med to indicate that _badinage_ was not altogether
unknown, even in this obscure African village. But everything of that
kind was brought abruptly to an end by a loud discordant blowing of
horns and the hollow _tub, tub, tub_ of a number of rude drums; at which
sounds the crowd around us broke up at once and retired, our little Hebe
casting back at us more than one glance strongly indicative, as it
seemed to me, of compassion.

A fire had been kindled in front of the idol, or _fetish_, during the
feeding process above referred to, and now that the curious crowd of
women and girls who then surrounded us had retired we were able to see a
little more of what was going on. The horn-blowing and drum-beating
emanated from a group of entirely naked savages who were marching in a
kind of procession round the idol. This ceremony lasted about ten
minutes, when another negro made his appearance upon the scene, emerging
from the temple, if such it actually was, bearing in his hands a queer-
looking construction, the nature of which I was at first unable to
distinguish. After marching solemnly round the idol three times this
individual seated himself tailor-fashion before it, laid the instrument
on his knees, and began to hammer upon it with a couple of sticks;
whereupon we became aware that he was playing upon a rude imitation of a
child's harmonicon, the keys of which appeared to be constructed of hard
wood, out of which he managed to beat a very fair specimen of barbaric
music. This music seemed to be the overture to some impending
entertainment; for upon the sound of the first notes the inhabitants
began to pour out of their huts and to gather in a promiscuous crowd
round the giant tree-stump upon which the hideous fetish was mounted.
When the gathering was apparently complete the music ceased, the
drumming and horn-blowing burst out afresh, and the crowd immediately
divided into two sections, the smaller, and I presume the more select
division squatting on the ground in a semicircle in front of the image,
whilst the remainder of the inhabitants ranged themselves into two
quadrants about thirty feet apart, one on each side and in front of
their deity. Through this open space between the two quadrants it
appeared probable that we should obtain a very good, if rather distant
view of the ceremonies which were evidently about to take place.

The audience having arranged themselves in position, the horn-blowing
ceased, and the