458 PAINFUL EEFLECTIONS. 



forced him to seek another path. He could not suppress his 

 sorrow when he looked away toward the region watered by that 

 river and thought on the disappointments experienced there. 

 Many hopes had been wrecked 'there. It was an inexpressible 

 feeling of loneliness came over him when he thought on the 

 grave of her whose death had changed all his prospects — far 

 away down on the right bank of the river under the shadow of 

 the great baobab tree ; and the bitter regret with which he re- 

 called the easy death of the noble Bishop Mackenzie, and the 

 abandonment of the mission enterprise. It does seem sad that 

 he should have been called away just when his arduous toils 

 were on the eve of their best fruits ; how gladly would he wel- 

 come if he was alive now the news that arrangements are defi- 

 nitely made for planting strong and permanent missions along 

 the Shire!] 



"September 15. — We were now a short distance south of the 

 lake, and might have gone west to Mosauka's (called by some 

 Pasauka's) to cross the Shire there, but I thought that my visit 

 to Mukate's, a Waiyau chief still farther south, might do good. 

 He, Mponda, and Kabinga, are the only three chiefs who still 

 carry on raids against the Manganja at the instigation of the 

 coast Arabs, and they are now sending periodical marauding 

 parties to the Maravi (here named Malola) to supply the Kilwa 

 slave-traders. We marched three hours southwards, then up 

 the hills of the range which flanks all the lower part of the lake. 

 The altitude of the town is about eight hundred feet above the 

 lake. The population near the chief is large, and all the heights 

 as far as the eye can reach are crowned with villages. The 

 second range lies a few miles off, and is covered with trees as 

 well as the first ; the nearest high mass is Mangoche. The people 

 live amidst plenty. All the chiefs visited by the Arabs have 

 good substantial square houses built for their accommodation. 

 Mukate never saw a European before, and everything about us 

 is an immense curiosity to him and to his people. We had long 

 visits from him. He tries to extract a laugh out of every re- 

 mark. He is darker than the generality of Waiyau, with 

 a full beard trained on the chin — as all the people here- 

 abouts have — Arab fashion. The courts of his women cover 

 a large space, our house being on one side of them. I tried 



