1871.] THE " GOOD ONE." 105 



work and no play which we think so much better for them 

 if not for us. 



In some cases we found all the villages deserted ; the 

 people had fled at our approach, in dread of repetitions of 

 the outrages of Arab slaves. The doors were all shut : 

 a bunch of the leaves of reeds or of green reeds placed across 

 them, means " no entrance here." A few stray chickens 

 wander about wailing, having hid themselves while the rest 

 were caught and carried off into the deep forest, and the 

 still smoking fires tell the same tale of recent flight from 

 the slave-traders. 



Many have found out that I am not one of their number, 

 so in various cases they stand up and call out loudly, " Bo- 

 longo, Bolongo!" "Friendship, Friendship!" They sell 

 their fine iron bracelets eagerly for a few beads ; for (brace- 

 lets seem out of fashion since beads came in), but they are 

 of the finest quality of iron, and were they nearer Europe 

 would be as eagerly sought and bought as horse-shoe nails 

 are for the best gun-barrels. I overhear the Many ue ma 

 telling each other that I am the " good one." I have no 

 slaves, and I owe this character to the propagation of a good 

 name by the slaves of Zanzibar, who are anything but good 

 themselves. I have seen slaves belonging to the seven men 

 now with us slap the cheeks of grown men who had offered 

 food for sale ; it was done in sheer wantonness, till I threat- 

 ened to thrash them if I saw it again ; but out of my sight 

 they did it still, and when I complained to the masters they 

 confessed that all the mischief was done by slaves ; for the 

 Manyuema, on being insulted, lose temper and use their 

 spears on the nasty curs, and then vengeance is taken with 

 guns. Free men behave better than slaves ; the bondmen 

 are not responsible. The Manyuema are far more beautiful 

 than either the bond or free of Zanzibar ; I overhear the 

 remark often, " If we had Manyuema wives what beautiful 

 children we should beget." The men are usually handsome, 



