12 Men, Mines, and Animals in South Africa. 



suppressed " damu," or a less suppressed exclama- 

 tion of triumpli, discloses the vicissitudes of the 

 game. So the afternoon blends itself into the 

 evenino-. At half-past six the bell for dinner 

 sounds, after whicli, music in the saloon detains 

 many. " Gentlemen oblige " the company with 

 sono;s and recitations, the French o;entleman dis- 

 plays a startling ingenuity in card conjuring. On 

 deck, soothed by tobacco, many groups converse. 

 The talk is prol^ably of Africa and Mashonaland, 

 of diamond mines and of the " Randt," of the depth 

 and thickness of reefs, of tlie yield of so many 

 pennyweights to the ton, of" pay chutes," of stamj)s, 

 crushers, and chlorination, till the disappearance 

 one b}' one of the electric lights warns us that the 

 nio'ht is well on, and we turn into our cabins to 

 dream of re-discovering El Dorado, of revelling in 

 the " jDlacers " of another California, of handling 

 deliriously the nuii'o'ets of a second Ballarat. On 

 waking Ave trust that we have not dreamed of a 

 Golden Fleece. So the voyage proceeds. 



One of our days at sea was agreeably passed bv 

 holding athletic sports and contests, in which all 

 classes of tlie passengers took part. Racing, leap- 

 ing, and cock-hghting were the principal features. 

 Four times round the ship from stern to bow was 

 found to aftord a good half-mile course, and the 

 struggle was decided after several heats, some of 

 them of an exciting character. The prize for leap- 

 ing was long and closely contested, four feet seven 

 being at length triumphanth' cleared l3y the victor. 

 Taking into account the perceptible rolling of the 



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