460 LETTERS TO DR. SCHWEINFURTH. 



Marquet in Khartum has promised me some pineapples, and I 

 believe they will succeed splendidly here. 



December n, 1883. 



A high day ! — a letter from Junker ! Two boxes of pre- 

 sents for me accompany it : medicines, nets, cases, glasses, 

 books, and, best of all, a small quantity of blotting-paper, 

 which I can use for drying plants. He tells me that all the 

 paper and portfolios you gave him were burnt last year in the 

 fire. What a pity ! Presents coming to one in the inte- 

 rior of Africa from the- western A-Zande districts through 

 Monbuttu are rather mysterious, and in this case they only 

 serve to gild the pill : Junker is not coming, but is going to 

 Khartum by the Meshra, and takes leave of me in this letter. 

 May it be his lot to reach home safely, and meet with the 

 appreciation he so richly deserves ! He is a fine, warm- 

 hearted fellow. It sounds very curious for him to ask me 

 to mention in my letters to Europe that he is well, and is 

 thinking of returning. What must his views be of the gra- 

 cious treatment we experience at the hands of our Govern- 

 ment in Khartum — they almost spoil us, steamers are sent so 

 often ! The steamer left here on April 1 4, and this is the 

 1 1 th of December ! In itself it is a matter of indifference to 

 me whether I have any communication with Khartum or not, 

 for I learnt long ago to cut my coat according to my cloth. 

 I scarcely ever drink spirituous liquors, and I can get coffee, 

 which I cannot do without, from the south. What vexes me 

 so much is the waste of time. Here I am, loitering in Lado, 

 where there is nothing to do and nothing to collect, worry- 

 ing myself in the company of my clerks, and waiting for the 

 steamer, when I might be working and collecting in the south 

 or east. 



December 18, 1883. 



By the post before last Casati sent me a closed letter for 

 you [it has not reached its destination], asking me at the same 

 time to read the contents. As I replied that the letter was 

 fastened when it arrived, he sent me a copy yesterday. It 

 contains some very sensible opinions, but also, to my regret, 



