370 SLAVE ROUTE. Chap. XIII. 



which, from its many ups and downs, had often made us 

 puff and blow as if broken-winded. The water of the 

 streams we crossed was deliciously cold, and now that we 

 had gained the summit at Ndonda, where the boiling- 

 point of water showed an altitude of 3440 feet above the 

 sea, the air was delightful. Looking back we had a 

 magnificent view of the Lake, but the haze prevented our 

 seeing beyond the sea horizon. The scene was beautiful, 

 but it was impossible to dissociate the lovely landscape 

 whose hills and dales had so sorely tried our legs and 

 lungs, from the sad fact that this was part of the great 

 slave route now actually in use. By this road many 

 " Ten thousands " have here seen " the Sea," " the Sea," 

 but with sinking hearts ; for the universal idea among 

 the captive gangs is, that they are going to be fattened 

 and eaten by the whites. They cannot of course be so 

 much shocked as we should be — their sensibilities are far 

 from fine, their feelings are more obtuse than ours — in fact, 

 " the live eels are used to being skinned," perhaps they 

 rather like it. We who are not philosophic, blessed the 

 Providence which at Thermopylse in ancient days rolled 

 back the tide of Eastern conquest from the West, and so 

 guided the course of events that light and liberty and 

 gospel truth spread to our distant isle, and emancipating 

 our race freed them from the fear of ever again having to 

 climb fatiguing heights and descend wearisome hollows 

 in a slave-gang, as we suppose they did when the fail- 

 English youths were exposed for sale at Home. 



Looking westwards we perceived that, what from 

 below had the appearance of mountains, was only the 

 edge of a table-land which, though at first undulating, 

 soon became smooth, and sloped towards the centre of the 

 country. To the south a prominent mountain called 

 Chipata, and to the south-west another named Ngalla, by 

 which the Bua is said to rise, gave character to the land- 



