DELUGE IN MINIATURE. 
253 
their bales of dry goods in the water as if they 
were so many logs of wood, although by lifting 
them up a little all might have at first been 
saved quite dry. Meanwhile the black servants 
were dancing, singing, and rolling about in the 
waters, as if some sudden blessing had overtaken 
them.^' 
The water still continued to rise, and to foam 
over the margin of the island. We were com- 
pelled by degrees to retreat towards the centre, 
and as there was no sign of abatement, and as 
the whole valley had become one rushing river, 
covered with floating trees, — some shooting singly 
along, others entangled into rafts or floating islands, 
I began to entertain serious misgivings. Never 
was there a more perfect picture of a deluge ! It 
was the Biblical deluge in miniature : and I calcu- 
lated with intense interest how many inches addi- 
tional rise would utterly destroy our goods, and 
how many inches more peril our lives. The most 
gloomy forebodings troubled me. I had always 
looked forward to Aheer as a haven of safety, and 
instead thereof it had proved to be a place of per- 
* The black people of Central Africa, whose character and opinions 
we do not yet understand, seem to take peculiar delight in those very- 
natural phenomena which civilised nations regard as disastrous. 
Among other instances, I have seen an old negress, usually gloomy 
and taciturn, quite intoxicated by an earthquake. Whilst others 
were thinking of their safety, she i-an abovit the courtyard on her 
hands and feet, rolling over, laughing and whooping, as if she v.-ere a 
devil and this was news from the infernal regions. — Ep. 
