sees me; He sees my wicked heart, my sinful life, my hatred to Him and to His holy law;" and the fear of a judgment to come would fill her with agony. But now a pardoning God had been revealed to her, and her soul exclaimed exultingly, "God sees me! He has seen my misery, my repentance, Christ's righteousness on me; He takes pity on me, He forgives; He will guide and guard me. God sees me!

WANDERINGS OF A MISSIONARY.

CHAPTER XIII.

LEAVING the Leeba, Livingstone and his party struck out again overland into deep valleys and trackless forests. In the darkest parts of these forests singular traces of superstition were observed. He says:

“In the deep, dark forests near each village, as already mentioned, you see idols intended to represent the human head or a lion, or a crooked stick smeared with medicine, or simply a small pot of medicine in a little shed, or miniature huts with little mounds of earth in them. But in the darker recesses we meet with human faces cut in the bark of trees, the outlines of which, with the beards, closely resemble those seen on Egyptian monuments. Frequent cuts are made on the trees all along the paths, and offerings of small pieces of manioc-roots, or ears of maize, are placed on branches. There are also to be seen every few miles heaps of sticks, which are treated in cairn fashion, by every one throwing a small branch to the heap in passing; or a few sticks are placed on the path, and each passer-by turns from his course, and forms a sudden bend in the road to one side. It seems as if their minds were ever in doubt and dread in these gloomy recesses of the forest, and that they were striving to propitiate, by their offerings, some superior beings residing there."

Presently the travellers issued out into a great p'ain lying to the left. Many miles of this region were flooded with water ankle-deep, on which floated the broad leaves and glaring colours of hundreds of lotus flowers. The little band waded as they could across these flats; at night sheltering under rude roofs, raised upon island spots here and there. Many times, as they slept, the water rose soaking round their pallets, and drove them to resume

their journey. At one point the following tradition was told them as a very ancient tale :

"Immediately beyond Dilolo there is large flat about twenty miles in breadth. Here Shakatwala insisted on our remaining to get supplies of food from Katema's subjects, before entertng the uninhabited watery plains. When asked the meaning of the name Dilolo, Shakatwala gave the following account of the formation of the lake. A female chief, called Moene (lord) Monenga, came one evening to the village of Mosogo, a man who lived in the vicin ity, but who had gone to hunt with his dogs. She asked for a supply of food, and Mosogo's wife gave her a sufficient quantity. Proceeding to another village standing on the spot now occupied by the water, she preferred the same demand, and was not only refused, but, when she uttered a threat for their niggardliness, was taunted with the question, 'What could she do though she were thus treated?' In order to shew what she could do, she began a song, in slow time, and uttered her own name Monenga-woo. As she prolonged the last note, the village, people, fowls, and dogs, sank into the space now called Dilolo. When Kasimakate, the headman of this village, came home and found out the catastrophe, he cast himself into the lake, and is supposed to be in still. The name is derived from 'ilolo,' despair, because this man gave up all hope when his family was destroyed. Monenga was put to death. This may be a faint tradition of the Deluge, and it is remarkable as the only one I have met with in this country."

Livingstone

There were many hazards to encounter. himself, more than once, was down in heavy fever, so that he could hardly crawl through the dense moist woods and under the broiling sun. Fierce tribes beset them on every side, and would scarce allow them to pass, without yielding fines and plunder. They were often in no small danger also in fording the rivers which every now and again crossed their path. In one such instance Livingstone made a narrow escape:

"In the afternoon we came to another stream, Nuana Loke (or child of Loke), with a bridge over it. The men had to swim off to each end of the bridge, and when on it were breast-deep: some preferred holding on by the tails of the oxen the whole way across. I intended to do this too, but,

riding to the deep part, before I could dismount and seize the helm the ox dashed off with his companions, and his body sank so deep, that I failed in my attempt even to catch the blanket belt, and if I pulled the bridle, the ox seemed as if he would come backwards upon me, so I struck out for the opposite bank alone. My poor fellows were dreadfully alarmed when they saw me parted from the cattle, and about twenty of them made a simultaneous rush into the water for my rescue, and just as I reached the opposite bank one seized my arm, and another threw his around my body. When I stood up, it was most gratifying to see them all struggling towards me. Some had leaped off the bridge, and allowed their cloaks to float down the stream. Part of my goods, abandoned in the hurry, were brought up from the bottom after I was safe. Great was the pleasure expressed when they found that I could swim like themselves, without the aid of a tail; and I did, and do feel grateful to these poor heathens for the promptitude with which they dashed in to save, as they thought, my life. I found my clothes cumbersome in the water; they could swim quicker from being naked. They swim like dogs, not frog-fashion, as we do.

"In the evening we crossed the small rivulet Lozeze, and came to some villages of the Kasabi, from whom we got some manioc in exchange for beads. They tried to frighten us by telling of the deep rivers we should have to cross in our way. I was drying my clothes by turning myself round and round before the fire. My men laughed at the idea of being frightened by rivers. 'We can all swim: who carried the white man across the river but himself?' I felt proud of their praise.”

Still farther on, their way was like to be stopped altogether by a sudden onslaught with which a warlike tribe, called the Chiboque, threatened them. It was on a Sunday too, when our tired travellers sought to rest at Njambi, a village so called after the name of the Chiboque chief. Says Livingstone, giving an account of this new peril :

"We heard some of the Chiboque remark, 'They have only five guns;' and about mid day, Njambi collected all his people, and surrounded our encampment. Their object was evidently to plunder us of everything. My men seized their javelins, and stood on the defensive, while the young Chiboque had drawn their swords and brandished them with great fury. Some even pointed their guns at me, and

nodded to each other, as much as to say, 'This is the way we shall do with him.' I sat on my camp-stool, with my double-barrelled gun across my knees, and invited the chief to be seated also. When he and his counsellors had sat down on the ground in front of me, I asked what crime we had committed that he had come armed in that way. He replied that one of my men, Pitsane, while sitting at the fire that morning, had, in spitting, allowed a small quantity of the saliva to fall on the leg of one of his men, and this guilt' he wanted to be settled by the fine of a man, ox, or gun. Pitsane admitted the fact of a little saliva having fallen on the Chiboque, and in proof of its being a pure accident, mentioned that he had given the man a piece of meat, by way of making friends, just before it happened, and wiped it off with his hand as soon as it fell. In reference to a man being given, I declared that we were all ready to die rather than give up one of our number to be a slave; that my men might as well give me as I give one of them, for we were all free men. 'Then you can give the gun with which the ox was shot. As we heard some of his people remarking even now that we had only 'five guns,' we declined, on the ground that, as they were intent on plundering us, giving a gun would be helping them to do so.

"This they denied, saying they wanted the customary tribute only. I asked what right they had to demand payment for leave to tread on the ground of God, our common Father? If we trode on their gardens we would pay, but not for marching on land which was still God's and not theirs. They did not attempt to controvert this, because it is in accordance with their own ideas, but reverted again to the pretended crime of the saliva.

"My men now entreated me to give something; and after asking the chief if he really thought the affair of the spitting a matter of guilt, and receiving an answer in the affirmative, I gave him one of my shirts. The young Chiboque were dissatisfied, and began shouting and brandishing their swords for a greater fine.

"As Pitsane felt that he had been the cause of this disagreeable affair, he asked me to add something else. I gave a bunch of beads, but the counsellors objected this time, so I added a large handkerchief. The more I yielded, the more unreasonable their demands became, and at every fresh demand, a shout was raised by the armed party, and a rush made around us with brandishing of arms. One young man made a charge at my head from behind, but I

quickly brought round the muzzle of my gun to his mouth, and he retreated. I pointed him out to the chief, and he ordered him to retire a little. I felt anxious to avoid the effusion of blood; and though sure of being able with my Makololo, who had been drilled by Sebituane, to drive off twice the number of our assailants, though now a large body, and well armed with spears, swords, arrows, and guns, I strove to avoid actual collision. My men were quite unprepared for this exhibition, but behaved with admirable coolness. The chief and counsellors, by accepting my invitation to be seated, had placed themselves in a trap; for my men very quietly surrounded them, and made them feel that there was no chance of escaping their spears. I then said, that as one thing after another had failed to satisfy them, it was evident that they wanted to fight, while we only wanted to pass peaceably through the country; that they must begin first and bear the guilt before God: we would not fight till they had struck the first blow. I then sat silent for some time. It was rather trying for me, because I knew that the Chiboque would aim at the white man first; but I was careful not to appear flurried, and, having four barrels ready for instant action, looked quietly at the savage scene around. The Chiboque countenance, by no means handsome, is not improved by the practice which they have adopted of filing the teeth to a point. The chief and counsellors, seeing they were in more danger than I, did not choose to follow our decision that they should begin by striking the first blow, and then see what we could do; and were perhaps influenced by seeing the air of cool preparation, which some of my men displayed, at the prospect of a work of blood.

"The Chiboque at last put the matter before us in this way: You come among us in a new way, and say you are quite friendly: how can we know it unless you give us some of your food, and you take some of ours? If you give us an ox we will give you whatever you may wish, and then we shall be friends.' In accordance with the entreaties of my men I gave an ox; and when asked what I should like in return, mentioned food, as the thing which we most needed. In the evening Njambi sent a very small basket of meal, and two or three pounds of the flesh of our own ox! with the apology that he had no fowls, and very little of any other food. It was impossible to avoid a laugh at the coolness of the generous creatures. I was truly thankful nevertheless that, though resolved to die rather than deliver up one of our number to be a slave, we had so