e ship, and was again hoisted to the
davits.

This peremptory message, coupled no doubt with the experiences of the
preceding night, had its desired effect; for while the sun was still a
quarter of an hour distant from that part of the heavens that Gowland
had indicated, we saw a procession issue from the fetish-house in the
centre of the town, which our telescopes enabled us to make out as
consisting of a group of white men, closely guarded by a body of some
two hundred armed warriors, detailed, it would appear, for the purpose
of guarding the whites from the fury of the witch-doctors, or priests,
who were thus most unwillingly deprived of their prey, and who
accompanied the party right down to the shore, doing their best to
instigate the people to attack the escort and recapture the released
prisoners. There was a terrific hubbub over the affair, repeated rushes
being made at the party; but the guards appeared to use their clubs with
great freedom, and eventually the cortege reached the river, and the
whites were safely embarked in three large canoes which, manned by
natives, and apparently in charge of some authoritative person, at once
shoved off for the schooner.

Upon the arrival of this little flotilla alongside it was found that the
white prisoners brought off for surrender numbered twenty-eight, all of
whom were in a most wretched plight from sickness and the barbarous
neglect with which they had been treated during their long and wearisome
captivity. They consisted of the _Sapphire's_ late second and third
lieutenants, one midshipman, nine marines, and sixteen seamen; one
midshipman, three marines, and two seamen having died of fever during
the time that they had been in Matadi's hands. So frightfully were they
reduced by suffering and despair, that when the poor little surviving
mid--a mere lad of sixteen--was helped up the side to the schooner's low
deck his nerve entirely gave way, and he fell upon the planks in a
paroxysm of hysterical tears, and wild, incoherent ejaculations of
gratitude to God for having delivered him from a living death; while as
for the others, they were too deeply moved and shaken to utter more than
a husky word or two for the moment, but the convulsive grip of their
emaciated hands, their quivering lips, and the look of almost
incredulous delight with which they gazed about them and into our faces,
spoke far more eloquently than words. Needless to say, we gave them a
most heart