Shinte, however, sat bravely through the whole, and afterward examined
the instrument with interest. An explanation was always added after
each time of showing its powers, so that no one should imagine there was
aught supernatural in it; and had Mr. Murray, who kindly brought it from
England, seen its popularity among both Makololo and Balonda, he would
have been gratified with the direction his generosity then took. It was
the only mode of instruction I was ever pressed to repeat. The people
came long distances for the express purpose of seeing the objects and
hearing the explanations.

One can not get away quickly from these chiefs; they like to have the
honor of strangers residing in their villages. Here we had an additional
cause of delay in frequent rains; twenty-four hours never elapsed
without heavy showers; every thing is affected by the dampness; surgical
instruments become all rusty, clothing mildewed, and shoes mouldy; my
little tent was now so rotten and so full of small holes that every
smart shower caused a fine mist to descend on my blanket, and made me
fain to cover the head with it. Heavy dews lay on every thing in the
morning, even inside the tent; there is only a short time of sunshine in
the afternoon, and even that is so interrupted by thunder-showers that
we can not dry our bedding.

The winds coming from the north always bring heavy clouds and rain; in
the south, the only heavy rains noticed are those which come from the
northeast or east. The thermometer falls as low as 72 Degrees when
there is no sunshine, though, when the weather is fair, the protected
thermometer generally rises as high as 82 Degrees, even in the mornings
and evenings.

24TH. We expected to have started to-day, but Sambanza, who had been
sent off early in the morning for guides, returned at midday without
them, and drunk. This was the first case of real babbling intoxication
we had seen in this region. The boyaloa, or beer of the country, has
more of a stupefying than exciting nature; hence the beer-bibbers are
great sleepers; they may frequently be seen lying on their faces
sound asleep. This peculiarity of posture was ascribed, by no less an
authority than Aristotle, to wine, while those who were sent asleep by
beer were believed "to lie upon their backs."

Sambanza had got into a state of inebriation from indulging in mead,
similar to that which Shinte presented to us, which is much more
powerful than boyaloa. As far as