, good-nature, and

ugliness are the peculiar characteristics of the people; and

although the men are not warriors, nor the women favored by nature,

they are certainly a kind, inoffensive race. Angornou is the largest

and most populous town of Bornou; it is situated a few miles from

Lake Tchad, and contains 30,000 inhabitants. Major Denham gives a

very good account of an interview with the Sultan of Bornou. He

writes:--'The Sultan received us in an open space in front of the

royal residence: we were kept at a considerable distance, while his

people approached to within about 100 yards, passing first on

horseback; and after dismounting and prostrating themselves before

him, they took their places on the ground in front, but with their

backs to the royal person, which is the custom of the country. The

Sultan was seated in a sort of cage, of cane or wood, near the door

of his garden, on a seat which, at the distance, appeared to be

covered with silk or satin, and through the railing looked upon the

assembly before him, who formed a semicircle in front of him.

Nothing could be more absurd and grotesque than the figures who

formed this court. Large stomachs and large heads are indispensable

for those who serve the court of Bornou, and those who unfortunately

possess not the former by nature, make up the deficiency with

wadding. A little to our left, or nearly in front of the Sultan, was

an extempore declaimer, shouting forth praises of his master, with

his pedigree; and near him one who bore the long wooden "frum-frum,"

on which he ever and anon blew a blast, loud and unmusical,' The

major says, the appearance of these courtiers was ridiculous in the

extreme, squatting down in their places, or tottering under the

weight and magnitude of their turbans and their stomachs, while

their thin legs, that appeared underneath, but ill accorded with the

bulk of the other parts. I see George laughing at the picture I have

drawn of these curious little men, but you would not dare to laugh

in the presence of the mighty Sultan of Bornou; he would immediately

exclaim, 'Off with his head!' if you so far outraged the rules of

Bornouan etiquette. I will now give you a description of a wedding

in this African country, and we will then bid the people a long

farewell. The bridegroom's friends, to the number of 200 or 300,

sally forth, dressed in their best clothes, to meet the bride.

Behold her! mounted on a bullock whose back is covered with blue and

white cloths. She is followed by four female slaves, laden with

straw baskets, wooden bowls, and earthen pots; after them appear two

other bullocks carrying the remainder of the _fair_ bride's dowry.

She is attended by her mother, and five or six young ladies, who act

as bridesmaids. According to their mode of salutation, we must

gallop up to them repeatedly. See! the ladies cover their faces, and

scream their thanks; and as it is extremely indelicate to gaze upon

the bride, we must cast our eyes on the ground, wheel our horses

round, and gallop back again. You will ask, 'Is that all; and where

is the bridegroom?' Ah! poor fellow! he has been parading the

streets all the day, with a crowd after him, dressed in all the

finery he could buy or borrow, while the people blew horns, beat

drums, and cried, 'May you live forever!' 'God prosper you!' 'Gray

hairs to you!' There is no further ceremony. The bride is handed

over to her husband in the evening by her mother, and henceforth

they are man and wife."

GEORGE. "Oh! what very odd things are done in strange lands! I am so

sorry our examinations are over, and I wish we could begin them all

again. What religion are the people of Bornou?"

MR. STANLEY. "They are Mohammedans; and very superstitious, trusting

greatly to their medicine men."

GRANDY. "I have really enjoyed these meetings as much as the young

folks, for I think there is no study more delightful, nor more

useful, than that which makes us acquainted with the world and its

inhabitants. As our business has been mostly on the waters, I

consider that we ought not to close the subject without calling to

mind the period when 'the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the

earth,' and 'all that was in the dry land died.' Beware, my dear

children, that you forget not the awful catastrophe from which the

family of faithful Noah alone escaped; nor that the cause of it was

the iniquity of men!"

GEORGE. "I never see a rainbow, but I think of the Deluge, because

you taught me the texts concerning God's covenant, dear Grandy, and

the promise that the earth should no more be destroyed by a flood:

but I have often wondered what could be the size of the ark to

contain so many living creatures."

MR. WILTON. "I believe I can inform you somewhat on that head. A

scriptural cubit measures twenty-one inches, and it has been

calculated according to the dimensions given in the 6th chapter of

Genesis, that the ark must have been of the enormous burden of

19,530 tons!"

CHARLES. "Enormous! why our first-rate men-of-war are scarcely 3000

tons, and yet how large they look. How long was it in building?"

MRS. WILTON. "Many authors agree in stating it to have been one

hundred and twenty years in building."

MR. STANLEY. "There is now no alternative--our discussion _must_

come to an end. The last voyage has been highly interesting,

although, perhaps, not in the most delightful portion of the globe;

but I cannot help expressing a sincere wish, that your _real_ voyage

to the West Indies may afford you as much enjoyment and edification;

and its termination be as happy and well-ordered, as this

_imaginary_ voyage, which has not only proved us all tolerable

sailors and respectable navigators, but also testified that the good

ship 'Research' has truly merited her name, and earned many laurels

for herself and owners."

Mr. Stanley then presented George with a beautiful telescope, as a

reward for his perseverance in the acquirement of geographical

knowledge. He charged him to make a profitable use of it, for the

benefit of the captain on their voyage to Jamaica; and, added he, as

he placed the valuable gift in the hands of the delighted boy: "Keep

a sharp look-out, George; and mind that you are the first to shout a

sail! a sail! Then you will see how the faces of the weather-beaten

sailors will brighten as they run to _have a look at her_. Then will

the captain call for his speaking trumpet, and some such questions

as these will be put to the _stranger._ Where are you bound? Where

do you come from? Are you all hearty on board? The boatswain will

then hang out the black board, with the latitude and longitude

marked on it; the stranger will do the same. If they agree, all well

and good, they each sail on their separate courses, wishing for fair

winds and a prosperous voyage; such as I sincerely hope may fall to

the share of the members of our little Society."

We must now leave our young friends, as we cannot accompany them

across the Atlantic for want of a vessel. The "Research" having

behaved so well in their late expeditions, she is still to be

honored with their company; and being a merchant ship, she cannot

accommodate many passengers.

Should my readers be anxious to hear of the safe arrival of their

young friends in the "Land of Springs," I must beg to refer them to

Lloyd's for particulars of "Research," A. 1. 400 tons burden,

Commander Frederic Hamilton.

THE END.

End of Project Gutenberg's The World of Waters, by Mrs. David Osborne