24 NAIVASHA AND VICTORIA NYANZA 



an hour it is black night. There is a croaking 

 chorus of frogs down by the lake, and the ' konk ' 

 of herons overhead flying- to their fishing. As we 

 move towards the camp, our steps are perhaps a 

 little quickened when we hear the unearthly howl of 

 hyenas and the discontented grunt of a lion. It was 

 a happy chance, for which I shall never cease to be 

 grateful, that kept me for a few days at Naivasha. 

 It is said of the blest of one nation that, when they 

 die, they go to Paris ; to others life is complete when 

 they have seen Naples ; for my part, had I never 

 seen those two cities, I should have been content 

 when I had seen Naivasha. 



After leaving the lake the railway follows the 

 Rift Valley almost due northwards for a long dis- 

 tance through a rich-looking grass country full of 

 game, until, after many twists and turns, Nakuru 

 with its beautiful lake is reached. This district 

 contains some of the most valuable land in East 

 Africa ; a great part has been taken up by holders, 

 great and small, and already one can see numbers of 

 hideous corrugated iron buildings from the railway. 

 Night fell as we climbed higher still on to the summit 

 of the Mau range ; but the increasing cold was a 

 sufficient indication of the altitude that we had 

 reached, very nearly 8,000 feet above the sea, and 

 I was glad enough to cover myself with all the 

 blankets that I had brought. 



A few hours later I awoke from an evil dream, 

 in which I thought I was being boiled at the bottom 



