The purse, receives a shock.
The state of eager competition, which in England wears out both mind
and body, and makes life bitter, is here happily unknown. The
cultivated spots are mere dots compared to the broad fields of rich
soil which is never either grazed or tilled. Pity that the plenty in
store for all, from our Father's bountiful hands, is not enjoyed by
more.
The wretched little steamer could not carry all the hands we needed;
so, to lighten her, we put some into the boats and towed them astern.
In the dark, one of the boats was capsized; but all in it, except one
poor fellow who could not swim, were picked up. His loss threw a
gloom over us all, and added to the chagrin we often felt at having
been so ill-served in our sorry craft.
Next day we arrived at the village of Mboma (16 degrees 56 minutes 30
seconds S.), where the people raised large quantities of rice, and
were eager traders; the rice was sold at wonderfully low rates, and
we could not purchase a tithe of the food brought for sale.
A native minstrel serenaded us in the evening, playing several quaint
tunes on a species of one stringed fiddle, accompanied by wild, but
not unmusical songs.
