s and
chattels lay scattered on the ground.

Chimbolo sat down here on the ground, and, resting his chin on his
knees, gazed in silence at the ruin around him.

"Come, cheer up, old fellow," cried Disco, with rather an awkward effort
at heartiness, as he slapped the negro gently on the shoulder; "tell
him, Antonio, not to let his heart go down. Didn't he say that
what-dee-call-the-place--his village--was a strong place, and could be
easily held by a few brave men?"

"True," replied Chimbolo, through the interpreter, "but the Manganja men
are not very brave."

"Well, well, never mind," rejoined the sympathetic tar, repeating his
pat on the back, "there's no sayin'. P'raps they got courage w'en it
came to the scratch. P'raps it never came to the scratch at all up
there. Mayhap you'll find 'em all right after all. Come, never say die
s'long as there's a shot in the locker. That's a good motto for 'ee,
Chimbolo, and ought to keep up your heart even tho' ye _are_ a nigger,
'cause it wos inwented by the great Nelson, and shouted by him, or his
bo's'n, just before he got knocked over at the glorious battle of
Trafalgar. Tell him that, Antonio."

Whether Antonio told him all that, is extremely doubtful, although he
complied at once with the order, for Antonio never by any chance
declined at least to attempt the duties of his station, but the only
effect of his speech was that Chimbolo shook his head and continued to
stare at the ruins.

Next morning they started early, and towards evening drew near to Zomba.

The country through which, during the previous two days, they had
travelled, was very beautiful, and as wild as even Disco could desire--
and, by the way, it was no small degree of wildness that could slake the
thirst for the marvellous which had been awakened in the breast of our
tar, by his recent experiences in Africa. It was, he said--and said
truly--a real out-and-out wilderness. There were villages everywhere,
no doubt but these were so thickly concealed by trees and jungle that
they were not easily seen, and most of them were at that time almost
depopulated. The grass was higher than the heads of the travellers, and
the vegetation everywhere was rankly luxuriant. Here and there open
glades allowed the eye to penetrate into otherwise impenetrable bush.
Elsewhere, large trees abounded in the midst of overwhelmingly
affectionate parasites, whose gnarled lower limbs and twining tendrils
and pendant f