The Residency is a large two storey house surrounded by a wide verandah and is built of iron plates bolted together.  It is raised about ten feet from the ground on iron pillars and approached by a wide staircase with wooden steps.  It is surrounded by a well kept garden in which are some statues and many tropical plants.  The view from the verandah, looking up and down the river is very pretty.  Although the house is in good condition and the dining room large enough to seat thirty people, it is thought not to be worthy of its function, and another large building will soon be erected on the same site.

After this visit we proceed to a house which is kept for the use of the higher State Officials when they pass through Boma and which was now placed at our disposal.  It is constructed in a similar manner to the Residency and although smaller, contains three lofty reception and two bed rooms.  Two boys. are told off to attend to our wants and after a rest we take a stroll round the town with Mr. Vandamme.  Most of the official residencies are situated in one Avenue and are surrounded by gardens in which palms, bulbous trees, and acacias give welcome shade to the roses beneath.  The Avenue du Plateau leads up a gentle incline to the Law Courts in which once a week sits the Court of Premiere Instance.  Near by is the prison and the terminus of the tramway.  From the summit of the hill a grand view is obtained of the river winding between the hills to the East, and at one’s feet is a native village nestling in a valley, for the natives dislike wind and cold almost as much as they do rain.  Separated from it is another native village in which the Government has placed the educated people who can read and write and many are now ambitions to qualify for admission.

It is now time to return to dinner with Mr. Vandamme where we meet Mr. Gohr, the Director of Justice, and Mr. Underwood.  Everyone here dines in white, which is both cool and picturesque.  Our host has an excellent native cook who gives us some very good vegetable soup, one of the numerous Congo fishes, all of which are nice, a very tender chicken, an excellent salad and a well made omelette, all of which are products of the country.  Flour and butter have however, to be imported, as no wheat will grow in this part of the country and the cows give scarcely enough milk for their calves.  Everyone retires and rises early, so at 9 p.m. we seek our house guided by a boy with a lantern, for most of the streets of Boma are not lighted artificially.

Next day we call on Mr. Nightingale who is at present acting as British Consul.  The consulate is about a mile from the town situated on the banks of the river and is well constructed of wood.  Mr. Nightingale offers kindly to lend us any assistance on our voyage that we may require.  Afterwards we buy many things which will be necessary up country, among which are bags of salt, a very popular form of money in some parts, and tins of petrol for the lanterns.