PREFACE. 
It is not without considerable anxiety and reluctance 
that this volume is submitted to the public. Having 
contributed my botanical notes, drawings, and meteor- 
ological registers to Captain Speke, I never dreamt of 
a separate publication. My Journal, however, was a 
very copious one, daily entries having been made 
during our expedition ; and some personal friends see- 
ing these notes, conceived that a selection from them, 
describing domestic scenes in Central Africa, might 
not be unacceptable. The geographical part of the 
expedition, and its brilliant result, had been fully 
treated by my lamented fellow-traveller ; but further 
details as to the ordinary life and pursuits, the habits 
and feelings of the natives, and the products of the 
country, appeared likely to possess a certain degree 
of interest, if not of value. This opinion was en- 
tertained by Captain Speke himself, who addressed 
