432 INSANITY OF SEKWEBU. 



crew of one hundred and thirty, — she was rolling so that 

 we could see a part of her bottom. It was quite impossi- 

 ble for landsmen to catch the ropes and climb up; so a 

 chair was sent down, and we were hoisted in as ladies 

 usually are, and received so hearty an English welcome 

 from Captain Peyton and all on board that I felt myself at 

 once at borne in every thing except my own mother-tongue. 

 I seemed to know the language perfectly, but the words I 

 wanted would not come at my call. When I left England 

 I had no intention of returning, and directed my attention 

 earnestly to the languages of Africa, paying none to 

 English composition. With the exception of a short in- 

 terval in Angola, I had been three and a half years without 

 speaking English, and this, with thirteen years of previous 

 partial disuse of my native tongue, made me feel sadly a't 

 a loss on board the "Frolic." 



We left Kilimane on the 12th of July, and reached the 

 Mauritius on the 12th of August, 1856. Sekwebu was 

 picking up English, and becoming a favorite with both men 

 and officers. He seemed a little bewildered, every thing on 

 board a man-of-war being so new and strange; but he re- 

 marked to me several times, " Your countrymen are very 

 agreeable," and, "What a strange country this is ! — -all water 

 together!" He also said that he now understood why I 

 used the sextant. When we reached the Mauritius a 

 steamer came out to tow us into the harbor. The constant 

 strain on his untutored mind seemed now to reach a climax, 

 for during the night he became insane. I thought at first 

 that he was intoxicated. He had descended into a boat, 

 and, when I attempted to go down and bring him into the 

 ship, he ran to the stern and said, "No ! no ! it is enough 

 that I die alone. You must not perish ; if you come, I 

 shall throw myself into the water." Perceiving that his 

 mind was affected, I said, "Now, Sekwebu, we are going 

 to Ma Eobert." This struck a chord in his bosom, and he 

 said, "Oh, yes! where is she, and where is Eobert?" and 

 he seemed to recover The officers proposed to secure him 



