hint to give me another.  He always talks good sense when he has not swilled beer or pombe:  all the Arabs are loud in his praises, but they have a bad opinion of the Queen Moaeri or Ngombe or Kifuta.  The Garaganza people at Katanga killed a near relative of Casembe and herself, and when the event happened, Fungafunga, one of the Garaganza or Banyamwezi being near the spot, fled and came to the Mofwe:  he continued his flight as soon as it was dark without saying anything to anyone, until he got north to Kabiure.  The Queen and Casembe suspected Mpamari of complicity with the Banyamwezi, and believed that Fungafunga had communicated the news to him before fleeing further.  A tumult was made; Mpamari’s eldest son was killed; and he was plundered of all his copper, ivory, and slaves:  the Queen loudly demanded his execution, but Casembe restrained his people as well as he was able and it is for this injury that he now professes to be sorry.

The Queen only acted according to the principles of her people.  “Mpamari killed my son, kill his son—­himself.”  It is difficult to get at the truth, for Mohamad or Mpamari never tells the whole truth.  He went to fight Nsama with Muonga, and was wounded in the foot and routed, and is now glad to get out of Lunda back to Ujiji. (16th May.) Complete twenty sets of lunars.

11th May, 1868.—­Mohamad Bogharib told Casembe that he could buy nothing, and therefore was going away, Casembe replied that he had no ivory and he might go:  this was sensible; he sent far and near to find some, but failed, and now confesses a truth which most chiefs hide from unwillingness to appear poor before foreigners.

18th and 19th May, 1868.—­It is hot here though winter; but cold by night.  Casembe has sent for fish for us.  News came that one of Syde bin Habib’s men had come to Chikumbi on his way to Zanzibar.

20th May, 1868.—­A thunder-shower from the east laid the dust and cooled the ground:  the last shower of this season, as a similar slight shower was the finish up of the last on the 12th of May. (21st May.) This cannot be called a rainy month:  April is the last month of the wet season, and November the first.

22nd May, 1868.—­Casembe is so slow with his fish, meal, and guides, and his people so afraid to hurry him, that I think of going off as soon as Mohamad Bogharib moves; he is going to Chikumbi’s to buy copper, and thence he will proceed to Uvira to exchange that for ivory; but this is at present kept as a secret from his slaves.  The way seems thus to be opening for me to go to the large Lake west of Uvira.

I told Casembe that we were going; he said to me that if in coming back I had found no travelling party, I must not risk going by Nsama’s road with so few people, but must go to his brother Moenempanda, and he would send men to guide me to him, and thence he would send me safely by his path along Lake Moero:  this was all very good.