ing brass bedstead
and the inviting bathroom adjacent. I spent an hour calmly sitting on
the divan and revelling in this welcome environment. It was almost too
good to be true.

Nelson remained with me to the end. He helped the stewards place my
luggage in the ship, which was the first liner he had ever seen. He was
almost appalled at its magnitude. I asked him if he would like to
accompany me to Europe. He shook his head solemnly and said, "No,
master. The ship is too big and I am afraid of it. I want to go home to
Elizabethville." As a parting gift I gave him more money than he had
ever before seen in his life. It only elicited this laconic response,
"Now I am rich enough to buy a wife." With these words he bade me
farewell.

[Illustration: A GENERAL VIEW OF MATADI]

"The Anversville" was another agreeable surprise. She is one of three
sister ships in the service of the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo.
The other two are "The Albertville" and "The Elizabethville." The
original "Elizabethville" was sunk by a German submarine during the war
off the coast of France. These vessels are big, clean, and comfortable
and the service is excellent.

All vessels to and from Europe stop at Boma, the capital of the Congo,
which is five hours steaming down river from Matadi. We remained here
for a day and a half because the Minister of the Colonies was to go back
on "The Anversville." I was glad of the opportunity for it enabled me to
see this town, which is the mainspring of the colonial administration.
The palace of the Governor-General stands on a commanding hill and is a
pretentious establishment. The original capital of the Congo was Vivi,
established by Stanley at a point not far from Matadi. It was abandoned
some year ago on account of its undesirable location. There is a strong
sentiment that Leopoldville and not Boma should be the capital and it is
not unlikely that this change will be made.

The Minister of the Colonies and Monsieur Henry, the Governor-General,
who also went home on our boat, received a spectacular send-off. A
thousand native troops provided the guard of honour which was drawn up
on the bank of the river. Native bands played, flags waved, and the
populace, which included hundreds of blacks, shouted a noisy farewell.

Slowly and majestically the vessel backed away from the pier and turned
its prow downstream. With mingled feelings of relief and regret I
watched the shores recede as the body of the r