XXXI.] KAMBALA. 411 



I will content myself with asserting that nothing could be November, 

 more lovely than this entrancing scene, this glimpse of Para- ^^'^^• 

 dise. To describe it would be imjwssible. Neither poet, with 

 all the wealth of word-imagery, nor painter, with almost super- 

 natural genius, could by pen or pencil do full justice to the 

 country of Bailunda. 



In the foreground were glades in the woodland, varied with 

 knolls crowned by groves of large, English-looking trees, shel- 

 tering villages with yellow thatched roofs; shambas, or jjlan- 

 tations, with the fresh green of young crops and bright red of 

 newly hoed ground in vivid contrast, and running streams flash- 

 ing in the sunlight ; while in the far distance were mountains 

 of endless and j)leasing variety of form, gradually fading away 

 until they blended with the blue of the sky. Overhead there 

 drifted fleecy white clouds ; and the hum of bees, the bleating 

 of goats, and crowing of cocks broke the stillness of the air. 



As I lay beneath a tree in indolent contemplation of the 

 beauties of nature in this most favored spot, all thought of the 

 work still before me vanished from my mind ; but I was rudely 

 awakened from my pleasant reverie by the appearance of the 

 loaded caravan, with the men grunting, yelling, and laboring 

 under their burdens. Thus the dream of fairy-land was dis- 

 pelled, and the realities of my work, with its toil and trouble, 

 returned. 



That evening we camped in a wood, a clear space having lit- 

 erally to be cut out of the masses of sweet-scented creepers 

 which festooned the trees. 



Here I again divided the caravan into two parts, as it was 

 necessary for me to visit Kongo, the chief of the Bailunda, at 

 Kambala, and I had been informed that it would be impolitic 

 to be accompanied by all my men on the occasion. 



I therefore selected four of my own people, including Ju- 

 mah, Manoel, and the chief of the Bailunda porters, and three 

 of their immediate followers, leaving the remainder of the par- 

 ty to proceed by the direct road to the next camp, thus giving 

 the invalids, who were steadily increasing in number, two short 

 marches and a good rest. 



Kambala is situated on a rocky hill in the centre of a wooded 

 plain surrounded by ranges of hills. The entrance to the vil- 



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