the Mississippi, and burned a "bacon-ham"; but then I had only a mile to go to reach the station, whereas we were now nearly forty miles from Bangala, and there were not hams enough on board (even had there been enough in the whole region of the Upper Congo), to have kept up steam for four or five hours-the time necessary to do that distance.

I aroused Mr Dhanis: we neither of us liked to stop; so we began tearing the tarred canvas coverings off the bales of cloth, and breaking up all the wooden packing-cases we had on board, and managed in this way to keep going. At last the long night was over, and daylight began to appear. Mr Van Kerckhoven came to ask me whether-supposing the expedition that had gone up river was, as we conjectured, intended for the recapture of Stanley Falls-I could have the steamer ready to start again next day. I replied, Yes; and as we neared the station, I began to get everything ready for cleaning out the boiler, and making the few necessary preparations for an immediate start. Towards 9 A.M. (May 28th, 1887) we came in sight of the station, and perceived the Europeans hastening down to the shore to meet us. As we approached the landing-place, I took out the fire and began to blow the water out of the boiler, in order to save as much time as possible. As soon as I could get

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a minute to spare, I went to Mr Baert to hear the news, and learned that our race through the darkness had been all for nothing. The boats we had passed did not carry an army for the recapture of Stanley Falls, but the advance column of Stanley's expedition for the relief of Emin Pasha.

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CHAPTER VIII.

THE EMIN RELIEF EXPEDITION.

STANLEY ON THE CONGO-NEWS FROM HOME-THE UNPRINCIPLED BARUTI AND HIS AWFUL FATE-STANLEY AND THE MISSIONARIES 66 -THE HENRY REED SEIZED TO EXPLORE THE LOIKA-A REAL MEAN RIVER"-CHIEF OF UPOTO SEIZED AS A HOSTAGE-FEVER -NGALYEMA'S COW-LÉOPOLDVILLE AGAIN-ANIMAL LIFE ON THE RIVER - BEAUTY OF THE BATÉKÉ COUNTRY-JOYCE'— REMINISCENCES OF CIVILISATION

- REMARKABLE EFFECTS OF HOME LETTERS WHEN FIRST OPENED THE HUNTERS' CAMP ON LONG ISLAND -DUALLA ISLAND LUKOLELA — MY BULL'S-EYE CREATES A SENSATION.

Why, I

STANLEY on the Congo! I exclaimed. thought he was in America! And who under the canopy was Emin Pasha? and what did he want relieving for? While, as for Tippoo Tip, who, it seemed, was going up as the new Governor of the Falls,—I had indeed heard of him before, but only as one of the marauding Arabs whom we were so anxious to expel from the territory of the State. It must be remembered that, for about four months, I had received no news from the civilised world, in

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any shape or form; and the whole was naturally a complete puzzle to me.

At length, when all was made fast-it being Sunday, of which, as I was completely tired out, I was heartily glad I went to the chief's room to receive my mail; and having shouldered the sack which was handed me as my own share, and sought the solitude of my own room, I cut it open, and commenced pulling out the welcome letters and papers. But I was too utterly weary to read; and after vainly attempting to make out the meaning of one of the letters, I gave it up, and using the mail-bag as a pillow, lay down in the middle of the room, and slept till night, when I was awakened by my boy, with the information that dinner was ready. Having revived exhausted nature with some indiarubber-like goat-steak and I returned to my yams, room with a pot of palm-oil; and having rigged up a lamp with this, I once more set to work at my letters, and looked up Emin Pasha-only to be maddened by finding that while I was running down the right bank of the river several friends of mine had passed me on the left! These were men who had been on the Congo when I first came out, and had gone home when they had finished their time-afterwards returning to Africa with Stanley's expedition.

Besides all this, I received a letter telling me that Mr Arthur Jephson, whom I had known at

school many years before, had accompanied Stanley, and found, on inquiry, that this gentleman had passed on with the advance-guard. I was, however, consoled by hearing that Messrs Troup and Ward were still at Léopoldville, and that I should probably see them as they passed up. I had been nearly five months without seeing an Englishman or hearing news from Europe, and knew nothing whatever of the Emin Relief Expedition. Not a whisper of it had reached us; and Stanley himself was the first to announce, by his appearance on the scene, that he had returned to the Congo.

After this, the A.I.A. was kept pretty busy, in the immediate neighbourhood of Bangala, till the end of the month; but in July the steamers Stanley, Peace, and Henry Reed returned from the Aruhwimi. Among other items of news, Captain Shagerstrom (of the Stanley) reported that Mr Stanley's boy, Baruti (whom he had freed from slavery on one of his former expeditions, taken to Europe, and educated), had, on getting back to his own country, decamped, taking with him Stanley's revolver and rifle. I afterwards heard that he had been killed and eaten by his own countrymen.

The Stanley and Peace, having taken in sufficient supplies of firewood, left next day for Léopoldville, the former to fetch up the rear-guard of the Stanley Expedition, and the latter to return