My Men Having All Reported Themselves Safe I Went To My Comfortable
Rooms, But Could Not Turn In, So Fascinating
Was the warmth and
beauty down here; and as I sat on the verandah overlooking Victoria
and the sea, in
The dim soft light of the stars, with the fire-flies
round me, and the lights of Victoria away below, and heard the soft
rush of the Lukola River, and the sound of the sea-surf on the
rocks, and the tom-tomming and singing of the natives, all matching
and mingling together, "Why did I come to Africa?" thought I. Why!
who would not come to its twin brother hell itself for all the
beauty and the charm of it!
CHAPTER XXI. TRADE AND LABOUR IN WEST AFRICA.
As I am under the impression that the trade of the West African
Coast is its most important attribute, I hope I may be pardoned for
entering into this subject. My chief excuse for so doing lies in
the fact that independent travellers are rare in the Bights. The
last one I remember hearing of was that unfortunate gentleman who
went to the Coast for pleasure and lost a leg on Lagos Bar. Now I
have not lost any portion of my anatomy anywhere on the Coast, and
therefore have no personal prejudice against the place. I hold a
brief for no party, and I beg the more experienced old coaster to
remember that "a looker on sees the most of the game."
First of all it should be remembered that Africa does not possess
ready-made riches to the extent it is in many quarters regarded as
possessing.
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