negro, who seems to forget his cares and sorrows, the miseries
which his gross superstitions entail on him, the frequency with which he
is exposed to sudden destruction; everything, in short, is forgotten
save the present, and he enjoys himself with unmitigated fervour.

It really did my heart good as I sat with my comrades beside our fire
and looked around me on their happy faces, which were rendered still
happier by the gift from us of a small quantity of tobacco, with which
we had taken care to provide ourselves for this very purpose.

I could scarcely believe that the jovial, kindly, hearty fellows were
the very men who are well-known to be such cruel, bloodthirsty fiends
when under the influence of their dreadful superstitions, and who, but a
few hours before, had been darting through the woods besmeared with
blood and yelling like maniacs or demons. In fact, the whole scene
before me, and the day's proceedings, seemed to me, at that time, like a
vivid dream instead of a reality. Moreover, after I lay down, the
reality became a dream, and I spent that night, as I had spent the day,
shooting gazelles, lions, wild pigs, and elephants in imagination.

CHAPTER SIX.

DREAMING AND FEEDING AND BLOODY WORK ENLARGED UPON.

The first object of which my senses became cognisant on awaking next
morning was my friend Peterkin, who had evidently awakened just a moment
or two before me, for he was in the act of yawning and rubbing his eyes.

I have all my life been a student of character, and the most interesting
yet inexplicable character which I have ever studied has been that of my
friend Peterkin, whose eccentricities I have never been able fully to
understand or account for. I have observed that, on first awaking in
the mornings, he has been wont to exhibit several of his most eccentric
and peculiar traits, so I resolved to feign myself asleep and watch him.

"Heigh-ho!" he exclaimed, after the yawn I have just referred to.
Having said this, he stretched out both arms to the utmost above his
head, and then flung himself back at full length on his couch, where he
lay still for about half a minute. Then he started up suddenly into a
sitting posture and looked slowly from one to another of the recumbent
forms around him. Satisfied, apparently, that they were asleep, he gave
vent to a long yawn which terminated in a gasp, and then he looked up
contemplatively at the sky, which was at that hour beginning to warm
wi