wherever we feel
inclined and see anything we desire.

The Residency is a large two storey house surrounded by a wide verandah
and is built of iron plates bolted together. It is raised about ten feet
from the ground on iron pillars and approached by a wide staircase with
wooden steps. It is surrounded by a well kept garden in which are some
statues and many tropical plants. The view from the verandah, looking up
and down the river is very pretty. Although the house is in good
condition and the dining room large enough to seat thirty people, it is
thought not to be worthy of its function, and another large building
will soon be erected on the same site.

After this visit we proceed to a house which is kept for the use of the
higher State Officials when they pass through Boma and which was now
placed at our disposal. It is constructed in a similar manner to the
Residency and although smaller, contains three lofty reception and two
bed rooms. Two _boys_. are told off to attend to our wants and after a
rest we take a stroll round the town with Mr. Vandamme. Most of the
official residencies are situated in one Avenue and are surrounded by
gardens in which palms, bulbous trees, and acacias give welcome shade to
the roses beneath. The Avenue du Plateau leads up a gentle incline to
the Law Courts in which once a week sits the Court of Premiere Instance.
Near by is the prison and the terminus of the tramway. From the summit
of the hill a grand view is obtained of the river winding between the
hills to the East, and at one's feet is a native village nestling in a
valley, for the natives dislike wind and cold almost as much as they do
rain. Separated from it is another native village in which the
Government has placed the educated people who can read and write and
many are now ambitions to qualify for admission.

It is now time to return to dinner with Mr. Vandamme where we meet Mr.
Gohr, the Director of Justice, and Mr. Underwood. Everyone here dines in
white, which is both cool and picturesque. Our host has an excellent
native cook who gives us some very good vegetable soup, one of the
numerous Congo fishes, all of which are nice, a very tender chicken, an
excellent salad and a well made omelette, all of which are products of
the country. Flour and butter have however, to be imported, as no wheat
will grow in this part of the country and the cows give scarcely enough
milk for their calves. Everyone retires and rises early, so