slept in an open part of the savannah, with his saddle for a pillow, Cassim and Ibrahim taking up their position on one side, whilst the two servants lay, the one at his feet and the other at his head, to guard against assassination. The party rose early in the morning, and in the course of their journey, saw abundance of guinea-fowl and of the small antelope, mentioned by Salt. The scenery had its full influence on Mr. Johnston, producing, as he tells us, in the genuine spirit of his present vocation, an effect of enjoyment in my mind, that perhaps owed some portion of its charms to the feeling of having at last entered upon the long wished-for life of novel and wild adventure, which, from a boy, I had so ardently desired.' The character of his companions was by no means adapted to insure a sense of personal security. By their own showing,' he informs us, not one of them that wore a small tuft of hair upon the boss of his shield but had killed and murdered ten or twelve individuals, which, if only understood as two or three, the men surrounding me must have caused the death of at least a score of their fellow beings; and the delight and evident zest with which they spoke of or listened to the several struggles in which they had been engaged, told the fierce and cruel character of these demons in human shape.'

The observation of our traveller was not limited to the character or habits of his own species. With these he was mainly concerned, and his volumes are therefore principally occupied with such details as illustrate the condition and prospects of the human race in Africa. The geologist and the naturalist will however find much to inform and interest them throughout his pages. The appearances of the earth, and the habits of various animals are carefully noted, and the records made are in a simple and lucid style, well fitted to their respective subjects. The following brief account of the sagacity of the sea-gull may be taken as a specimen.

In the evening, I strolled from the low jungle that here skirts the sea, and in which our camp was made, to the beach, where I amused myself by observing some sea-gulls that exhibited no little sagacity in the manner in which they obtained their food. All along the Bay of Tajourah the small hermit crab abounds, and formed, 1 should suppose, from what I saw, the principal prey of these birds. It would be a difficult thing to get at this kind of crustacea, with all the means that sea-gulls can command; but instinct has taught them to have recourse to a method of unshelling the crabs that certainly I should not have thought of. Seizing the one they intend to operate upon, they fly up to the height of ten or twelve feet, and letting it drop, it naturally falls on the heaviest, or topside of the shell. Before the little animal can recover itself, the gull has caught it again, and flying up with it the same height as before, he lets it drop a second

time, and so he continues till the repeated falls have fractured the shell, and he gets at the animal without further trouble. It takes ten or twelve of these short flights to accomplish the object, but it never fails; and as the birds are certainly patterns of perseverance in their pursuit, they get, no doubt, a good living in this very singular manner. Besides this instance of their sagacity, I have seen gulls over and over again defeat the attempts of the hawk to pounce upon them, by making a very successful but very unusual flight for them, which was to vie with the hawk himself in the elevation he was obliged to take for the success of his swoop. In such cases they seek not to shun the butcher of their kind, but following him in each gyration he makes, afford him no opportunity of attack, and soon tire him out.'-vol. i. pp. 94, 95.

Notices also occur of the Mirage, of which European travellers find it difficult to form a definite conception. It constitutes one of the peculiarities of African scenery, and frequently inflicts the bitterest disappointment on the exhausted and thirsty spectator. Its effect is accurately described in the following extract.

Coming from the opposite side, diagonally across to our station, could be now seen the stranger Kafilah, camel after camel, emerging from the mirage in a long extended line. The effect of this natural phenomenon, the mirage, was greater than I expected. The very perfect and natural resemblance it bears to water, the reflection even of the adjoining ridges as perfectly distinct as from the surface of a lake, contributing very much to the illusion. To ascribe to any traveller the originality of the beautiful expression, ships of the desert,' as applied to that useful animal the camel, is an injustice to the simple elegance of natural ideas. Not one, but half a dozen of the Bedouins, came to me in succession, and directed my attention to the broad and enlarged figure of the camel with its burden, as it appeared through the medium of the mirage, and all expressed themselves exactly in the same terms, that it was the ship of their country, and any one who has seen the camel in such a situation would have immediately suggested to his mind, a distant vessel sailing end on before a breeze, with all its studding sails set, so exact a resemblance is observed between it and the distorted image of the laden camel.'-ib. pp. 217, 218.

We have already noticed the suspicious character of Mr. Johnston's attendants, and he had not travelled far before the most convincing evidence was afforded of his personal insecurity. His fire-arms were their terror, but even these did not exempt him from attempts at assassination, which were frustrated only by his self-possession and intrepidity. Arriving on one occasion, after a wearisome day's journey, at Aleex Shaitan ' (the Devil's Water), he soon composed himself to rest under the shade of a stunted mimosa-tree, but was urged by his companions to avail himself of the shelter of a neighbouring cave. What followed must be related in his own words.

6

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'I had no objection to proceed, so gathering myself up with no little difficulty, for I was very tired, we all went to another den of some wild beast, where scattered bones and other traces indicated its recent occupation. Ohmed Mahomed creeping in, for it was much less than the one at Dafarre, remarked that there was but just room for me. As I expected he was going to remain, I pulled off my boots and belt, and laid them with my pistols down at some little distance from me, and should have gone immediately to sleep, had Ohmed Mahomed, made preparations to depart, and told me, as he got out, that I must not sleep till Zaido came with my rice. This was quite an accidental observation, and so natural, that I only asked him to send Zaido quickly, and took up a position by placing myself at full length across the entrance of the cave, which was not above eight feet wide, so that Moosa and Garahmee, who had been squatting in their usual manner in front, could not conveniently come in.

'Some moments after Ohmed Mahomed left, Garahmee, under pretence of stretching himself, laid down his spear, and turning round walked some little way until he could get a good view of the camp, towards which he looked with an inquisitive gaze, that told me at once I had been betrayed into this place for the purpose of assassination, and felt assured that a struggle for my life was now at hand. My heart beat thick, but I determined not to show the least feeling of mistrust until their game had begun; and placing myself a little more under cover of the roof of the cave, awaited the first signal of attack to seize my pistols, and defend myself as I best might. It may be astonishing to suppose how two men could so far overcome the fear of being instantly killed by my fire-arms; but Garahmee, who was a most cunning man, never dreamt that his son, as he used to call me, suspected in the least his design, so carelessly had I been accustomed to trust myself with him, and had been so deceived by his particularly mild and quiet deportment. His first step, after watching the occupation of the camp, was to endeavour to take Ohmed Mahomed's place in the cave, but this I instantly objected to in a tone so suddenly harsh that he involuntarily started, and sat down again just at my feet, but outside the entrance. All this time Moosa had been sitting about five paces in front. His shield, held before him, concealed his whole body, a black face and bushy head of hair alone appearing above its upper edge; his spear was held perpendicularly, with its butt end placed upon the earth, in the usual manner, when an attack is meditated

Garahmee was evidently disconcerted by my refusal to admit him into the cave, and perhaps if I had assumed a greater apparent suspicion, he would have deferred his attempt until a more favourable opportunity: but seeing me seemingly undisturbed, he took his seat at my head, and asked peremptorily for some dollars; and Moosa wants some too,' added he, turning and looking with an expression readily understood by the latter worthy, who instantly rose and taking the place just vacated by Garahmee, seconded the motion by holding out his hand for nummo' (dollars). In my belt was the

me.

as

pouch made by Cruttenden for my watch, which I had carried in the vain expectation of making it serviceable in deciding the longitude of my halting places, but perceiving the character of the people, had never brought it out for fear of exciting the cupidity of those around Its round form, however, as it lay in the pouch attached to my waist-belt, made an impression as if dollars were there concealed, as I afterwards learnt from Ohmed Mahomed, who assigned this as one reason for the attempt which had been made. Drawing the belt and pouch towards me, in the loops of which were still my pistols, I took one of them into my hand, and throwing myself as far back into the cave as I could, told them that I had no dollars for them till I got to Abasha (Abyssinia), at the same time telling Moosa to go for Ohmed Medina and Ebin Izaak, I could not talk to them in their language. They were taken rather aback at the strong position I had assumed, and in the decided manner in which I had met the first step to an outrage; for amongst these people a demand for something always precedes the attack, to enable them to throw their victim, even if he suspect their object, off his guard, in the vain hope that he might be enabled to purchase peace by giving them what they ask for. Neither party, under present circumstances, now knew what farther to do. I, of course, had done sufficient for defence, and they found that they had too suddenly for their purpose, laid themselves open to my suspicion; but Garahmee, with ready thought, on my telling Moosa a second time to go, volunteered to be the bearer of the message himself, and retiring relieved me of his presence, and himself of the unpleasant feeling which must have arisen in his mind on having been so completely foiled, and seeing, besides, that I was perfectly aware of his intentions.'-ib. pp. 115-119.

The party was subject to frequent interruptions from the hostile demonstrations of the tribes through whose territory they passed. These are in a state of almost perpetual war, by which the cunning and ferocity of their nature arę fostered, and a fearful hindrance to their civilization interposed. Despising the arts of peace and neglectful of the most simple modes of husbandry, they subsist on mutual rapine and violence, hateful and hating one another.' Whatever other regions may furnish in support of the theories of our poets and would-be philosophers, it is manifest from the concurrent testimony of many travellers, that Africa contains no Arcadian scenes, in which the purity and benevolence of our nature are exhibited to greater advantage, than under the so-called perverting influences of Christianity. It is a melancholy fact that every extension of our knowledge brings with it additional evidence on this point. No matter in what direction our travellers proceed, they cannot advance a step without being challenged by the proofs of human depravity, without meeting with indications of treachery and faithlessness, as subversive of social order as

they are incompatible with the devout recognition of an intelligent first cause. The soil of heathenism is saturated with the blood of its devotees, and would in many cases be left an uninhabited waste, were it not for the conservative elements which are deeply seated in the human breast. A graphic description is given of the mode of warfare adopted by the Dankalli tribes, which though sufficiently disgusting we shall transcribe for the information of our readers. It may be well to enquire whether the tactics of European war are less reprehensible, or, in the judgment of superior beings, more accordant with the obligations and spirit of our religion.

'About four o'clock, a sudden commotion among the Kafilah men, all rushing to spears and shields, and loud shouts of Ahkeem! Ahkeem!' awoke me from my siesta. Jumping up from my mat, I seized my fire-arms, and ran towards the place where Ohmed Medina and Ebin Izaak were beckoning me to come. In front, was a crowd of some twelve or fourteen men fighting in the greatest desperation, and so near to us, that the spears that were thrown almost struck the shields of those with whom I was sitting About thirty yards beyond the combatants, who, in close fight, were yelling, struggling, and falling, another line, consisting chiefly of my Hy Soumaulee escort, sat with their shields before them, in the same quiet spectator-like fashion as ourselves. I must observe, however, that Adam Burrah and Moosa, as soon as they saw me in the line with the Tajourah people, came from the opposite side, and sat close in front of me. Ohmed Medina told me not to fire, or take any part in the business except to take care of myself, as the quarrel was a private one, and that no one would attack us, if we did not commence hostilities. To make more secure against an accident, Ebin Izaak kept his hand on my right arm all the time, to prevent me taking up either of my guns that lay upon the ground on each side of me.

During the fight I noticed, that occasionally one of the Kafilah men would spring up from his sitting posture, and with a loud shout run towards the combatants. He was invariably answered by one of the Hy Soumaulee opposite, who rushed to meet him; so that in a short time, more than double the number ofthe original fighters were engaged.

'The contest which was now taking place in my sight was an actual representation, on a small scale, of the mode of fighting practised by the Dankalli tribes. When two hostile bodies of these people meet, it is not usual for the whole to engage, but sitting down in two opposite lines at the distance of sixty or eighty yards from each other, they await the result, produced by the yelling, jumping, and speechifying of their leaders, who for this purpose stand up immediately in front of their men.

At the intended attack upon our Kafilah at Wadallissan, by the Bursane Bedouins, Garahmee, in addition to his duty of keeping the people squatting upon their heels, evidently recited some martial song, or speech, which at intervals, was responded to with loud yells, and shaking of the spears in the direction of the enemy.