he amount
of moisture in the air. I asked a man who came to see what the arrival
was, for a hut; he said, "Do strangers require huts, or ask for them
at night?" he then led us to the public place of meeting, called
Nsaka, which is a large shed, with planks around and open spaces
between, instead of walls; here we cooked a little porridge, and ate
it, then I lay down on one side, with the canoe-men and my attendants
at the fire in the middle, and was soon asleep, and dreamed that I had
apartments in Mivart's Hotel. This made me feel much amused next day,
for I never dream unless I am ill, or going to be ill; and of all
places in the world, I never thought of Mivart's Hotel in my waking
moments; a freak of the fancy surely, for I was not at all
discontented with my fare, or apartment, I was only afraid of getting
a stock of vermin from my associates.

_26th July, 1868._--I have to stand the stare of a crowd of people at
every new place for hours: all usually talk as quickly as their glib
tongues can; these certainly do not belong to the tribes who are
supposed to eke out their language by signs! A few indulge their
curiosity in sight-seeing, but go on steadily weaving nets, or by
beating bark-cloth, or in spinning cotton, others smoke their big
tobacco pipes, or nurse a baby, or enjoy the heat of the bright
morning sun. I walked across the north end of the island, and found it
to be about one mile broad, I also took bearings of Chirubi Island
from the eastern point of Mpabala, and found from the south-east point
of Chirubi that there are 183 deg. of sea horizon from it to the point of
departure of the Luapula. Chirubi is the largest of the islands, and
contains a large population, possessing many sheep and goats. At the
highest part of Mpabala we could see the tops of the trees on Kasango,
a small uninhabited islet, about thirty miles distant: the tops of the
trees were evidently lifted up by the mirage, for near the shore and
at other parts they were invisible, even with a good glass. This
uninhabited islet would have been our second stage had we been allowed
to cross the Lake, as it is of the people themselves; it is as far
beyond it to the mainland, called Manda, as from Masantu's to Mpabala.

_27th July, 1868._--Took lunars and stars for latitude.

The canoe-men now got into a flurry, because they were told here that
the Kisi men had got an inkling that their canoe was here, and were
coming to take it; they said to