uence of the great amount of forest, rivers, and marsh,
there was no possibility of a highway for wagons, and I had brought
a party of Sekeletu's people with me, and found the tribes near the
Portuguese settlement so very unfriendly, that it would be altogether
impossible for my men to return alone. I therefore resolved to decline
the tempting offers of my naval friends, and take back my Makololo
companions to their chief, with a view of trying to make a path from
his country to the east coast by means of the great river Zambesi or
Leeambye.

I, however, gladly availed myself of the medical assistance of Mr.
Cockin, the surgeon of the "Polyphemus", at the suggestion of his
commander, Captain Phillips. Mr. Cockin's treatment, aided by the
exhilarating presence of the warm-hearted naval officers, and Mr.
Gabriel's unwearied hospitality and care, soon brought me round again.
On the 14th I was so far well as to call on the bishop, in company with
my party, who were arrayed in new robes of striped cotton cloth and red
caps, all presented to them by Mr. Gabriel. He received us, as head of
the provisional government, in the grand hall of the palace. He put many
intelligent questions respecting the Makololo, and then gave them free
permission to come to Loanda as often as they pleased. This interview
pleased the Makololo extremely.

Every one remarked the serious deportment of the Makololo. They viewed
the large stone houses and churches in the vicinity of the great
ocean with awe. A house with two stories was, until now, beyond their
comprehension. In explanation of this strange thing, I had always been
obliged to use the word for hut; and as huts are constructed by the
poles being let into the earth, they never could comprehend how the
poles of one hut could be founded upon the roof of another, or how men
could live in the upper story, with the conical roof of the lower one in
the middle. Some Makololo, who had visited my little house at Kolobeng,
in trying to describe it to their countrymen at Linyanti, said, "It is
not a hut; it is a mountain with several caves in it."

Commander Bedingfeld and Captain Skene invited them to visit their
vessels, the "Pluto" and "Philomel". Knowing their fears, I told them
that no one need go if he entertained the least suspicion of foul play.
Nearly the whole party went; and when on deck, I pointed to the sailors,
and said, "Now these are all my countrymen, sent by our queen for the
purpo