2912 A JOURNEY UP THE RIVER CONGO. 
days’ walking, with no more serious complaint: than 
exhaustion arising from fatigue; and the quiet weeks of 
continuous rest that I passed there soon restored me to a 
fair amount of strength. 
Whilst stopping at Vivi I visited the Falls of Yelala, 
as described in Chapter III, and made a few other 
excursions in the neighbourhood. Then, as the time for 
meeting the ocean steamer drew nigh, I embarked on 
board a whale-boat belonging to the station (the little river 
steamer of the Expedition being temporarily disabled), 
and, with a crew of Zanzibaris and Kruboys, made my 
way slowly down to the sea. This journey, usually lasting 
nine or ten hours, took me three days, and, owing to a 
continued attack of rheumatism, was not over-agreeable. 
The first night we had intended to reach Boma at sun- 
down, but, owing to difficult complications, we were still 
painfully struggling along the broadened stream and 
threading an uncertain course through the sandbanks at 
ten o'clock at night. 
At length the red and lurid moon arose, having lost a 
quarter, and looking like a Dutch cheese with the top cut 
off, and showed us more clearly our course amid the 
wooded islets that stud the middle of the river. We 
landed at the first house to be seen on the outskirts of 
Boma, which fortunately turned out to be a factory of 
Messrs. Hatton and Cookson’s. Here I received, though 
utterly unknown to the inmates of the house, a most 
kindly reception, such as I have ever met with from 
English and Anglo-Portuguese houses in Africa. Although 
the night was far advanced, the cook was roused from his 
slumbers, and the gentlemen of the house bestirred them- 
selves to make me comfortable. I went to bed first, as 
an attack of fever was menacing; but, later on, the 
delicious meal of fragrant tea. and cold wild-duck, which 
was spread by my bedside, banished the preliminary 
shivers, and I afterwards found in sleep a sweet restorative. 
The next day I breakfasted at another house in Boma, 
and then proceeded farther on my way to Ponta da Lenha. 
Here also I arrived late at night, but this time our way 
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