ore or less wisely till he dies. His successor not having the
talents of the conqueror cannot retain the dominion, and some of the
abler under-chiefs set up for themselves, and, in a few years, the
remembrance only of the empire remains. This, which may be considered as
the normal state of African society, gives rise to frequent and
desolating wars, and the people long in vain for a power able to make all
dwell in peace. In this light, a European colony would be considered by
the natives as an inestimable boon to intertropical Africa. Thousands of
industrious natives would gladly settle round it, and engage in that
peaceful pursuit of agriculture and trade of which they are so fond, and,
undistracted by wars or rumours of wars, might listen to the purifying
and ennobling truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Manganja on the
Zambesi, like their countrymen on the Shire, are fond of agriculture;
and, in addition to the usual varieties of food, cultivate tobacco and
cotton in quantities more than equal to their wants. To the question,
"Would they work for Europeans?" an affirmative answer may be given, if
the Europeans belong to the class which can pay a reasonable price for
labour, and not to that of adventurers who want employment for
themselves. All were particularly well clothed from Sandia's to
Pangola's; and it was noticed that all the cloth was of native
manufacture, the product of their own looms. In Senga a great deal of
iron is obtained from the ore and manufactured very cleverly.

As is customary when a party of armed strangers visits the village,
Pangola took the precaution of sleeping in one of the outlying hamlets.
No one ever knows, or at any rate will tell, where the chief sleeps. He
came not next morning, so we went our way; but in a few moments we saw
the rifle-loving chief approaching with some armed men. Before meeting
us, he left the path and drew up his "following" under a tree, expecting
us to halt, and give him a chance of bothering us again; but, having
already had enough of that, we held right on: he seemed dumbfoundered,
and could hardly believe his own eyes. For a few seconds he was
speechless, but at last recovered so far as to be able to say, "You are
passing Pangola. Do you not see Pangola?" Mbia was just going by at the
time with the donkey, and, proud of every opportunity of airing his small
stock of English, shouted in reply, "All right! then get on." "Click,
click, click."