orcised by throwing little balls of dung, or in
spitting in the faces of the most august personages of the court; but
they did not succeed in chasing away the bad spirits that presided
over the formation of the clouds.

Now, things were going from bad to worse, when Queen Moini thought of
inviting a celebrated magician, then in the north of Angola. He was
a magician of the first order, whose power was the more marvelous
because they had never tested it in this country where he had never
come. But there was no question of its success among the Masikas.

It was on the 25th of June, in the morning, that the new magician
suddenly announced his arrival at Kazounde with great ringing of
bells.

This sorcerer came straight to the "tchitoka," and immediately the
crowd of natives rushed toward him. The sky was a little less rainy,
the wind indicated a tendency to change, and those signs of calm,
coinciding with the arrival of the magician, predisposed the minds of
the natives in his favor.

Besides, he was a superb man--a black of the finest water. He was at
least six feet high, and must be extraordinarily strong. This prestige
already influenced the crowd.

Generally, the sorcerers were in bands of three, four, or five when
they went through the villages, and a certain number of acolytes, or
companions, made their cortege. This magician was alone. His whole
breast was zebraed with white marks, done with pipe clay. The lower
part of his body disappeared under an ample skirt of grass stuff, the
"train" of which would not have disgraced a modern elegant. A collar
of birds' skulls was round his neck; on his head was a sort of
leathern helmet, with plumes ornamented with pearls; around his loins
a copper belt, to which hung several hundred bells, noisier than the
sonorous harness of a Spanish mule: thus this magnificent specimen of
the corporation of native wizards was dressed.

All the material of his art was comprised in a kind of basket, of
which a calebash formed the bottom, and which was filled with shells,
amulets, little wooden idols, and other fetiches, plus a notable
quantity of dung balls, important accessories to the incantations and
divinatory practises of the center of Africa.

One peculiarity was soon discovered by the crowd. This magician was
dumb. But this infirmity could only increase the consideration with
which they were disposed to surround him. He only made a guttural
sound, low and languid, which had n