ons' adventures in her;
winding up with an account of their capture--so far as they were aware
of its details--and a recital of the grounds upon which they founded
their hopes of escape.

The ladies listened to Sir Reginald's singular story with an
astonishment which they vainly strove to conceal, and had it been
uncorroborated, they would probably have suspected in him a touch of the
same malady with which they were supposed to be afflicted; but, as
matters were, they had no choice but to credit the tale, and very much
gratified they were to learn that there existed a means of conveyance
affording, if they could but once gain access to it, a safe, easy, and
speedy escape from the realms of king M'Bongwele.

Sir Reginald, having brought his story to an end, requested that he and
his companions might be favoured with an account of the manner in which
the ladies had fallen into the hands of the savages, which request Mrs
Scott complied with, somewhat in the following terms:

"It is, to a great extent, my fault that these poor girls find
themselves in the unfortunate position which they occupy to-day. I have
been a widow for nearly seven years; but, having been early left an
orphan, with no friends in England and many in India, I did not, as many
newly-made widows do, turn my face homeward immediately on my husband's
death; on the contrary, I determined rather to remain in the country of
my adoption, and, being left in tolerably comfortable circumstances,
made arrangements to reside alternately in Delhi and Simla. These
arrangements I duly carried into effect, and nothing occurred to disturb
them until about a year ago, when my brother, Sir James Lumsden, died,
leaving his motherless daughters--Rose and Lucilla here--in my care,
with an earnest entreaty that I would convey them, at my earliest
convenience, home to their grandfather, who owns a very fine place in
Hampshire, and who would, doubtless, be glad to receive them. I, of
course, very willingly undertook the duty--not the less so, perhaps,
from the fact that I was myself somewhat ailing, and had been strongly
urged by my medical adviser to try the effect of change and a long sea
voyage. Our preparations were soon completed, and we journeyed down to
Bombay, at which place I happened to meet my brother-in-law, General
Sabine. He, poor man, was in a great difficulty just then, being under
orders to proceed at once to Afghanistan, and not knowing what to do
with