tful, owing to the cookery. It
would appear that in Africa, as in England, woman excels in the culinary
art. At all events, the mapira meal was better managed by them, than by
the men. On the present occasion the hunters tumbled in the meal by
handfuls in rapid succession as soon as the water was hot, until it
became too thick to be stirred about, then it was lifted off the fire,
and one man held the pot while another plied the porridge-stick with all
his might to prevent the solid mass from being burnt. Thus it was
prepared, and thus eaten, in enormous quantities. No wonder that
dancing and profuse perspiration were esteemed a necessary adjunct to
feeding!

At the close of the second edition of supper, which went into four or
five editions before morning, some of the men at the fire next to that
of Kambira engaged in a debate so furious, that the curiosity of Disco
and Harold was excited, and they caused Antonio to translate much of
what was said. It is not possible to give a connected account of this
debate as translated by Antonio. To overcome the difficulty we shall
give the substance of it in what Disco styled Antonio's "lingo."

There were about a dozen natives round the fire, but two of them
sustained the chief part in the debate. One of these was a large man
with a flat nose; the other was a small man with a large frizzy head.

"Hold 'oos tongue," said Flatnose (so Antonio named him); "tongue too
long--far!"

"Boh! 'oos brains too short," retorted Frizzyhead contemptuously.

An immense amount of chattering by the others followed these pithy
remarks of the principals.

The question in debate was, Whether the two toes of the ostrich
represented the thumb and forefinger in man, or the little and ring
fingers? But in a few minutes the subject changed gradually, and
somehow unaccountably, to questions of a political nature,--for, strange
to say, in savage Africa, as in civilised England, politics are keenly
discussed, doubtless at times with equal wisdom in the one land as in
the other.

"What dat 'oo say?" inquired Flatnose, on hearing some muttered remarks
of Frizzyhead in reference to the misgovernment of chiefs. Of course
there, as here, present company was understood to be excepted.

"Chiefs ob no use--no use at all!" said Frizzyhead so vehemently that
the men at several of the nearest fires ceased to talk, and began to
listen.

"Ob no use?" cried Flatnose, with vehemence so superior that th